Please click over and take a look at my AOL piece: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of White Firefighters – BV Black Spin posted yesterday about the ‘New Haven 20′. Here’s an excerpt:

I’ve always been wary of the way the city of New Haven handled the results of its now infamous firefighter promotion test. It never made sense to me. When test results came back, and no black firefighters had scores high enough for immediate promotion, New Haven decided to throw out the results of the test on the grounds that the test itself may have been discriminatory and that the black firefighters might sue the city for discrimination. New Haven was not being altruistic in its concerns about “racial fairness.”

The city was afraid of getting sued and so made an unappealing judgment to simply disregard all of the test results. That’s not fair.

Please read the rest and share YOUR thoughts here.

Early appointments this morning, but check out this post from Black Web 2.0 for now:

BET Awards Dominate Twitter, Causes Racist Backlash

Here’s an excerpt:

While there was no shortage of haters on the outcome of the trending topics last night, most were related to the performances, many didn’t like the fact there was so much representation on trending topics. It seems like whenever African-American topics dominate media there are always some unhappy campers. Social Media is no different. Within hours it spawned a site on Tumblr, OMGBlackPeople.Tumblr.com. Tumblr has taken down the site since last night but the Twitter account @omgblackpeople is still alive and kicking.

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Interesting and clever promotional high jinks.

Should she go? YOUR thoughts?

My original post: My Take on Tea Parties

Breaking now.

Reverses Judge Sotomayor

More soon…

UPDATE — Here is a link to the full decision on Huffington Post

Talk about memories.

Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

And Michael Jackson, the artist, has provided me with more moments of sheer joy than any other entertainer in my lifetime.

I remember The Jackson 5 cartoon series.

I remember ‘Ben’ and ‘Got to be there’ and ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’

I remember when I loved (heart filling, far away, dreamy love) Michael Jackson. We were both little kids.

I remember screaming out loud in astonished delight as I watched Michael Jackson do the “Moonwalk” for the first time during the ‘Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever’

I had the great good fortune to be in the audience at the Sammy Davis, Jr. Tribute when Michael Jackson sang to him, “I am here because you were there.”

I remember when Michael Jackson premiered ‘Thriller’ on MTV. And all at once, the color barrier on the music channel had been shattered.

My bet? Michael Jackson is teaching the angels how to dance.

I’m torn because the decision was somewhat arbitrary. If he had accepted my offer of food, I would have given him money as well. But since he refused the food, I couldn’t be sure.

Let me back up.

Late Thursday night I was on my way to buy a small hostess gift for a dear friend. The shop I headed for sits at the heart of the homeless congregation point at the local outdoor mall; which we Los Angelenos call the Third Street Promenade. Overall, I am pretty reluctant to hand out money to men on the street. I’ve felt this way since the early 90’s when I lived in New York City. You see I gave $50 to a kid holding a sign promising that he needed only $71 more to get back home. I bumped into him three days later on the other side of town, with the same sign of course. First I felt sad and disappointed, and then just stupid. Since then I’ll give food, anytime. But cold hard cash is another matter.

So as I approached the boutique, I spot an absolutely adorable little boy giggling and cuddling on a man’s lap. The man is apparently the boy’s father, at least that’s what the sign says. It reads: “Single father, clean record, available for handy work.” The child is immaculate; his white blond hair shiny and close cropped. His large, wide, bright blue eyes clear and present and his dimpled, rosy cheeks, well scrubbed. I hate that it crosses my mind that this child could be rented, or unsafe somehow. But it does. I decide to suspend my disbelief, as much as I can, and accept that they are who the sign says they are.

As I am coming out of the boutique I am still uneasy, but decide to give them money. Almost. As I head out, I stop and ask the saleswoman if she knows them to be legit. She doesn’t, but strongly encourages me to offer food not money.

And here’s the exchange that bothers me. I head out, walk up to the father smiling and ask, “Would you like something to eat?” He responds, “We’ve already eaten.” Full stop. I say, with a smile, “Okay, then,” and walk on.

