What Obama's Cuba Move Means For Blacks

What Obama's Cuba Move Means For Blacks
by TheLoop21 .com Friday, April 17, 2009
TheLoop21 .com BY MARVIN KING

This week, President Barack Obama announced a shift, a subtle, but important shift, in American policy toward Cuba. First, he is lifting travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans with family still in Cuba. Second, he will allow unlimited transfers of money from Cuban-Americans to family still on the island. Third, Obama will allow American telecommunications companies — if Cuba allows it — to compete in the Cuban market.Obama has not lifted the trade embargo on the island nation, nor will he allow unrestricted travel by Americans to the island — that would require congressional action. (A shame, too. I've already daydreamed about a Cuba Libre in Havana for my next vacay.)Myopic journalists and cynics on the right insist on framing this issue as solely a matter of Obama trying to win over more voters in Florida. There is so much more to consider, though. Let me point out the relevance of the new policy to Cuba's black population, which is significant.

According to the 2002 Cuban Census, 35 percent of Cuba's 11 million people are black or mulatto. Unofficial estimates, however, have a broader definition of mixed ancestry, and put the black or mulatto population at closer to 60 percent to 70 percent. During the revolution, Fidel Castro earned black support, because he promised equal opportunities. As the saying goes, in Cuba, race does not exist, people "are only Cuban." Yet objective reality says something different.

The Good:
To Castro's credit, since the revolution, in some areas, life has improved for the better for Cuba's black population. Cuba is much more likely to produce black doctors. There is considerably more racial integration on the island and relationships between the races are more amicable.
The Bad:
However, blacks are severely overrepresented in Cuba's prisons. (Sound familiar?) Despite the prevalence of black doctors, blacks with college degrees are relatively sparse. And, government officials, the elites in Cuban society, are overwhelmingly white. There is a strong pro-white, Spanish tilt to Cuban aristocracy.At the end of a recent visit by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, chairwoman Barbara Lee noted that the 47-year American embargo against Cuba has done little to alter the political status quo in Cuba. The Castros are still in charge. Furthermore, the real victims of the embargo appear to be those lowest on the economic and political ladder — black Cubans. (As an aside, critics of the trip have failed to note it is consistent with the CBC agenda of fighting poverty and suffering everywhere.)No doubt, Cuba still has a long way to go in addressing valid, real concerns of human rights abuses of political prisoners. There are legitimate concerns over the severe restrictions on freedom of movement and even the persecution of religion. We can say the same of China, but how many Americans visited for last summer's Olympics?Still, as long as there is only a tiny American investment on the island, a relatively small, white, Spanish elite will horde those resources. Significant American investment is the only way to improve life for all Cubans.Obama could start by sending me to Havana for that Cuba Libre.

Marvin King is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Mississippi and writes the blog King Politics.

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Date Rape & Jamie Foxx

"Don't even get me started on that stupid song which is pretty much advocating date rape. And before folks chime in with “it’s just music” think about what he is actually saying in that song.
She really wants to do it (I know because I am a man who knows women and I know all women want to have sex with me because I have $$$$) but her guard is up so let me get her drunk so she won’t care about anything and have sex with me. This is textbook date rape pathology. When I first heard it I was disgusted. Can’t believe it’s a “hit”. - www.Whataboutourdaughters.com

Lyrics to Jamie Foxx's "Blame it on the alcohol":

Ay she say she usually don't

But I know that she front

Cause shawty know what she want

But she don't wanna seem like she easy

I ain't saying what you wont do

But you know we probably gonna do

What you been feeninn deep inside

Don't lie now

Girl what you drinking ?

Gonna let sink in

Here for the weekend

Thinking

We can

See what we can be if we press fast forward

Just one more round and you're down I know it

Fill another cup up

Feeling on yo butt what ?

You don't even care nowI was unaware of

FineYou were before my buzz set in, before my buzz set in....

