Conservative Bloggers Call First Lady ‘Fat Cakes Michelle,’ Criticize Her Fashion Choices

Ever on the hunt for something disparaging to say about the first family, conservative bloggers have criticized President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for various aspects of their 17-day vacation in Hawaii–including the first lady’s fashion choices.

“While Obama sits back in DC making sure Congress passes the payroll tax holiday bill, Michelle Obama and her kids decided to begin their ultra-expensive, ultra-lavish, tax payer funded 17 day Hawaii vacation. Fat Cakes Michelle just couldn’t wait another day or two for business to wrap up in DC.,” according to the right-wing website “fireandreamitchell.”

In addition to criticism of the timing, destination and cost, Michelle Obama is also taking heat for a dress she wore to Christmas day church services at the Kaneohe Bay Marine Base.

According to ABC News, Mrs. Obama was photographed in a striped white sundress by French-born, U.S.-based designer Sophie Theallet, with an estimated price tag of $2,000.

“Some see the first lady’s penchant for expensive labels at odds with her reputation as a bargain shopper who frequents J. Crew and Target,” ABC News reported.

One comment about the First Lady on the Naked DC website read: “She claims to be a champion of the poor and a fellow bargain shopper, but yet, here she is, sporting a dress that no unemployed American can afford.”

Of course, it wasn’t reported that Mrs. Obama wore that same dress to an official ceremony in Accra, Ghana back in July 2009, and wore it again that same year during the family’s vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.

The first lady appears to not only have a good eye for fashion, she’s also not averse to wearing and being  photographed several times in the same outfit.

I give her mad props for providing a great example of how to stretch a dollar–well, two thousand of them, that is.

by Kathleen Cross for rollingout.com

Take This Job and Shove It? 5 Signs You May Have the Worst Boss in the World


If you are an employee who works in an environment where your higher-ups are supportive, creative, fair-minded and open to feedback, count yourself among the lucky ones. Unfortunately, not everyone is so blessed.

Many employees are struggling to cope in a negative work environment where they deal with the stress of  surviving emotionally and psychologically from day-to-day.

Are you suffering in an environment of workplace cruelty, abuse or neglect? If you can answer yes to the following questions, you may have the worst boss in the world:

1         DISRESPECTFUL? Does your boss call you demeaning names or imply through words or actions that you are unintelligent, untrustworthy or incompetent? Does this happen in the presence of other employees?

2         UNFAIR? Does your boss seem to have standards or rules that apply to you, but do not apply to others in positions similar or identical to yours?

3         CLOSED-MINDED? Are your attempts to communicate your ideas and concerns to your boss repeatedly ignored or discouraged?

4         NEGATIVE? Does your boss find every opportunity to criticize your performance, but makes no effort to praise your accomplishments?

5         INCONSISTENT? Does your boss change his or her mind about a decision, policy or procedure without clearly communicating the change, then punish or malign you when you’re unclear about how to proceed?

In this economy you can believe there is an unemployed person who is ready and willing to put up with your boss’s bad behavior, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have any recourse in a situation where you are being subjected to abusive, demeaning, harassing or unfair treatment in the workplace.

Although there are federal laws protecting you against workplace discrimination and certain types of harassment, labor laws vary from state to state regarding verbal or psychological abuse in the workplace. The most important thing you can do to protect yourself and prepare for possible legal action is to keep a journal in which you document all instances of maltreatment and record your attempts to communicate your concerns to your boss and through other appropriate feedback channels in the company. Be sure to note details specific to the incidents of abuse, including the names of witnesses who could corroborate your version of events.

It is important to keep in mind that your work environment should not be causing you to feel despondent, enraged, or suicidal. If you are experiencing extreme emotions that could lead to violent or self-destructive actions, seek mental health counseling immediately. If your employer does not provide insurance for mental health services, call your county health department to find out about free or reduced-cost services near you.

Happy Feet Two Delivers a Message Every Kid (Even the Grown Ones) Should Hear

“If you want it, you must will it. If you will it, it will be yours.”

Though I loved the overall message of Happy Feet Two, I found a couple of serious glitches in this energetic and well-meaning sequel to an Academy Award-winning predecessor.

Let’s just go ahead and get the criticism out of the way so we can get to the good stuff.

What I didn’t like about this film is that, plot-wise, there was just way too much going on. The original movie was about a cute little fuzzball who didn’t fit in. Prest-O, change-O and by Happy Feet’s end, horrifically tone-deaf Mumble turns out to be an amazing dancer whose uniqueness has become an asset. Easy to follow. Great message for the kids.

This version of the penguin-out-of-water saga is not so simple. Mumble is grown now and his son Erik is on a quest to…do something important I’ve forgotten because the competing subplots about melting polar ice caps, an entire generation of emperor penguins facing extinction, two bickering krill (Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) on a mission…oh, and that one penguin guy who actually can fly…distracted me from whatever it was little Erik needed to accomplish.

I also am a little unsettled by listening to a white guy (a brilliantly funny guy, by the way) voice a character with uber-zesty Mexican flavor (R-r-ramon) that could have more authentically been voiced by, well, an actual Mexican actor.  Lovelace’s “soulful” Barry Whitish demeanor gives me the same heebee-geebees. But that’s just me.

