East of Liberty II: The Fear of Us, Bakery Square

Today is May 19, Brother Malcolm X's birthday. If that means something to you, great. If not, perhaps it should but I'm not forcing it on you.

Let's talk about the power of art, caring and sharing. The first time I saw Chris Ivey's "East of Liberty: Part One", I cried. I then showed it here on the Hill and some folks came out but not enough. Now, "East of Liberty: Part Two" is out and I've not seen it yet because I had schedule conflicts with each screening. I'll probably cry again when I see this new chapter because I'm sensitive. I realize this might be hard for some to believe, especially if you've only seen my angry or righteous indignation side; but the truth of the matter is that most artists are extremely sensitive at all times and when you see injustice and inhumanity so close and personal, it causes a very human reaction--empathy, sorrow, despair, rage.

So, imagine my glee when Chris Ivey, the Documentarian / Hyperboymedia put an excerpt called "Bakery Square" on YouTube for us all to watch.

I have some great advice for the folks in East Liberty / the East End if they are seeking a Community Benefits Agreement or any type of proper reinvestment. You know where to find me.

Thank you, Chris, and let me know your thoughts, folks.

Happy Birthday, Brother Malcolm. I'm so sorry we don't appreciate you enough but my elders didn't even when you were alive, so I'm not surprised.

The One Hill CBA

So, this Saturday, the One Hill CBA Coalition is going to vote on Saturday to pass the tentative CBA Agreement "up or down". Despite reports that Chair, Carl Redwood, is quoted as saying that "the majority" of the members must vote in order for it to pass, the reality (confirmed last Monday and the Monday prior) is that only twenty (20) of the 98 supposed members of One Hill need to vote in order to meet "quorum" and only a majority (as opposed to the consensus touted by Tom Hoffman at the beginning of this situation) is required to pass.

So, at bare minimum, only eleven (11) people need to vote "yes" in order to pass the One Hill CBA. It's so sad, it's amusing, especially considering that the negotiation team is nine (9) persons and the strategy team is a total of twelve (12) persons, which includes the negotiation team. So, quite frankly, the strategy team can vote the entire CBA "up" with very little effort (or approval) from the community.

Unfortunately, I'm not confident that many of the organizational representatives or their members really know what's in the CBA and what they're voting for. There were over 50 persons in attendance two weeks ago; but there was so much confusion over what was actually in the CBA (including the most recent inclusion of the value / reinvestment amount of the 28-acre site) that some of the members asked for another week to ask questions, get answers, etc. And, unfortunately, it seems the next meeting (this past Monday) was not advertised because approximately 15 persons (total) showed up. Evan Frazier was well-meaning in attempting to answer the questions posed but he did not know many of the answers and it was clear that any revisions offered from the week prior either weren't considered or just weren't taken seriously---and certainly not included.

Carl Redwood announced that the CBA will not be changed at all this week and that members needed to vote the present CBA up or down. I later found out after the meeting that the CBA is still being worked upon every single day and that the Pens have even attempted to provide a further clause. This sort of back-and-forth between the lawyers was presented as the reason for which the detailed CBA was not passed out three (3) weeks ago.

It's pretty amazing how this is all going down.

In its present form, I would not vote for the CBA and here's why:

1. The last-minute inclusion of the 28-acre site WITHOUT proper reinvestment is a sham, plain and simple. Sure, there is job inclusion and work on the Masterplan but the Pens are trying to get away with not providing ONE DIME of reinvestment based on the 28-acre site.

2. The Neighborhood Partnership Program that is proposed offers $500,00 per year for six years with a POSSIBILITY to renew for another six years, which is not enough.

The problem? The Pens aren't paying one dime into this fund either. They are going to help "in good faith" find corporate partners. Gimme a break. (For the record, the NPP was suggested by Jake Wheatley as a START 1.5 years ago).

3. The Pens spent a year and a half telling everyone within an eye or ear's reach that the Arena is not built with public subsidy, therefore they should not have to provide reinvestment relative to the CBA. Now, they have allowed for language regarding the 28-acre site but with little to no PROPER reinvestment (i.e. not one dime based on the huge amount of public subsidy and profit to come from this site). For those who might have forgotten the gargantuan amount of public subsidy the Pens received, click here. This is unacceptable.

4. The City and the County robbed the Hill District community of Don Barden's $350 million dollars of spurred development in the Lower Hill with a focus upon sweeping that development up through the Centre Ave. corridor and above Crawford Street. They chose to give it to the Pens but are not forcing them to provide PROPER reinvestment for the arena and the 28-acre site.

