My Visit To The Book Store

At least once a week, sometimes twice a week, I stroll through my local Books-A-Million. I walk up and down every aisle and stand over the "Black" part of the book store for a few minutes. That's been my ritual for the last year; I walk in, speak to the clerk, walk up and down every aisle, then stand over the part of the store where they place the "Black" books. (You'll find out why at a later date).
After I stand there for a few minutes, I always go over and ask the clerk; "Why do you place all of the "Black" books in one, small, tiny section of the store? And why is it that all of the books with half-naked men and women are the only ones "featured" in that small, tiny, section?"
Every time I go into the store, I do that. I do it so much that the cool, little white dude who used to welcome me to Books-A-Million, no longer speak. So, me being me, I go over and ask him the above questions. One day, the black girl that works there walked over to me and asked (with  smile), "Sir, why are you so militant? You remind me of the dude from the Spike Lee movie, Do The Right Thing."
She was talking about this.
 (Excuse all the profanity at the 2:00 mark)

That is classic!
Anyway, back to the blog!
The response of the guy (and black girl) was simple. The reason the books with the half-naked people on them are the "featured" books, is because that's what draws black people to the book. I didn't say anything, because unfortunately, it's probably true. But after DEMANDING that they put some brothas on the wall.....sorry.......I meant, place some quality "Black" books up front, I made my way back to the magazine section to check out a few of my favorites-Upscale, Black Enterprise, Men's Health, and The Robb Report (I sneak and take the plastic off). I started laughing when I noticed all of them (with the exception of the Robb Report-go figure) was on the second shelf and the "Black Men" magazine was front and center.
So again, me-being ME, I went back up to the front and asked the same clerk, "Why do you guys place a magazine titled "Black Men" with half naked women on the cover in plain view while magazines like Upscale, Monarch, Savvoy and Black Enterprise are on the bottom shelf?" She didn't have an answer.
But may I submit to you why I think Books-A-Million and every other store do this?
It's because we (black folks) particularly Black men, support and encourage those stores without even knowing it. As I was standing there reading Upscale, two brothas walked over and started thumping through BM magazine.
For the record, Maxim and other magazines with half naked white women on them were BEHIND the "Black Men" magazine.
I'm willing to bet, there's nothing of substance in BM magazine: Unless, you think any of these women with a behind full of silicone has substance. If they had any substance to them, they wouldn't be bent over on the front page of THIS magazine. Instead, they would be trying to get on the front page of Black Enterprise or Sister 2 Sister.
Don't get it twisted- I used to be impressed by this type of stuff. I used to thump through the pictures, buy the magazine then go home and thump through it some more. But there came a point where this stuff didn't attract my attention anymore.
I'm not trying to preach or tell anybody what they should do. But I'm trying to start a discussion to find out when will you get to that point. It's only then that I and others won't have to walk through a book store and see half naked black women on display like they're being auctioned off at a slave trade.

Meet The Little Girl That Made Me Cry

Happy 69th Birthday To The Queen

We all know she's been sick lately (although I think she had a much needed gastric bypass surgery).

But we want to wish her a Happy 69th Birthday!

One Thick 'Ho' To Go, Please!

Welcome to Fat 'Ho' Burgers; May I take your order!?

Ummm......let's see........Yeah- Let me get a thick Ho to go please!

Do you want anything on her?

Naw, I want her naked! Wait a minute.......Yeah.....throw some pickles on that Ho'.

YEP!

That's pretty much how things are gonna go at Lakita Evans' Fat 'Ho' Burgers restaurant in Waco, Texas.
This 'bidness woman' thinks this is the best way to market her new restaurant. Of all the names she could have chosen. Of all the gimmicks she could have came up with, this is what she decided on.
Her concept behind this wonderful marketing plan:

"It's not I'm calling people a ho. It's just like they say, 'Oooh that ho is big,' or, 'That ho is tight!"

Don't look at the screen like that, I'm just quoting the 'bidness woman. I've said it before and I'll say it again, WE (black folks) are our biggest enemy.
We reward negative images of our women with high television ratings.
We support shows like "Meet The Browns" more than we support shows like "Hawthorne".
And we will patronize this restaurant, despite the fact that it "should" be offensive to every hard working black woman in this country.

But hey, as long as she's making money........that's all that matters, right?

I wonder what the response would be if the owner's name was Laura Everhart instead of Lekita Evans?
Would black people in Waco, Texas (and nearby towns) have a line out the door if the owner was white? Or would they call her a racist and demand the local chapter of the NAACP protest and shut it down?

