Countertenor singer; author, ‘Life’s More Fun When You Talk to Strangers’
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.
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.
Research and policy analyst, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
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.
Director of African American Religious Affairs, People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation
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?
Founder, senior pastor, and CEO, Christian Cultural Center
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.
This isn't enough to stop the veiled talk that he's still the sworn enemy of business. But this talk can't scrub away the fact that Obama and Democratic presidents have been far better friends of big business than GOP presidents have ever been.
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.
Associate for African-American Leadership Outreach, Bread for the World
Sequestration threatens more than flight schedules. For many people around the world, sequestration is literally a life-or-death issue. Its impact may be most deeply felt by those living in developing nations.
Founder, President of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education
We know children are influenced by everything from family income and dynamics to what happens in the classroom. Helping students uncover their strengths, rather than their weaknesses, and develop their potential should be the paramount focus for education.
If addressing societal inequality and disenfranchisement motivates you, social entrepreneurship or working for a business with a corporate responsibility focus are worth exploring!
Nationally renowned African-American lesbian activist, scholar, public theologian and writer
Incidents of rape always need to be called out, as Joyner did, and addressed immediately, but it shouldn't be brought to attention while denigrating a member of another minority group within the same population, as Joyner also did.
To crack this case, we have to go all the way back to late January of this year, when SuperStorm Beyonce once again made devastating landfall on the coastlines of our collective consciousness.
Long before he was nabbing sex offenders as a detective on NBC's popular crime drama series, 'Law & Order: SVU,' Ice-T was one of the original gangsta rap stars. Born Tracy Morrow in New Jersey in 1958, the rap icon grew up mainly in South Central Los Angeles during the area's notorious gang heyday.
Affiliating himself with the Crips, young Tracy did petty thefts and sold weed as a student at Crenshaw High School. He also became interested in reading Iceberg Slim novels and would recite passages from the books to his friends so much that they named him Ice-T. He had an obvious charisma that led him to landing a bit part in the 1984 hip-hop film, 'Breakin.'
But it wasn't until after serving four years in the Army that Ice-T decide on pursuing a rap career. Inspired by Sugar Hill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,' he recorded 'The Coldest Rap,' a song that was popular on underground rap circles. Still, it took a drug bust in which a friend wound up doing 25 years in prison, and a near-fatal car accident that Ice-T suffered for him make a career shift.
His next single, '6 in the Mornin',' recalled the slow cadence and menacing sound of Schooly D's 'P.S.K. What Does It Mean,' and eventually led to Ice getting a record deal with Sire Records. Subsequently, he released the title track to the Dennis Hopper film 'Colors' and a series of solid albums - 'Rhymes Pays' (1987), 'Power' (1988) and 'Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say' (1989). However, he hit his creative high point with 1991's 'O.G.: Original Gangster' and a starring role in urban drama, 'New Jack City.'
Energized by his rising profile, Ice-T took a break from rap to form the hard rock band, Body Count. The group released the controversial 'Cop Killer,' a revenge fantasy song about a criminal exacting revenge on a brutal police officer. The tune created huge problems for the rapper. His following solo rap album, 'Home Invasion,' was shelved initially. Political groups such as the NRA denounced it and even the president got involved.
He described the situation to Fab 5 Freddy in an interview for 2005 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors site: "I'm sitting at home playing Tecmo Super Bowl - that's a timeline right there if you know about video games. Somebody say, 'Yo, Ice-T turn on Channel 4. The president is on talking about you,'" Ice-T recalled. "We put the TV on, and I'm like, Oh sh*t! The president does not yell normal people's names in anger. When they do that, that's war, y'dig? I'm like, Why are they after me? It was just a record. It was no call to arms. It was a protest record which said cops is out of check and people are mad. It wasn't like me telling people to go out in the streets and kill some cops."
Though Ice-T's music career sputtered after the controversy, his acting career took off. He landed plum gigs on shows including 'New York Undercover' and 'Law & Order: SVU'. By 2006, he starred in his own reality show called 'Ice-T's Rap School' and now fans can catch him with his voluptuous wife, Coco, in 'Ice Loves Coco.'
Influenced...Snoop Dogg, Scarface, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, T.I., Young Jeezy, among others.
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By: dweetta on 6/23/2011 4:39PM
know one in the black coummunity is interested in Ice Tea any more to old and ungly, Let the white community embrace him and his wife.
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