Having said that, I can testify that this movie is a friggin’ visual feast. The 3D animation is absolutely spell-binding and something you really do have to see to believe. There is never a dull moment in this fun and funny flick, and between the eclectic soundtrack, the Savion Glover choreography and the witty one-liners delivered by an all-star cast, Happy Feet Two is wildly entertaining.

I’ll admit that as a Common fan, I was excited to witness his foray into voice-over acting, and he didn’t disappoint. His character brought authentic hip hop flavor to a screenplay that intentionally paid homage to several music genres along the way, including hip hop, rock, and the surprising use of a musical genre I won’t mention here because it would spoil a great little plot twist.

Though very young children may be frightened by some of the more ferocious scenes, this is a great “take and talk” film. That’s where you take a group of youngsters to see the film, then go out for pizza and talk about some of the important themes the characters came to terms with along the way.

The overarching message in this movie is a powerful one more kids really need to learn as early as they are able to comprehend it:

If you want it, you must will it…

Happy Feet Two delivers this message in a way that might metaphorically wrench the X-box controller out of our kids’ hands and encourage them to get busy actively pursuing their talents and their dreams. For the price of a movie ticket and a box of popcorn, that’s a pretty good deal.

by Kathleen Cross for rollingout.com

 

Crips and Bloods Unite to Occupy Atlanta

Sherrod Britton and Shabaka Addae Guillory

Georgia Peace Education Program Director, Tim Franzen, shares the story of Shabaka Addae Guillory, a 20-year-old who joined the Crips at age 14, and Sherrod Britton, a 29-year-old Blood member. According to Franzen, the two became best friends during an impromptu freestyle rap session at Occupy Atlanta.

“I saw him in the park, saw his colors,” Guillory told Franzen. “There was no mean mug or rivalry because we realized that what’s happening here is so much bigger then gang rivalry.”

Sherrod said he felt a deep connection to the message and process of Occupy Atlanta.” I stayed for the common cause, speaking for the people. I feel strongly that we have the right to jobs, health care, and affordable higher education.”

Franzen, who called the new friendship “one of the beautiful byproducts of this new movement…”  says it is one of the “transformative experiences that has arisen as a result of so many different people from different walks of life occupying a space together for a common cause.”

The desire among gang members to fight for social justice may seem antithetical to outside observers, but the story of these two “thugs” perfectly reflects the spoken word message “The OG” voices to  “The CEO” in the poem Dignity, a piece that is performed from the point of view of a gang member in a scene in my novel Skin Deep:

DIGNITY (The OG Addresses The CEO)

If I had my dignity
I would not yell street obscenities
to assert my dominion
in my streets

or paint my name in block letters
to remind you
this is my block

If I had my dignity
I would not sell anything
I could not sell without lies
or steal anything I could not buy

If I had my dignity
I would not feel the need
to threaten you physically
or challenge your right to survive

If I had my dignity

But you conspired to remove it from me

at three

I knew even then
there was something
not quite white
about the color of my skin

And G.I. Joe and Ken?

they knew too
and they screamed it loud and clear
so all the little brothas in my neighborhood
could hear:

“Hey boy,
if you try hard
you could be somebody

you could pump gas
fix cars
or bag groceries
Hell, if you try REAL hard
you could even become president

Yeah

And then…
you convinced me to measure my VALUE
by my material things.

And when I came up short,
my E N T R E P R E N U R I A L S P I R I T
kicked in

My first BMW was black

JET

as black as I could get

to affirm that I had bought into
the huge social lie
that you ARE what you HAVE

And when I step back and ponder
(yeah, I said ponder, it means THINK LONG)

I find similarities in our occupations

Me behind my nine
You behind your nine to five

and I wonder if you yell street obscenities
to assert your dominion
on Wall Street

or if you paint your name in block letters on your high-rise
to remind me
this is your high-rise

and I wonder if in Central America
you have sold anything
you could not sell without lies

or if in Africa
you have stolen anything
you could not buy

and facing me here eye-to-eye
I wonder if you feel the need to threaten me physically
or challenge my right to survive

…and now I realize…

if you had your dignity
you would not have taken mine

©1999 Kathleen Cross

From the novel Skin Deep by Kathleen Cross

Desperate Ex-Skinhead Turns to Former Black Enemy to Escape Life of Hate

“I wasn’t on any great mission for the white race. I was just a thug.” -Bryon Widner

Bryon Widner gets frequent migraines and has to stay out of the sun. He calls it “a small price to pay for being human again.”

Before he fell in love and married his wife, Julie, Bryon Widner had once devoted his life, his heart and his body to the cause of white supremacy. A pillar in the neo-Nazi movement, Widner was one of the most violent and well-known skinheads in the nation, and he had the tattoos to prove it. A blood-soaked razor, swastikas, and the letters “HATE” stamped across his knuckles, were but a few of the outrageous messages his body was broadcasting to the world.

After marrying in 2006, Widner and his wife (who had also been an active white supremacist) changed their minds about the movement and began trying to build a life free of hatred. Widner left behind his old ties, and looked forward to a future in which his children could look at him and be proud.

Unfortunately, and, understandably, Widner could find few people willing to look past his hate-filled tattoos to determine if the man behind them really did want to change his life.

