Things That Make Me Go Hmmm

Why is boy a white racist's word but not nigger, nigga, nigguh and any other permutation of the word? Wake up, black people!

Homage to a Lost Friend

I just wanted to pay homage to a high school classmate of mine who died tragically two weeks ago. My favorite memory of Lynjereia is that she taught me to twirl batons so I could try out for the majorette team. Our prayers are with her family, especially her little daughters. Always in our hearts and memories. View her obituary below.

Lynjereia Shimiro Burks, died Friday, August 25, 2006 of an automobile accident. Beloved daughter of Ceola W. Burks and the late Shawn N. Burks, Sr. Granddaughter of Delphine Williams and the late Henry Lee Williams, Willie Ruth Griffin and Sylvester Burks. Mother of Aakea Princess Latiker and Paris Janea Bernard. Sister of Shawn N., Jr., Tyshockki, Chernitee and September Burks, Carlette Hogan, Shawn Percy and Shernay Burks; Niece of Dora Matthews, May Alice Williams, Elaine Brown, Mary and Joseph Williams, Aqua L. Young, late Willie Mae and Johnnie Lee Williams. Great niece of Pauline Sims and the late Tommy Sims, Sr. Also survived by a beloved godsister, Tanya Marzilli and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. A graduate of Mildred Osborn Elemetary, Gregory Middle and GW Carver Sr. High School and attended Xavier University, majoring in PreMed. Relatives and friends of the family, also pastor, officers and members of Ebenezer, Temple of Divine Life and Greater St. Stephens Full Gospel Baptist Churches; friends and staff of Xavier University, East Field College of Dallas, TX and UNO; employees of Internal Revenue Service, Deanies Seafood, IDMR, Orleans Parish School Board/Laid Law;and members of Soul Knights M.C.C. are invited to Funeral Service at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 1020 Virgil St. on Saturday, September 2, 2006 at 9:00 am. Visitation will begin at 8:00 am; Interment: Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Arrangements by D.W. RHODES FUNERAL HOME, Gretna, LA.

Source.

Great Yet Scathing Critique of Nagin

Clancy DuBos, journalist with the Gambit Weekly newsmagazine, offered a scathing but insightful critique into the leadership of New Orleans mayor, C. Ray Nagin. Much food for thought. Many thanks to "A'Lexus" for bringing this to my attention.

The Perfect Double-Agent
By Clancy DuBos

If there is a vast white conspiracy to keep poor blacks who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina from moving back to the city, it could not have a better front man than Clarence R. Nagin, mayor of New Orleans.
Nagin's mindless, self-serving utterances, combined with his singular failure to devise and implement a recovery plan, virtually guarantee that the rest of America will abandon us, which means that those without means, left to fend for themselves, will be left behind -- or left out completely. As clueless as he is, the mayor surely must know this.
That Nagin should secretly champion the very conspiracy he so publicly attacks only adds to the deftness with which he advances the cause. Indeed, he makes the perfect double-agent: He holds the most powerful position in town, yet he stands in front of an impoverished crowd in the Lower Ninth Ward railing against unnamed "powers that be" who allegedly want to grab their land, even though no one else has wanted that land since Bienville first planted a flag hereabouts in 1718; and all the while his "free market" policy of doing nothing that resembles leadership or boldness discourages investment of both public and private capital in the hardest-hit areas, thereby increasing the chances that poor neighborhoods will lie fallow for years to come. If the "powers that be" have any designs on the Lower Nine, it's to keep it fallow, not buy it up.
Mission accomplished.

Read more here. Be sure to tell me what you think -i.e. go to the comment section.

Free Speech Ain't Free

I promise this post is the last one on Mos Def's arrest outside the MTV VMAs on last Thursday. But I just had to post this actual footage of his performance and subsequent arrest.