Unlike many rappers in hip-hop who are obvious industry pinheads just trying to cash into the bank, Kanye West knows more. Yet, that is perhaps the very problem: he knows more and yet does nothing to actually fix the problem.
Barack Obama visited Morehouse College on Sunday to give a refrain on the responsibility of Morehouse Men and black America to find dignity and progress in self-reliance, a refrain that has simultaneously proven exciting and excruciating for African Americans over the last four years.
I'd believed that I was headed for greatness, but they had revealed in me a thing that was seemingly so dirty, so disgusting that my other talents paled in comparison to the supposed vileness of being a practicing homosexual. And for this they bullied me right out of the church.
I was a 25-year-old documentary filmmaker from New York working on a show for MTV. He was a 21-year-old dancer in East Oakland trying to move on with his life after the murder of his little brother. I spent a year embedded in his life, and got a front row seat to an American epidemic.
Something is clearly wrong with our state when all the death sentences are coming out of one county. We are in a crisis when our state, which is 4.3 percent African-American, has a death row that is 100 percent African American. A broken system has produced flawed results.
I ask you, fans across America and around the world, to root for Memphis -- both the Grizzlies team and the city. Maybe a Grizzlies championship can provide just the "grits" this Southern city needs.
there's the almost ritual expectation by the public that second term presidents will be dogged by some scandal. This was the case with Eisenhower, Nixon, of course, Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. This shouldn't surprise.
The loneliness of that realization, that my daughter might have to shoulder the consequences of these stigmas, made me heartsick. I'd made myself believe she would only be challenged by her race and gender, not the basic ability to speak her mind.
On this 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Children's Crusade it is a time to remember, honor, and follow the example of the children who were frontline soldiers and transforming catalysts in America's greatest moral movement of the 20th century.
There is no way to make up for decades of discrimination that crippled the proud history of black farm ownership in this country. But we can do our best to move forward.
The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have one. In order to rid oneself of addiction, one must declare it. My name is Fire Burgess and I am a diehard fan of misogynistic Rap music.
How do we expect our communities and economies to thrive when our young boys and girls are not receiving the education and training that is needed to enter the workforce?
The bill -- passed by the Florida legislature and now awaiting the signature of Governor Rick Scott -- would expedite the death penalty process in the Sunshine state.
We watch the stories of hoarders on television and feel sorry for them and we feel proud to not be one of them. But perhaps we have more in common than we realize.
Anti-choice activists are exploiting the Gosnell trial to push for laws that close abortion clinics and otherwise limit access to choice. But that is exactly the wrong reaction. The horrific conditions at Gosnell's clinic show just how important it is to have real reproductive choice.
In the ongoing "Mommy Wars of 2013", there is still a backlash against mothers who hire individuals (mostly women) to help with childcare. Is this a class issue or just another cafeteria fight?
What happened to the party of Lincoln? To the party that abolished slavery and championed a woman's right to vote? To the party of Reagan who ended the Cold War and revitalized a moribund economy?
The right-wing is screaming at Eric Holder to investigate potential civil rights' violations by IRS officials. He should take them up on their entreaties, and raise the ante by investigating all the voter suppression and intimidation during the 2012 election.
I entered the hospitality industry in 2010. It took me all of one week to realize what I did not want to believe. My housekeeping sisters, mostly Latina, were treated different than me.
Jarrett L. Carter, 2013.19.05
By Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices
Stephen Hill, Executive Vice President of Entertainment and Music Programming at BET, is a man to whom controversy is no stranger.
Hello? This is the man who programs Entertainment and music at BET!
Yet, you might be surprised that not only was this Ivy-Leaguer a teacher in years past, but the former radio exec turned TV mogul also has been active in the fight against AIDS for many years.
For his work, he's being honored Tuesday, Dec. 4 by LIFEBeat, the Music Industry's charity against AIDS.
"We are going to have fun and in fun raise a lot of money so that we can continue our information distribution to the youth about AIDS," says Hill.
Tomorrow, the Brown grad will be feted by LIFEBeat's LIVE BEATS at New York's Highline Ballroom with special performances by Mary J. Blige, Kathy Sledge, Denise Rich and "you never know who else well be grabbing the mic!"
Hill, like many of us, came to the fight against AIDS because it touched his life in a very personal way.
For high school, Hill attended the exclusive boarding school, Groton School in Massachusetts and became fast friends with another African American from the city who also shared his passion for music.
"My best friend in Lloyd Keith Howlett, in 1989 he died of AIDS," says Hill. "It was absolutely devastating. The goal is to make it so that no one else ever loses their best friend."