Unable to afford the expensive removal procedure, Bryon began experimenting with homemade concoctions to try to burn the tattoos from his face and body.

He reached the point, he said, where “I was totally prepared to douse my face in acid.”

In desperation, Julie reached out to a black man whom white supremacists consider their sworn enemy.

Daryle Lamont Jenkins runs an anti-hate group called One People’s Project based in Philadelphia. The 43-year-old activist posts the names and addresses of white supremacists on his website, and alerts people to their activities. Jenkins has been the target of death threats and vicious hate speech from various white hate organizations around the country.

The Widners had sought advice from the right man. Jenkins’ introduced them to T.J. Leyden, a former neo-Nazi who is now an activist for tolerance.

Leyden knows better than most the barriers faced by those seeking to turn their backs on their neo-Nazi roots to begin anew.

Leyden ultimately led the Widners to the Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala.  Through the help of the SPLC an anonymous donor paid the estimated $35,000 it cost to free Bryon from his prison of ink. The donor’s conditions were that Widner get his GED, get counseling and pursue either a college education or a trade — he was happy to comply.

Read the entire AP article at the Salt Lake Tribune.

We’re a Culture Not a Costume (REPOST)

Fed up with the annual parade of white folks in blackface, “Indian squaws,” and other culturally insensitive Halloween costumes on their campus, a group of students at Ohio University decided to do something about it.

Members of the campus club STARS (Students Teaching Against Racism) created a poster series with the theme “We’re A Culture, Not A Costume,” featuring Halloween revelers dressed in costumes STARS members consider sterotypical and offensive.

The group says the intention of the posters is to:

“Educate and facilitate discussion about racism and to promote racial harmony and to create a safe, non-threatening environment to allow participants to feel comfortable to express their feelings.”

The campaign has definitely incited dialogue, though some of what is being posted on the Internet is not fit to be printed here. Melissa, who blogged about the poster campaign at her website Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, had to disable her comments due to the volume of racist  remarks she received.

Arizona University student, Kristine Bui, wrote this about the posters in her school’s paper:

“It’s hard to explain exactly what is so wrong about being a geisha or a sheik for Halloween. It’s unsettling. It’s a feeling I’ve always struggled to articulate — a discomfort that sort of just sits in the place between your heart and your stomach, quietly nagging. It’s a sense of being wronged without knowing exactly what was done to you.

“People who think racism is dead think so because they don’t see active discrimination. They think, ‘But minorities are allowed to do everything I’m allowed to do, so where’s the harm?’ STARS’ poster campaign calls attention to another problem: Minorities are often made into caricatures … As a minority, you’re a character, not a person. People dress up as you on Halloween. On TV, you’re the token black guy, easily replaced by some other black guy after one season.

“Racism is so much stealthier now. It doesn’t announce itself, and it’s complicated.”

 

STARS President ‘Sarah’ recently posted this update on her Tumbler page:

POSTER CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
Any questions about the posters can be sent to [email protected]. We are so proud of all the support but it’s overwhelming; We have less than 10 members in our group. lol We ask that you do not personally email any of the exec’s or message their personal tumblrs. Thank you guys so much for the love! The purpose was to educate and create dialogue and it did 🙂 We have a meeting with a lawyer on Monday so we can protect our posters and the posters will be all over Ohio University’s campus this week! Again, thanks for the support and have a happy Halloween!
Best, Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) at Ohio University Executive board

 

Although I’ve never been one to wear ethnically stereotypical or disrespectful costumes, I am definitely thinking more deeply about this issue. These posters have inspired me  to take a mental inventory of my own Halloween costume choices over the years, and I don’t think a casual walk through the costume store will ever be the same.

Congratulations on all your hard work STARS. You’ve got people thinking, talking, and costume changing.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Bestseller, ‘American Grown’

I don’t know if the first lady of the United States named her book “American Grown” with the intention of  b***h slapping those who’ve accused her over the years of being unpatriotic (the same ones who accused her husband of being a non-American.)

But, ahem, take that.

Though the title could easily be a tongue-in-cheek reference to Michelle Obama’s American roots, the book is actually about roots of another kind–the ones you find beneath the dirt in the White House garden.

“American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities aims to explore “how increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve the health of families and communities across America,” according to a press release issued Monday by the Crown Publishing Group.

“Mrs. Obama will describe how her daughters Sasha and Malia were catalysts for change in her own family’s eating behavior, which inspired Mrs. Obama to plant an edible garden on the South Lawn — the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s ‘Victory Garden,’ planted during World War II.”

The first lady did not receive an advance for the book and all proceeds will be donated to charity, the statement says. Random House Inc., Crown Publishing Group’s parent, will also make a donation of the books sales to a charity.

American Grown will be on sale nationwide starting April 10, 2012.

We’re a Culture, Not a Costume: Ohio University Students Teaching What NOT to Wear

Fed up with the annual parade of white folks in blackface, “Indian squaws,” and other culturally insensitive Halloween costumes on their campus, a group of students at Ohio University decided to do something about it.

Members of the campus club STARS (Students Teaching Against Racism) created a poster series with the theme “We’re A Culture, Not A Costume,” featuring Halloween revelers dressed in costumes STARS members consider sterotypical and offensive.

