Turned Up & Tapped Out: Why I’m Giving Up On Black Radio That Plays Rap Music

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/05/turned-up-tapped-out-why-im-giving-up-on-black-radio-that-plays-rap-music/

by Denene Millner

I officially give up on Black radio stations that play Hip Hop.

Seriously.

I’m over the disrespect. Finished with the blatant disregard for the audience. Totally through with their insistence on force-feeding curse-filled, misogynistic, lyrical porn through the airwaves and expecting this self-respecting, intelligent, passionate African American mother to take it to the head, sans complaint or concern.

What’s got my Victoria’s Secrets in a bunch? Last week, on my way back from dropping my kids off at school, I tuned into Atlanta’s R&B/Hip Hop station V103 to listen to one of my favorite morning show hosts, Ryan Cameron and his cast of funny, down-to-Earth co-horts (whom I can’t listen to with kids in the car) when on came a new song fresh off the New Orleans plantation that is Cash Money Records: Birdman’s “Tapout,” featuring Lil’ Wayne, Future, Mack Maine and Nicki Minaj. What I heard was so foul, so vile, so effing inappropriate, that I actually had visions of smashing my own damn radio with a sledgehammer. Witness the opening lyrics to this musical madness, courtesy of Wayne:

The Vitamin Black Men Need More Of

http://www.blackhealthzone.com/vitamin-black-men-need-more-of

 

Vitamin D is very important for everything from bone and muscle health to stronger sperm. But nearly half of all men aren’t getting enough vitamin D, and that percentage spikes among African American men living in northern regions, says a new study from Northwestern University.

NU researchers found that black men are 3.5 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than white men, and those differences are most pronounced in the northern third of the country—including Northern California and even Virginia—where sun exposure is more limited due to climate and weather.

Most people get their vitamin D from a combination of diet and sun exposure. For white men, 15 minutes of sun exposure on bare arms, legs, and shoulders is typically enough for the body to generate a day’s supply of vitamin D.

But darker skin tones contain more melanin, which blocks the absorption of ultraviolet light, explains Adam Murphy, Ph.D., a clinical instructor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School. Less light absorption means dark-skinned men are producing less D, and require up to 90 minutes in the sun in order to get 600 international units of vitamin D—the daily amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

5 Things to Keep In Mind when Approaching Bloggers with Your Music

http://www.brokencool.com/broken_cool/2013/05/5-things-to-keep-in-mind-when-approaching-bloggers-with-your-music.html

(Image above has little to do with the post…I thought it was funny)

Welcome to the new brokencool. I hope it will become a valuable resource and tool for musicians and entertainment industry folks. I have 17 years of industry experience to share, with a focus on online and the digital world having been involved in the online music and entertainment landscape since 1996.

Let’s begin with 5 Things to Keep In Mind when Approaching Bloggers with Your Music.

5. DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE

This sounds pretty self explanatory but let me expand on it a bit. So you’ve recorded the greatest song of all-time. All your homies tell you it’s better than anything Drake has dropped in the last 5 years. Your mom says it is Grammy worthy. Now, all of this might be true (although likely not) but it doesn’t mean that you should approach a blogger like you’re already the biggest musician on the planet.

Over the past 17 years, I have been approached by hundreds and hundreds of recording artists asking me to cover their music on a number of different web properties (including this very blog). Over this time, I have seen the correct way to approach a busy blogger and the incorrect way. Bloggers are getting hundreds of emails a day. And while I always tried to check out all the emails I received, I had no time for emails like this:

“Go, Mama GO!” – A Mother’s Day Tale

http://www.evasaidit.com/2013/05/go-mama-go-a-mothers-day-tale/

By Eva

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms reading this!

Motherhood has been my biggest joy/headache/money pit/anxiety source/love well/hug ‘n kiss machine/happy place ever!  Yep. It’s all those things. And sometimes it can feel thankless. But if you listen in the small moments…it’s truly not.

