Sunday Praise & Inspiration; MANIFEST

The dream, the vision, the promise that God has spoken over my life and yours, WILL come to past!

I declare it and decree it in the name of Jesus!

AMEN!

#manifest

Neo Soul Saturday: Al Green & Anthony Hamilton

Old school meets new school.

Hope you enjoy!

The War Against Black Media

During this past election season, we heard about
"The War Against Women".
Some people have even questioned if there's a
"War Against Christmas".
And just recently, I read where the clowns at Fox News tried to convince their gulliable viewers that there's a
"War Against Easter."
But have you heard about,
"The War Against Black Media"?

In the last couple of months:
*Soledad O'Brien's morning show was cancelled by CNN.
* Roland Martin will no longer appear on CNN because the network refused to renew his contract.
* Michael Baisden's nationally syndicated radio show was abruptly cancelled, and he was locked out of his studios, after executives refused to re-negotiate his contract.
*Attorney Warren Ballentine's nationally syndicated radio show was cancelled after he was falsely indicted on mortgage fraud charges.
*Bev Smith's show was also cancelled because of  poor ratings-despite the fact that she had the highest ratings of her twenty plus year career in radio.
*T.J. Holmes' nightly show- "Don't Sleep with T.J. Holmes" was cancelled by BET (which is owned by Viacom) after only one month on the air.

There are literally dozens of others I can tell you about, but I think you get the picture.
Joe Madison-whose show airs on the Urban View channel on sirius XM- recently quoted statistics that showed blacks and latinos are more involved in the political process today, than at any other time in this country's history.
And some of these shows and personalities are the main reason why.
I've never been a conspiracy theorist, but either the cancellation of these shows is one hell of a coincidence, or there's a serious war taking place against the black media.
I think it's the latter!

Brown Skin

Back in the day, I used to be crazy about light-skinned women!
In fact, there was a time when the only type of woman I would date were light-skinned women.
Like so many guys, I used to think that light-skinned women were prettier than "those little dark-skinned girls".
I'm still not sure why I used to think that.
Maybe it was because whenever I turned on the televsion, all the prominent roles featuring black women were played by light-skinned women.
Or when I watched music videos, all of the beautiful models were light-skinned.
I'm not sure!

But as I got older, I began to realize that a woman's skin complexion didn't make her beautiful-her personality is what made her beautiful.
Once I realized that, I began to gain a greater appreciation for dark-skinned women.
Not only only did I gain a greater appreciation for them, but I developed a full-fledged love affair with them.
So much so, that lately, I've only dated dark-skinned women.


One of the things that I find so attractive about dark-skinned women is the fact that after hearing crazy things like;
"You sure are pretty, to be a dark-skinned girl", some of them are still confident and secure enough to believe that they're the most beautiful woman walking the face of the earth.
Nobody personalified that type of attitude more than India Arie.
In a society that promotes white women as the standard of beauty, and in a community and industry that promotes light-skinned, black women as their counterpart-India has always fought the establishment by releasing songs like;
"I Am Not My Hair" and "Video".
She's never been ashamed of her beautiful dark-skin "Brown Skin".

That's why last week when I saw photos of her upcoming CD cover, I had to do a double-take and ask myself;
"Who is this light-skinned chick?"
"Who is this chick with the tight dress on?"
Surely this is not India Arie!
Surely she's not conforming to the system.
Surely she hasn't fallen victim to the same establishment she fought so hard against.
I haven't read the follow-up to this story, but I'm hoping it's all a big misunderstanding!
I'm hoping that she won't do like so many others before her, and abandon her beautiful "Brown Skin".

It's Been A Long Time

*rapping*
(in my Rakim voice)

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't left you, without a strong blog to vibe to, think of how many weak blogs you've flipped through, times up, sorry I kept you!"

Wait a minute.
Why the side-eye?
You didn't like my rap?
You didn't?
Why?
I should stick to blogging?
(oh you got jokes)
Ok, fine!
I can take a hint!
But back in tha day, I could rock a mic with the best of them.
Ok, I'm lying! I couldn't rap at ALL! (lol)
But when I was sixteen years old, I wanted to be Rakim..........AND Jon Bon Jovi.........
ANYWAY..............
It's been a minute since I've sat in the chair and conducted any meetings here in The Board Room.
But I'm back and I'm ready to discuss some of the political, social, and religious issues that's taking place in our community.
Are you still with me?
Cool!
Let's Get It!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration: Darwin Hobbs

Neo Soul Saturday: Emeli Sande

She's been called the U.K.'s version of Alicia Keys.