I don’t know if I did the right thing. What can I know for sure? In my neck of the woods, in Los Angeles, more and more people are losing their incomes, their homes; their way. And just behind them are the folks who are upside down in their mortgages and barely hanging on – whatever that means. I don’t know what to make of it all. I just try to listen to my heart very closely right now. I know that’s where God speaks to me and I am trying to stay in His light.

**Please share YOUR thoughts about this. Is homelessness up where YOU are? Are YOU seeing more people living on the streets? How do YOU handle it?**

READ – Homeless woman saves girl from sexual assault

READ - Snapshot of child homelessness in America

by Paul Porter

It is time that broadcasters start telling the truth. The recent flood of one sided information by radio on the pending “HR 848 – Performance Rights Act” is uncovering a much larger problem. The First Amendment calls for “Freedom of Speech”, but unfortunately broadcasters continue to feed misinformation to millions of Americans, without a murmur of opposing opinion.

Radio One, Founder Cathy Hughes has rediscovered her microphone after a ten year hiatus. While shaping the Performance Rights Act as an end to Black Radio, Hughes and her staff have done a great job of concealing the facts. In a series of PSA annoucements, Hughes has framed HR 848 as the end of Black radio. Broadcasters, in this difficult economy have not allowed advertising dollars to be spent by denying air time to supporters of this Bill.

In Detroit, last Tuesday, Congressman John Conyers held a hearing on HR 848 at Wayne State University. While Joyner, Baisden and Hughes have continued to deliver blatant lies on air, the forum was the perfect situation to finally hear both sides.

Although invitations were extended to the entire broadcast community, only one representative stepped up to the mic. Rev. Al Sharpton, who’s syndicated Radio One show airs nationwide, presented his side and left without listening to the audience that pays his check.

Sharpton, on his show later that day only mentioned the forum as “one-sided” and failed to mention any of the stories shared by a short list of living legends, Dionne Warwick, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, Sam Moore, Duke Fakir, George Clinton and writer performer Rhymefest informed those in attendance of the simple facts on why performers should be paid for radio airplay.

Maybe if Sharpton, Baisden, Hughes or Joyner stop talking they might take the time to listen to some alarming facts.

*Performers are paid in over 30 countries, for radio airplay. Only the U.S., China, Iran and North Korea do not pay performers for radio airplay.

*Performers are paid for television, satellite radio, cable stations and Internet radio but not paid for terrestial (AM & FM) radio airplay.
*An additional $70 to $100 million will be paid to American artists for airplay from foreign countries.

What Black Radio is not telling you:

*Urban radio continues to be the most syndicated music format. While limiting voices and local issues, Black adults are 25 times more likely to hear syndication than Whites. Eliminating the messengers, by limiting the voices.

*Radio One, the nation’s largest African American broadcaster, has cut staff and 401k benefits for staffers, while awarding CEO Alfred Liggins a 10 million dollar bonus.

*Radio consistently makes millions from the recording industry, requiring Free promotions, Free product and Free performances that get charged back to the artist bottom line.

No matter what the color of radio ownership — serving local audiences with better music, information and content is the key to thriving business model. American radio must finally catch up with the rest of the free world and pay performers their just do.

It is time that radio broadcasters allow audiences to hear both sides of this important issue.

Crossposted with permission of the author. Originally posted at Industry Ears.

Good morning all! Just got back from Chicago and the Blogging While Brown conference. Rushing out to take my car in for repairs and after that all writing all day.

More this afternoon.

How was YOUR weekend? And a special shout out to fathers who love and nurture their children…of all ages.

