Click here to listen to Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Dr. Boyce Watkins (Syracuse University) talk with Harvard Law Professor, Charles Ogletree
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Deborah Stroman: Is Higher Ed a Right or a Privilege?
by Dr. Deborah Stroman
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Get Real! That’s my kind response to the critics of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) recent academic reform policy that eliminates the minimum SAT and ACT scores for admission. This well-thought out and crafted course of action finally gives colleges the academic freedom and independence to do what they do best – make decisions as to which students they want on their particular campus. Not the NCAA, the athletic leagues, or any other sport-related governing body has the right to tell an academic institution who is most deserving of the opportunity to sit in their classrooms and learn. Although our country promotes a spirit of education for all, the reality is that higher education is for the privileged. And those with the financial resources receive more access and resources. With a wink and a nod though, the student-athlete can oftentimes bypass this necessity if one possesses the talent to throw a tight spiral or shoot a silky-smooth jumper.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Dr. Peniel Joseph on the Skip Gates Case
With the Gates fiasco, the rosy glow has faded
AP Photo, Cambridge Police Department
My first reaction to watching the unfolding Saga of Skip Gates's Cambridge Arrest was that America's postracial bubble, like its recent economic troubles, was about to pop. The fact that some observers had never bought into the story of a race-free America purged of its past sins by a watershed presidential election had done little to diminish either that narrative's moral resonance or political weight.
Since America's racial disparities remain as deep-rooted after Barack Obama's election as they were before, it was only a matter of time until the myth of postracism exploded in our collective national face. That they would rear their ugly head in the form of an intellectual and racial cause célèbre is fitting, since black scholars and activists have been engaged in a robust debate over the meaning of race in the Age of Obama.
Suddenly Obama's recent declaration before the NAACP—that American blacks have come farther than at any other time in our country's history—seems suspect, our national progress undone by the fact that Gates's predicament has become a metaphor for the nation's legacy of racial discrimination.
Click to read more.News: Henry Louis Gates 911 Tapes Released
Just out. Listen to the audio from the 911 call on Henry Louis Gates’ Arrest by clicking here.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Your Black News: Black Republicans Concerned about Party’s Future
(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Sarah Palin's resignation from her role as governor of Alaska has prompted new questions about the GOP's leadership and future. While Michael Steele made history by becoming the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee, where do African Americans stand in helping to redefine the party?
TheGrio sat down with a group of black Republicans to discuss their feeling on their political party and its future.
"What does it mean to be a black man that agrees with the Republican party's agenda, the Republican party's message?" said hiphoprepublican.com's Brandon Brice. "That is, reducing the size of government, giving people real opportunities to excel from any circumstance or situation."
According to a report released in May by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Africans Americans make up two percent of the nation's Republican party, compared to 22 percent of the democratic party. The study also found that during the 2008 election, 95 percent of blacks voted for Barack Obama, while just four percent voted for Republican candidate John McCain.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Black News: Dr Boyce Watkins, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Charles Ogletree Talk About Gates
Tomorrow morning, July 26, 2009 at 8:30 am EST, Dr Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University will appear on the Jesse Jackson Show with Rev. Al Sharpton and Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree. The conversation will center around the recent arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates.
Raising the Minimum Wage: A Very Good Idea
by Dr. Boyce Watkins
I am a curious professor, a compassionate capitalist and the owner of a small business. All of these hats create a complex perspective on whether or not it is a good idea to increase the minimum wage. After all, we are in a recession, and one might be tempted to argue that any sort of pay increase would slow down our nation's economic recovery, eliminate jobs, and significantly reduce corporate profitability.
Sorry to burst those bubbles, but the data don't validate most of the above concerns.
First of all, the minimum wage was introduced during the Great Depression, the mother of all economic downturns. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was designed to ensure that the most vulnerable Americans were no longer going to be exploited by the power of big business. The Great Depression came to an end shortly thereafter, and there is no evidence that it slowed down the economic recovery in any significant way.
Secondly, the budgetary implications of minimum wage increases are not very large. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 2 percent of all men and 3.6 percent of all women currently earn the minimum wage. But while the impact on our national budget is small, the gains for those affected are tremendous: there are nearly 5 million children in families who earn the minimum wage, and nearly all of these children are going to have better lives in the advent of an increase.
Black News: E. Lynn Harris Dies at 54
John Bazemore/Associated PressThe author E. Lynn Harris.
Updated | 2:48 p.m. E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling author of novels that addressed questions of identity and sexuality among black men, has died, his publicist told The Associated Press. He was 54.