In June 2002, I was a newly single mother of an 18 month old. My son’s father and I had recently split, and I was finding my way through the endless do-it-all lists I made, just to ensure I didn’t miss a “we” task that was now a “just me” task. Here’s a sample…

To-do:

• 7:00: din = chicken nuggets + broccoli, Blue’s Clues
• 7:30: Dino book – “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight” + 1 other
• 8:00: shower – wash his hair!!
• 8:30: bed – check nightlight battery
  
• 9:30: make mac ‘n cheese for tomorrow, pack lunch bag, lay out clothes, sort laundry & leave for drop tomorrow AM, milk: am I out? make shopping list to take in AM, rinse silk blouse – ask mommy abt vinegar on underarm stains – wtf now, juice boxes into freezer, pack cheerios

The Skeptical Cynic: Was Jason Collins’ Coming Out Admittance a Ploy to Cash In?

By BIG CED

So, for most who know me, I am an eternal skeptic and I can be quite cynical, so why not start a new column?

With the recent news of NBA journeyman, Jason Collins, admitting that he is a gay, black man, I am wondering if this is him just being honest and being more comfortable with himself or is it an attempt to cash in on being the first openly gay athlete in a major sport? As some already know, Jason Collins is a free agent, nearing the end of his career (If it isn’t already over), so, who knows if he is in line to sign another contract for an NBA team. Now, I am not saying that without this news, he would not be playing for an NBA team next season, but, the skeptic in me questions the timing of the revelation. The cynic in me is asking if this would be a great way to get endorsements from companies who may not have even known about him.

Blue Ivy’s Hair: Seriously, Folk—Leave Beyonce and Jay-Z’s Child All the Way Alone Already

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/05/blue-ivys-hair-seriously-folk-leave-beyonce-and-jay-zs-child-all-the-way-alone-already/

by Denene Millner

Four MyBrownBaby words about Blue Ivy’s hair: Leave. That. Baby. Alone.

I say this because after more than a year of everyone begging to see Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter’s face, they finally give us a full-on look at her smoochy cheeks and those big ol’ doe eyes and the most kissable, juicy baby lips, like, ever, and the innanets goes total bat crap and does what? Makes fun of a 1-year-old’s black girl’s hair.

As if we didn’t just finish having this same stupid conversation about letting black girl hair be after folk tore Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas a new one for having a less-than-perfect coif while she was busy performing the historic gym routine that made her an official American hero.

A few examples of the tomfoolery that invaded Twitter timelines across the land:

“Blue Ivy would be so cute if they just combed her hair.”

“When will she do Blue Ivy’s hair?”

“I think Blue Ivy is so cute…they just need to do her hair. All that money but that baby looking like she popped out ShaNaeNae pum not Beys.”

Seriously, people? Seriously?

As Our 10-Year-Old Cheers the End of State Tests, We Wish They Would Go Away

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/04/as-our-10-year-old-cheers-the-end-of-state-tests-we-wish-they-would-go-away/

By NICK CHILES

When our 10-year-old tumbled off the schoolbus today, the relief on her face tucked all up in that broad smile, it signaled the end of the five-day torture chamber that is our state’s annual standardized test.

Her feet hadn’t even touched the ground good before she and her friends were plotting a big, post-test celebration—maybe at somebody’s home, maybe in the park. But on one thing they were clear: fun would be had by all. Lots of fun. After all, the test was over and all that stretched before them, schoolwise, was three or so weeks of …well, actually it’s not really clear what their teachers will be doing over the next three weeks since the test is done.

The Georgia version of the state test is extremely high stakes: passage is required for promotion. And the stress is ridiculously high for everyone involved—students, parents, teachers, administrators. Like so many things in the world of education, what started with the best of intentions—pulling everyone up to the same high standard—has been distorted and exploited to such an extreme that the tests now represent all the things wrong with public education and very little that’s right. The high stakes were quite clear here in Atlanta, where administrators and teachers (and perhaps even the school superintendent) were driven by fear and paranoia to engage in what has been described as the largest test cheating scandal in U.S. history, getting together to do wholesale erasures of student tests, resulting last month in the indictments of 35 educators, including Superintendent Beverly Hall.

