Where Will Gabourey Sidibe be this time next year?

 Last night I watched the NAACP Image Awards. It amazes me when I watch this production. I wonder how can they afford to put on such a lavish presentation will all the problems that need to be addressed in the community, but that is a subject for another post. Gabourey Sidibe won an award for her portrayal of Precious. Sidibe unlike the character she portrayed is an infectious, gregarious young woman who exudes confidence, but let’s get real what will she be doing this time next year? There are no roles for a 350 pound black woman in Hollywood. The movie Precious also won for best picture and the director Lee Daniels said no one in Hollywood wanted to back this movie because of its premise. So what does Sidibe have to look forward to? Precious, The Sequel? I was discussing this with a friend of mine and she reminded me of last year’s media darlings, The Slumdog Millionaire children. The directors brought all of the children from India to the Oscars.  These talented children were from the slums of India and they got a chance to dress up, stay at a grand hotel and mix with industry elite, but when the evening ended they were on a plane back to the slums. They carried with them incredible memories, but we will probably never see them again. Hopefully, Sidibe is enjoying all the accolades and the praise that go with being an Oscar nominee because next year she will probably be at home watching.

Miss Me Yet? Never

George Bush has made a comeback of sorts. His image is appearing on billboards and bumper stickers. The question is do we miss him, and for me the answer is simple, no. Bush held office for 8 years and in that time he was the one that got us into the Iraq War. Over 4000 lives have been lost in this conflict. We entered it with no clear exit strategy and now we are still searching for an honorable way out. He presided over the first bailout for big business, and he was the president that authorized big tax breaks for the wealthy. President Obama has held office for a little over a year so we can not pin all of this on him, but many will try. Now I do think it is time for the administration to stop talking about what Bush did and did not do it is their problem now, but let’s not do any revisionist history on the Bush legacy. He is gone, but he is not missed.

Step Show Tie or Step Show Lie

“After days of controversy over a white group’s win in a step competition, sponsor Coca-Cola said Thursday the second-place team will share top honors. Coca-Cola said in a statement that a review of the scoring from Saturday’s national contest revealed a ”scoring discrepancy” that it declined to explain. This is the first year of the Sprite Step Off, but step contests are typically dominated by black sororities and fraternities. Step is a historically black art form of rhythmic stepping and clapping. A YouTube video of the winning performance by a group of Zeta Tau Alphas from the University of Arkansas generated hundreds of comments, some of them inflammatory. Coca-Cola said Thursday the Alpha Kappa Alpha team from Indiana University, whose members are black, would share first place and would also receive the same $100,000 in scholarships that the Zeta Tau Alphas won. Because the scoring discrepancy cannot be resolved and due to the extremely narrow margin between the first and second place winning sororities,” the company decided to declare co-winners, the company statement says. “*

Come on people the University of Arkansas gave a better show. They deserved to win but Coca-cola bowed to pressure and decided to reward a price to the AKA group. Either we want to be treated fairly or we don’t. You win a few in life and you lose a few and clearly the real winner of this contest was the University of Arkansas. Tell me what you think.

*NY Times 2/26/10

Why Aren’t There Minorities in the Tea Party Groups?

The Tea Party Movement evolved out of populist frustration. They believed no one was listening to them, and they yearned for a party that would take them seriously.  They were no longer content to simply be tolerated.  There are a number of different affiliates under the Tea Party umbrella, but they all seemingly agree on some basic premises: they generally believe government has gotten too big, is spending too much, and is infringing on their Constitutional rights. They are no longer looking for the answers from the two political parties. “These coalitions are not content with simply making the Republican Party more conservative. They have a larger goal — a political reordering that would drastically shrink the federal government and sweep away not just Mr. Obama, but much of the Republican establishment…”.* They are a group of people who feel the government is no longer working for them and they are simply disgusted with the two party system, but what other group is also discontented with the current system? Black people are also frustrated with the state of the country particularly the state of the economy.  They are tired of their “self-anointed” leaders meeting with the President, and coming back with nothing but a presidential pen. Black people are ripe for an organization that would listen and take their concerns seriously.  They are having an extremely difficult time making ends meet. The black middle class is becoming almost non-existent. Jobs in manufacturing that gave blue collar workers an opportunity to have the American Dream cease to exist. Detroit is an example of a city that was once the car capitol of the world and is now a ghost town. Foreclosed homes populate almost ever city block, and unemployment is Detroit is a staggering 25%. People have been displaced and that lifestyle is now a part of their bitter past, but where are these displaced people going? Who is going to speak for them? Blacks have been extremely loyal to both parties. After slavery blacks were loyal to the Republican Party because it was the party of Abraham Lincoln, and they had been taught Lincoln had freed the slaves. Blacks stayed loyal to the party until the time of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and that is when they flocked to the Democratic Party, and they have been loyal to ever since, but in these troubling times it seems there might be room for them at the Tea Party table, but one look at the Tea Party gatherings and one can see diversity is not an agenda item. Why aren’t blacks recruited by the Tea Party Movement? The Tea Party does not have a for WHITES ONLY sign on the door, but they do seemingly share a hatred for the first African-American president. In some cases this hatred is based on a genuine dislike of the president’s policy, but there are racist fringe groups who are also a part of the Tea Party movement. So if blacks are not welcome at the Tea Party perhaps now is the time for blacks to consider forming their own grassroots movement? Who would lead the group? What are the main issues that need to be addressed? It is interesting that we are trying to see how to harness a movement, and that is exactly what President Obama did in 2008.  The president harnessed a frustrated electorate and road that frustration right into the White House.  So maybe all it takes to start a movement is a computer and an email list.  Now we just need someone to write the first email to ignite a movement. Who will it be?