Hill says that two young men used to come back from vacations with the latest music to share music (Hill from DC and Howlett from New York) and even performed The Sugar Hill Gang's hip hop classic, "Rapper's Delight."
"We'd have these great conversations about music and that's one thing we shared," Hill reminisces. "We even had little fake performances, and this is like when "Rapper's Delight" came out. We were the Sugar Hill Gang. I was Master G – yes, and he was Big Bank Hank!"
Hill is being honored not only for his individual work, but for BET's "Rap It Up" program which ran special programming this weekend in honor of World AIDS Day.
Rap It Up is a campaign that keeps it real for the young adults who most regularly tune into BET. The latest stats from the Centers for Disease Control show that those African Americans under the age of 25 make up 61% of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses.
Hill's hometown on Washington DC has also been especially hit hard by HIV and AIDS, with a recently released report showing that DC has the highest rate of AIDS infection of any other city in the United States. One in 20 adults in Washington is infected by HIV. (source)
"I am just honored. I saw this an opportunity to both raise money and in the spirit – this is a way to mix performance, and raising money for AIDS and having fun, it's the kind of show that Lloyd would sit in the back and he would just giggle over."
I'm sure Lloyd is somewhere smiling and rocking to the eternal beat.
Comments: (12)
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By: JC on 12/03/2007 11:52PM
Congratulations And Thank You Stephen Hill for Your Efforts In Helping To Eradicate HIV/AIDS.
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By: valerie on 12/04/2007 4:38AM
THERE IS NO FIGHTING AIDS! THERE IS NO CURE! STOP THE STUPIDITY.
THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE WITH A DISEASE THAT AFFECTS AN IMPORTANT LIFE FUNCTION IS TO BE CELIBATE OR BE MONOGAMOUS. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY. TELLING PEOPLE TO TEST FOR A DISEASE CONTINUOUSLY EVERY TIME THEY HAVE SEX, AND TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR PROMISCUOUS WAYS BUT USE A CONDOM (WHICH COULD TEAR) IS ONLY SETTING THEM UP FOR DISASTER.
TESTING IS ONLY GOING TO LEAD TO INCARCERATIONS WHEN SOMEONE GETS PREGNANT OR HIV. WHEN A PERSON SIGNS THAT FORM AND AGREES NOT TO HAVE SEX WITHOUT A CONDOM FOR LIFE, HE IS GIVING THE GOVT THE RIGHT TO LOCK HIM UP FOR PROCREATING. AND COMMITTING GENOCIDE AGAINST HIMSELF. STOP THE STUPIDITY.
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By: SAxlerod on 12/05/2007 9:32PM
Thanks for continuing to fight for a cure for what I call "The Big Disease with the little name". So many friends that I've known have passed away from this disease.
SAxlerod
http://www.myspace.com/SAxlerod
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By: sally on 12/06/2007 2:36AM
why aren't gays being tested??? they're still the number one most affected group. could it be that they know it is dumb to give people something to discriminate against you with.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070913132930.htm
Science News
HIV Rates Among Gay Men And Straight People Not Fully Explained By Sexual Behavior
ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2007) — Differences in sexual behaviours do not fully explain why the US HIV epidemic affects gay men so much more than straight men and women, claims research published ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
A gay man can be easily infected through unprotected receptive sex, and then infect someone else through insertive sex.
Gay men are therefore far more susceptible to the spread of the virus through the population, even with the same numbers of unprotected sexual partners.
Science News Share
1 In 3 HIV Positive Gay Men Report Unprotected Sex
ScienceDaily (May 1, 2007) — More than one in three HIV positive gay men say they have unprotected sex, reveals a community survey, published ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. And almost one in five HIV negative men said that they do the same, the figures show.
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By: ken on 12/06/2007 2:35AM
HIV will not turn to the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) virus once you are infected. The process from HIV to AIDS will take around 10 years for most average people.
That is from being HIV + with/without any symptoms to HIV with symptoms to having AIDS. When your virus turns to AIDS, it means that your immune system has been too far damaged by HIV. A damaged immune system means that it no longer can protect you from any infections as well as a healthy immune system.
At this present time, there are not cure for AIDS. There are treatments available to slow the effects it causes, but evenly your immune system becomes too weak to support your daily needs.
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By RYAN LEE - Apr. 13, 2007
Federal funding for Georgia’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program — which provides expensive, lifesaving medications to residents who cannot afford them — was cut by more than $1 million when the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding last week.