In Tearful Speech, Michelle Obama Recognizes Her Own Life in Hadiya Pendleton’s

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/04/in-tearful-speech-michelle-obama-recognizes-her-own-life-in-hadiya-pendletons/

By NICK CHILES

Sometimes it feels like the rest of us operate in a separate world than our lawmakers in Washington. I’ve been getting that feeling a lot lately watching the contortions they have been going through to prevent gun control legislation from even making it onto the floor of the Senate for a vote—never mind actually passing legislation expanding background checks, which is a measure supported by 90 percent of the country.

I also got that feeling listening to the incredibly moving and personal speech First Lady Michelle Obama gave in Chicago on Tuesday about Hadiya Pendleton and the challenges being faced by young people in her city. While the First Lady supposedly breathes the same suffocating air as the Washington lawmakers, she clearly is not from the same world. While they worry about how taking a stand against gun violence might upset the NRA and endanger their reelection, Michelle understands deep down in her gut the world that young people in our country like Hadiya Pendleton inhabit. Because it used to be her world. And when she spoke at a luncheon in Chicago, the first lady brought all the power and emotion of her life experiences to bear.

In the midst of her speech, the first lady delivered one of those shocking lines that remind us how different it feels to African Americans when the occupants of the White House look like us. It was the same shock we got when the president said that Trayvon Martin could have been his son.

[Father/Hood] Fairy Tales For Black Girls: Making Up Stories Of Our Own For Our Daughters

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/04/fatherhood-fairy-tales-for-black-girls-making-up-stories-of-our-own-for-our-daughters/

By SHAWN TAYLOR

Now that my daughter remembers things with remarkable recall, is capable of critical thought, has a keen eye for the differences between people and the ability to provide and understand context, I have to admit: parenting feels like a kind of ridiculous warfare. It’s you (and everyone that loves you and your family) versus the anti-girl marketing commercial complex. The enemy is better armed and much better funded. So lately, most of my time’s been spent trying to protect my daughter from the fallout. She will not be collateral damage.

The first casualty of this war is, you’re forced to acknowledge that love isn’t enough. This obliterates your parental innocence. I thought all I had to do was love and provide for my child, and things would travel along smoothly. I never thought I’d have to protect her on so many different fronts. The attacks against girls come in all forms, but the broader battlefields are: the idea of the princesses being the only hero girls have; pink and frilly clothing; and cleaning toys aimed at girls.

Federal Government Forgets I am a man

http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2013/04/federal-government-forgets-i-am-man.html

By Torrance Stephens

This week reminds me of why Martin Luther King, Jr. was in my home town when he met his untimely murder. It was because of the garbage strike, I suspect many folk don’t know about it to even care, or even understand its corollary with today’s US economic crisis.

Ask any Black person, and they will say the economy is growing. They will also say that it is all because of the policies of President Barack Obama. Ask the same folk how the dollar is doing in the world and the present US economic picture for employment prospects, and they will say he is doing his best and that it will take time, or that he is not just the President for Black Americans. But you never hear such pronouncements with respect to Jewish people, Gay or Lesbians or even Hollywood. They get mentioned and African Americans are conveniently left out of the conversation.

Kudos to Magic Johnson for Modeling Fatherly Love in Supporting His Gay Son

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/04/kudos-to-magic-johnson-for-modeling-fatherly-love-in-supporting-his-gay-son/

By NICK CHILES

What a beautiful demonstration of loving and supportive fatherhood we got this week from the great Magic Johnson. On the occasion of his 20-year-old son Earvin Johnson III, also known as E.J., stepping out of the closet and announcing to the world that he’s gay, Johnson exhibited a classic portrait of how a parent should act in such a situation.