5. The BEST part of the CBA has the LEAST amount of proper investment --- the One Hill First Source Hiring Center (patterned after the Milwaukee Big Step Program), which is set to be funded at $90,000 per year for two (2) years, subject to the availability of funds and with the hope that the Falk and Heinz Foundations will supplement this gap. But this is not their responsibility, the funding should come from the PENS.

The Hill Faith and Justice Alliance has been repeatedly maligned in this process because we insist on much more and, you know, a novel idea that---we live, work and play here.

And now for the amazing One Hill double standard:

1. In April 2007, the Hill Faith and Justice alliance demanded, among other things, $10 million dollars in reinvestment funds for development.

Now, One Hill's negotiating for $3 million dollars in reinvestment funds for development with the possibility of $3 million more if the NPP program is renewed for another six years. Add the $1 million for the grocery store and we're at $7 million total.

We were considered elitist, extortionists, greedy, crazy, the whole nine.

2. We were kicked out of One Hill, supposedly, for negotiating separately for the CBA when we are the ones who secured a commitment for the CBA to begin with. The truth is, we were kicked out because of the agreement between three entities because we were considered too radical and demanding too much---supposedly without the community. This was entirely untrue, it was all about control but at the end of the day, preventing the history from ever being known to One Hill members, as a whole, in addition to relentless attacks from various parties inside of the organization only served to maintain the division, no matter how many times we reached out. Carl's response: "just join One Hill", which is hilarious.

Hypocritical much?

I could go on but I'll have to get into it later. Just thinking about this makes me sleepy and I have set new limits of what I can tolerate for myself.

All that I ask at this point is that Ron Porter not be allowed to return to the Hill House Association Board to help advise or otherwise manage monies flowing through the Hill House Association after he "temporarily resigned" from the Board to take a Senior Consultant position with the Pittsburgh Penguins to negotiate a substandard CBA and talk smack on the community the entire time.

Shady much?

See ya.

Darnit, Rev. Wright! You Done Wrong!

Alright, see, this is just so frustrating in a way because:

1. Rev. Wright's speech at the NAACP Awards was SUPERB, outstanding, factually accurate, inspirational, even entertaining. His discussion of America and "difference" not being "deficient" was just wonderful. He wasn't Barack. He wasn't Michael Dyson or Cornel West. He wasn't Snoop Dogg. But he was wonderful.

2. I missed the interview he did with Bill Moyer and only caught a snippet of it; but even then, it was okay.

3. I caught only a part of his speech at the National Press Club but even that speech was very good. (I was giving finals, forgive me)

4. I only heard about the disaster of the Q & A but when I saw the recap, my heart sunk a bit. See, that was all about ego. I defended Wright's need to come out and give his speech and stand up for himself, Black liberation theology, the Black Church and even set the record straight about a few things. He did that very well and on every occasion --- until that Q & A.

Wright is a public intellectual, not just a preacher. He has a responsibility, especially in this country, when we can name the Black public intellectuals we see on TV on one hand (a testament about America in and of itself). And, unfortunately, there is no reason why you should be throwing up Que (Psi Phi) signs, dancing at the mic, suggesting you should be Vice President and undercutting Barack Obama's chances.

It's sad but I felt that Rev. Wright doing this was a bit vindictive and also rested in ego-mongering. And, please, I live in the Hill District, I get enough of that b.s. every day or at least every Monday.

It's just hurtful and Wright did not just hurt Obama, he hurt all of us who are out here in the public, he hurt all Black radicals and progressives, he hurt all ministers and he most certainly hurt the everyday people who are still riding for Barack.

I am still riding for Barack . . . BUT:

Barack needs not to listen to his campaign managers all the time. What his campaign managers should have done was to bring out the Black intellectuals AND all progressive intellectuals who could accurately verify much of what Wright said in his previous speeches.

Yes. Unfortunately, Wright's antics have overshadowed the fact that 99% of what he has said in his speeches is entirely accurate. Even Thomas Jefferson thought that America was, literally, God-damned. Harriet Beecher Stowe, an avid abolitionist, feared that if America did not repent for 'Her' original sin (slavery), America would be God-damned. Heck, even Pat Buchanan feels that liberal tolerance of homosexuality and abortion makes America God-damned. If we added up all the Americans (of any ethnicity) who believed that America was God-damned, we might find we outnumber the terrorists who believe the same---albeit for different reasons.