[Chorus:]Blame it on the goose

Got you feeling looseBlame it on Patron

Got you in the zone

Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol

Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol

Blame it on the vodka

Blame it on the henny

Blame it on the blue top

Got you feeling dizzy

Blame it on the a a a a a alcohol

Blame it on the a a a a a a alcohol

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Blame it on Jamie Foxx's Foul-up

We just had to share this !

http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com/2009/04/blame-it-on-the-alcohol-jay-leno-hypocrite-in-cheif-supposing-miley-cyrus-was-a-member-of-a-certain-basketball-team/

Blame it on the Alcohol: Jay Leno Hypocrite-in-Chief- Supposing Miley Cyrus was a Member of a Certain Basketball Team
April 16th, 2009 Uncategorized

“I didn’t mean it maliciously.” Jamie Foxx

Oops Jamie dear, didn’t you get the memo? You only get to dehumanize BLACK women and girls in the name of “humor.” Surprised you didn’t blame this on the al-al-al-al-a-alcohol.

After taking a call on his Sirius satellite radio show The Foxxhole Sunday, the Oscar winner and his zoo crew lashed out at tween dream and reigning box-office champ Miley Cyrus, referring to the 16-year-old as a “little white bitch” and advising her to alternately “do some heroin” and “make a sex tape and grow up.”

The 41-year-old’s foul outburst was prompted by a caller to the show who brought up a month-old story in which Cyrus pledged to “ruin” Radiohead after the rockers rejected a request to meet with the Disney star backstage at the Grammys.

“Who is Miley Cyrus?” an incredulous Foxx, who has a teenage daughter of his own, said. “The one with all the gums? She gotta get a gum transplant…S–t.”

The insults didn’t stop there. Or get less personal.

“She’s gonna ruin Radiohead’s career? The same Radiohead that gets paid a million dollars just to sample their songs?

“Make a sex tape and grow up,” he continued. “Get like Britney Spears and do some heroin. Do like Lindsay Lohan and start seeing a lesbian and get some crack in your pipe. Catch chlamydia on a bicycle seat.

“That’s what I want.” E Online

There you and your crew went and got out of pocket and left the safe confines of Black woman and girl bashing and went after Miley Cyrus.

Miley’s dad, Billy Ray, is particularly upset, according to the source.

“He thinks Jamie was out of line and didn’t find any humor in it,” the source told me this afternoon. “He doesn’t understand why he would do that to Miley, especially since he has teenage daughter himself.” E Online

Foxx noted to Jay Leno that he was doing a routine, saying: “Sometimes as comedians, you know, we go a little too far.”

Oh I LOVE IT! The Apology begins at 6:37. I’m adding that time stamp so you can avoid all of Jamie’s shucking ,jiving and soft shoeing.

How in the Heck is Jay Leno going to get an apology out of Jamie Foxx for making inappropriate comments about a teenage girl in another forum, but didn’t demand an apology out of DL Hughley who insulted Black women everywhere on Jay’s couch?

Somebody help me to understand! Oh never mind.Folks watch and learn. Jamie Foxx knows who butters his bread. Boundaries- Get them-enforce them-keep them!

In other news, DL Hughley announced that following getting fired leaving his CNN gig for “family reasons” he’s decided to star in a revival of Birth of a Nation…because he thinks that will be funny. . . And that’s all that matters. Ha -ha-hey-el!

http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com

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From Goddess to Gangstress

From Goddess to Gangstress:
The Devaluation of the Diva

Paul Scott


My friend, Jae told me about an incident that she recently had on her way home from work. These two teenagers were having a loud public/ private discussion in the back of the bus, tellin’ the interested and uninterested, alike, about everything from the graphic details of their sexual escapades to the best way to roll a blunt. What really concerned Jae was that these were not guys but teenage girls who turned her ,otherwise, quiet and uneventful ride home into a combination of the Jerry Springer Show and Def Comedy Jam. She could only sink down in her seat and think about how her generation had failed these two girls and wonder what will happen to these black women of the future.



(Photo of Spoken Word Diva Queen Sheeba)
I used to be clear about the definition of a diva. In the 60’s, it was all about Diana Ross and the Supremes with the big wigs and expensive gowns. During the 70’s the epitome of diva-ness was Patti Labelle or the Three Degrees. During the 80’s and 90’s you had Kylmaxx, En Vogue and Whitney Houston (before Bobby Brown).