“I love E.J. so much, that’s my main man,” Magic says. “I think he really wanted to be out. But he was torn. … He just didn’t know how. He just said, ‘This is my moment. This is my time. I’m happy to share with the world who I am.’ And I said, ‘Go, E.J., go.’ ”
He adds: “This is a good moment for us as a family, and a greater moment for him. Now he’s just the bubbly kid we knew again… I’m behind him a million percent. This is really wonderful for him.”

Though America has made great strides in its acceptance of homosexuality, Johnson is an icon in two arenas that are still struggling with piles of intolerance: the world of professional sports and the black community. Just about the entire world knows there have to be gay players hiding among the major professional sportsmen, but they are deathly afraid to step out and tell the world. And in the black community, the heavy influence of religion, I believe, is feeding a refusal to be totally accepting of gays and gay marriage—though polls indicate that acceptance is growing, surely accelerated by President Obama’s dramatic announcement last year that he is a gay marriage supporter.

It Needs To Be CED: Corruption, Politics As Usual

By BIG CED

The recent ‘discovery’ of corruption in New York politics should come as to no surprise. Well, at least to a skeptic like me. Politics have stopped being about ‘the people’ years ago and yet, people are still fooled by the politicians who will do anything to make a buck or take monies to further others’ causes based on the amount of the checks. Why do you think lobbyists make so much money?

The lobbyists are just legal corruption providers, operating, on surface, to appeal to whatever politicians they can get in their pockets, for whatever causes that will line their pockets further. They are just a mere step below the corrupt players who do it in the back alleys. Only difference is that the politicians allow them to bid for their corruption, er, services legally, as I am quite positive that there are more ‘perks’ included under the table that greatly influences the hands that are being greased.

Disgusting Behavior of Rutgers Coach Mike Rice Is a Violation of Parents’ Trust

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/04/disgusting-behavior-of-rutgers-coach-mike-rice-is-a-violation-of-parents-trust/

By NICK CHILES

As a former athlete and the father of athletes who have played sports at every level up to NCAA Division 1, I have been around dozens of coaches in my lifetime. But never have I seen anything close to the behavior of just-fired Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice. This guy was unbelievable, kicking players, throwing balls at their heads, calling them “fairy” and “f**got”—exhibiting such extreme behavior toward his players at practice that it’s shocking Rutgers didn’t fire him right away in December when school officials first watched the video of him in action.

When a parent hands his/her child over to a coach, there’s an enormous amount of trust involved in the transaction. Not only are we expecting the coach to properly instruct our child on all the technicalities of the sport in question, but the coach is supposed to be a surrogate parent of sorts when we’re not around. That means caring about their well-being and their development. That means protecting them from physical harm and also from mental and psychological damage. That means sparing them from the violence of your emotional meltdowns.

Fake Happy Don’t Make Happy…

http://www.evasaidit.com/2013/04/fake-happy-dont-make-happy/

By Eva

Ok, so I adapted that bit of rapper financial wisdom (“Scared money don’t make money.”) to suit my purposes. Sue me. Thank you, oh ye wise sages, masters of the hoodrat anthem!

But it’s true. Pretending to be happy is more work than it takes to actually BE happy.  Honestly, it’s exhausting from the inside out.  And no matter who you fool on the outside, you still know the inside truth.

Emotional pain is a funny thing.  It has a million different possible causes: grief, lost love, depression, career issues, education setbacks…etc. Yet with all those sources, there seems to be only one great healer: time.  Everything can fall to shit in an instant…but paternity test results time’s healing passage feels like the l o n g e s t wait ever.  Time waits for no man…and it doesn’t speed up for a mofo either.

