Monthly Archives: July 2008

“Low Road Express” site launched by Obama for America

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The Barack Obama has just launched a website called The Low Road Express.

The top of the website has a quote from the Thursday edition of The St. Pete’s Times editorials which states “The Straight talk express has taken a nasty turn into the gutter. “  This all comes after an ad released by the McCain campaign likening him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

The site also has a quote from the New York Times editorial board.  "“Well, that certainly didn’t take long," says the Times.  "The candidate [John McCain] who started out talking about high-minded, civil debate has wholeheartedly adopted Mr. Rove’s low-minded and uncivil playbook.”

A 2004 campaign won't win a 2008 election.  We'll see more and more evidence of that if McCain continues to go down this course.

Universoul Circus heads to Dallas August 5-10, 2008

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When I say Big Top you say Circus – Big Top! CIRCUS! Big Top!!! CIRCUS!!!

Once again it's on, as the UniverSoul Circus makes its way back to Dallas. Check out Ring Master Tony Tone and his sidekick Zeke as the single ring circus heads back to the Southwest Center Mall Parking Lot. August 5-10.

Click here to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster.  Even if you think you don't like the circus, you must treat yourself and your family to this wonderful experience.  For more information, visit the UniverSoul Circus website.  Also visit the UniverSoul YouTube channel by clicking here.

Why are poor, uneducated Whites called “blue collar workers?”

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By Earnest Gates 

As your daily politics watcher, it is my responsibility to raise concerns that are of interest to you. Since that is the case, I would like to pose a question: Why are poor, uneducated Whites called blue collar workers?

It is interesting to me that poor uneducated Whites get more credit and recognition than poor uneducated Blacks or Hispanics? As a matter of fact, most poor uneducated Blacks and Hispanics are not even thought of as likely voters. But not poor uneducated Whites.  Poor uneducated Whites are give a fancy title, like NASCAR dads.  Is something wrong with this picture or is it just me?

Why is it that when the Democratic primary came down to Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, poor uneducated Whites were the ones that everyone wanted Barack Obama to cater to? Do the poor make up a majority of the U.S. electorate? I’m just trying to understand what’s really going on.

Should HIV/AIDS be viewed as a Chronic Illness?

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By Jazzy of Because I Said So

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HIV/AIDS is often compared to other chronic illness which, in my opinion could pose a problem for intervention. By definition HIV/AIDS does fall into the Chronic illnesscategory because it to date still remains incurable. However, with the increase in HIV/AIDS AIDS infection rates among Black women maybe a different terminology should be used to convey the seriousness of living with HIV/AIDS and its complications.

HIV/AIDS is unlike any other disease recorded in history. It’s mechanism of infection of seek and destroy, at present has made it difficult to create an effective system of containment. Health educators can teach the importance of self protection but for many they, are still willing to participate in risky behavior.

Dr. Berkley believes that because HIV/AIDS is now becoming viewed as a chronic problem treatable with antiretrovirals, and the fact that less than 10 percent of people who are infected know their status makes interventions for prevention and treatment difficult (Koop, Pearson, & Schwarz, 2002).

It is my personal belief that a lack of self appreciation and gender respect helps to proliferate the spread of HIV/AIDS. Women often find themselves placing the needs of others above their own. The mental and emotional stress from this mentality has lead to a neglect of self, which in some ways are allowing HIV/AIDS to invade at high rates.

Two Local Organizations:

SAAVED

AIDs Interfaith Network Faith Based

Information for those looking to fund a HIV/AIDS program

National Prevention Information Network

Use of Force Continuum needs revisiting due to lethal nature of taser guns (Day of Blogging for Justice)

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We have talked quite a bit about the lethal nature of tasers here at Dallas South.  Most recently the device also known as a “stun gun” was in the news due to the death of Baron “Scooter” Pikes.  Pikes was shocked nine times with a Taser in the town of Winnfield, Louisiana.

It’s time for law agencies across the country to revisit the use of this device.  The rate at which African-Americans are subject to taser shocks seems out of whack to say the least.  But a revision in the Use of Force Continuum could make this deadly tool less likely to be used as an instrument of torture and retaliation.

