Dr. Martin Luther 'the' King

Earl G. Graves Sr., Founder & Publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, issued the following statement regarding the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

In his unforgettable I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.’ On April 4, 1968—the very next day—King’s words proved heartbreakingly prophetic when he was felled by an assassin’s bullet.

Dr. King never witnessed the progress that African Americans and the nation would make as a result of his faith and sacrifice—from the signing of the Civil Rights Act by President Lyndon Johnson to Sen. Barack Obama’s historic presidential run. But as certain as King may have been about his own fate, he was even more convinced that the rest of his prophetic vision—justice, fairness, and equality for all Americans—would someday come to pass.

Today, someday seems closer than ever. Yes, America continues to be plagued by many of the ills King opposed, including racism; hatred; violence; economic inequality; and a costly, senseless war. However, we now take for granted accomplishments we previously only dared to hope for. Blacks are astronauts, world-class surgeons, Wall Street financiers, state governors, and CEOs of multinational companies. Hope for the future, belief in our limitless potential, and a sense of our collective destiny as Americans have all made a comeback—stirred up by the tidal wave of political engagement inspired by Obama. In fact, thanks to the historic presidential campaigns of Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, for the first time in the nation’s history we can tell our children—all of our children—that they can dare to be anything, even the President, and really believe it in our own hearts.

Given all that he sacrificed, we now recognize that King’s push for the ultimate triumph of justice, righteousness, and equality was not in vain.

ALSO...This weekend on a very special edition of Our World with Black Enterprise, we spend the entire half-hour remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy. Among those Civil Right leaders who remember Dr. King on the 40th commemoration of his assassination are Andrew Young, John Lewis, Dorothy Height, Jesse Jackson, Earl G. Graves Sr., Rev. Samuel Kyles and Clarence Jones.

To catch this episode, tune into TVOne at 1PM (New York viewers) on Sunday or for more listings, visit: http://ourworld.blackenterprise.com

Until next time...

Be Seen at the Top!

Few More Rivers to Cross. . .

I don't engage in political talk often. It’s like playing Monopoly- the conversation will NEVER end and no one ever really wins. . However, I can't help but engage myself in the banter surrounding this historical election race that we have currently found ourselves in. . . . ahhh. .there's that word again: race.

Race
1 : the act of running
2 a: a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock
b: a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics
from Merriam-Webster online.

Ironically, we are witness to a race (act of running for office) in which two candidates are attempting to use race (a class or kind of people unified by shared interests) to divide and conquer. What should have been an inspiring walk into history has become a race about race. . .

Case in point:

"I got up and the question was asked, 'Why do you think Barack Obama is in the place he is today" as the party's delegate front-runner? I said in large measure, because he is black. I said, Let me also say in 1984 -- and if I have said it once, I have said it 20, 60, 100 times -- in 1984, if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would never have been the nominee for vice president."
In her first interview with Daily Breeze, published late last week, Ferraro said, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

That's called propaganda folks, and team Clinton is full of it. I mean honestly, what does any of this have to do with the state of economy? War in Iraq? Healthcare? Exactly. .

I am having a hard time believing that Senator Clinton thought a simple brush off on her behalf was going to cut it, especially after her people called for the head of Obama's former foriegn policy advisor for a benign off-the-record comment (which may have had some truth to it. . ). The audacity of Ms. Farraro is simply beyond me; I can't understand how she, not only emphatically made her point and defended it, but resigned only such that she might "speak for myself and you (Clinton) continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign. . The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you (Clinton). I won't let that happen." Not a lick of remorse in that statement. I can only imagine that Shirley Chisholm is rolling around in her grave. . .
Obama's retort, on the other hand, was simply classic: “Let me put it this way. . if you were to get a handbook on what's the path to the Presidency, I don't think that the handbook would start by saying, be an African-American named Barack Obama. I don't think that would be generally be considered an advantage. . . .Anybody who is aware of our history understands that there are some barriers to knock down, the same way there are barriers if a woman is running. . ."
Address. Explain. Move on. . .
(Quote courtesy of Today Show: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23589533#23589533)

Unfortunately, we've got six weeks until the next major primary in Pennsylvania. Great. Six weeks of party-dividing, border-line offensive, strategically defensive political jargon. But at least we have Spitzer to thank for diverting the media for the meantime. . and for allowing for a blind, African-American man to take the Governor's seat for the first time in New York.