Mixed Race Couples On The Rise In The South

I just read a New York Times article that talks about the rise of mixed couples in the Deep South. It detailed the life of a family living in Greenville, Ms.
All I can say is, more power to them!
Personally, I don't think I could do it-be in a relationship with someone of another race and live here in the deep south. I know love is a strong emotion but I'm SURE they're dealing with some serious drama!
Question: How many of you still do a double take when you see a mixed-raced couple? C'mon, be honest!
You don't look at them and ask yourself, "What is it they found in that person, that they couldn't find in someone within their own race?" Yep! I know you do!!!
Especially when it's a black man and a white woman. Black women will lose their doggone minds!!!!
"What's he doing with her?"
"That's an insult to all black women!"
You know how you guys do! lol!
Well, let's hope this couple of all couples who are involved in a mixed relationship/marriage can survive any drama or hostility thrown their way, because I'm sure it's coming-from both ends.

I'm Back.......I Think (Random Blog)

Over the last month or so, my desire to blog has been rather non-existent.

Blame it on me wrapping myself up in other projects I'm working on.

Blame it on a heartbreaking end to a relationship with the person I thought was my soul mate.

Blame it on............WHATEVER!

But, I'm trying to move forward and keep the momentum building.

So, I guess what I'm saying is.........

I'M BACK........I think!

Anway......please be patient with me as I attempt to get my mojo back.

New blogs coming this week!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration

Neo Soul Saturday

African American Woman Attempts To Make History At The University of Alabama

In the mid 70s, Cleo Thomas became the first African American elected as SGA President at the University of Alabama. Since then, no one of color has even come close. But this year, there's a strong possibilty that it may happen again. This time, it's a young African American woman name Coresa Nancy Hogan from Birmingham, Al. Ms. Hogan has far too many accomplishments for me to list here on the blog, but please check visit her website  
nancyforua

This is a very important election because for years, the SGA at the University of Alabama has been run by a group of fraternities and soroities known as "The Machine". They were once called the young, educated, college version of the KKK because of their willingness to do anything to keep control over the university, this includes violence.
In 1993 a candidate who was not a member of "The Machine" ran for SGA President was asked to withdraw from the race so that "The Machine" could guarantee a victory. He refused and a few weeks later was beaten and stabbed with a knife. Shortly after the incident, he withdrew from the race. Yes, it's that serious!
I'm not speaking those things over this election but I just wanted to let you know the historic nature of what we're dealing with. Please keep Nancy and her family in your prayers.

Protests In Miami Over Police Brutality!

I am totally against police brutality in any form or fashion. The city of Miami has experienced seven police related murders in seven months and two of the men were unarmed. There should be a full investigation and if found guilty, those officers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
HOWEVER!
I can not understand why my people are so quick to march against police brutality but sit quietly while thugs in our own neighborhoods brutalize each other every day. Miami has one of the highest murder rates in the country. The "Pork & Beans" neighborhood was known for their violence way before the show "The First 48" made it famous. Yet, I don't see anybody marching and protesting about that!
I don't see Rev. Al Sharpton showing up to make a formal request to the justice department to investigate those murders!
I understand that you need a high profile "black leader" (I hate that term) to get your point across and bring attention to the case. But can we please start showing the same kind of outrage when murders are committed by our own people against our own?

Have You Guys Seen This Video?

I've seen all kind of reactions to this video. Personally, I love it! What do you think?

Another Senseless Murder

This week in Jackson, Ms. 24 year old Terrie Robinson was charged with murder after her 3 year old son Tristian Robinson was found dead in an oven........yes, you read correctly.......AN OVEN! Authorities say the child suffered trauma to the head and was believed to be alive when he was placed into the oven. A second child found in the home was placed in DHS.
I almost fell out of my chair when I read that her twin sister was upset that people were "judging her sister". Sherie Robinson said, "People shouldn't judge my sister until all of the facts are in."
Ummm......yeah.....OK.......whatever lady!
I know that's your sister but the facts are, your sister admitted to authorites that she did it... CASE CLOSED!
If there's ever a case that is fit for the death penalty, this is it.  

