Black Teen Beaten by Police in Indianapolis

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Brandon Johnson: 15-Year Old Boy Beaten by Police in Indianapolis

• Indianapolis Police Chief Paul Ciesielski called for the firing of a white officer who's been ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 11th 2010 1:25AM | Comments (1)

OJ Simpson Fights to Get a New Trial in Nevada

• OJ Simpson's attorneys are planning to try to convince a group of Nevada judges to overturn his ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 10th 2010 11:58PM | Comments (0)

Oscar Grant Trial Has No Black Jurors

• On New Year's day of 2009, Oscar Grant was shot in Oakland, California. The shooter was a Bay ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 10th 2010 6:58PM | Comments (8)

How To Fight Like A Celebrity!

• From the Urban Daily: Have you ever noticed that celebrities always have beef, but never actually ... Read More
• By Lucette Jefferson on Jun 10th 2010 5:50PM | Comments (1)

Around the Web -- Jay-Z in Rolling Stone, Drake Was Rihanna's 'Pawn'? + More

• In his third Rolling Stone cover article, Jay-Z speaks on aging gracefully in a youth-oriented ... Read More
• By Journey Ade on Jun 10th 2010 5:45PM | Comments (2)

Black News: Oscar Grant Trial Has No Black Jurors

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

On New Year's day of 2009, Oscar Grant was shot in Oakland, California. The shooter was a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officer by the name of Johannes Mehserle. Grant was 22-years old at the time of his death, and the shooting was captured by cell phone cameras and disseminated throughout the Internet. Adding insult to injury, the Grant family just found that there will be no African American jurors in the trial of grant's shooter.

Jack Bryson, whose sons were with Grant the night he was killed, was angry about the jury selection.

"This is like a slap in the face," Bryson told The Associated Press. "This case came all the way to Los Angeles after the judge in Alameda County said they couldn't get a fair and impartial jury there.
"This is the best you can do, and you did this in two days. We could've stayed back in Oakland for this."

Click to read

Obama and the Angry Black Man

• Obama's "Angry Black Man" Criticism: Isn't He Also Half White?

  9:36 PMJun 9

  Source: Blackvoices Main

  In light of all of the interesting analysis that others have done regarding why President Barack Obama can only get so angry about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I was wondering if any of this analysis makes sense. In fact, most of the ... Read More

• BP Shares Get Hammered as Firm May Face Bankruptcy Due to Spill

  7:46 PMJun 9

  Source: BV Black Spin

  Today, the shares of British Petroleum (BP), the company responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, plunged 16 percent in heavy trading. There were nine times more shares traded in the company today than the average daily volume. The added ... Read More

• Rev. Jesse Jackson Says Congress Ignoring Jobs Crisis

  7:05 PMJun 9

  Source: BV Black Spin

  In a piece on The Huffington Post, the Rev. Jesse Jackson stated that he is concerned that Congress is ignoring the jobs crisis in America. Over 300,000 teachers are facing layoffs this year, and teen unemployment is the highest its been since 1948, ... Read More

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The Latest in Black News from AOL - 6/9/10

22-Year Old Pretending to be HS Student Faces 6 Felonies

• Have you ever fantasized about going back to high school and doing all the things you wish you'd ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 12:59PM | Comments (0)

Eminem's 'Recovery' Proves More Than Celebrity Rehab

• During Eminem's personal journey to sobriety, his fans braced themselves for its effects on his ... Read More
• By Amanda Bassa on Jun 9th 2010 12:00PM | Comments (0)

Dee Dee Myers: Obama Can't Get Angry Because He's Black

• Dee Dee Myers, former Press Secretary for the Clinton Administration, was in hot water recently ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 11:38AM | Comments (2)

BLACK MUSIC MONTH: 7 Pop/Rap CDs You Must Revisit

• We continue to salute Black Music Month by recognizing seven CDs in the pop, rap and rock genres by ... Read More
• By Jawn Murray on Jun 9th 2010 11:30AM | Comments (1)

Rihanna's Hair Stylist Explains Her New 'Matador Red' 'Do

• Master chameleon Rihanna surprised everyone by showing up with a bright red bowl-cut at Madrid's ... Read More
• By Katie Hintz-Zambrano on Jun 9th 2010 11:00AM | Comments (0)