. . there's another river we just crossed :)

N

We're Forgetting About AIDS

As I waited for the bus today, another bus passed across the street with a giant Kenneth Cole Ad which read" We're ForGetiing AIDS. And all I could do was shake my head and think how true it is. I am recently single again and so have been discussing these issues more with my girlfriends and I have been utterly surprised and baffled by their attitudes about sex.

Case in point: One of my girlfriends is extremely intelligent, went to a good university, law school, works for one of the top law firms. She is on top of everything- wouldn't dream of paying a bill late, has substantial savings, just all around has her stuff together. She recently found out that someone that she has a casual sexual relationship with has had 75 sexual partners in his life!!! They don't use protection. This is the same woman who wouldn't drink after me if all we had was one canteen and we'd been walking across the Sahara desert for ten days.

But, this is not an isolated case. Out of all the single friends I've discussed this with, not one of them practices safe sex even most of the time. I understand that sometimes things happen and mistakes are made, but none of them even really seems concerned about it or tries to make it a regular practice. And they all have justifications. "He's a doctor- I know he doesn't have anything." (Honey, do you really think you are the ONLY person he's having unprotected sex with?) or "I'm on birth control." (Please, a baby is not the worst thing that could happen to you!) Or "He doesn't like to use them." (If he doesn't like to use them with you then he doesn't like to use them with anybody.) Or the ever popular "He didn't have a condom." (Hmmm, make him go to Duane Reade and get some or better yet, carry your own.") Most of my friends wouldn't dream of carrying their own condoms because they'll "look like a slut." In general, I tend to carry one even if I have absolutely no plans of using it. I think it's just a good habit. And if you insist on seeming innocent and pure, wait until it's clear that he doesn't have one to present your own. But really, if it gets that far and he wasn't planning on using anything, I would have to rethink this person as a potential partner.

As the World Votes...

So by now, a good number of us have voted. We thought long and hard about who we wanted to win the chair. But did you really? Did you think about it that hard? Or did you just go with the Black man, the White woman, the religous right, or the most PC choice? Are you able to answer key and crucial questions about the person you voted for? Hmmmmm.

Some one sent the YouTube video to me. I checked it out and thought it was interesting. The kid in this video actually did me proud. He knows key information about the candidate he chose to support and is able to back up the poster he so proudly displays. Can you do the same? Or is the election not that important to you?

For some, it still isn't. People (young and old) STILL don't vote. I don't understand why. Because your 1 vote doesn't count? Because you don't have time? It's too far? You never looked to see actually where you are supposed to vote?

I moved and didn't submit my new mailing address. Therefore, I had to go over a river and through some hoods to get to my voting block. And you can bet your Iraqian inked finger I got there. But, hey, that's just me and my one vote.



Be Seen at the Top!

~B.Lee

Kanye's Flahsing Lights Video

Have you seen this already? I believe this is a partial. Is it just me... because I don't get it. But then again, it is Kanye. I am interested to see where the rest of it goes.




~B

Going Polar

In ones professional and personal fiscal journey, there are many stages of success and newfound levels of achievement that they encounter. Many of these stages can be furtive and clothed in levels of grey because they are not instantly evident. They are the subtle results of discipline, focused effort, foresight, and positioning. Unless you are one of the lucky few that came up very suddenly, success plays out as a journey where cosmetic improvements and an upgraded change of scenery occur naturally and without abrupt modifications to your livelihood. You might notice that you have a taste for top shelf liquor recently or that your cube TV might have metamorphosized into a nice plasma. These occurrences happen when you come-up but you are not going to gut your apartment and then order all new furniture and accoutrements all of the sudden. Success is time consuming. But the question I ask of you today is, when in one’s success journey, does their recently former way of life get played out and not good enough for them anymore? When does the luster of a 5 star hotel suite become customary or even passé to a sports figurehead? When does a model, or a straight 10 become obsolete and interchangeable to an entertainer? And when (even for the moderately successful brother or sister out there) does waiting an extra minute and a half for your valet car exasperate you when you could have been wearing that red vest in the not so distant past. I call that increasing lack of empathy for those on a lower tier and mounting shallowness regarding your good fortune “going polar”. I only use that term for the abusers of their own privilege. Im not saying go hang on the block you used to in high school so you can prove that your keepin in real, im saying just don’t cuss out your intern cause he brought back 2% milk in your latte when you told him skim. Always keep your considerate mind and wits about you as you transcend up that slippery slope called success. Because if you slip you will be kept company by the ones that you shitted on when you were on the other side of the velvet rope. Peace

I hate to break this to you, but. . .