On June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and those who had been slaves were now free. There are a number of accounts as to why freedom took so long to arrive in Texas:

Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. Often told is the story of a messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. And still another is that federal troops actually waited for the slave owners to reap the benefits of one last cotton harvest before going to Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. All or none of them could be true. History of Juneteenth, Juneteenth.com

Whatever the reason, the result was that free people were still enslaved past the moment when slavery was abolished. In honor of the jubilation the ancestors must have felt on this day, I have released my imagination from the bonds of reality for a moment and I will share a fantasy with you. My fantasy is that I have arms long enough and strong enough to wrap around all the poor, disenfranchised and hopeless young people in our country. I draw them close and whisper in each anxious ear “You are free.” I tell them “There is no limit to your power, if you claim it.” Resilience and determination will get you where you need to go. No other human being can define you. If you will set your mind, all things are possible. Turn away from television. Turn away from those who judge, criticize and hurt you; telling you, “you cannot succeed.” Then, I would draw them even closer, whispering still, and remind them of the love and strength sent to them by those who slaved in the fields, laid railroad tracks, dug coal and fought in wars to build this country. I would whisper to the young ones “You are here to claim the piece of the American dream that the ancestors dreamed for you.”

I wrote this post for Juneteenth last year. It still feels right. Also, please check out a post I wrote for AOL BlackVoices/BlackSpin last year.

So much is toxic in the air. Take a breather with me, won’t you?

I love these kids.

H/T Perez Hilton

If you have been relying on print, cable or network news outlets for information on the Iranian uprising – you have been missing out. The real, heart gripping action/information has been most available on Twitter. Many of us following the Iranian activists (#iranelections #iran9 #irandemocracy) are also supporting them by retweeting (recirculating to our networks) information/images and taking actions like changing our account locations and timestamps to Tehran to help thwart the Iranian government’s attempt to identify protesters. I believe that instant contact social networks will become increasingly important in the exchange of information particularly in times of conflict – all people need to have access to the internet.

Religiously devout Jews who had been barred by rabbis from surfing the Internet may now “Koogle” it on a new “kosher” search engine, the site manager said on Sunday.

Yossi Altman said Koogle, a play on the names of a Jewish noodle pudding and the ubiquitous Google, appears to meet the standards of Orthodox rabbis, who restrict use of the Web to ensure followers avoid viewing sexually explicit material.

The site, at www.koogle.co.il, omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest, Altman said.

Its links to Israeli news and shopping sites also filter out items most ultra-Orthodox Israelis are forbidden by rabbis to have in their homes, such a television sets.

“This is a kosher alternative for ultra-Orthodox Jews so that they may surf the Internet,” Altman said by telephone.

The site was developed in part at the encouragement of rabbis who sought a solution to the needs of ultra-Orthodox Jews to browse the Web particularly for vital services, he said.

Nothing can be posted on the Jewish Sabbath, when religious law bans all types of work and business, Altman said. “If you try to buy something on the Sabbath, it gets stuck and won’t let you.” Source: Devout Jews Launch Kosher Search Engine, PCMag.com

The site currently boasts 50,000-70,000 users a day, said Itzik Shilitz, director of the Petah Tikva-based Koogle. It has a sparse English section that offers just the basic indexes, but the Koogle staff has plans to develop it further, said Shilitz.

Even though Koogle was created at the behest of the rabbis for the haredi community, the site’s administrators have gotten letters of appreciation from secular users as well. After all, anyone – especially a parent – can appreciate a framework that can prevent an innocent bout of Internet surfing from turning into something inappropriate or even dangerous.

“The Internet is a world without borders,” lauded Bloi. “Koogle lets me benefit from the technology in a way that befits my religious world.” Source: Web portal lets orthodox have their Koogle and eat it, too, Jerusalem Post

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by Andrew Padula

I can’t imagine how horrible it must feel to be a parent who had someone on a national stage joke about having their child raped at a public venue. What must be even worse is having people come to the defense of this cur and justify his actions because the child’s older sister had become pregnant as a teen. In my mind, nothing can justify these vulgar attacks perpetrated on the children of the standing Governor of the state of Alaska. But this is not the issue that I wish to raise. During the same monologue, the Governor of Alaska was referred to as looking like “ a slutty flight attendant”. A while back, a television/radio personality of note by the name of Don Imus was publicly relieved of his broadcasting post for an off color joke about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. The comments made by Letterman and Imus were similar. In fact, Imus’s comment was an off the cuff gaff and Letterman’s comment was a scripted attack.

I have an open question, is there a race based double standard with regards to how Letterman’s comments are being handled as opposed to Imus?