According to his official biography at his Web site, Mr. Harris was born in Flint, Mich. and raised in Little Rock, Ark. At the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, he was the school’s first black male Razorbacks cheerleader and was a lifelong fan of the team. He sold computers for a living until he self-published his first novel, “Invisible Life,” in 1991; it was picked up by Anchor Books in 1994, spawning a prolific writing career spanning ten more novels, from “Just As I Am” in 1994, to “Basketball Jones,” published in January, as well as a 2004 memoir, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.”
In a review of Mr. Harris’s 2006 novel “I Say a Little Prayer” in The New York Times Book Review, Troy Patterson wrote that Mr. Harris “has helped bring taboo topics — like closeted black men indulging their sexuality ‘on the down low’ — into mainstream conversation.” From his debut with “Invisible Life”, Mr. Patterson wrote that Mr. Harris offered a writing style that “was smoothly paced, and the prose occasionally opened up on Fitzgerald-lite moments of sparkling sentiment.”
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Dr. Boyce Watkins speaks on AOL – 7/22/09
The Latest
Dr Boyce: Henry Louis Gates and His Arrest at Harvard
- I don't like our nation's criminal justice system. Every statistic reeks of racism, and the prison ... Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (2)
Dr Boyce Money: What Can Michael Vick Do Now?
- Previously, I did a piece on Michael Vick and discussed ways in which Michael can get his ... Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (2)
Are Hip Hop Artists "Bo-Jangling" for the Dough?
- I was on the phone with an artist in NYC the other day. I asked her why she hasn't released an ... Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (3)
Dr. Boyce: Michael Vick is Finally Free
- Michael Vick is finally out of prison. He is not just being transferred from one prison to ... Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV Black Spin | Comments (9)
Dr Boyce Money: Steve McNair's Missing Will
- My heart was broken when I read about the murder of NFL great, Steve McNair. My heart went out to ... Read More
- Posted by Boyce Watkins, PhD in BV on Money | Comments (10)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Black News: Henry Louis Gates Arrested: More Facts
Note by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
I spoke with another high ranking police official about the Gates case. He is pretty candid with me about most things, so I believe what he had to say. Here were his thoughts:
1) Disorderly conduct is an easy trap to fall into. When dealing with an officer who gets out of line, you should cooperate and then deal with the situation later. If Gates argued with the officer and yelled at him from the porch, that opened the door for him to be arrested.
2) If there were extra officers at the scene, it's likely that they were called when the officer arrived and realized that there were two men in the house (Gates and the driver) and only one of him. It's standard procedure to call for additional backup when you are outnumbered. But then again, I am not sure if the driver had left by then or not.
3) There are usually extraneous variables that have to be checked out in these situations. For example, even though Gates showed that he owned the home, he could have had a restraining order against him filed by his wife in the middle of a nasty divorce. Given that Gates had appeared to be breaking into the house (by pushing the door), the officer would be expected to make sure that Gates was not there to hurt his wife or do something illegal. Of course this sounds absurd in this case, but there are many cases where husbands break into the homes of their estranged wives in order to hurt them.
Just thought I would share these facts. The conversation was very interesting and insightful.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Your Black News: Obama Taps Black Woman for Surgeon General Post
President Barack Obama nominated an Alabama country doctor who has three times resurrected her clinic in a fishing village after disasters to be U.S. Surgeon General on Monday and help him advocate for healthcare reform.
Dr. Regina Benjamin promised to advocate for Obama’s healthcare agenda as “America’s doctor” if she gets the job as chief public spokesperson on health issues, saying her own family and patients have been victims of the failing U.S. system.
“Through floods and fire and severe want, Regina Benjamin has refused to give up. Her patients have refused to give up,” Obama said in a White House Rose Garden announcement.
U.S. surgeons general in the past have issued influential reports on topics including smoking, AIDS and mental health. Benjamin said she not only wanted to serve in the traditional role of surgeon general, encouraging healthy habits, but press to make medical care more easily available.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Dr Boyce Watkins: Is FreeCreditReport.com Actually Free?
5 months ago I signed up for the "free" credit report. Little did I know that I would be charged 1.00 per month on aservicecalled "Your Savings Club" which they automatically sign you up. Also they charge you another 1.00 per month as well as 30.00 for "CREDITDIAGNOS". In addition it is your regular charge of 11.95 for "CIC*Credit Monitor". So because I didn't cancel in time, my "FREE" credit report cost me 214.75.
Justin of Lawndale, CA June 10, 2009
Freecreditreport.com requires you to enter yourinformationin BEFORE it discloses its terms and conditions. Upon reading all the terms and conditions I simply closed my web browser. I did not click on "agree" to terms and conditions and I did not click on either "no, just give me my free credit report" or "yes, I would like my 27 three credit reports" I simply closed the window.
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