. . these are some inevitable truths that 2008 has already presented us:

a) Britney really has lost it, poor thing. .
b) Race is still an issue on the Presidential campaign trail.
c) There hasn’t been a real “dynasty” in major league sports since the 90s.
d) The dollar in your pocket isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on outside of the U.S.
e) The Writers Strike is not letting up anytime soon.

While I’d love to dialogue about all of these revelations, let’s be honest, by the time it’s all said and done, you’re probably gonna miss the last two new episodes of your favorite show. . . .and given the circumstances, you might not want to waste that precious time.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the ever-present Writer’s Strike, here’s a brief re-cap of the situation:

The Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West are labor unions which represent film, radio, and television writers. The two unions, are striking against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over the WGA contract as it pertains to “DVD residuals; jurisdiction over animation and reality program writers; and, perhaps most importantly, compensation for "new media"-- content written for (or distributed through) emerging digital technology such as the Internet.” (cited: from “2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike”: http://www.wikipedia.org/). In other words, David is standing up to Goliath and we’re all suffering the consequences.

Basically, the writers want to negoiate a new contract to ensure that they are being fairly compensated (residuals) for all forms of new media in which their work is broadcast (TiVo, online streaming, iTunes, etc.) and for reprints/re-runs of their work (DVDs, etc.).

With no end in sight, the real question becomes how will you fill your time? For those of you who, like me are cable-babies and are already experiencing withdrawal symptoms, I would like to offer some tips in order to fill the estimated 3.5 hours daily you used to spend watching TV:

1) Start from the beginning and watch the re-runs of your favorite shows or rent/buy DVDs. -Reminisce on how it all began. . . .

2) DVR your shows now and don’t watch them
-Kind of like spreading the jam a little thinner on the sandwich, make ‘em last as long as possible. (then if you were smart, cancel your cable until the strike is over- ain’t nothing on anyway. . .)

3) Find a friend -There’s probably one or two that you haven’t heard from in a while.

4) Watch more YouTube
-People never cease to amaze me at the things they put out for the public to see.

5) Read a book
-I know this foreign for most of you who haven’t picked up a book since college, but give it a try.

6) If you’re single, go on more dates. If you’re not, compromise and refer to bullet #2.

7) Have a house party.

8) Give into “reality TV”
– American Idol, FOL3, Celebrity Apprentice, ANTM (season 10 –please make it stop!), Project Runway, Top Chef, Deal or No Deal, etc.

9) Succeed in actually fulfilling your New Year’s Resolution.

10) Keep reading The Collective. We promise to education and entertain!

More than just getting your mind right...

On Tuesday (Jan 8th), friend to the family and mentor Terrie M. Williams released her most revealing work Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting. This book serves as a wake up call to the Black Community, especially those dealing with pain and depression. The book came as a result of the enormous out-cry of help/relief/need from her 2005 article in Essence Magazine in which Terrie shared a very private and sensitive chronicle of the years she spent masking her depression and putting on her game-face. Terrie is a trained social worker and founder of The Stay Strong Foundation, so one would think that she would know how to deal with depression. This goes to show you that EVERYONE can be affected.

All too often, we ignore the signs of depression by saying, “Oh, she is just crazy.” “You just need to give it over to the Lord.” “Stop acting out!” Instead of looking at the underlining cause of many problems, we simply brush it under the rug and categorize our strife and something else.

This book gives a voice to the disease. Through her personal accounts, those of everyday people and even personal stories given by celebrities, Terrie shows that depression is prevalent in the Black community. She offers hope and proves real talk for when there is nowhere to go but up.

For more information on Black Pain, visit http://www.thestaystrongfoundation.org/ or email at twms@terriewilliams.com








Until next time...

Be Seen at the Top!