The group says the intention of the posters is to:

“Educate and facilitate discussion about racism and to promote racial harmony and to create a safe, non-threatening environment to allow participants to feel comfortable to express their feelings.”

The campaign has definitely incited dialogue, though some of what is being posted on the Internet is not fit to be printed here. Melissa, who blogged about the poster campaign at her website Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, had to disable her comments due to the volume of racist  remarks she received.

Arizona University student, Kristine Bui, wrote this about the posters in her school’s paper:

“It’s hard to explain exactly what is so wrong about being a geisha or a sheik for Halloween. It’s unsettling. It’s a feeling I’ve always struggled to articulate — a discomfort that sort of just sits in the place between your heart and your stomach, quietly nagging. It’s a sense of being wronged without knowing exactly what was done to you.

“People who think racism is dead think so because they don’t see active discrimination. They think, ‘But minorities are allowed to do everything I’m allowed to do, so where’s the harm?’ STARS’ poster campaign calls attention to another problem: Minorities are often made into caricatures … As a minority, you’re a character, not a person. People dress up as you on Halloween. On TV, you’re the token black guy, easily replaced by some other black guy after one season.

“Racism is so much stealthier now. It doesn’t announce itself, and it’s complicated.”

 

STARS President ‘Sarah’ recently posted this update on her Tumbler page:

POSTER CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
Any questions about the posters can be sent to [email protected]. We are so proud of all the support but it’s overwhelming; We have less than 10 members in our group. lol We ask that you do not personally email any of the exec’s or message their personal tumblrs. Thank you guys so much for the love! The purpose was to educate and create dialogue and it did 🙂 We have a meeting with a lawyer on Monday so we can protect our posters and the posters will be all over Ohio University’s campus this week! Again, thanks for the support and have a happy Halloween!
Best, Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) at Ohio University Executive board

 

Although I’ve never been one to wear ethnically stereotypical or disrespectful costumes, I am definitely thinking more deeply about this issue. These posters have inspired me  to take a mental inventory of my own Halloween costume choices over the years, and I don’t think a casual walk through the costume store will ever be the same.

Congratulations on all your hard work STARS. You’ve got people thinking, talking, and costume changing.

“Curvy” Ballerina Speaks on Being American Ballet Theatre’s First Black Soloist

The image most of us have of mainstream classical ballet is one of stick-thin white women  who got their start in the world of dance back when they were toddlers sporting baby ballet slippers and tiny tutus.

Prepare to revamp that image now that Misty Copeland has forever changed the face (and a few other body parts) of American classical ballet.

Misty was 13 years old when she took her first ballet class wearing socks and sweats on the basketball court in the Boys and Girls Club in her home town. Four years later she was dancing with the notoriously homogenous American Ballet Theatre as their only African American troupe member. Today she is the first black soloist to perform with the company since Nora Kimball, 30 years ago.

“When I started dancing I never thought I would have such a voice,” says Copeland. “Being the only black woman in my company for 11 years I’ve found my voice…I want to introduce more people to [classical ballet].”

In addition to the attention her ABT career has brought her, Misty also found a new audience when she was asked by Prince to tour with him and perform her classical technique on stage. “Collaborating with Prince opened up so many people’s eyes…and made [ballet] cool,” she says of the experience.

Copeland told the Huffington Post that working with Prince, “helped me to see the bigger picture — to not be so focused on the political things that happen in my company and with dancers around me…Not to feel judged by other people. When you’re in a field like I am, you get more negative feedback than you do positive. I mean, we stand in front of a mirror all day because we’re supposed to look at our flaws and fix them. So it’s been nice having someone say positive things like, “You can do this” and “The sky’s the limit.”

Misty recently filmed a “Day in the Life” segment with award-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock in which she visited a Boys and Girls Club to mentor a group of aspiring ballerinas. She told the girls, “It’s really exciting to see young dancers that look like me…It makes me so happy to see you.  My mom was a single parent and I’m one of six kids and we all went to the Boys and Girls Club…It seems like this fairytale but I made it.”

Misty intends to encourage more black girls to consider dancing classical ballet. “It’s important to keep black women in this field motivated and on track,” she explains, “because so many are turned away and told do other forms of dance because they’ll be more accepted and it will be easier for them. So, my goal is to try to push them in this direction. I wish I would have had someone, especially a black woman I could have looked up to.”

-by Kathleen Cross for RollingOut.com


Malik Yoba’s New SyFy Show Alphas is “The Wire Meets X-Files”

UPDATE: Alphas is five episodes in, and the show is awesome. And, for those who say black folks aren’t into SciFi, check out this vote of confidence I found over at allhiphop.com with the thread title: Please tell me y’all niggaz are watching Alphas.

:-/

Rumor has it black folks don’t watch science fiction (unless Will Smith’s in it, a lot of ish gets destroyed, and the special effects dial is turned to overkill). I find that annoying to hear, mostly because I’m black, I watch science fiction, and a great number of my black friends and family members do too.

For argument’s sake, I’ll suspend my disbelief and consider that those rumors might be true and maybe black folks aren’t (for lack of a better word) “geeked” about the new show “Alphas” on the SyFy channel.