She's the hottest thing on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and it's just a matter of time before she blow up in the U.S.

Her name is Emeli Sande.

Her voice is amazing and so are the lyrics to this song,
 (at least I think so).

Check her out!

The Karma Continues

 

Remember all of the doom and gloom republicans were predicting would happen if the president was re-elected?

Remember how they claimed businesses would stop hiring and the stock market would tank?

Remember how they claimed that over half of all Americans disliked the president?

Remember how they claimed business owners would be forced to lay people off because of "Obamacare"?

 

Many of these scare tactics were promoted by the clowns  fine journalists over at Fox "News" in an effort to get you to vote against President Obama  for Mitt Romney.

 

Well yesterday, CNN (and every other major news outlet except you know who) reported that the Dow closed above 14,000 on Friday for the first time since October 2007 as all 3 major stock indexes posted gains for a fifth straight week.

*The Dow Jones industrial average finished up nearly 150 points for the day after reports on the job market, manufacturing sector, construction spending and consumer sentiment, which all pointed to a healthy economic recovery.

 

IN OTHER NEWS: It was also reported this week, (by every major news outlet except you know who), that the president's ratings are at an all time high, MSNBC ratings are up, and Fox "News" primetime ratings are at it's lowest point in 12 years.

 

#hellokarma(again)

 

Farewell Dr. James Hood

Yesterday, in Gadsden, Alabama, Dr. James Hood was laid to rest.
In 1963, Dr. Hood - along with Vivian Malone (shown in the above picture) - were the first African-American students to integrate the University of Alabama.
As you can imagine, they were met with major resistance.
One of those resistant forces included then-Governor George Wallace standing in the front door of the admissions office to block their entrance.
After a federal court order, Dr. Hood and Ms. Malone were admitted and the rest, as they say, is history.

Dr. Hood left the university after only a few months and moved to Michigan where he received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University, and his master's degree from Michigan State University. He later returned to the University of Alabama and earned his doctorate.

Dr. James Hood was 70 years old.

Farewell !

*Vivian Malone Jones passed away in 2005*

Are You Ready For 2013?

I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for supporting this blog.

We've come a long way and in 2013, we're taking The Board Room to another level.

Some time in the early spring, I will launch The Board Room w/ Mod Lumpkin on blog talk radio.

That way, you can sound off about the blogs you read here in The Board Room and anything else you want to talk about.

Also in another month or so, I will FINALLY complete a book that I've been working on for nearly two years. And I promise you, it's a page turner that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

There are so many other things I'm believing God for in 2013 that I will share with you at a later date.

But for now, just sit back and enjoy the premiere blog in the blogasphere.

You may not agree with everything I write, but hopefully, you'll read something that will encourage you to seek a relationship with God, become active in your community and challenge you to chase your dreams!

Happy New Year
Peace & Blessings,

Mod Lumpkin
The Chairman of The Board

Alicia Chantae Moore

While the rest of us focused on the election, a family was looking for their 16 year old daughter.

 Alicia Chantae Moore of Greensville, Texas was last seen getting off of a school bus on Nov. 2.

Unfortunately, Alicia's fragile body was found late last week stuffed in a trunk on the side of the road 35 miles away from her home.

As of this blog post no arrests have been made.

If anyone has any information about this case, please contact the Greenville, Texas police department.

There is a $15,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest, and you don't have to give your name.

Read The Sign

It's been ten days and conservatives are still crying over the re-election of President Barack Obama.