The "Barber of Birmingham" Documentary

As a child growing up in Birmingham, Al, I often heard people talk about this group of people called the "Foot Soldiers". These were the people who weren't as well known as Dr. King but did just as much if not more for the advancement of the movement. One of those people was Mr. James Armstrong. In 1957, Mr. Armstrong sued the city of Birmingham to allow his sons to attend an all white elementary school. At the time, his boys were 11 and 9 years old. I may be off on the age but it's not about the age. It's about a man so dedicated to the cause that he would put his sons in harm's way so that you and I could get an education. That incident is what really kicked off the movement here in Birmingham.
Mr. Armstrong was known as "The Barber" because whenever Dr. King or anyone else (black or white) came to town, they would go see Mr. Armstrong to get a haircut. There were several other wonderful barbers in the city, but Mr. Armstrong was the man! My granddaddy, who literally lived down the street from Mr. Armstrong's shop would sometimes take me and my brother by there on a Saturday morning, not to get a haircut, but to listen to the men talk. I think I was about 10 years old but I always knew, that once we went into Mr. Armstrong's shop, we were expected to sit up straight, say "yes sir/no sir" and keep our mouths CLOSED! I may have gotten popped in the mouth once or twice for talking (imagine that), but back then, you HAD to obey. You had to be respectful! You couldn't walk into a barber shop smelling like weed or with your pants sagging. You couldn't use profanity or be disrespectful with your language. You HAD to respect your elders! Even the discussions in Mr. Armstrong's shop were different. He had this sign that read, "If you don't vote, don't talk politics in here."
Mr. Armstrong passed away in 2009 which means he was able to witness the election of Barack Obama. Can you imagine what was going through his mind as he watched a black man take the oath of office for President of The United States? Well, fortunately, you don't have to imagine. The "Barber of Birmingham" follows Mr. Armstrong as the events unfold. I just came back from the premiere and it was amazing! If you get the opportunity to see this documentary that was given five stars by the Sundance Film Festival, please check it out. You owe it to yourself and your children to do so.
 barberofbirmingham.com

Not Another One!

Have you ever met someone who goes out of his way to try and convince people, he's not the typical black man? You know the type; He's always trying to rub elbows with management, he listens to soft rock music, he becomes a card carrying, Obama bashing, Conservative and of course, to top it off, he marries a white woman. I have no problem with a black man or ANY man marrying any woman he wants to. Matter of fact, I'm thinking about dating outside my race, myself. (Calm down! It was a joke!)
But seriously, it never fails that when these type of men get in trouble, the first thing they want to do is play the race card. That's what ESPN baseball writer Howard Bryant did when he was caught choking his wife......IN PUBLIC.
He had the audacity to say, "If it were a white man choking his wife, the police wouldn't have arrested him so quickly!
*blank stare & deer in the headlights look*
NEGRO PLEASE!
It doesn't matter what color you are, if you put your hands on a woman (especially in public) you're going to jail! It's amazing how these type of men all of a sudden want to be black when the law get at them. But what's more amazing is how the black community will look the other way at the crime and embrace them. I'm willing to bet anybody anything they want to bet that Mr. Bryant's next move will be to call Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. And I'm willing to double that bet that one of them  will come to his defense!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration

A Black Eye For All HBCUs

*This week, a massive brawl broke out in the cafeteria at Alabama State University (a place I know VERY well) between members of the football team and students from Mobile, Al.
*Last week, there was a brawl between Bethune-Cookman and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore girl's basketball team in which some members were expelled from school.
*Last month, there was another brawl at another basketball game involving two HBCUs.
*Southern University is mourning the lost of two of it's students, both killed within the last 3 days. Ferdinand Dorsey was shot to death after an on campus fight and Sheena Barnett was beaten to death and set on fire. Another man connected to that case is fighting for his life right now.

What the hell is going on at our HBCUs?
Is this generation so far gone that even college students behave like thugs on the street?
Are things that much different now from when I was at Alabama State in 1990? I don't recall brawls breaking out at basketball games or people hitting police officers in the head with chairs as happened in the brawl at ASU.(Well, there was that one time when a Que knocked a security guard out for trying to break their line while they were stepping).
But other than that, there really wasn't anything major. Certainly not to the level we see now. By the way, that Que who knocked out the security officer is now a state Senator. For some reason the kids in the above video don't strike me as the political type.
I know there are many great things being done at HBCUs all over the country, but lately, these incidents have given ALL HBCUs a black eye.

Racist or Common Sense?