I really don’t need any reason to tune in other than the fact that Malik Yoba is starring in the show, but for those of you who are too young to have fallen madly in love with Malik when he played J.C. Williams on “New York Undercover” back in the 90s, there’s much more here to entice you over to the geek side.

“Alphas” isn’t your cookie cutter sci-fi production. Yes, it is about a group of individuals with ‘super’ powers, but the characters are not super human, nor are they super heroes.  The powers they have are the ones all humans have — only they’re magnified to a degree that makes them a fantastic blessing and a freakish burden.

Yoba’s character is an FBI guy who keeps accidently on purpose hurting people with his out of control fight or flight instinct. Yes, he can flip a car over with his bare hands, but he won’t be flying through the air balancing a BMW on his fingertip. It ain’t that kind of sci-fi party, and I love that about this show.

I don’t know about you, but I’d give up caffeine for life to have the power one of these Alpha chicks has — she uses mental telepathy to make a traffic cop stop writing mid-ticket, stuff the ticket it in his mouth, chewing and grinning as he tells her to have a nice day. Azita Ghanizada, the Afghani actress whose character can selectively see, smell, taste, hear and feel things on the molecular level, describes the show as “The Wire meets X-Files.”

Malik says “Alphas” is like nothing he’s done in the past, and if you’ve followed his career, you know he can play the hell out of an FBI guy, which, ironically is why he almost turned the role down.  “I wasn’t interested. It felt like another procedural role and I was over the whole television series thing.” His manager and agents pressed him to read the script and he found the project too unique to resist.

“I haven’t had this much fun doing anything, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the projects I’ve worked on,” Yoba said. “There’s action there’s comedy there’s the human element, the sci-fi element and it’s a thriller. I just read the episode we’re shooting next week and I’ve never had this experience where I’m reading the script and I’m shook. It’s scary.”

Malik is hoping “Alphas” will draw new viewers to the genre. “It would be good to have a whole bunch of brown people watching sci-fi … It’s about humanity. It’s what makes people connect.”

I’ll be watching with a room full of brown people, Malik. Sci-fi party over here. -kathleen cross

This article was originally published at RollingOut.com

Alphas is on Monday nights at 10pm on SyFy channel.

Zero Tolerance Public School Policies Are Pre-Criminalizing Black and Brown Children

The United States of America makes up 5 percent of the world’s population, but houses 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.

No country in the world, not a dictatorship or a communist, Islamic or facist country anywhere on Earth imprisons more of its citizens than America.

In this so-called “Land of the Free” 1 in 31 adults is currently behind bars, on probation or on parole, and that is the aggregate data. Break that down by race and the numbers are beyond ridiculous. We already know a black man in America is far more likely to die a felon than a college graduate.

How, in a supposedly “developed” nation, can it be considered smart public policy to spend more of our tax dollars incarcerating someone when it is far cheaper to educate them?  That is the infuriating, saddening, frustrating question we must consider when we examine the recent data released by the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments in their report, Breaking Schools’ Rules: A Statewide Study on How School Discipline Relates to Students’ Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement.

The six-year study looked at the effect of zero tolerance policies in Texas public schools and found:

  • One million students were suspended or expelled, and those students who were disciplined this way were also more likely to drop out or have to repeat a grade.
  • 83 percent of black males had at least one disciplinary action on their record which ended with them being removed from school compared to 59 percent of white males. 70 percent of black female students and 37 percent of white female students had been disciplined. ( White females were often not disciplined for identical offenses committed by black females.)
  • 15 percent of students who were disciplined with suspensions or expulsions had been so 11 times or more.
  • In Texas, as in the rest of the country, black and Latino students were punished at higher rates than their non-black and Latino classmates.
  • 97 percent of the disciplinary actions were a result of school administration and staff exercising their discretionary power to punish students. Just 3 percent of the expulsions and suspensions were actually mandated by Texas state law.

Funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundations, this study also found that when students are suspended or expelled, the likelihood that they will repeat a grade, not graduate or become involved in the juvenile justice system, increases significantly. African American students and children with particular educational disabilities who qualify for special education were suspended and expelled at especially high rates.

Let us all be clear about what these data mean. Thousands of these kids are headed for Texas jail beds — and they will become a part of the growing American slave labor force that builds furniture, manufactures defense department supplies and provides other production tasks for which they will (legally) be paid pennies per day. These  jobs will not be available to American children who do manage to navigate the public education system and earn a diploma, because it is more profitable to get a prisoner to do them.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement last week, as many critics of zero-tolerance policies have argued over the years, that harsh school discipline doesn’t deter bad behavior, it discourages students from staying in school and makes the work of educating U.S. kids that much harder.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder referred to the report as a “wake-up call.”

Read the full story about the school discipline study at Education Week.

Black Mothers Are Least Likely to Breast-Feed … Is a Breast-Feeding Doll the Solution?

A recent CDC report found that non-Hispanic black women in the U.S. were least likely to breastfeed compared to other racial groups, despite the fact that breast milk provides superior nutrition, natural immunity, and possible allergy prevention for babies who receive it.

Data suggest that there may be experiences unique to non-Hispanic black women that contribute to their decision to bottle-feed:

  • Lack of culturally relevant information and images of non-Hispanic black women breast-feeding.
  • Perceptions that breast-feeding is inferior to formula feeding or conflicting messages about breast-feeding.
  • Need for non-Hispanic black women to return to work sooner, where, until recently, support for breast-feeding was often insufficient.
  • Lack of social or partner support.