Radio Station Bans Rick Ross, Lil Wayne Over Sexist Rape Lyrics: ‘Bout Time!

by Denene Millner

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/03/radio-station-bans-rick-ross-lil-wayne-over-sexist-rape-lyrics-bout-time/

Round of applause for Michigan radio station 103.7 The Beat, which took a bold stand against irresponsible, misogynistic, foul, rape culture rap lyrics by banning two of Hip Hop’s biggest offenders from its airwaves: Lil’ Wayne and Rick Ross.

Citing Lil’ Wayne’s lyrics in the remix of Future’s “Karate Chop,” in which the rapper equates violent sex with the brutal beating of Emmett Till, and Ross’s ode to rape in rapper Rocko’s “You Don’t Even Know It,” the station said playing their music only makes them “part of the problem.” So they’re taking the two out of rotation. In a press release, the station writes:

The questions have been asked, Is Hip Hop Music Destroying America, Is Hip Hop A Threat To Our Children or Should Rappers Be Accountable For Their Lyrics? You be the judge. Earlier this year the song “Karate Chop” leaked online featuring rapper Lil’ Wayne. He raps, “’Bout to put rims on my skateboard wheels/Beat that (expletive/woman genital) up like Emmett Till.” A few weeks later a song by rapper Rocko featuring Rick Ross was release called “You Don’t Even Know It.” Rick Ross raps, “Put molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it.” Yes, we have our freedom of speech right, but when is freedom of speech taken too far?

Passing Up The All Male Revue: A Case of “Django D*ck”

http://www.evasaidit.com/2013/03/passing-up-the-all-male-revue-a-case-of-django-dck/

By Eva

So…we’re friends, right?

I mean, we’ve been smack-talking our way through page after page of my fuckery snarky tales of life experiences gone awry for some time now.  You know me well enough; you get a sense of who I am. That said, you know for a fact that a woman who writes about threesomes, tweets about blowjobs, and encourages quickies is no prude, right? RIGHT?

Ok, great. ‘Cause she also ABHORS all male revues.

That’s right. I hate male revues. If you like it, I love it for you. But…for you.  Needless to say, when a girlfriend invited me no less than three times to a revue she’s attending, I passed.

Black Eight Year old Girl handcuffed, jailed for two hours

http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2013/03/black-eight-year-old-girl-handcuffed.html

By Torrence Stephens

It has been suggested that America is turning into a police state. Each day there is more evidence. One such example deals with Jmyha Rickman, an 8-year-old girl from Alton, Illinois.

Rickman was handcuffed and held by Alton Police for two hours after throwing a tantrum at Love Joy Elementary School late Tuesday morning school. School officials, not being able to deal with the 70 lbs. Girl called the Alton Police to handle the situation.

She was even taken to jail in the back of a police squad car with her hands cuffed behind her back. The police would not allow her to get her coat. According to KMOV News in St. Louis, Her guardian said, “Her eyes were swollen from her crying and her wrists had welts on them,” said Rickman’s guardian, “They cuffed her feet too and she asked to use the restroom several times and was ignored.”

Sex After Birth: Majority Of New Moms Wait Longer Than Six Weeks. Duh.

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/03/sex-after-birth-majority-of-new-moms-wait-longer-than-six-weeks-duh/

by Denene Millner

Yet another “duh”-worthy study on women and pregnancy claims that a majority of new moms wait longer than the six-week doctor-ordered minimum to have sex after giving birth.

Researchers who periodically surveyed 1,507 first-time mothers living in Melbourne, Australia, about their sexual activity within the first year of childbirth found that overall, 41 percent of the moms resumed vaginal sex within six weeks after delivering their baby, 65 percent by eight weeks, 78 percent by 12 weeks and 94 percent by six months. Just over half the women said they engaged in some type of sexual activity by six weeks after childbirth, and those who had Caesarean sections, births assisted by forceps or incisions or tears in the perineum tended to wait longer to have sex, the study found.