So, this is why I say that the public intellectuals should have stepped up. Let the media see what Howard Zinn has to say. Let Tim Rice speak up. Check out Michigan State University's Race Conferences and pick ANY of those folks. Personally, I can contextualize and provide greater understanding for Wright's commentary with my eyes closed, including the accusation that the U.S. Government invented AIDS---because I was an Africana Studies major and I'm a scholar of American Studies. And in these kinds of ignorant newsmaking and viewership, I cannot overstate the need for an intellectual conversation about what has been happening and why race is still a problem in America.

As far-fetched as the AIDS in America theory sounds and as ridiculous as it seems, there are real and factual reasons why even this paranoia is perfectly valid---especially if you're Black. I'm not saying Barack needs to validate that. But Rev. Wright is not crazy for believing it, although he might be irresponsibile for putting that theory out there without providing the factual information to back it up. Besides, this is not just a Black theory. This theory has been touted and put forth by The Strecker Memorandum and many others, including many doctors who live outside of the United States.

And let's not act like spreading disease as a form of biological and chemical warfare is somehow inexplicable. Smallpox in Indian blankets, anyone? Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, anyone? Agent Orange, anyone?

I mean, come on . . .

Anyway, my point is that if Rev. Wright had been properly supported in the mainstream, he might not have felt the need to lash out and defend himself---and then act a fool.

I'm embarrassed and sad that he chose to do that and I know it must be painful for all involved.

In the end, people are not thinking about Rev. Wright. People are worried about their gas, worried about their rent, worried about losing their homes and worried about their jobs. If the media wants to focus on Rev. Wright, fine. But the more responsible thing to do is focus on the candidates, themselves, their ideas and how they plan to change this country.

For me, Barack Obama is still the change I can believe in.

And I am 100% committed to making Michelle Obama my first lady.

Election Results in the Burgh

Okay, good people. Let's look at the FACTS:

In sum, lots of new registered voters voted. A ton of Democrats voted. Hillary won PA but Barack is still in the lead. Barack got more delegates from the Burgh and Jake made it rain.

STATISTICS REPORT-EL45 PAGE 001 VOTES PERCENT
PRECINCTS COUNTED (OF 1321) . . . . 1,321 100.00
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL . . . . . 913,628
REGISTERED VOTERS - DEMOCRATIC . . . 567,516 62.12
REGISTERED VOTERS - REPUBLICAN . . . 250,427 27.41
REGISTERED VOTERS - REFORM. . . . . 178.02
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL. . . . . . . . . 377,631
BALLOTS CAST - DEMOCRATIC . . . . . 317,023 83.95
BALLOTS CAST - REPUBLICAN . . . . . 60,513 16.02
BALLOTS CAST - REFORM . . . . . . 95.03
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL . . . . . . 41.33 (this is still low, for shame, America!) VOTER TURNOUT - DEMOCRATIC. . . . . 55.86
VOTER TURNOUT - REPUBLICAN. . . . . 24.16
VOTER TURNOUT - REFORM . . . . . . 53.37

********** (DEMOCRATIC) **********
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (WITH 1321 OF 1321 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
BARACK OBAMA . . . . . . . . . 141,596 45.34
(Congratulations on closing that gap, Barack!)

HILLARY CLINTON . . . . . . . . 169,073 54.14
(Nice try, Hillary, just don't cheat!)
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 1,600 .51

ATTORNEY GENERAL (WITH 1321 OF 1321 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
JOHN M. MORGANELLI . . . . . . . 212,416 99.41
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 1,265 .59

AUDITOR GENERAL (WITH 1321 OF 1321 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
JACK WAGNER. . . . . . . . . . 254,773 99.73
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 690 .27

STATE TREASURER (WITH 1321 OF 1321 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
JOHN F. CORDISCO . . . . . . . . 55,570 23.27
ROBERT MCCORD . . . . . . . . . 106,608 44.65
DENNIS MORRISON-WESLEY . . . . . . 15,987 6.70
(Sorry, Dennis!)
JENNIFER L. MANN . . . . . . . . 59,973 25.12
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 646 .27

REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 19TH DISTRICT
(WITH 80 OF 80 PRECINCTS COUNTED)

DEIDRA L. WASHINGTON. . . . . . . 3,482 27.17
(Sorry, Deidra, they lied to you Sistagirl!)