Here are a few examples;

*That brilliant scholar Ted Nugent asked the question that intellectuals will be debating for generations to come. He asked, "What subhuman varmit believes others must pay for their obesity, booze, cellphones, birth control and abortion!
Ahhhhhhhhh! (Ted got deep on us)
Then he made the analytical observation of the decade.
He said, "Pimp whores and welfare brats voted for economic and spiritual suicide."
(I feel so enlightened)

*Bill O'Reilly on election night declared, "The 'White Establishment' is now the minority because minorities don't want to work anymore-they want 'free stuff', and Obuma is the only person who will give them 'free stuff'.
(that was pretty tame for Billy Boy)

*A jewelry store owner in Virginia protested the re-election by closing his store for a few days for a 'mourning period' for America.
(I heard he lost 30% of his customers when he re-opened)

*A teacher at Lindsey-McKenley High School in Louisiana posted this on her facebook page,
"Congrats to those dependent on government, homosexuals, potheads, Jay-Z fans, non-christians, non-taxpayers, illegals, communists, muslims, planned murder clinics, enemies, of America and Satan, you won!"
Again, this is a HIGH SCHOOL teacher!
(Her suspension is pending)

*Even Mitt Romney said on a teleconference to his top donors that Obama won because he promised people 'free stuff'.
(Loser)

I have no desire to take apart any of these outlandish/borderline racist comments.
I will simply direct you to read the sign at the top of this post.

Karma ! ! !

Let me get straight to the point!
Allen West is one of the most pathetic politicians people that I've ever seen.
Yeah, yeah, yeah...........
I know he served his country and was a colonel, or whatever in the Army.
But he's also part of the reason this country is so divided.
Not only has he went out of his way to criticize the president and first lady, but he's been very critical of black people who supported him.
Truthfully, I believe he was elected in Florida because he was willing to say things about black people that white people in his district couldn't say without being called racist.
And he relished in that role.
He once sent a bucket of fried chicken to the Congressional Black Caucus as a 'peace offering'.
I mean, there's something truly wrong with this man.
He's the perfect portrait of self-hatred, as many black conservatives are.
Well, I take that back!
That's not a fair statement!
There are plenty of decent black conservatives.
There's Michael Steele........
There's Lenny McAllister........
There's Tara Wall...........
There's Joe Watkins.......
And the list goes on and on.
But Allen West falls more into the category of Clarence Thomas, Ron Christie and others who appear to have a serious disdain for anyone who looks like them.

As you know, voter suppression was a really big issue in this election-especially in the state of Florida.
Gov. Rick Scott wasn't shy about his efforts to scale back early voting, and Allen West defended his from criticism.
He said, "This is America, where democracy lives. There's no such thing as voter suppression.
'These black people' are just looking for an excuse to use when Obama loses the election."
Well, guess what.
Not only did the president win re-election, but Mr. West lost his senate seat.
But "Mr. Democracy" wasn't willing to accept the will of the people.
Nooooo..........
He claimed that the county commissioner rigged the election by,
*wait for it*
Suppressing the votes of his supporters!
And he didn't stop there!
He's now demanding a full recount and threatening to take his case all the way to the supreme court.
What a loser!
When I first saw this story, I thought it was funny.
But the more I think about it, it's not funny at all.
I think Mr. West is reaping what he sowed.
I think Mr. West is experiencing good, old-fashioned...........KARMA!

Sunday Praise & Inspiration

Neo Soul Saturday: Amel Larrieux

Celebration Time Is Over!

Meet Denise Helms, she's a 22 year old woman from Califormia.

The day after the election, she suggested on her facebook page that the POTUS should be assassinated.

The same day, Peter Brant II- the son of a billionaire confessed  joked about 'contingency plans' that were already in place to assassinate the president.

*side note*
When billionaires invest almost a billion dollars to get someone out of office, and they don't succeed-do you really think they're going to just sit back and not attempt to get a return on their investment?

I'm not saying this to scare you-I'm saying this to warn you!

Many of you may be shocked to read and hear about such things, but I'm not.

I've been paying attention to these people, and I know that they're serious.

That's why I'm telling you that celebration time is over!

It's time to start praying!

Ghosts of Ole Miss

Ok, raise your hand if you're familiar with ESPN's 30 for 30 series?
*counts hands*
Ok, cool!
Now, raise your hands if you've seen 'Ghosts of Ole Miss'.
*counts hands again*
Hmmm.......not that many hands raised.
For those of you with your hands down, let me tell you what it's about.