Contributor Andrew Padula has been in situations throughout his life where he’s felt compelled to address racial issues from his unusual perspective. Andrew is a white, politically conservative, blues musician who’s been teaching and touring the U.S. and Europe since 1993. He can be seen with blues legend Bobby Parker on B.E.T. Jazz Central as well as on Carlos Santana’s recent DVD release “Montreux Blues Summit”. But lately, Andrew has moved into politics. This past season, he ran a Congressional campaign for a Republican candidate in Maryland’s 8th district. His point of view is critical to our discussion, so I welcome Andrew and his column The Topsoil to Allaboutrace(dot)com. Andrew says it best: “You gotta turn the topsoil to plant a crop!”

I applaud NASCAR and Rusty Wallace for taking this seriously. Read on from ESPN.com:

NASCAR suspended crew chief Bryan Berry indefinitely on Thursday for what his team owner, Rusty Wallace, termed “an alleged racial slur” against African-American driver Marc Davis at last Saturday night’s Nationwide race.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston termed the violation “an inappropriate comment that won’t be tolerated.”

Berry is crew chief for Brendan Gaughan on the Wallace team. During Saturday night’s race at Nashville Superspeedway, Gaughan was entering his pit and hit Davis, who was trying to turn left through a gap in the pit wall. Both cars were heavily damaged.

Gaughan returned to the track, but on the radio he ordered his crew to not let Davis, 19, leave the track until “he sees me.” Gaughan also complained vehemently to ESPN reporters after the race.

Wallace agreed that the incident was “a perfect storm” that was neither driver’s fault.

NASCAR officials confirmed that Berry and some crewmen went to Davis’ garage stall and that Berry approached Davis’ window net yelling at him.

NASCAR’s statement said Berry was suspended for violating Section 12-1 of the Nationwide rule book, which is “actions detrimental to stock car racing; involved in an altercation with another team”.

The reasons for the penalty “were his [Berry's] actions and what he said,” Poston said.

“Bryan looked me in the eye and told me he didn’t say it,” Wallace said. “But NASCAR said they had two people, two sponsorship representatives [for the Davis team] who heard it. I don’t know who to believe.”

Wallace said he did tell Berry directly, “I hope to God you didn’t do what they said you did.”

Wallace said he scheduled a team meeting for the entire Rusty Wallace Racing team for Friday at 8 a.m., with the intention of telling all personnel, “I’d better not ever hear that out of our team.”

The Davis team issued a statement Thursday saying, “Mr. Gaughan and his crew actions do not merit response. NASCAR has resolved the issue.”

Davis declined to comment through his father.

Read the rest as ESPN.com

by Andrew Padula

I have been preaching for some time now about the Republican parties door being open to all. The only metric for entry is that you believe in America and the opportunity that it provides for all who strive to achieve prosperity and liberty.

At the Lincoln Day Dinner I recently attended, the keynote speaker was a Black man who grew up in poverty on the streets of D.C. He was raised by his widowed mother who out of pride and self dignity worked minimum wage jobs rather than take welfare. According to the speaker,“ She didn’t want her children to be raised by the government”. With all of these factors stacked against him, he still managed to pull himself up and become one of the most optimistic, successful, and genuinely beloved public figures that I have ever met. Despite his success and fame, he still remembered most everyone in attendance that he had met before, including myself. Say what you will, but this man is a class act and should by all rights be embraced by the Black community that he so gracefully represents.

Contributor Andrew Padula has been in situations throughout his life where he’s felt compelled to address racial issues from his unusual perspective. Andrew is a white, politically conservative, blues musician who’s been teaching and touring the U.S. and Europe since 1993. He can be seen with blues legend Bobby Parker on B.E.T. Jazz Central as well as on Carlos Santana’s recent DVD release “Montreux Blues Summit”. But lately, Andrew has moved into politics. This past season, he ran a Congressional campaign for a Republican candidate in Maryland’s 8th district. His point of view is critical to our discussion, so I welcome Andrew and his column The Topsoil to Allaboutrace(dot)com. Andrew says it best: “You gotta turn the topsoil to plant a crop!”