JAKE WHEATLEY . . . . . . . . . 9,312 72.66
(Congratulations on a smashing victory, Jake!)
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 22 .17

DELEGATE TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION 14TH DISTRICT
VOTE FOR NOT MORE THAN 7
(WITH 739 OF 739 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
NO CANDIDATE FILED . . . . . . . 0

DAN FRANKEL (M) . . . . . . . . 72,344 7.50
JAMES SHEPPARD (M) . . . . . . . 67,122 6.96
CLIFFORD B. LEVINE (M) . . . . . . 74,491 7.72
TONYA D. PAYNE (F) . . . . . . . 67,489 7.00
(Hillary Clinton supporter---just shameful)
ROBERT C. HAMPSHIRE (M). . . . . . 71,533 7.42
BETSY MAGLEY (F) . . . . . . . . 70,405 7.30
DOUGLAS A. SHIELDS (M) . . . . . . 74,182 7.69
KAREN ROLLINS-FITCH (F). . . . . . 71,405 7.40
(go head, Karen! You got more than our councilwoman!)
GARY A. VAN HORN, JR. (M). . . . . 64,612 6.70
SYLVIA C. WILSON (F). . . . . . . 64,771 6.72
HEATHER ARNET (F). . . . . . . . 66,782 6.93
(sorry, Heather, next time support Michelle Obama)
SUSAN GOLOMB (F) . . . . . . . . 73,285 7.60
ETHAN SMITH (M) . . . . . . . . 56,477 5.86
JOSEPH PRESTON, JR. (M) . . . . . 68,844 7.14
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 563 .06

And, by the way, folks. I will not soon forget these statements from this article:

But Deidra Washington, his challenger in Tuesday's Democratic primary, contends
Mr. Wheatley, 36, is out of touch with the concerns of people in the 19th District.

Well, 72% say Wheatley IS in touch.

Ms. Washington, a former site manager for the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, is also a Democratic committee member since 2002. She lost the endorsement of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee to Mr. Wheatley by three votes in February, 55-52.

Such a showing for a first-timer, Ms. Washington said, gave her hope
that the district is ready to change leadership after three terms under Mr.
Wheatley.

The problem here, good people, is that the Democratic Committee's votes (and Tonya Payne's de facto candidacy via Ms. Washington) demonstrates that the Democratic Committee representatives are "out of touch" with the wants and needs of the District.

And it's a shame because Ms. Washington is probably a good person who got caught up in all of the negativity and mayhem Tonya was swirling around her. The reason for the division in the Hill District within the last two years is mostly due to Payne's poor leadership, petty politics, grudge-holding and a fanciful imagination. Certainly, there was division beforehand but she exacerbated and exaggerrated it.

My recommendation is that the Democratic Committee (along with everyone else) re-thinks its analysis and, for just a fleeting moment, consider that Tonya Payne's lies, manipulation and traitorous behavior to her community are coming to a swift end.

Jake Wheatley is "The Peoples' Rep" and "the people" have voted in overwhelming numbers to support him.

And next year, Tonya will receive a very Payneful reminder about whom "the people" DO NOT support --- her. Goodbye, Tonya!

And anyone else who still can't see the forest for the trees.

Three Great Historic Moments

So much happening, so little time to blog about it. But:

1. The great Aime Cesaire (Negritude) has passed away. R.I.P., Mr. Cesaire.

2. Jake Wheatley is going to be re-elected State Representative. I'm claiming it.

3. Baracky the Vote - absolutely hilarious.

Haikus for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Oh yes, yet another corrective video of the "God-damned America Speech" for you to watch from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I must say, as an Historian, his facts were correct and he was en pointe. Go 'head Rev!

And this is great because just the other day, I published the haikus I wrote for Hillary and Barack.

Here are some of the crowd favorites:

Hillary Clinton
Reverend Jeremiah
Is all Wright with me

Hillary Clinton
We know you're qualified
It's just . . . you're too sly

Hillary Clinton
Michelle is a woman, too
Welcome, First Lady!

Hillary Clinton
Where were you the day Bill dissed
Our Sister Souljah?

Hillary Clinton,
My daughter asks that I vote
Barack Obama

***
Barack Obama
For once, in this here lifetime
I vote my full heart

Barack Obama
Whether you heard it or not
Reverend was Wright

Barack Obama
The audacity to hope
is borne of the slave

Barack Obama
Remember, your hopefulness
Came from Black Mammy

Barack Obama
The movement for human rights
is far from over

Barack Obama
We dressed up as African
to get served, back then

Barack Obama
America's hopefulness
is all She has left

Barack Obama
We want Michelle, Our Sweet Belle
as the First Lady

Barack Obama
The Hip Hop Generation
Is Standing Up Now!