Many doctors recommend delaying sex for four to six weeks after childbirth to allow the cervix to close, bleeding to stop and tears to heal, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Researcher Ellie McDonald, of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, said her study provides “useful information for couples to know before their baby is born, and may help reduce feelings of anxiety and guilt about not resuming sexual activity sooner.”

Black Children and Black History: The Importance Of Teaching Our Kids the Complexity Of Us

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/03/black-children-and-black-history-the-importance-of-teaching-our-kids-the-complexity-of-us/

by Denene Millner

I was in the car headed to the Atlanta OneMillionRising rally with Mari and three of her female classmates, singing Prince’s “Adore” loud and off-key, when girlpie commandeered the radio dial in search of—what else?—hip hop. “I can’t believe you turned off Prince,” I sniffed. “Since your little friends are in the car, I’ll give you that, but please be aware: I’m not feeling Lil’ Wayne in general and, because of his nasty lyrics about Emmett Till, today I particularly don’t like his behind, so he will not be on my radio, please and thank you.”

“Wait, huh?” the girls asked, practically in unison. “What did he say?”

Typical. The girls had no clue that one of their generation’s most revered rappers was being called out by the Civil Rights icon’s family for comparing sex with the brutal, merciless beating that killed the then-14-year-old Till. For kids, that kind of news never appeals; they nod to the beat, Tweet about what Kim Kardashian did on her latest reality show, obsess over Mindless Behavior Instagram posts and ignore that which gets the adults all riled up. Never mind that, though: I was pissed and I wanted them to understand why they should be, too. “I mean, besides constantly making it seem like the only good sex is violent sex, this fool callously used the brutal murder of Emmett Till to describe what he’d like to do to a woman’s body. You should be infuriated.”

A Year Later, Trayvon Martin Stays Lodged in the Psyche of Black Parents

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/a-year-later-trayvon-stays-lodged-in-the-psyche-of-black-parents/

By NICK CHILES

It’s been a year since Trayvon Martin pierced our consciousness.

So many brutal, unforgettable stories have shocked our senses since last February. So many young people have been unforgivably taken from us. Jordan Davis. Aurora. Newtown. Hadiya Pendleton.

It has been a year that may even bring about some changes in the way the nation views and treats gun violence. Maybe. It still remains to be seen whether our lawmakers will have the courage to actually change the laws that govern how easily Americans can blow each other away.

Of course, the Trayvon story is still in the media, as we follow all the pre-trial dramas of George Zimmerman. When he actually goes on trial for the murder of Trayvon, shining a very public spotlight on the irrationality of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, the case will jump onto the front pages again.

As others have noted, MyBrownBaby was one of the first media sources in the country to note the larger implications of Trayvon’s murder. We helped to put the story on the front pages. When my wife Denene showed me a wire service report out of Florida on a press conference held by Trayvon’s parents, who were trying to bring attention to the fact that Zimmerman still hadn’t been arrested two weeks after he shot their son to death, I immediately thought about my own son. He is a young black male who had been pulled over by police in our subdivision several times by police; we had gotten nervous emails from neighbors in the subdivision reporting that there had been a couple of burglaries. Those were all the steps that could lead to something tragic. I knew I had to pen something meaningful, quickly. After I did, sites like The Root soon followed suit.

Men Teaching Womanhood? Sorry, Bey, But I Don’t Think So…

http://www.evasaidit.com/2013/02/men-teaching-womanhood-sorry-bey-but-i-dont-think-so/

By Eva

I had a whole ‘nother piece planned for today, but a fun conversation on a radio show last night left me feeling like I had to speak a little further on something that’s been BUGGING me since I saw it.

Sisters in your 20′s, this piece is written especially out of love for you.
Read on.