As documented here by way of Electronic Village, the use of force continuum provides law enforcement with a guide of how much force to use against a resisting subject.  Those guidelines go as follows:

Level One * Officer Presence

Level Two * Verbal Commands

Level Three * Empty Hand Control

Level Four * Pepper Spray, Baton, Taser

Level Five * Less Lethal

Level Six * Deadly Force

My suggestion would be that law enforcement consider moving the Taser away from level 4 and creating a 7th level.  The new continuum might look like this:

1) Officer Presence – 2) Verbal Commands – 3) Empty Hand Control – 4) Pepper Spray/Baton – 5) Less Lethal Force – 6) Taser – 7) Lethal Force

The reason for this change would be that tasers have been shown to be quite lethal.  Taser Nation reports that there have been  360 people to die in North America as a result of tasers since 2001.  Truth Not Tasers posts a lists 363 individuals that they report have been killed by tasers.  Here is a list of 46 people that they say have died in 2008 from tasers, which includes a recent death in Dallas.

318. January 2, 2008: Brandon Smiley, 27, Mobile, Alabama
319. January 5, 2008: Ryan Rich, 33, Las Vegas, Nevada
320. January 9, 2008: Otis C. Anderson, 36, Fayetteville, North Carolina
321. January 11, 2008: Xavier Jones, 29, Coral Gables, Florida
322. January 15, 2008: Mark Backlund, 29, New Brighton, Minnesota
323. January 17, 2008: Baron Pikes, 21, Winnfield, Louisiana
324. January 18, 2008: Daniel Hanrahan, 44, Staten Island, New York
325. February 3, 2008: Louis Cryer, 32, Port Arthur, Texas
326. February 3, 2008: Joseph Davis, 50, Brandon, Mississippi
327. February 7, 2008: Richard Earl Abston, 53, Merced, California
328. February 19, 2008: Garrett Sean Farn, 41, Bakersfield, California
329. February 26, 2008: Barron Harvey Davis, 44, Mayes County, Oklahoma
330. March 4, 2008: Christopher Jackson, 37, Clay, New York
331. March 6, 2008: Javier Aguilar, 46, Roswell, New Mexica
332. March 18, 2008: Roberto Gonzalez, 24, Chicago, Illinois
333. March 20, 2008: Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, Charlotte, North Carolina
334. March 21, 2008: James Garland, 41, Deerfield Beach, Florida
335. March 29, 2008: Henry Bryant, 35, Indianapolis, Indiana
336. March 30, 2008: Walter Edward Haake Jr., 59, Topeka, Kansas
337. April 2, 2008: Jason Jesus Gomez, 35, Santa Ana, California
338. April 6, 2008: Yvelt Occean, 31, New Kent County, Virginia
339. April 22, 2008: Uriah Samson Dach, 26, Richmond, California
340. April 24, 2008: Kevin Piskura, 24, Cincinnati, Ohio
341. April 24, 2008: Dewayne Chatt, 39, Memphis, Tennessee
342. April 27, 2008: Paul Thompson, 24, Greensboro, North Carolina
343. April 28, 2008: Jermaine Ward, 28, Jackson, Tennessee
344. May 4, 2008: Joe Kubat, 21, St. Paul, Minnesota
345. May 6, 2008: James S. Wilson, 22, Alton, Missouri
346. May 28, 2008: Ricardo Manuel Abrahams, 44, Woodland, California
347. May 31, 2008: Robert Ingram, 27, Raceland, Louisiana
348. June 5, 2008: Willie Maye, 43, Birmingham, Alabama
349. June 6, 2008: Donovan Graham, 39, Meriden, Connecticut
350. June 8, 2008: Quintrell T. Brannon, 25, Vincennes, Indiana
351. June 9, 2008: Tony Curtis Bradway, 26, Brooklyn, New York
352. June 23, 2008: Jeffrey Marreel, 36, Norfolk, Ontario
353. June 24, 2008: Ernest Graves, 26, Rockford, Illinois
354. June 27, 2008: Nicholas Cody, 27, Dothan, Alabama
355. July 2, 2008: Isaac Bass, 34, Louisville, Kentucky
356. July 4, 2008: Othello Pierre, 23, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
357. July 8, 2008: Samuel DeBoise, 29, St. Louis, Missouri
358. July 8, 2008: Carlos Vargas, 42, San Bernardino, California
359. July 14, 2008: Marion Wilson Jr., 52, Houston, Texas
360. July 14, 2008: Deshoun Keyon Torrence, 18, Long Beach, California
361. July 22, 2008: Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, Manitoba
362. July 23, 2008: Richard Smith, 46, Dallas, Texas
363. July 26, 2008: Anthony Davidson, Statesville, 29, North Carolina