In 1962, James Meredith was attempting to become the first black student to intergrate the University of Mississippi.
At the same time, the Ole Miss football team was chasing a national championship.
The two worlds collided when Mr. Meredith's admission to the university set off riots.
It was so bad that the national guard had to come in to protect him.
Klaverns of the KKK and racists from all over the south converged on the campus in Oxford to fight off-what they described as- the "government takeover" of their school, and "big government" trying to tell them what to do.
Sound familiar?
What happened next was something that this part of the country will never forget.
Mr. Meredith was harrassed, beaten, and even shot one day while walking to class.
The national guard had to protect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the rest of the school year.
The Ole Miss football team went undefeated, but the violence and images of the riots caused a backlash among voters, and the national championship was awarded to another team.

Fifty years later, Ole Miss has it's first black SGA president.
Last week, they crowned their first black Homecoming Queen.
On the surface, the state looked like it had moved forward.
But the 'Ghost of Ole Miss' reared it's ugly head to remind us all, that racism, bigotry and hatred is still alive and well in the Magnolia state.
Check out the video:

Yep!
These are the descendents of those same people that beat, spat on, and shot James Meredith.
Their behavior is a learned behavior, and the only way to change their behavior is to start punishing the beloved institutions that their 'honorable parents and grandparents' adore.
Example:
The day after the election, I was listening to a sports talk radio show here in Birmingham, Al. when a caller called in to talk about the election and to voice his disdain for the president.
He said, " 'Obuma' may have won re-election, but he didn't win the state of AlaBAMA and he didn't win the SOUF."
(that's SOUTH for those of you who don't speak 'redneck')
Then he said, "I wish these democrats would move to the 'nourth' with the rest of dem' damn liberals."
You know what?
I agree with him!
And when we move, we should take all of these black football players from the university of Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and the rest of the SEC with us.

You see, they love us as long as we're running up and down a football field, or dunking a basketball.
But the moment we step off the field and into the political arena, it's a problem.
That type of thinking is what led to the small-scale riot at Ole Miss.
It's time to kill these ghosts!
And the way to kill them is not by using violence (although I'm prepared if it comes to that).
No, the way to fight them is to use our power-political and, yes, athletically.
I wonder how these students would react if their 2012 football team resemblemed their 1962 team?
I wonder if that would get rid of 'The Ghosts of Ole Miss' once and for all.
Probably not, but it would be a start.

*disclaimer*
The majority of the universities in the SEC (Southeastern Conference) are no different than Ole Miss.

The Awakening of the Silent Majority

The race that many people (not including myself) thought would be a nail-biter, was over at 10:30 CST on election night.
Conservatives were shocked!
They couldn't believe, or understand how they lost so badly.
Well, it's quite simple!
When you go out of your way to suppress the black vote...............
When you disrespect Latinos by telling them they should 'self-deport' themselves...........
When you continue to support a man running for the senate seat in Missouri who says,"Women can't be pregnant unless it's a legitimate rape"...................
When your party's platform will force women who are raped to give birth to their rapists' child........
When your party is takes it's cue from Rush Limbaugh, SATAN Sean Hannity and gives credibility to Donald Trump..........
When all of those things happen, you piss people off.
And when you piss people off, you wake up the 'Silent Majority'.
For years, we-'The Silent Majority' has sat by and watched the hypocrisy of the GOP and said nothing publicly about it.
We've watched conservatives call this president everything but a child of God.
But when President Bush was in office, people were called un-American if you said something about him.
When the Dixie Chicks had disparaging remarks to say about President Bush, conservatives called on all radio stations to stop playing their songs. And if they didn't stop, they threatened to boycott those stations.
Yet, when Hank Williams Jr. and Ted Nuggent basically call this president a ni**er and they're exercising their free speech?
We've sat by and listened to you complain about "Taking your country back"............like it was your country to begin with.
We've watched and listened to all of those things, and finally, we've had enough!
'The Silent Majority' will be silent no longer.
Unlike 2008, we're not going away for the mid-terms.
We're not tuning out from the political process.
We're here to stay.
We are 'The Silent Majority'.

GO VOTE!

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Voting Act of 1964 into law.
Four days later, a group of about 50 people went to the Dallas County courthouse in Selma, Al. to register to vote.
Not only were they denied, but they were arrested.
The next day, a judge signed an injunction that made it illegal for two or more people to gather together and talk about voter registration.
Think about that: You couldn't even talk about registering to vote.

