Census 2010

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. So with the new year of 2010 it is time for people to fill out the new census forms. But there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the new form. On the box for race for black people it says black, African American, Negro. Many people were offended by this box. Not only black people but also Caucasians were speaking out about how the way the box tried to categorize the black race made them feel uncomfortable. Personally I found it offending. However the makers of the census justified this by saying that they didn’t want anybody to feel like they were not represented. They said that older African Americans refer to themselves as Negros while middle aged people consider themselves black opposed to the progressive generation who consider themselves African Americans. With that being said I just feel like it shouldn’t matter what race you are in the first place when it comes to receiving federal funding. And I want to encourage the community to fill out the form do not let this issue keep your community from receiving funds.

Importance of Health

I was in the barbershop waiting to get a haircut and was reading a article in one of the magazines that had some disturbing information. The article was about heath and it pointed out that Black men are the least heath conscience group of people. Black men suffer far worse health than any other racial group in America. There are a number of reasons for this. They include racial discrimination, a lack of affordable health services, poor health education, cultural barriers, and poverty, employment that does not carry health insurance, insufficient medical and social services catering for Black men. The life expectancy for a Black male child born in 2004 is 69.5 years, compared with 75.7 years for White males born the same year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Black men are more likely to get and die from prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As black men we have the responsibility to act as fathers and husbands and lead our households. We need to educate ourselves and begin to take care of ourselves. I found these facts very disturbing. Brothers we have to do better so that we can raise our children and live long enough to have a positive impact on the community.

Racism in the classroom

Friday March 5, three white teachers from Wadsworth Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles were placed on administrative leave after giving students portraits of O.J. Simpson, RuPaul , and Dennis Rodman to carry in the school’s black history parade. The three teachers are accused of acting concert to mock black heroes and take advantage of the children's innocence. The chapter president of the NAACP is Leon Jenkins who said he is pushing for the teachers to be fired. I feel like this was an act of racism these are African Americans who we should not teach our children to emulate or make them believe that these individuals represent the best of our history or community. People like Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman and President Barack Obama, and Martin Luther King are just a few people that embody the traits that we want our children to follow. This just is another one if many wake up calls that racism is still very much alive.

Beyonce Building on the community

After talking about the movie Brooklyn’s finest I figured I stay on the borough for a while. In recent news singer Beyonce Knowles visited the New York City borough Friday for the opening of the Beyonce Cosmetology Center at a residential substance abuse treatment center. The center previously offered programs for residents including technology, carpentry, and culinary arts. But, Knowles thought the center should have more programs geared towards women. Her work for the community is endless and I would love to see her along with other entertainers to continue to use their brand to better the african american community.

Brooklyn's Finest

This weekend I went to the movies to see Brooklyn’s finest which starred veteran actors Don Cheadle along with Ethan Hawk. The movie took a deep look into the different many aspects of police in New York City. The movie explored the different relationships that officers have to maintain on and off the job. The movie sparked my interest and I felt myself on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. I found the movie very entertaining and was even more impressed when I found out that it was written by Michael C. Martin. Martin Is a young African American screen writer and this is his first big film. I would definitely say that viewers will not be disappointed with this film.

While attending an HBCU there are some things that are universal at all of them. One thing that is universal is the Greek influence that is prevalent on the various historically black campuses. Here at Virginia State University the Greek fraternities and sororities can be easily spotted on the campus doing their calls or stepping on a regular basis. Many of these organizations hold a special place in the African American community because they were designed to aid and help build it up. Although that was the origin of these organizations many of them often don’t lose focus of that and get stereotyped for other things such as throwing parties and stepping. But on February 26, the NCAAP honored the men of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity with an Image award for community service. The organization won the award for their outstanding service around the Petersburg and Richmond area. The award was presented by the Men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity who had received it the year before. This was a breath of fresh air it showed that not only do some organizations are continuing to fulfill there purpose but it also shows that young black men are taking pride in building our community’s.

One night last week I was watching BET with a friend and the network was showing the film ‘Boyz In The Hood’ which was written and Directed in 1991 by John Singleton. The movie is considered a classic by many and it received an academy award in 1992.During the 90’s black movies appeared everywhere and movies became a way for us to tell our stories to the world. Great directors such as Spike Lee, John Singleton, Ernest Dickerson, and Darnell Martin were pioneers that emerged from this movement. But since then it seems to be a void waiting to be filled in black cinema. Although this movie had such an impact on the African American community as well as the main stream media why is BET playing a movie that is almost 20 years old during primetime television hours? This is why many African Americans do not watch a network that was created for us.I feel like that currently the African American community lacks a sense of identity artistically and especially in the media. This troubles me because the President of the United States is an African American.I would love to see something on Bet besides an old movie or a reality television show where is the next Spike Lee?