The uneven use of tasers against African-Americans is alarming and is documented at Tasered While Black.  But a common sense solution by law enforcement could make it more difficult for officers to misuse this deadly weapon.  We must continue to put pressure on the agencies involved until the changes are made.

Shawn Williams/Dallas South to appear on Blog Talk Radio’s Kevin Ross Show

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On Wednesday July 30th, I will appear on Kevin Ross’ Blog Talk Radio Show at 9:30 p.m. CST.  The topic of Wednesday’s show is Are Bloggers Really Media?  Make sure to join Kevin, myself, and Jonnice Slaughter who heads Chatter Box Publicity.  Chatter Box just announced that they will be taking a new direction, focusing more on social media outlets.

Check back tomorrow when I’ll have all the info you need to listen to the show.

The Great C.A.W. Clark, pastor of Good Street Baptist Church, dies Sunday in Dallas (1914-2008)

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On Sunday one of God’s preaching greats left this Earth with the passing of Rev. C.A.W. Clark.

Pastor Clark began preaching in 1929 and was ordained four years later. He lead his first church, Israelite Baptist in Louisiana, at age 19. Clark was a graduate of Bishop College.

My earliest memories are of Pastor Clark on the cover of Ebony magazine in the early 80′s as one of America’s 15 Best Preachers.  This was a big deal in my house because I had an aunt and uncle who attended his church.

As a matter of fact, the first time I met Pastor Clark was in my grandmother’s Paris, Texas living room.   Clark was in town for a week long revival and Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church.  I  found Rev. Clark to be a quiet yet engaging figure with an unforgettable chuckle of a laugh.

Speaking of unforgettable, once you heard Rev. Clark preach God’s word, you could never forget it.  Clark’s sermon’s began slow and deliberately.  I wondered if his voice would ever rise above a whisper the first time I heard him.  But by the end of the sermon, his whoop had the congregation on their feet shouting, lifting their hands, and praising Jesus.

Ceasar Arther Walter Clark began his service as pastor of the Good Street Baptist Church here in Dallas in 1950. His long and effective tenure saw Good Street rise to nationwide prominence and become major civic destination. Over the years many great figures graced the pulpit there, including Martin Luther King Jr. in 1956 (Dallas Morning News).

About 5 years ago at the Dawn of a New Day Conference here in Dallas, I had the opportunity to serve as an armor bearer of sorts for Rev. Clark.  His body was slowed by age but his mind was still as sharp as ever.

As I took Clark around the room, we could not move more than 10 feet without someone stopping us so that they could reach out to him.  I was amazed at how he recalled the names a story of everyone we bumped into.  He would make a funny quip to each person which would get us all laughing.

The world has lost a preaching legend in Rev. C.A.W. Clark.  Services for Clark will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday August 4, at  Good Street Baptist Church, 3110 Bonnie View Road. Dallas, TX 75216

Blogging While Brown Conference in Atlanta a huge success in inaugural year

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If there was a blogging conference and no one from the mainstream media covered it, did it really happen? Of course it did.

This weekend, 60 bloggers gathered in Atlanta for the inaugural Blogging While Brown International Conference of Bloggers of Color. The event was produced by Executive Director Gina McCauley who also publishes the blog What About Our Daughters.

There were established blogs represented, Black Web 2.0, Electronic Village, and Clutch. And there were new bloggers also in attendance, like LaQuitta Jones who started her Terrell Tax and Planning blog about a month ago.

bwb-057.JPGThe conference kicked off on Friday night with a meet and greet at Fox Sports Grill in the Atlantic Station District. There were many bloggers in the room who had known each other for years via the web, but it was the first time that they had the opportunity to lay eyes on one another.

