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.

BlogWatch

Yesterday, Rich posted yet another great recap of the episode of Project Runway that aired Wednesday, August 30th. Read it here:

Angie in the sky with fleurchons [FourFour]

More on Mos-Def and "Katrina Clap"

As posted a few days ago, Mos Def was recently arrested for performing "Katrina Clap" outside of the VMAs. Below, check out the video for the song.

Writer's Block

I have been laboring with a piece on Katrina and how I feel a year later. But it has to be one of the hardest pieces I've tried to write. So bear with me b/c I have something to say but it's taking a while to get it together.

Mos Def-initely Not Mad At Him

I have a love/hate relationship with Mos Def. First, there's the love I have for how poignant he can be in a freestyle, the song "Two Words" (need I say more?), and his superb acting skillz - a truly talented man. But then there are times when he pisses me off: not releasing enough albums but being in every movie up under the sun; and getting into trouble for not paying child support (where was all that consciousness & poignancy when it was time to slip on a Trojan or mail a check?). {Pic source}

But last night in New York after the MTV VMAs, Mos Def was arrested for, presumably and most probably, speaking on my behalf and yours, according to a story on EurWeb.com. (Get the link here. Story also posted below.) Now I see Mos Def with a different, less judgmental perspective. And I want to apoligize to him for ever doubting his furor for social justice in this place called Earth. Mos Def, you better do it, man.

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MOS DEF ARRESTED OUTSIDE VMAs: Was it because he didn't have a permit or was it because of what he rapped about?

*Even though it was a fairly tame (MTV) Video Music Awards by its own standards inside Radio City Music Hall Thursday night, outside it was on and poppin'. Rapper and actor Mos Def was arrested for disorderly conduct after an unauthorized performance in front of the venerable venue.
Mos Def, according to authorities, stopped off at RCMH in a flatbed truck around 10 p.m. for an impromptu show for the audience gathered there. An NYPD spokesperson said officers asked him and members of his entourage to shut it down.
But before police took action, Mos Def performed "Katrina Clap," described as a freestyle indictment of the Bush administration's slow response to last year's hurricane victims in New Orleans.
A source told MTV that officers then approached the rapper demanding the operation be stopped immediately (on the grounds that a permit had not been issued). The order wasn't communicated to Mos Def immediately, so the rapper didn't end his performance right away, the source said. Police then began making arrests, including the rapper, his entourage and his brother. It was unclear whether or not a permit was granted. Meantime, Mos Def was released early this morning, Friday, September 1.
In a statement, Carleen Donovan, Mos Def's publicist, called the NYPD's treatment of the rapper excessive.
"Mos Def was unjustly arrested tonight while performing on a flatbed track in New York City outside the Video Music Awards," said Donovan. "Mos Def was not out to break any laws. His only goal was to heighten the awareness of a serious situation that still exists in our country. He does not want people to forget that although it's one year later, the people and cities hit by the hurricane still need the help of the American people."