Spain-based Berjuan Toys thinks it has the solution to raising those breast-feeding rates — a breast-feeding doll that acculturates young girls to value breast-feeding and view it as a normal part of motherhood. Breast Milk Baby comes with a halter top that a child wears to “nurse” the doll. Located on the outside of the garment is an appliqué where the child places the doll’s mouth to simulate breast-feeding. The doll makes motions and suckling sounds when a sensor in its mouth is near the appliqué. The doll sells for 69.99 and is currently only available online. Two million have been sold in Europe.

Those for and against the toy are equally vehement about why their opinion is the right one. A Facebook page “Against the Breast Milk Baby Doll” has been created, and an online petition asking U.S. toy stores not to stock it has been circulated. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly mentioned the doll on his show, saying it pushes little girls to grow up too soon.

Berjuan Toys rep Dennis Lewis says the doll is a much-needed antidote to a culture that advocates bottle-feeding at the expense of breast-feeding, even though it’s known to offer health benefits for mother and child.”This is an important issue, because if little kids start learning about breast-feeding when they’re young, it becomes an easy choice for them when they are older,” Lewis says. The doll is a fun way to let children play out “the importance of natural breast-feeding.”

It seems a bit ridiculous to spend $70 bucks on a doll that is supposed to encourage behavior an imaginative child will do without the high-tech gadgetry. A child who witnesses breast-feeding will emulate it in play. My daughters saw me nursing their younger siblings and when they played “mommy” they pretended to breast-feed. The sucking sounds coming from the doll are unnecessary and a little creepy n my opinion.

-by Kathleen Cross for rollingout.com

Restaurant Servers Want a Tip? Serve Black Customers Better

According to a recent poll by The Root on attitudes and habits regarding tipping, African Americans are much more likely than whites to tip as a “reward for good service.”

These findings were among a number of differences in tipping habits across cultural lines revealed in The Root‘s online survey.

The vast majority (89 percent) of all respondents indicated that they tipped “all the time,” with 11 percent responding “most of the time.”

But when it came to whether there were ever reasons not to leave a tip, clear differences could be found along racial lines. A large percentage (upward of 40 percent) of both blacks and whites agreed that “rude,” “incompetent” or “horrible” service was an acceptable reason not to tip.

Whites were much more forgiving of bad service. Forty-nine percent said they would “always tip” no matter how bad the food or service. Only 37 percent of blacks said that they felt the same way, while 50 percent indicated that there would be no tip for waitstaff whom they regarded as rude or inept.

Jerome Rabow, a professor of sociology who lectures on race and ethnic relations at UCLA and California State University, Northridge, says that black restaurant patrons may be justified in their greater propensity to tip only when they feel they’ve received service that warrants it. Based on his own experience waiting tables as a young man and the anecdotal evidence gleaned from his students who are waiters today, Rabow believes that before black patrons can prove otherwise, they are often perceived by waiters as poor tippers, and, in turn, often receive substandard service, such as being ignored or overlooked, receiving meals after diners who arrive later or being greeted brusquely by waitstaff.

If this data collected by The Root is accurate, the lack of tipping on the part of black patrons is part of a vicious cycle food servers can break by dismissing the stereotype and providing black patrons with excellent service. –kathleen cross

Read more at TheRoot.com

Black Graduate Forced to Share Valedictorian Honor With White Student Who Did Not Earn It

A black teenager named Kymberly Wimberly who had a baby during her junior year, yet managed to earn the highest grade-point average at her high school, is suing an Arkansas school district, contending she was discriminated against when she was not allowed to be sole valedictorian.

Principal Darrell Thompson at McGehee Secondary School southeast of Little Rock, Ark., had already sent out a press release announcing to the local community that Kymberly had earned the Valedictorian honor when Kymberly’s mother, Molly Bratton, says on May 10 she overheard school staff talking in the copy room about how Wimberly’s status as valedictorian might cause a “big mess.”  The lawsuit contends that the following day Thompson informed Bratton that he had decided to add a white student with a lower GPA as co-valedictorian.

Wimberly graduated in May after taking challenging AP and honors coursework and earning all “A’s” with the exception of one “B.”  She and the white student who had been named co-valedictorian both spoke at the commencement.

“Even though she had the highest grade point average (GPA) in her class, Defendants forced Wimberly to share the title of Valedictorian with a white student,” the lawsuit alleges. “Defendants’ actions were part of a pattern and practice of school administrators and personnel treating the African-American students less favorably than Caucasian students.”

Blacks represent about 46 percent of the 500-plus student body at McGehee Secondary. Prior to Wimberly, the last African American valedictorian in the McGeHee school district was in 1989.

Molly Bratton contends the superintendent wouldn’t allow her to speak to the school board to challenge the decision that forced her daughter to share the valedictorian honor. The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and requests that school records be changed to show Wimberly as sole valedictorian.