But according to Beyonce’s alter ago “Sasha Fierce” the 21st century definition of a diva is “a female version of a hustler.”

Forget Jennifer Hudson, the new Dream Girl is a sista that will stick you for your jewelry and slit your throat while you sleep. Yeah, that’s what I call a lady.


It is a case of historical romanticism to suggest that all black women have always carried themselves as perfect ladies. Uncle Jack can tell you stories about how “Mustang Sally” could out drink, out smoke and out gamble even the toughest Stagger Lee-type dude. But for the most part, black women have always carried themselves in a respectful manner; divas in every sense of the word. However, over the last 20 years, the value of “the diva” has been on a steady decline; rapidly accelerating, downhill, over the last decade.

At first unlady -like behavior by sistas was condemned by male rappers. I remember Run DMC chastising a “Dumb Girl” back in ‘86. And who can forget Brand Nubian’s “Slow Down” when they dissed some sistas by saying ” a 40 and a blunt, that’s all they really want.”
At the beginning of the 90’s we saw the emergence of the female versions of NWA (Nigga’s With Attitude), the now forgotten HWA (Hoez With Attitude) followed by BWP (Bytches With Problems.) Also, during this period, the behavior that was once condemned by the male rappers began to be glorified by artists such as Apache who proudly pleaded for a “Gangsta Bitch.”
This period was followed by gangstress successors like Da Brat and Boss, whose “street cred” was busted when it was discovered by the Wall Street Journal that her tales of gangta-ism took great liberties with the truth.

Next came the age of the “Ride or Die” chicks, sistas who would do what ever it took to hold their men down whether legal or illegal. The movement was headed by rappers such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, rappers who built upon the “Bonnie and Clyde” theme that was established by Ice Cube’s female protege, Yo Yo, a few years earlier.

While this “ride or die” theme may have been glorified on CD, the real life results of following this path resulted in dire consequences. One just has to look at the life of Kemba Smith, the former Hampton University student who ,beginning in 1994, served a six year prison sentence because of her involvement with a crack dealing boyfriend.

The legacy of the “gangstress” has been carried on courtesy of rappers such as Khia, Trina and Jacki O, who often compete for the crown of the “Baddest Bitch” in Hip Hop.

To blame the negative image of black women on today’s entertainers may be unfair since one could argue that Millie Jackson and Vanity 6, women whom Slick Rick James would have called “the super freaks that you don’t take home to mother,” set the standard for female vulgarity, during the 70’s and early 80’s. However, regardless of the past, in real time, you now have teenage black girls in every mall in America with baggy jeans and bandannas tied around their heads, cussin’ louder than the boys. Not to mention the fact that some of the once teenage fans of Lil Kim are now grown women with nothing more on their minds then gettin’ their hair and nails “did” and hittin’ the club on the weekend to find a “balla.”

Maybe, we have spent too much time discussing the plight of black boys instead of paying attention to what was going on with our black girls. Perhaps their emulation of gangstas is a disparate cry for attention.

Suppose instead of just reading street novels, black women, of all ages, would start reading books like “Black Women in Antiquity,” a collection of essays by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima that discusses the great black women of history. Maybe reading about the great queens of ancient Egypt and Ethiopia, whose beauty and intelligence were legends of mythical proportions will improve the self esteem of black women, young and old.

Some believe that it is too late to do anything to save this younger generation of black women. Some men believe that even older black women of today have been so influenced by pop culture that if you greet them with “Peace, Queen” they will only roll their eyes and suck their teeth. But if you yell, “Yo, Shawty,” you might get a response.

However, there are still a lot of examples of real black women, sisters who carry themselves like beautiful black queens, true divas. And I’m not just talking about the soon to be first black first lady, Michelle Obama. I’m talking about that intelligent sister at work who has her stuff together. Or that caring wife and loving mother who has dedicated her life to raising a strong black family. How about that honor roll college student who is working her way through college by doing something other than working at a strip club ?

