Steele Disconnected

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963

Those words spoken by Dr. King put America on trial and in 1964 the American Government pled guilty and subsequently signed the Civil Rights Act into law. However the light of justice and truth that shined so brightly on Jim Crow is now focused squarely in the faces of our most prominent Americans of African Ascent. Extrapolating from Dr. Kings’ speech, the content of one’s character is directly reflected in their treatment of and their interaction with their brothers and sisters; i.e., the human family. One’s character can be and often times is reflected in the company that one keeps. Utilizing that analogy, if you keep company with demagogues, bigots, and purveyors of sleaze, then it is only natural that your character will be called into question.

That brings us to the subject of our commentary. Michael Steele who is the republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in the State of Maryland was the recipient of a lavish fundraiser. Floyd Brown a long time republican strategist who engages in what many consider to be sleaze and racial innuendo politics hosted the fundraiser for Mr. Steele. Mr. Brown created the infamous “Willie Horton” ad that used the old, but still effective “fear of a mad Black Male” routine that sunk Michael Dukakis’ 1988 Presidential campaign by portraying the then Massachusetts Governor as soft on crime.

In addition to being supported financially by Floyd Brown, Michael Steele’s supporters and financial backers read like a who’s who list of Ku Klux Klan grand potentates; i.e., Trent Lott who enthusiastically opined that this country would have been a better place had America “followed our (Mississippi’s) lead” and elected Strom Thurmond President in 1948. In addition to Lott, Michael Steele has the support and financial backing of Alex Castellanos. Castellanos was instrumental in getting Jesse Helms re-elected to the Senate with his “white hands” advertisement.

In politics it is often times necessary to work with individuals that you may have ideological differences with. This is not the case in this instance. The fact is that Michael Steele has embraced and encouraged support from and is primarily back by individuals like Trent Lott, Floyd Brown, and Alex Castellanos. These are individuals that actively pursue an agenda that seeks to marginalize African Americans. This calls into question Mr. Steele’s judgment as well as his character. At the very least, it can be argued that he’s disconnected from the reality of just who these people are and what they represent.

In defending the fact that he openly embraces these types of individuals Michael Steele was quoted in the Washington Post stating “The way I look at it, if I am in the United States Senate, I’ll be a voice at the table that’s probably not been appreciated that much in the past,” That statement would carry more weight if Mr. Steele’s agenda even somewhat differed from the one Trent Lott espouses. But it’s doesn’t and that is why his judgment and the content of his character is being called into question by many of the people that he wishes to serve.

Black Web Awards

Press Release Excerpted From: www.BlackWebAwards.com

BLACKWEBAWARDS.COM^m NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR EXCELLENT WEBSITES

The BWA's Celebrate African, African American and Caribbean Excellence Online in 100 Categories

Baltimore, MD - The Nomination period for the First Annual BlackWebAwards (BWA)'s is now open! Established to highlight the vast and exceptional online achievements of Black people, the BWA's are the first and only organized effort to recognize and celebrate African, African American and Caribbean excellence online. This "friendly competition" allows website customers, fans and designers to nominate their favorite websites in over 100 categories, for FREE. With categories such as Best House of Worship Site, Best Wealth Building Site, Best Author Site and the Site We Miss Most, it will be clear to all that the Black Web Awards have a category for everyone!

The nomination period lasts until August 14, 2006. Nominations are FREE, open to the public and must be submitted online at www.BlackWebAwards.com. Five Hundred finalists will be announced on August 28 online via free streaming video and podcast. After the finalists are announced, the open voting period will begin. Site visitors will be invited to visit BlackWebAwards.com and cast their votes for their favorite finalists in each category. The BWA's reach their conclusion in November 2006, when the final winners are announced at an exclusive Invitation Only Awards Gala.

"We are pleased to organize and launch this important milestone event for the Black web" Says Odogwu Obi Linton, President of Linton Publishing, LLC, a Baltimore, Maryland USA based, 100% Black owned and operated company. "It's long overdue, and will help promote hundreds of creative, original online efforts to the world. It's FREE to nominate a site - so let the competition begin!"

Site visitors can catch up on the latest updates and announcements on the BWA's by tuning into the free weekly online webcast Countdown to the BWA's, hosted by National XM Radio Talk Show Host Blanche Williams, or by signing up for the BWA free weekly e-newsletter.

Oprah And The Three Bears

Rappers 50 Cent, Ludacris, and Ice-Cube have all complained about being dissed by Oprah Winfrey. In the May 2006 issue of GQ Magazine, Ludacris complained that a number of his comments were edited when he appeared on an Oprah show about racial discrimination. After taping he said that “she pulled me into a room and we had a five-minute conversation. What I got was that by having rappers on her show, she feels like she’s empowering them.”

Ice Cube has complained about being dissed by Oprah. In the May issue of FMH Magazine he lamented "I've been involved in three projects pitched to her, but I've never been asked to participate. For Barbershop, she had Cedric the Entertainer and Eve on, but I wasn't invited. Maybe she's got a problem with hip-hop. She's had damn rapists, child molesters and lying authors on her show. And if I'm not a rags-to-riches story for her, who is?”

50 Cent isn’t feeling Oprah either. In an AP article he shrugged off Oprah with the comment, “I think she caters to older white women." I believe the crux of the issue in this case is, and borrowing a line from one of my favorite movies (Cool Hand Luke) delivered by one of my favorite actors (Strother Martin) “What we have here is a failure to communicate." Whether Oprah has an issue with hip-hop or not, she is arguably one of maybe two or three African Americans that could bring about a much needed nationwide dialogue with all facets of the African American community on Rap and Hip-Hop.

We can no longer afford to dismiss certain elements within the Hip-Hop community just because we may find them to be less than what we expect them to be. Ice Cube, Ludacris, and 50 Cent are major players in an industry that is global in concept and scale. Based upon that fact, it is time we sit down at the table of discussion with all interested parties and break the bread of honest and frank dialogue with one another. As I pointed out in Faking The Funk “It’s as if there is some type of disconnect between the reality that is Urban America and the causes that brought Urban America to its current reality. The reality of Urban America (the negative and yes, the positive) is what gave birth to Rap and Hip-Hop. By dismissing that reality, we abdicate responsibility to determine its path.

We failed to address the genesis of overt poverty and economic genocide within Urban America. We did not raise our voices loud enough when our urban communities were overrun with drugs, violence, and mayhem. We ignored the negative socio-economic impact that the loss of schools and viable businesses had on Urban America. We did nothing when our young boys and girls brought children into this world out of wedlock.

Ice Cube, Ludacris, 50 Cent and other well known rappers are the progeny of our own benign neglect and however one feels about their music or about them personally, they are looked upon as leaders and role models to millions of fans and wannabe rap artists within the industry. Like Oprah, they too were fortunate enough to rise above the urban dysfunction and succeed despite existing within the midst of it. However for every Oprah and Ice Cube, or a 50 Cent that made it, there were/are thousands that continue to have no choice but to succumb and capitulate their dreams to survive and that cannot continue. Can you feel we?