Unfortunately, AIDS is a complicated disease, poorly understood by the public. Furthermore, it affects different groups to vastly different degrees. Because of this, and because one of the means of transmission of HIV is by sexual intercourse, it has proven to be a fertile ground for special interest groups to pursue their various agendas. As a result, many of the statistics have been distorted, and many of the prevention efforts have been misguided and even counterproductive.
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By: lugotz25 on 12/06/2007 9:36AM
25 YEARS AT MILLIONS EVERY YEAR,, WHY DOSENT EVERYONE WAKE UP,, ITS NOT A GAY,, BLACK, HISPAINIC, DRUG USER, PROSTITUTE, VIRUS,,,, ITS A MAN MADE VIRUS
THAT HAS KILLED OVER 50 MILLION SO FAR,, EVERYONE IS TRYING TO FIND A CURE,, WHEN THEY TALK THEY BLAME IT ON DRUG USE, UNPROTECTED SEX, ABSTINACE,, BULLSHXXT,,
THE PROVEN CURE WAS FOUND AND BEING WITHELD, THE DRUG COS DONT WANT TO LOSE THE OVER 600 BILLION SO FAR THAT THEYVE GOTTEN, TO ONLY DIED IN THE END,, THE CURE IS CHEEP, BUT THE DRUG COS WOULDNT MAKE ANYTHING,, DRS ? THEY GET TO MAKE THE MONEY, BUT THEY CANT DO WHAT THE FDA APROVES?? AND THIER CONTROLED BY THE DRUG COS,, WEATHER THEY BE CHARITY CARE OR NOT,, CONTROLED BY THE DRUG COS,, MEDIA TOO, COMP, TV, RADIO,UP THE LINE,, CONVIENT FOR THEM THAT THEY CAN NOT ALLOW THE ONE MEDICAL INGREADENT THAT HELP HIV/AIDS, BREAST CANER, PROSTATE OVARIAN CANCER AND MORE ISNT BEING ALLOWED TO EVEN GET A WORD OUT, ITS BEEN USED FOR OVER 50 YRS WITH BELOW MININUM SIDE EFFECTS,, THERE,, MEDICAL OZONE,, WHEN MIXXED WITH THE BLOOD IT KILLS ALL IMPURIITYS AND CLEANS ITSELF, HIV/AIDS, HERPIES, HEP, ECT ECT,, OR IT CAN BE INJECTED INTO SPECIFIC TUMORS KILLING THEM,,, TO GET THE PROCESS,,, ALL LEAGAL,, TOGETHER, IT COULD BE MADE FOR UNDER 50,000 AND BE REUSED, NOW WHY WOULD THE BIG DRUG COS WANT THAT RELEASED WHEN THEY COULD MAKE THAT EVERY YEAR FOR YRS OFF THE INFECTED,, IF THEY STAY INFECTED ,, AFTER THE PROCESS IS PERFECTED
5 HRS ?? IT CAN BE USED COSTING UNDER 10,000 EACH TIME USED,, DO THE MATH,, ? 50,000 A YR, 10 TO 20 YRS, 20 MILL INFECTED,,2O,OOO,OOO,OOO,OOO,,, NOT BAD,, TO DIE,, TO TH PHARM COS, ?
OR,, 10,000 THE FIRST YR, TO LIVE,, KEEPING THE $$$$$$$ WITH THE DRS
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By: lugotz25 on 12/06/2007 9:45AM
THE ONLY THING COMPLICATED ABOUT THE KILLER VIRUS IS THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BEING BRAINWASHED BY THE DRUG COS MEDIA,, ANYONE THAT WANTS TO BEAT THIS VIRUS AND THE BIG DRUG COS,, I CAN BE REACHED AT ,,lugotz25@aol.com
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By: CLARA on 12/09/2007 6:19AM
http://www.thebody.com/content/confs/art26419.html
In the United States, new AIDS patients are relatively more likely to be men who have sex with men (MSM); in Florida, they are relatively more likely to be female, heterosexual and black -- ESPECIALLY AMONG IMMIGRANTS FROM HAITI, AND ELSEWHERE IN THE CARIBBEAN. In 2002, MSM comprised 46 percent of new US AIDS cases, but only 40 percent in Florida. New cases stemming from heterosexual sex were 11 percent in the United States for 2002, but 20 percent in Florida.
Florida cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are now topping San Francisco in new per capita AIDS cases, according to CDC. One reason is that well-educated gay men in San Francisco responded well to treatment and prevention programs. But in New York and Florida, and to a lesser extent across the United States, HIV has increasingly spread to black and immigrant communities, where the issues of poverty, cultural differences and language have hindered the fight against AIDS.
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