Rihanna Sparkles, Jada Shines, Revamps & The Ultimate Dress - Around the Web

• Rihanna glitters on the cover of Elle RiRi talks black women and fashion (StyleList) Jade shines, ... Read More
• By Lucette Jefferson on Jun 9th 2010 10:55AM | Comments (0)

FBI Says Texas Man Called Al-Qaida His 'Brothers'

• It appears that one of the biggest threats to U.S. security in the coming years may be homegrown ... Read More
• By Jeff Mays on Jun 9th 2010 10:53AM | Comments (0)

Rampage Jackson, UFC Fighter, Justifies 'Gay' Comments

• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson recently lost his anticipated fight against Rashad Evans last month, but ... Read More
• By Quibian Salazar-Moreno on Jun 9th 2010 10:33AM | Comments (0)

DA: No DNA Evidence Found on 7-Year-Old Who Was Gang Raped

• New Jersey prosecutors stated in court documents Tuesday that there was no DNA evidence of ... Read More
• By Ruth Manuel-Logan on Jun 9th 2010 10:13AM | Comments (3)

Marc Lamont Hill Responds to Slim Thug's Take on Black Women

• When I recently read the open letter to the rapper Slim Thug (pictured above), written by ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 9th 2010 8:57AM | Comments (8)

Peace, Confidence and Bliss

• Your Affirmative Prayer for Wednesday, June 9, 2010: My awareness of my unity with Spirit ... Read More
• By Barry Johnson on Jun 9th 2010 12:34AM | Comments (5)

BP Using Massive PR and Internet Strategies to Deal with Spill

• If you are like President Barack Obama, who says that he's looking for "whose ass to kick" over the ... Read More
• By Boyce Watkins, PhD on Jun 8th 2010 10:55PM | Comments (2)

Eve: Lets Guard Down on VH1's 'Behind the Music'

• Eve Jihan Jeffers, who is most commonly known in the world of entertainment simply as Eve, isn't a ... Read More
• By Bridget Bland on Jun 8th 2010 7:26PM | Comments (0)

 

 

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The Latest Black News - 6/7/10

• 

  Obama says US will bounce back from oil crisis

  By theGrio

  1:20 PM on 06/07/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Surrounded by Cabinet members, Obama said that not only is he confident that the crisis will pass but also that the affected area "comes back even stronger than ever."...

  > MORE

• 

  Suburban sex dungeon near high school exposed

  By theGrio

  12:57 PM on 06/07/2010

  VIDEO - Florida officials have arrested more than a dozen people allegedly involved in a Lee County prostitution ring that involved a house converted into a sex shop...

  > MORE

• 

  Cosby: 'Stop taking advantage' of Lohan

  By Lana Schupbach

  12:45 PM on 06/07/2010

  VIDEO - Bill Cosby, who has spent much of his career working with child actors, also commented on the recent death of 'Diff'rent Strokes' star, Gary Coleman...

  > MORE

• 

  Porn actor pursued by police for murder falls off cliff, dies

  By theGrio

  11:52 AM on 06/07/2010

  LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police said Hill had repeatedly threatened suicide in the hours leading up to the fall, which came a day after murder and attempted murder charges had been filed against him...

  > MORE

• 

  Gary Coleman's ex-wife says they planned to re-wed

  By theGrio

  11:22 AM on 06/07/2010

  NEW YORK (AP) - The couple had divorced in 2008, but Shannon Price says they later agreed that divorce "wasn't the right choice."...

  > MORE

• 

  Back to brown: Ariz. backs off mural modification

  By theGrio

  10:51 AM on 06/07/2010

  VIDEO - School officials in Arizona admit they made the mistake of wanting the faces of African-American and Hispanic children on a mural to be painted lighter...

  > MORE

• 

  Long road ahead for Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup

  By theGrio

  10:25 AM on 06/07/2010

  GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) - Although a geyser of oil spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is slowly tapering off, there's no containing much of the crude that's already escaped...