As each person stood up giving their name and website, you could literally see people around the room shaking their heads and saying “Oh she’s the one who runs that blog.” It was a great atmosphere for folks to get to know one another before the more structured workshop format that was scheduled for the following day.

After the meet up, I hung out with a group of bloggers who were discussing the merits of CNN’s Black in American. As a matter of fact, Soledad O’Brien’s special report was a hot topic throughout the weekend.

bwb2-009.JPGSaturday Morning’s session started bright and early with a presentation from Black Web 2.0′s founder Angela-Conyers-Benton and general manager Markus Robinson. Their session was called The Ultimate Blog Experience. From the very beginning, I was struck by the two 20 somethings addressing the group who were at the top of the black blogging game.

Angela and Markus shared so much great information during their session. Many of us found out just how much blogging technology attendees were using that we had never even heard of. ELance, Meebo, Twiter Feed, MoFuse, Blog Burst, and Global Grind were offerings that I was unfamiliar with prior to Saturday. Even my tech saavy roommate for the weekend Theo Johnson from That’s What I’m Talking About was able to pick up lots of pointers.

Next we heard from representatives of the Republican and Libertarian parties. Each party that has a candidate in the general election was invited to participate, however these were the only two felt compelled to attend Blogging While Brown.

By this time the blogger energy really kicked in and the laptops started rolling. Many of the conference participants started Tweeting one another. ATLiens (Straight from the ‘A’) had me rolling so I’m sorry to any presenter who I laughed at…my bad. Theo even set up a live feed on UStream.

After lunch, there was a panel discussion about….well I’m still not sure what it was about. The panelist included Clarissa Goodlett from ColorofChange.org, Tamera Reynolds of Glam Media, and Necole Bitchie. The session was moderated by Kevin Ross of Three Brothers and a Sister.

A number of topics were touched on from activism, to civil rights to advertising. But many were left wanting to hear more from Necole, who in seven months (and some struggles prior to that) has created a couple of recognizable brands with both Necole Bitchie and The Urban Blogger. As a matter of fact, both Necole and Clarissa will be on Gina’s Blog Talk Radio Show this week.

bwb2-042.JPG Necole Bitchie

After that session was (finally) finished, Carmen (Carmen D.) Dixon from All About Race presented and informative session titled “Secrets from a Media Insider”. Carmen shared some of 10 plus years of experience in the television industry with attendees. She broke down the make up of a news room, how to pitch yourself to news directors, and creating the ins and outs of a media kit. Not only did the bloggers in attendees appreciate Carmen’s content, but people I talked to also appreciated Carmen’s energy and passion.

bwb2-012.JPGFinally AfroSpear member Wayne Hicks (Electronic Village) lead and Umoja session that focused on blogger unity and sustainability. As a matter of fact, AfroSpear members Villager, Carmen D., Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend (ranked #1 in latest Black Blogger Rankings) and I all ended up sitting together on the front row all day. The AfroSpear’s Bruce Dixon from Black Agenda Report was also represented.

There were also a podcast session lead by Mixed Chicks and a legal session lead by Attorney Mom that I missed.

niagara_movement_founders.gifIn summary, this was a very well organized, informing and inspiring conference. Gina must be commended for stepping out on faith and making it happen. When we were taking the group photo, I was reminded of the picture from the Niagara Movement in 1905. One day far in the future -which means 2010 in internet years-we’ll look back at the photo and think that a new movement took root, or was furthered in Atlanta in July of 2008. But for now, I’m looking forward to BWB 2009.

Though NetRoots Nation was covered heavily last weekend in Austin, there’s been hardly a peep about BWB. In fairness, Blogging While Brown was held on the same weekend as Unity (conference of minority journalists) in Chicago. I’m sure next year’s event will be held at a time when journalists can be part of the mix. But this time I think it was best for bloggers -many whom have little or no journalistic training- to come together and make their own way. There will be plenty of time for media exposure.

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Sponsors for this historic conference included BlogHer, Service Employees Industry Union, Daily Kos, Glam Media, and Common Sense Media.