Amy Winehouse’s 15-Year-Old Goddaughter’s Soulful Show Must Go On

Two hours after learning that Amy Winehouse’s voice had been forever silenced, her goddaughter and protégé, Dionne Bromfield, took to the stage to perform. Though the 15-year-old made no mention of the tragedy, nor sang any of her godmother’s songs during her abbreviated set, the audience gave the grieving soul songstress warm applause as she exited the stage early and quickly left the Ponty Big Weekend Festival in Pontypridd, Wales.

Spokesman Tim Powell said of the teen’s performance, “It was very, very professional. We would have perfectly understood if she hadn’t wanted to perform, but she very bravely did.”

Just a few days earlier, another of Bromfield ‘s audiences witnessed what we now know was Amy Winehouse’s final onstage appearance. Winehouse sang a few words into the microphone at Bromfield’s prompting, but mostly just danced alongside her goddaughter as the young singer performed “Mama Said,” a single from her debut album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, released by Winehouse’s Lioness record label in 2009.

Bromfield, the biracial daughter of a Jamaican father and British mother, lists her musical heroes as Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé and Ne-Yo. She has a remarkably mature sound and a collection of expertly produced covers on her album, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “My Boy Lollipop.”

“That’s Amy’s favorite song,” Bromfield once told a reporter. It is one of three songs on which Winehouse sang background vocals.

The unfortunate death of Amy Winehouse likely will result in worldwide attention and a boost in record sales for this talented teen. If she is able to learn the lessons her godmother taught her by her short and tragic life, Bromfield will leave drugs and alcohol alone and focus on trying to fill her mentor’s singing and songwriting shoes — a task that should keep her busy for decades to come.

by Kathleen Cross for rollingout.com

‘Ebony,’ ‘Jet’ Publisher John H. Johnson Immortalized on Black Heritage Postage Stamp

In the wake of recent news that family-owned Johnson Publications has sold a minority share of the business to JPMorgan Chase & Co., the U.S. Postal Service is announcing that it will include the publishing company’s founder, John H. Johnson, in their Black Heritage stamp series with a 2012 commemorative forever stamp.

” We are proud to immortalize John H. Johnson as our latest inductee in our Black Heritage stamp series,” said Stephen Kearney, manager of stamp services. “He was the trailblazing publisher of EbonyJet and other magazines, as well as an entrepreneur.

In 1982, he became the first black person to appear on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 wealthiest people in America. His magazines portrayed black people positively at a time when such representation was rare, and he played an important role in the civil rights movement. President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.”

Johnson, who died of congestive heart failure at age 87 on Aug. 5, 2005, once said of Ebony magazine’s purpose, “We try to seek out good things, even when everything seems bad. We look for breakthroughs, we look for people who have made it, who have succeeded against the odds, who have proven somehow that long shots do come in.”

That long shot theme is one Johnson himself knew well. The grandson of slaves, he was born in rural Arkansas in 1918. When he was 6 years old, his father died in a sawmill accident. His mother remarried, and for two years during the Great Depression the family collected welfare until Johnson’s stepfather was finally able to find work. In 1942, Johnson’s mother let him use her furniture as collateral for a $500 loan which he used to publish the first edition of his first magazine, Negro Digest, reaching 50,000 circulation in only six months.

John H. Johnson turned a $500 loan into an empire that eventually included a book division,  a cosmetic company, hair care products, television production and the Ebony Fashion Fair (the world’s largest traveling fashion show) which has donated over $47 million to charity.

The Postal Service’s commemorative stamp, designed by art director Howard Paine, features a color photograph of John H. Johnson taken by Bachrach Studios. The photographer was David McCann.

Customers may preview the stamp on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, via Twitter@USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at www.beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is a U.S. Postal Service site where you can find the backstory on  upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

Abandoned at Birth Now an AIDS Activist: Hydeia Broadbent’s Life a Testament to Early Diagnosis and Treatment

Born HIV-infected to a crack-addicted mother and diagnosed with full blown AIDS at age 3, Hydeia Broadbent was not expected to live past the age of 5. More than 20 years after receiving that death sentence, this beautiful young woman blogs, tweets and travels the country to educate people about the importance of AIDS prevention, testing, early diagnosis and treatment.

“Early diagnosis can be the difference between life and death,” says Broadbent. “Too many people become aware of their status when it is too late for life-saving medications to be effective — I am in this fight because I truly do not want others to go through what I have gone through — but also keep in mind, a positive test result doesn’t have to mean a death sentence.”

Some uninformed people hear stories like Broadbent’s and believe that because HIV-positive people are now living much longer, prevention is not a big deal anymore. Broadbent warns audiences not to fall into that trap. This young lady knows firsthand that living with AIDS is no walk in the park. The drugs have serious side effects, are very costly and they must be taken every day. If you are following Broadbent on Facebook or Twitter, you know her emergency room visits are frightening and expensive.

“People think because I was born with HIV my story does not apply to them,” warns Broadbent. “Well, this same disease I am living with is the same disease you can get if you don’t practice safe sex and know your HIV status and the HIV status of your sexual partner. I ask people to use my testimony as a warning of what you don’t want to go through.”

If you have been thinking about getting tested, but still haven’t found the courage or will to get it done, let this young woman’s concern for you give you the nudge you need to be concerned about yourself.