  > MORE

• 

  Ark. Dems vie for black voters in Senate race

  By theGrio

  9:50 AM on 06/07/2010

  WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) - The race, which remains neck-and-neck, is seen as an important test of what kind of Democrat can prevail in conservative states such as Arkansas...

  > MORE

• 

  Alonzo Mourning: A better Haiti isn't good enough

  By theGrio

  9:38 AM on 06/07/2010

  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Despite significant progress in recovering Port-au-Prince, according to the retired NBA star, the world has already forgotten earthquake devastated Haiti...

  > MORE

• 

  Minor leads gang rape of child, only gets probation

  By theGrio

  9:21 AM on 06/07/2010

  PHOENIX (AP) - Unless a judge rules otherwise, he will remain on probation until he is 18. If he had been convicted in adult court, he could have been sentenced up to 21 years in prison...

  > MORE

• 

  Obama going to Kalamazoo high school graduation

  By theGrio

  9:10 AM on 06/07/2010

  AP - Kalamazoo Central was one of three Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge finalists chosen through public voting on videos and essays submitted by the schools...

  > MORE

• 

  Don Cheadle named UN Goodwill Ambassador

  By theGrio

  8:57 AM on 06/07/2010

  KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) - UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner announced the appointment, saying that Cheadle would help raise green awareness among millions of people around the globe....

  > MORE

Black News in Black America - 5/18/10

 

• Crime show taped Detroit raid that led to 7-year-old's death
• Obama administration faces questions on oil spill
• Video: Apartheid's lost generation
• Al Sharpton backs Black entertainment district in Baltimore
• Zimbabwe failing mass eviction victims: Amnesty
• Sprinter Tyson Gay breaks 44-year old record
• Jamaica to extradite drug suspect wanted by US
• Ciara's video banned from BET?
• Black Civil War soldiers victory parade marked
• Barack Obama's aunt wins US plea for asylum
• South Africa rail strike leaves millions stranded
• Master jazz pianist Hank Jones dies at 91

The NAACP and Wells Fargo: What's Wrong with this Partnership?

Faye Anderson

The NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. I have known just about every chief executive officer since the 1980s, from the late Ben Hooks to Ben Jealous.

Some longtime Board members are also longtime friends and colleagues.

I attended the NAACP’s Civil Rights School at Harvard Law School in 2007.

Still, I have been called a hater for pointing out that Wells Fargo is a lead sponsor of the NAACP’s 101st annual convention.

Whatever. It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to. And as sports agent Scott Boras famously observed:

If you are really effective at what you do, 95 percent of the things said about you will be negative.

I have been writing about the subprime mortgage crisis for quite a while. I’ve also organized housing symposia and policy sessions for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

Study after study after study shows African Americans were targeted by subprime lenders.

Click to read

Black News: Is it Racist to Portray the Obamas as Sanford and Son?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University

Phillip Sciarello, a publisher and part owner of the Smithtown Messenger in Long Island, is defending his newspaper after a picture appeared that some believe to be a racist stereotype of the first family. The picture depicts Barack and Michelle Obama as characters from "Sanford and Son." The public backlash has led the paper to announce that it will issue a retraction in its next edition.
The picture is part of a "before and after" sequence of the last six presidents, showing how much they age once they get into the White House. The "after" photo of the Obamas show Barack Obama as Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and Michelle Obama as Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page). The characters are standing ready to fight, as was typical on the 1970s television show.The pictures led the Brookhaven town board to remove one of the company's sister publications, the Brookhaven Review, as an official newspaper. This means that the paper will no longer publish town government notices.
"The reference to racial stereotypes is where the line was crossed," Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko said to Newsday.
Hazel N. Dukes, president of the state NAACP conference, stated that the county should pull advertising from any publication that runs the photo.

 

Click to read

Your News: NCAA Gets Another 11 billion off black athletes

The NCAA men's basketball tournament is expanding, starting next season, but not on the large scale once expected.

The sport's signature event will grow to 68 teams from 65 in conjunction with a new 14-year, nearly $11 billion television agreement with CBS and Turner Sports announced Thursday. That gives the NCAA a 41% hike in annual media and marketing rights connected to the tournament — and "financial stability through the first quarter of this century," interim President Jim Isch said — without the controversy of a more dramatic move to a 96-team bracket.