*New York Times, 2/16/10

McDonald’s Love Affair With Fried Chicken and Black People

This is one of the stupidest commercials I have ever seen. Why are these people singing about McNuggets? Do black people sing about everything?This chicken seduction is over the top even for MickieDs. Tell me what you think?

President Obama Reminds John McCain the Campaign is Over

I am not going to pretend that I watched the entire healthcare summit, but I did see this. It is good to see the president reminding the Republicans that the campaign is over. John McCain wanted to take the opportunity to reestablish his status as the maverick. He is in the political fight of his life and he wanted to appear tough, but the president gently reminded him we as a nation are no longer in campaign mode, but governing is what we all should be doing. This is the Barack Obama I voted for and hopefully we will see more of him.

Why are PETA ads Getting Personal?

A few weeks ago PETA released an ad comparing the TLC Duggar family ( they have 19 chilren) with dogs. Over the summer they compared obese women to whales. They also used the image of Mrs. Obama and other celebrities without their permission. There latest ad takes a pot shot at Tiger Woods. What has happened to this organization. The message that you need to spay and neuter your animals is simply getting lost in the controversy. Sure the ads get talked about but is that the goal of the organization? Do they simply want to create buzz or do they really want to help the animals? From where I sit it looks like buzz is the goal.

Al Sharpton and Tavis Smiley Smackdown

Tavis Smiley and Al Sharpton have been going  at it the last few days here is a clip.

Al Sharpton Says No to “Barack Obama Beatdown Sessions”

This morning on the Tom Joyner Morning Show Al Sharpton said that he is not a member of the “chorus” which was the phrase Tavis Smiley used to describe some of the president’s supporters on yesterday. Sharpton said he is an activist and his job is to work not just talk. He also said that some people have been taking shots at the president during the election process are still taking shots. Smiley was never enthusiastic about Barack Obama and his criticism has increased since Obama became the president. Sharpton stated the need to hold Obama accountable, but let’s not forget Obama has only been president for a year. Where was Smiley during the 8 years of George Bush? Sharpton asked are we holding Obama to a different standard. So at this point Smiley can probably give Sharpton’s Summit Seat to someone else because Sharpton will be a no show.

Al Sharpton Accuses Tavis Smiley of “Buck Dancing” for Clinton

This morning I got the opportunity to hear Rev. Al Sharpton’s response to Tavis Smiley’s 10 minute commentary aired yesterday on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Yesterday Smiley announced an upcoming Summit set for March 20th in Chicago. Smiley had indicated that Sharpton would be one of the panelist. The only problem is Sharpton didn’t know anything about this. Sharpton said he was calling in because Smiley was accusing him of saying things he simply did not say. Sharpton said that Smiley while criticizing the first black president had in fact refered to Bill clinton as the first black president in his book and Sharpton went a step further when he accused Smiley of “buck dancing” for Clinton. Sharpton said he is interested in results and not just being a part of a television production. Sharpton has been active in a number of issues recently. He has been not only working on job acquisition, but he is also actively involved in the president’s education initiative. Smiley is on the outside trying to get in and obviously they have very different perspectives on the state of Black America. Stay tuned. yesterday Sharpton simply responded to Smiley today he does his own commentary on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.