May peace and blessings flow to and through all of us.
Here is a song I play every morning when I wake up. I hope you enjoy it.
“It’s Yours”

Well, It’s yours
What makes you journey into the night
And take flight on a pursuit of musical bliss?
Chasing beats through ghetto streets
To a dungeonous temple left by our soul descendants
In a quest for peace, energy and light.
If you were to find this temple,
Do you have the knowledge to enter the temple?
Do you want it?
And if you had it, would you flaunt it?
Well It’s yours!”
[CHORUS]
There …

Bob Jones University has issued an apology for racist policies that persisted right up until the year 2000. According to a statement, Bob Jones University acknowledges that it’s policies such as refusing to admit black students and then refusing to allow interracial dating, were rooted in polarizing cultural rules of the day not biblical scripture.
For almost two centuries American Christianity, including BJU in its early stages, was characterized by the segregationist ethos of American culture. Consequently, for far too long, we allowed institutional policies regarding race to be shaped more …

I had a hard time sleeping last night, I kept thinking about mothers of missing children this Thanksgiving week. My blog amigo Yobachi asked me if I knew anyone here on the west coast who could spearhead an effort to get the word out about Chioma Gray, a beautiful, smart, kind and ambitious young girl now missing for almost a year. I don’t know anyone like that, but I can lend my voice to the effort to find Chioma Gray and to bring her home to her family. Here is …

In the days following Barack Obama’s election, hateful racial incidents have surged. Some are more ominous than others, some with more impact, some just kinda stupid and annoying. Some examples:
Idaho school kids chant “Assassinate Obama” on a school bus and school officials are slow to (barely) react.
“They just hadn’t heard anything like this before,” said Whoolery. “They were chanting on the bus, ‘Assassinate Obama. Assassinate Obama.’ Then adding in a name sometimes of a classmate on the bus, ‘Assassinate Obama and Kate.’”
The Whoolery’s explained to their kids what assassinate means …

Prior to November 4th, when I was just imagining an Obama win, one of my biggest concerns was that people of all stripes would roundly declare that an Obama win proves that racism is dead. Oh, how I dreaded the conversations that would follow! I envisioned myself having to explain, teach, drone on step by step, what a wrongheaded assertion that was and having to enlighten folks on how a single beautiful act where change triumphed, could not and would not erase the blight of racism on the American landscape.
Perhaps …

So, we’re pushing forward and heading back to our roots. Let me explain. Once upon a time, in March of 2007, I envisioned a space where folks of all stripes and political ideologies could talk to each other about race in America. The result has been uneven and I only hold myself responsible for that. In the past year, my posts evolved into a far more partisan groove than I would have imagined at the outset, but really I have no regrets and was compelled to push as hard as …

In his latest audio, Ayman al-Zawahiri Al-Qaida’s number 2, has the gall to call President-elect Barack Obama "dishonorable" and a "house negro." According to the Associated Press:
CAIRO,Egypt (AP) – Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group’s first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites.
The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Al-Zawahri said in the …

Don’t get it twisted, America is one of the richest countries on earth. Even as our financial meltdown accelerates, the global markets follow us. Our dollar is getting stronger as the greenback is still popular in a time of global instability. And yet, we as a nation, do not make feeding each and every child who lives here a priority. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):
Children as well as adults experienced instances of very low food security in 323,000 households (0.8 percent of households with children) in 2007, …

Is Barack Obama the needed bridge between blacks and Latinos? Maybe.
One of the most “YES!” inducing moments of last Tuesday’s election dissection, was learning that my Latino hermanas y hermanos had come out in a large majority (2 to 1) to support Barack Obama. In 2004, President George Bush garnered 44% of the Latino vote and pundits everywhere declared that “Hispanics” were conservative, and might provide a growing base of support for the Republican party going forward. It was a reasonable hypothesis, I guess. But what no one saw coming …

I find myself in an unusual position. Following the racial fallout from the Prop 8 win, I am examining my self in terms of my membership in a powerful, privileged majority. The straight majority. It’s funny, being straight, I often don’t think about my sexual orientation and all the social benefits I enjoy because of it. It is just as I observe many white folks not examining the privileges of being white. First I was pissed about the racially loaded reaction to the passage of Prop 8, but lately I’ve …

I am re-writing a post I’ve done on Prop 8. My feelings are shifting about what I am seeing. It was an angry post, but now I am less angry. Give me ’til the end of the day and I will explain why.
Thanks for your patience.

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 …

REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

There is a whisper of melancholy weighing on my sky high happiness about Obama’s victory. California’s Proposition 8 passed and it will amend our state constitution to designate that only marriages between a man and women can be legally recognized. As of now it looks like Prop 8 passed by a few percentage points of only 5 million votes. I am disappointed in my neighbors who would choose to pour discrimination into such a foundational document.
The proposition had wide opposition from Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to President-Elect …

It feels good to be in love with my country right now. Oh, I always love her. But sometimes we fight and we don’t get along as well as I’d like. Even though divorce is never an option for us, right now we’re like newlyweds.
I envisioned an Obama win, but I could not have fathomed the breadth of the wind behind him. I did not imagine so many, many, many people would take taxis, wait for hours and practically crawl to get to the voting booth to cast their voice …

It’s raining here in Southern California.
Remember to be patient. If your name is not on the roster, vote provisionally.
Keep in mind that poll workers are just regular folks who really want to get it right.
No screaming at them… er … us.
Peace. Now go vote!