When I think of them, I realize that there is hope after all. Even for the girls in the back of the bus.



http://www.truthminista.blogspot.com/


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott writes for No Warning Shots Fired.com.
He can be reached at http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ (919) 451-8283

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Ashamed of being black

"Where do we go from here?"
speech by Martin Luther King August 16, 1967

"Where we are now"Now, in order to answer the question, "Where do we go from here?" which is our theme, we must first honestly recognize where we are now. When the Constitution was written, a strange formula to determine taxes and representation declared that the Negro was 60 percent of a person. Today another curious formula seems to declare he is 50 percent of a person. Of the good things in life, the Negro has approximately one half those of whites. Of the bad things of life, he has twice those of whites. Thus half of all Negroes live in substandard housing. And Negroes have half the income of whites. When we view the negative experiences of life, the Negro has a double share. There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double that of whites and there are twice as many Negroes dying in Vietnam as whites in proportion to their size in the population.
In other spheres, the figures are equally alarming. In elementary schools, Negroes lag one to three years behind whites, and their segregated schools receive substantially less money per student than the white schools. One twentieth as many Negroes as whites attend college. Of employed Negroes, 75 percent hold menial jobs.
This is where we are. Where do we go from here? First, we must massively assert our dignity and worth. We must stand up amidst a system that still oppresses us and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values. We must no longer be ashamed of being black. The job of arousing manhood within a people that have been taught for so many centuries that they are nobody is not easy.
"Depiction of Blackness and Negro Contributions" Even semantics have conspired to make that which is black seem ugly and degrading. In Roget's Thesaurus there are 120 synonyms for blackness and at least 60 of them are offensive, as for example, blot, soot, grim, devil and foul. And there are some 134 synonyms for whiteness and all are favorable, expressed in such words as purity, cleanliness, chastity and innocence. A white lie is better than a black lie. The most degenerate member of a family is a "black sheep." Ossie Davis has suggested that maybe the English language should be reconstructed so that teachers will not be forced to teach the Negro child 60 ways to despise himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of inferiority, and the white child 134 ways to adore himself, and thereby perpetuate his false sense of superiority.
The tendency to ignore the Negro's contribution to American life and to strip him of his personhood, is as old as the earliest history hooks and as contemporary as the morning's newspaper. To upset this cultural homicide, the Negro must rise up with an affirmation of his own Olympian manhood. Any movement for the Negro's freedom that overlooks this necessity is only waiting to be buried. As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery. No Lincolnian Emancipation Proclamation or Johnsonian Civil Rights Bill can totally bring this kind of freedom. The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own Emancipation Proclamation. And, with a spirit straining toward true self-esteem, the Negro must boldly throw off the manacles of self-abnegation and say to himself and to the world, "I am somebody. I am a person. I am a man with dignity and honor. I have a rich and noble history. How painful and exploited that history has been. Yes, I was a slave through my foreparents and I am not ashamed of that. I'm ashamed of the people who were so sinful to make me a slave." Yes, we must stand up and say, "I'm black and I'm beautiful," and this self-affirmation is the black man's need, made compelling by the white man's crimes against him.
"Basic Challenges"Another basic challenge is to discover how to organize our strength in terms of economic and political power. No one can deny that the Negro is in dire need of this kind of legitimate power. Indeed, one of the great problems that the Negro confronts is his lack of power. From old plantations of the South to newer ghettos of the North, the Negro has been confined to a life of voicelessness and powerlessness. Stripped of the right to make decisions concerning his life and destiny he has been subject to the authoritarian and sometimes whimsical decisions of this white power structure. The plantation and ghetto were created by those who had power. both to confine those who had no power and to perpetuate their powerlessness. The problem of transforming the ghetto, therefore, is a problem of power-confrontation of the forces of power demanding change and the forces of power dedicated to the preserving of the status quo. Now power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change. Walter Reuther defined power one day. He said, "Power is the ability of a labor union like the U.A.W. to make the most powerful corporation in the world, General Motors, say 'Yes' when it wants to say 'No.' That's power."
Full Speech Located At This Site



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