Okay, people, write your own Haikus.
It's a japanese style of poetry

Five syllables the first line
Seven syllables the second
Back to five syllables for the third.

Write your own and send them back to Dr. Goddess!

Word!

He's All Wright With Me

An Open Letter from Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the New York Times

March 11, 2007
Jodi Kantor
The New York Times
9 West 43rd Street
New York, New York
10036-3959

Dear Jodi:

Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years. You sat and shared with me for two hours. You told me you were doing a “Spiritual Biography” of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever met. For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run.

I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, Didn’t I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family? I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed. I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just “in word only.”

I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith. I talked about Barack as a person who did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed. Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack’s spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you, using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?,” that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it “in his hand.” Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.

As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on Barack’s taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people and deeming it unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print? You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed “sound byte” and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy. I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation’s first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.

Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama’s “Spiritual Biography.” Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of “Hannity and Colmes” is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years. The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants to be the truth. I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or “spin” because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.

Forgive me for having a momentary lapse. I forgot that The New York Times was leading the bandwagon in trumpeting why it is we should have gone into an illegal war. The New York Times became George Bush and the Republican Party’s national “blog.” The New York Times played a role in the outing of Valerie Plame. I do not know why I thought The New York Times had actually repented and was going to exhibit a different kind of behavior. Maybe it was my faith in the Jewish Holy Day of Roshashana. Maybe it was my being caught up in the euphoria of the Season of Lent; but whatever it is or was, I was sadly mistaken. There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times. You should do well with that paper, Jodi. You looked me straight in my face and told me a lie!

Sincerely and respectfully yours,
Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
Senior Pastor
Trinity United Church of Christ

Fox News Has No Shame Miseducating the Public

I always love it when The Simpsons, produced at Fox Studios, makes fun of Fox News. They can't help themselves. And with this type of shoddy reporting---purposefully misquoting people, taking things out of context---they deserve it.

Meet the (White) Man Who Inspired Rev. Wright’s Controversial Sermon

Long story short, Rev. Wright was quoting Ed Peck, a (30 year career veteran) US Ambassador to Iraq who had long ago warned against the war in Iraq and also highlighted that there was no relationship between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Fox News interviewed him and, of course, he’s apparently not ever been invited back.

Hence, one of Fox News' most egregious examples of purposeful misrepresentation is this one, over Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity Church, of whom I've grown quite fond during these last few days since I've been back home. So, thank you, Fox News, for introducing me to a pastor of the old school. I love the Black Liberation Theologians and Preachers. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one. Min. Malcolm X was one. Rev. Joseph Lowery is one. And there are so many others, including those who stood up in the Historic Hill District to prevent a casino from being placed in our neighborhood and who demand proper and full reinvestment to our community via a Community Benefits Agreement.

See for yourself and be healed from right wing race-mongering:

And THANK YOU to the Trinity Church member who provided a competing and clarifying narrative for us. Please share with everyone at Trinity that we are rooting for you over here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

This Wednesday, March 26, 2008, hear Rev. Jeremiah Wright's speech that is now known as the "God-damned America" speech. The accurate title is "Confusing God and Government" but who cares about the facts, right?:

Ebony Spectrum- Black Talk Radio-WRCT FM 88.3 (<-- click for webcast)

Host: Rick Adams, Co-Host Producer: Kevin Amos

Every Wednesday 6-7 PM EST/DST

Word.

"God Bless America . . . and nobody else!" (Chris Rock, "Head of State")

Coming Back to America's B.S.

I just want to say, when I was in Dubai, I was constantly surrounded by human beings from:

India
the Philippines
Egypt
England
Nigeria
Pakistan
China
Iraq
Britain
Ghana
Omman
Austria
Jordan
Australia
Saudi Arabia
Afghanistan
South Africa
and the United States

and while there, met people from all of the aforementioned places plus:

Holland
Spain
Croatia
Trinidad

and the list can go on.

Then, of course, I have to come back to the United States that STILL cannot get over Black and White and has yet to accept that reality for African Americans is different than reality for persons who classify themselves as White Americans.

They love Barack Obama in multicultural Dubai. And I love Barack Obama in supposedly multicultural America. Now, I've not seen all of Rev. Wright's commentary but I am already angry about the coverage. So, I was very happy to receive this information in an email---Trinity Church defending itself and providing necessary competing narratives on what it's like to be Black in the USA:



Click here to see all videos IN CONTEXT.

New column coming . . .