-Six months later on January 2, 1965, Dr. King defied that injunction and held a meeting at Brown Chapel in Selma, Alabama to plan a strategy to get people registered.
The plan was to branch out into surrounding counties and get as many people involved as possible.

-On February 18, 1965
Rev. C.T. Vivian, of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) led a march through the streets of nearby Marion, Al. to the Perry County courthouse.
That march took place late in the evening.
Local officials were ordered by the governor to turn the street lights off.
When the street lights were turned off, state troopers moved in and attacked the marchers.
Later that night, one of those state troopers followed a young man by the name of Jimmie Lee Jackson to his house. Once he got to the house, the trooper got into an altercation with Jimmie Lee Jackson's mother.
In an effort to protect his mother, Jimmie Lee fought the state trooper. Instead of fighting, the trooper pulled out his gun and shot him.
Jimmie Lee Jackson died in the hospital eight days later.
After his death, Rev. James Bevel of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) called for a march from Selma to Montgomery to confront Gov. George Wallace over Mr. Jackson's death-and to also demand that every black person in the state of Alabama have the right to vote.

-Sunday, March 7th
An estimated 500 people gathered at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to begin that march.
As they appraoched the bridge, they were met by state troopers who cited that earlier injunction and ordered the group to disband.
When they didn't, the marchers (men AND women) were sprayed with tear gas, beaten with billy clubs, brass-knuckles, chains etc.
One of those people was John Lewis, (now Congressman John Lewis of Georgia), who to this day still has the gash on the left side of his head where the billy club split his head open.
The marchers were beaten so badly, and there was so much blood shed that-that day became known as "Bloody Sunday".

-Two days later, Tuesday March 9th
Dr. King led about 2,000 people (including those same people who were beaten) out to the Edmund Pettus bridge for a prayer session. After they prayed they turned around, showing the authorities that their motive was not to break the law.
This day became known as, "Turnaround Tuesday."
Later that night, Rev. James Reeb, a WHITE minister from Boston who was there showing his support for the marchers, was beaten to death by the KKK.
His death got the attention of the national media, which put pressure on local officials to lift that earlier injunction.

-March 21st
 An estimated 10,000 people gathered once again at the Edmund Pettus Bridge to once again, march from Selma to Montgomery. They marched through rain, cold weather and other horrible elements. But those elements weren't enough to deter them from their mission-which was to confront Gov. Wallace, but more importantly, get registered to vote.
Not everyone made it the entire trip, but that's not the point.
The point is: They were determined to vote!

For those of you who don't know, the distance from Selma to Montgomery is almost 50 miles.

If these people were willing to be beaten.......
If they were willing to risk their lives.......
If they were willing to march 50 miles.........
Then why in the world can't you get up off of your sorry, lazy a** to go vote?

GO VOTE!

Politics In The Pulpit

Rev. A.R. Bernard is pastor of The Christian Culture Center in Brooklyn, New York.
It has a membership of over 30,000.
Like most influential pastors, if he tells his congregation to do something, chances are, they'll do it-simply because they trust his judgement.
And given Rev. Bernard's track record of generosity and work in the community, he's earned that trust.
But occasionally, people like Rev. A.R. Bernard will take advantage of that trust, and will make an effort to lead their congregation or community in a direction that's against their best interest.
Case and Point:
Last month, Rev. Bernard suggested to his congregation that they should stay home on election day.
His reason:
"Because the president's stance on gay marriage goes against the word of God."

For the record I don't support gay marriage, but I'm sure gay people who want to get married wouldn't support some of the things I do either-so we're even.

Rev. Bernard would have you to believe that his suggestion to his congregation was based strictly on his "religious belief".
But in my opinion, it was done based on his "political belief"!
Rev. Bernard is one of the leading voices in the black conservative movement.
And within the black conservative movement, is a network of pastors who support that movement because (let them tell it) the republican party is the party of family values, and godly principles.
(Since when did discrimination, voter suppression and outright racism become godly?)

During the civil rights movement, the FBI and local officals used black ministers to create division within the movement by encouraging them to tell their congregation not to follow Dr. King because he was an adulter.
In return for doing so, those ministers received money from the FBI.
The same thing is happening today, except today, they're receiving donations to their church from Super PACS.
If your pastor tells you NOT to vote, tell him to keep his politics out of the pulpit!