Negotiations with CBS/Turner, ESPN and Fox Sports initially had targeted a 96-team field, drawing concern and criticism from traditionalists and others over the impact on the tournament's aesthetics, effect on college basketball's regular season and conference tournaments and potential for further intrusion on players' time and studies.

 

Click to read

News: Dr. Boyce Video on AOL Black Voices - 4/28/10

Dr. Boyce Video: Latino Studies Professor on What You Need to Know About Immigration

• With all the intense scrutiny on Arizona for its harsh anti-immigration legislation, the time has ... Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill on Apr 28th 2010 4:09PM | Comments (4)

Dr. Boyce Video -- Michael Bivins of Bel Biv DeVoe & Alfred Edmond of Black Enterprise on African American Music & Business

• Dr. Boyce Watkins brings you an exciting discussion on the business of media and entertainment with ... Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill on Apr 27th 2010 2:24PM | Comments (1)

Dr. Boyce Video -- Talking Black Finance With Expert Ryan Mack

• Dr. Boyce Watkins is taking his unique perspective beyond the printed page to the video realm on ... Read More
• By Alexis Stodghill on Apr 27th 2010 1:32PM | Comments (2)

Black News from TheGrio - 3/24/10

• 

  Republicans in final drive to stall health reconciliation

  By theGrio

  6:47 PM on 03/24/2010

  VIDEO - Voting was expected to start late Wednesday on a full list of GOP amendments to a "sidecar" bill making changes Democrats agreed to in the main legislation already signed by Obama...

  > MORE

• 

  Three arrested as NC school board reverses busing plan

  By theGrio

  6:03 PM on 03/24/2010

  VIDEO - The school board in North Carolina's capital city narrowly agreed Tuesday to roll back a policy that buses students to achieve diversity...

  > MORE

• 

  House passes bill to fund infrastructure, tax cuts

  By theGrio

  5:40 PM on 03/24/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Local governments would receive billions of dollars for construction projects and welfare programs in the latest in a series of election-year jobs bills Democrats are pushing in Congress...

  > MORE

• 

  Rev. Jackson: Health reform a boon for blacks

  By theGrio

  4:44 PM on 03/24/2010

  VIDEO - Jesse Jackson reacts to the National Urban League's the State of Black America report that was released today...

  > MORE

• 

  Fight over black trustee spills onto SC gridiron

  By theGrio

  4:08 PM on 03/24/2010

  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Black lawmakers are urging black football recruits to reconsider playing for the University of South Carolina because the school could lose its lone black trustee...

  > MORE

• 

  Banks on verge of losing student lending business

  By theGrio

  4:05 PM on 03/24/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Industry lobbyists have watched helplessly as Democrats and the Obama administration this week appear on the verge of shifting student lending from private banks to the federal government....

  > MORE

Black News - 3/16/10

• 

  Obama woos wavering Dems on health vote

  By theGrio

  9:28 AM on 03/16/2010

  VIDEO - Days away from a make-or-break vote on his fiercely contested health care overhaul, President Obama is turning up the pressure on wavering Democrats...

  > MORE

• 

  Heavyweight to featherweight: Tyson races pigeons

  By theGrio

  9:09 AM on 03/16/2010

  NEW YORK (AP) - Former world heavyweight champ Mike Tyson will take flight on Animal Planet with a new sport -- pigeon racing...

  > MORE

• 

  Obama seeks to reassure seniors on health care

  By theGrio

  5:20 PM on 03/15/2010

  VIDEO - With a fresh sense of urgency, President Obama sought to reassure seniors Monday about health care legislation approaching a final vote in Congress...

  > MORE

• 

  Appeals court upholds conviction in KKK killings

  By theGrio

  4:24 PM on 03/15/2010

  JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the 2007 conviction of a reputed member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan in the kidnapping...

  > MORE

• 

  NCAA graduation rates between blacks and whites widening

  By theGrio

  3:37 PM on 03/15/2010

  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The disparity in graduation rates for white and black players on NCAA tournament-bound men's basketball teams grew this year...

  > MORE