A few months ago the city of Memphis made national news for having 90 girls pregnant at one of it's high schools. With that being the backdrop, you could imagine the reaction from the mostly white parents of the Shelby County school system when the idea of consolidating the Memphis City School system with theirs came up. The Shelby County schools have excelled academically while the city schools have fallen far behind. I admit that I don't know all of the back room politics of this move. On the surface it appears that the city schools want to merge with the county schools because the county schools will provide the 150,000 city students an opportunity for a better education. I'm one of those people who think kids CAN excel in the city schools. But is it really that simple? Maybe......maybe not.
But now black parents and school officials from the city schools have called the parents and officials of the mostly white county schools racist for objecting to the move.
Is it racist or common sense?
Is it racist to want your children to remain isolated from an environment that makes it possible for 90 girls to get pregnant at one school?
Or
Is it common sense?
It is racist to want your children to remain in an environment where they don't have to worry about fights everyday?
Or
Is it common sense?
My son is a freshmam and attends a Birmingham City (magnet) school. As of this past weekend, there have been 3 fights since the beginning of the school year. On the contrary, a friend of mines daughter attends a Birmingham City school on the other side of town and her school had 3 fights last week. At that same school, on the first day of school, a fight broke out between two girls. One girl was a freshman, the other a junior. They were fighting in the middle of the street when the mother of the girl who is a junior pulled up in her car. Instead of breaking up the fight, she (and her son) joined her daughter in beating up the freshman.
Let me say that again.
The PARENT helped her daughter beat up the other girl, then had the audacity to get mad at the principal who told her she should act more responsible.
My point is this:
It doesn't matter what color you are. As a parent there are certain type of people (black or white) I don't want my children attending classes with.
I don't want my children attending classes with the daughter (or son) of a parent who would join a fight instead of breaking it up.
 I don't want my children going to school with children whose parents will blame the teacher instead of the student (or themselves) for getting a failing grade.
I don't want my children going to school with a student that will hinder them from getting an education because of their loud and unruly behavior.
If all of those things are going on in the Memphis City Schools (as many BLACK parents have said). Why all the accusations about race?
Am I missing something here?
Is this racist or common sense?
The people of Memphis will decide on March 8th. Will keep you posted.

Neo Soul Saturday

Another Senseless Murder

This one comes from Philadelphia and may be the saddest of them all. A 16 year old boy murdered his mother after she took away his playstation game. Yes, you read that correctly! He hit her 20 times with a claw hammer as she slept. After he killed her, he tried to cremate her by sticking her body in the oven. When that didn't work, he took a chair leg and bashed her head in and dumped her lifeless body in the alley behind their home. Asked why he killed his 37 year old mother, the teen said, "I couldn't stand the arguing."
 I don't know how these kids have become so violent. I don't know if the video games, music they listen to or just built up anger of not having a male role model in their lives. I think it may be more of the latter. I encourage all men who read this blog to try to get involved in a mentoring program or something that will attempt to stop the senseless murders that are taking place in our communities.

My Crazy Football State of Alabama

(Can't believe I'm posting an Auburn picture on my blog)
In the early 1900s, a drug store owner named Mr. Toomer used to litter the oak tree in front of his store with paper to let the locals know the Auburn football team won their road game. That tradition grew into Auburn folks throwing toliet tissue in the tree after winning EVERY game. I know.........I know.......sounds stupid......but every team and fanbase has a stupid tradition. I believe those traditions should be respected regardless whether people think it's stupid or not. That's what makes college football and other sports so great.
Last November, the number one ranked Auburn Tigers came back from a 24-0 deficit to beat my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide, their biggest rival. Auburn fans rolled Toomer's Corner for days celebrating the victory and the chance to play for the BCS National title.
(thoughts of that game is LITERALLY making me want to throw up again)
I'M SERIOUS!
Ok, I'm back..........
A few days later, some mentally disturbed idiot poisoned the tree at Toomer's Corner. A couple of months later he had the audacity to call into a sports radio show and brag about it. I was listening to the show as the guy called in and told the host (Paul Finebaum) exactly what he used to poison the tree. He also gave his name and told people where he lived. Like many others, I thought this fool was just crying sour grapes over the Alabama lost. Turns out he was telling the truth. The tree is now dying and the man who called the show has been arrested and is now facing time behind bars.
Only in the football crazed state of Alabama will something like this happen. YES, we take our football serious, but this isn't a representation of all SEC fans, Alabama fans or the people in the great state of Alabama. But it is a representation of the deep rooted hatred of the greatest rivalry is sports.