Today’s NY Times features an article that discusses the growing disconnect between uneducated Black men and mainstream society. Some of the stats discussed:

The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly, with only a          slight pause during the economic peak of the late 1990’s. In 2000, 65 percent of          black male high school dropouts in their 20’s were jobless — that is, unable to find        work, not seeking it or incarcerated. By 2004, the share had grown to 72 percent,        compared with 34 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts.                    Even when     high school graduates were included, half of black men in their 20’s        were jobless in 2004, up from 46 percent in 2000.

Incarceration rates climbed in the 1990’s and reached historic highs in the past            few   years. In 1995, 16 percent of black men in their 20’s who did not attend             college were in jail or prison; by 2004, 21 percent were incarcerated. By their            mid-30’s, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had spent time in            prison.

In the inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school.

WOW! Although I’m familiar with all of these stats, there’s something about seeing them that never ceases to make me feel sad and helpless. As an activist and intellectual, I’d like to think that the work that we do helps make the world better. Yet, at moments like this, it seems as if we’re not even keeping it from getting worse.

Seven year old prodigy Autumn Ashante was at the center of a controversy after she read her poem “White Nationalism Put U In Bondage” in front of hundreds of middle and high school students. As a result of her performance, Autumn has been banned from performing in the district ever again and prompted a new policy about reviewing poems before they are performed. Here’s a sample of the her poem:

Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse.
They took the gold, the wisdom and all the storytellers.
They took the black women, with the black man weak.
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm of our village.
Yeah white nationalism is what put you in bondage.
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan and Darwin.

This girl, who is homeschooled, speaks multiple languages, and has several tv appearances to her credit, gives me great hope for the next generation. But instead of celebrating her profound genius and discussing her provocative comments, we have attempted to shut down her incredibly powerful voice.

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen!

For the full story see:
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/60921.htm

By now, most of your brackets are butchered beyond recognition. Have no fear, for I am here to save those of you who have the opportunity to place bets or make predictions on the remaining games.

Admittedly, I’m much better with the NBA playoffs (I’ve predicted the NBA Final Four and finalists for the past 10 years in a row, and the champion in 9 of the last 10 years. Them damn Lakers broke the streak in 2004 when the Pistons punished them.) Disclaimers aside, I predict that the Final Four will include:

Duke
Simply put, Duke is well coached, highly experienced, and has big time players (Yes, they’ll most likely turn into disappointing NBA players a la Christain Laettner but we can worry about that later). How can you bet against them?

Gonzaga
Don’t sleep on UCLA, but the Zags should beat up on a very tough Pittsburgh team on its way to the Final Four.

UConn
I’d love to see them lose, but UNC just doesn’t have enough to defend its title this year.

Florida
Nova’s four guards will shoot themselves out of a big game and/or get punished under the basket very soon. Ohio State has a legitimate chance too.

National Championship

I’ll announce the national champion after the Final Four plays out. Hint: The team wears blue uniforms and plays in Durham, North Carolina.

According to AllHipHop.com, Professor X of X-Clan has died in a New York-area hospital after a bout with meningitis. X, who is the son of Civil Rights legend Sonny Carson, is the second member of the group to pass. Sugar Shaft died in 1995 from AIDS related complications.

I’ve finally taken the time to watch both episodes of FX’s Black.White reality show. As a reality tv fan (yes I admit it), I find the show extremely fun to watch. As an intellectual, however, I find it quite unsatsifying.

My biggest problem is that the situations that the characters find themselves in are very contrived. While this is the case with all reality shows, it is particularly problematic for a show that describes itself as a “social experiment.” I can’t help but cringe every time Brian (the Black guy turned White) attempts to prove to Bruno (the White guy turned Black) that racism exists by taking him to bars, clothing stores, and restaurants in search of individual acts of prejudice. These racial scavenger hunts place a focus on the individual, social interactional aspects of racism as opposed to the conditions that enable White supremacy to thrive.

My worry is that the White viewing audience will look at such incidents and say “See! I knew if people just acted right and didn’t expect racism, everything would be ok!” The fact that nobody calls Bruno a nigger or mistreats him in Macy’s (those things only happen to many of us occasionally) only makes it easier for him to ignore the ways in which his morality, intelligence, and fundamental humanity are never automatically called into question.
On another note, I’ve tried my best to like Renee (Black –> White) but I just can’t. (Yes, Carmen is an annoying ethnophile. Still, Renee set her up with that dashiki mess.) In general, I think Renee came in looking for beef and is determined to find it.

Rose (the White girl turned Black) seems the most sincere and thoughtful about her experience, although I wanted to cut my face when she started rapping.

I haven’t seen much of Nick (the Black boy turned White), but what I have seen has made me want to give him a kidney punch.