“We are responsible for the choices we make and I challenge everyone to be accountable. Every 9 ½ minutes someone becomes infected with HIV. Knowing your HIV status is not only a representation of self-love but also states what kind of person you choose to be. Not knowing your HIV status and having unsafe sexual relationships means you could possibly be infecting others,” Broadbent says.

Visit www.HydeaiaBroadbent.com for more information on this awesome young lady.

Mexican Beer Ad Implies African Women Are Animals

I was driving down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and had to circle the block for a second look at this bus bench poster. What the hell? This is just wrong on too many levels to believe, but the most glaring offense is the negative message it sends about African women.

At first glance, the guy in the middle seems dressed for a safari, and the immediate assumption is these two men are his tour guides. However, closer inspection shows they are all holding golf clubs, which is a subtle way of lifting the African men into a higher economic class. These two men in loincloths would then represent guides of a different kind — cultural guides, so to speak, who are possibly educated and definitely worldly and sophisticated enough to be golfing with the white dude.

The wording of the ad doesn’t specify women of any race, and it is disrespectful to all women, but the African man on the left is the one dishing out relationship advice and that tells the observer that this man is speaking on what he knows from his own experience and culture, which would imply that he is speaking about the African woman. His message: The only way to deal with her is to recognize she’s basically an animal that must be approached with caution. The white dude finds this amusing.

We already are bombarded with misogynistic and demeaning messages in music, television and film. The last thing we need to see is a bus bench lesson on how black women are not human.

It is said that controversy sells, and drawing more attention to an ad like this might be what the company intends. But I’m thinking a national boycott of this brand might be just the economic smackdown needed to prevent this kind of blatant disrespect from happening in the future.

If you have an opinion you’d like to share with the company, Dos Equis can be reached at 877-522-5001, or email them at [email protected].

It would be great if the calls and emails came from both women and men.

by Kathleen Cross for rollingout.com

Does Your Toddler Have Bad Credit?

With the rise in foreclosures, bankruptcies, long-term unemployment and other recession-related financial disasters, some desperate people have resorted to stealing the identities of children to apply for credit.

It is estimated that as many as 400,000 kids per year are having their pristine credit histories hijacked — a crime that doesn’t impact them today, but can have devastating financial repercussions when they reach adulthood.

Adam Levin of Credit.com reports, “The crime generally goes undetected unless and until the child applies for a license, a credit card, a loan for college or, perhaps, requires a medical procedure. When they do, if their identity has been compromised — by someone having used their stolen SSN to set up credit accounts, obtain free medical care or throw police off of his trail, for example — bad things begin to happen almost instantly.”

Even when a teen-turned-adult does eventually discover the crime, when it is the parent, foster parent or other guardian who has used the identity for financial gain, it often goes unreported because, says Levin, “of the very human inclination not to ‘rat out’ a parent or family member.”

You may not have considered the possibility that your child’s credit has already been established (and possibly destroyed), but if a financially desperate family member has had access to your child’s social security number, it may be too late. If you are curious or concerned, TransUnion.com provides a secure online form to help you discover if there is any credit activity related to your child’s social security number and date of birth.

For more information, visit businessinsider.com.

White Hate Crime Convict Scheduled to Die July 20; Bangladeshi Victim Wants Him Spared

When terrorists attacked America on 9/11, Mark Anthony Stroman went on a murderous rampage to, as he put it, “exact some measure of equality and fairness for the thousands of victims of September 11.”

With specific intent to kill Middle Eastern-looking men, Stroman shot 46-year-old Pakistani immigrant Waqar Hasan in the head on September 15, 2001. Six days later, he shot Bangladesh native Raisuddin Bhuiyan in the face at a gas station where Bhuiyan worked. He survived but was left blind in one eye. On October 4, Stroman walked into a gas station operated by 49-year-old Vasudev Patel and killed him with a shot to the chest. Patel was a Hindu, not Muslim, Arab or Middle Eastern. Stroman was convicted of Patel’s murder and sentenced to die.

With his execution date approaching, Stroman, a former member of the Aryan Brotherhood, has publicly declared his remorse, both for his actions and the underlying hatred that fueled them. “I cannot tell you that I am an innocent man. I am not asking you to feel sorry for me, and I won’t hide the truth,” he said from Texas death row at the Polunsky Correctional Unit. “I am a human being and made a terrible mistake out of love, grief and anger and, believe me, I am paying for it every single minute of the day.”

In a surprising twist to a story born of hatred and violence, one of Stroman’s biggest supporters is Bhuiyan, a devout Muslim, who survived being shot in the face by Stroman and whose testimony helped convict his attacker. Despite the pain Stroman has caused him and all of the victims’ families, Bhuiyan does not want him to die. “In order to live in a better and peaceful world, we need to break the cycle of hate and violence. I believe forgiveness is the best policy…” he said. “I forgave Mark Stroman many years ago. I believe he was ignorant and not capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done what he did.”

Stroman is reported to have cried when he was told about Bhuiyan’s efforts to have his death sentenced commuted. “I am sorry to say I made innocent people pay for my rage, anger, grief and loss,” he said. “I have destroyed my victims’ families as well as my own. Out of pure anger and stupidity, I did some things to some men from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. And, now, I sit on death row awaiting execution. And, by no means, am I proud of what I have done.”

Barring a last-minute intervention, Stroman will die for his crimes on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

Read more at CNN.com.