Last night, I was honoured to be a returning guest on the super fun “Cocktails and Conversations – Wednesday Wind Down Night Cap Edition” show on Blogtalk Radio. One of our discussion topics was King Bey herself, Beyonce. It’s Bey Season and homegirl is everywhere, per her successful promo formula. When the time comes, the Beyonce machine kicks into high gear: performances from inauguration to Superbowl 2013, the Mrs. Carter World Tour is coming, the ink on a PEPSI deal is dry, a sit-down with Oprah dropped, and right after it came her own documentary/beauty piece, “Life Is But A Dream” as an HBO exclusive. Whew! I’m tired just listing all that!

Bottomline: Beyonce is every place you look, and I am NOT mad at that! Well, except for this one thing…

Pregnant Texas Teen Sues Parents For Right To Have Baby. Isn’t Reproductive Choice Grand?

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/pregnant-texas-teen-sues-parents-for-right-to-have-baby-isnt-reproductive-choice-grand/

by Denene Millner

My mother’s “birds and bees” talk began and ended with this simple directive: “Don’t bring no babies home because I’m not trying to take care of any.” She meant that. And I was real clear about it. I was to get a college degree. A career. Love. Marriage. And then babies. In that order. She never said it, but I have no doubts that if I’d have messed up her order of things and come home with a baby in my belly, Bettye would have tried to go out like the parents of the pregnant Texas girl who sued her mom and dad for allegedly trying to force her to have an abortion.

I mean, I can’t be sure that this would have been my mom’s reaction. But it sure didn’t seem far-fetched at the time. Which was more than enough for me to keep my legs closed and my books open. Apparently, that hard-line parental message didn’t really get through in time enough for the pregnant Texas girl, who claimed in a lawsuit that after she revealed she was pregnant, her mother took her phone and car and kept her home from school as punishment for refusing to have an abortion, and even threatened to “slip” her an abortion pill. Dad weighed in, according to the lawsuit, by telling the pregnant teen she “needs an ass whoopin’,” and that he was going to “look into canceling” her health insurance. Their ultimatum for their daughter, now 10 weeks pregnant? “Continue to live in misery” at her mom’s home or “have an abortion and tell everyone it was a miscarriage,” the lawsuit said.

It Needs To Be CED: Why Can’t We Celebrate Black History Year?

I guess I am impressed when I see people I know posting important facts (online) in Black History daily or several times during the month of February, named Black History Month. It’s the ‘cool’ thing to do, I suppose. But, I liken Black History Month right along with other ‘holidays’ like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Why do I need a certain time to acknowledge my mother, father, girlfriend or my history?

During the year, if I am in a relationship, I take my girl out, I buy her flowers, gifts, things I think she would need and/or like, acknowledging my love for her throughout the year. Same thing with my mother. I’m taking her out here and there, buying her whatever she needs or wants, checking up on her, doing the things I feel a good son should do for his mother. My father has passed on, but that doesn’t mean I only think about him or recognize him on Father’s Day. He is still on my mind throughout the year.

Now, as impressed as I am with ‘us’ being recognized ‘once’ a year, every year, I’m wondering why ‘we’ feel like we should celebrate when we are told to celebrate ‘our’ history?

It Needs To Be CED: I Applaud Chris Brown

By BIG CED

Now, I’m pretty sure after some of you read this, you will see me as cynical or maybe another adjective that is unprintable here. But, hear me out. Let’s just look at it for what it is.

People are complaining about Chris Brown staying seated when he was defeated by his ‘rival’, Frank Ocean, when he lost to him at The Grammys in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album. In case you didn’t know, there seems to be some sort of ‘beef’ between the 2 popular singers and there was a brief ‘tussle’ almost 2 weeks ago outside a recording studio they were both at. So, it’s fair to say that the two of them aren’t really on speaking terms (But, then again, who IS on speaking terms with Chris Brown these days, besides, of course, Rihanna!) or making plans to record a song together in the near future.

Ok, you’re caught up? Good!

Now, I’m gonna play devil’s advocate and say simply, I applaud Chris Brown! Now, before you start calling me a fool or ignoramus or whatever it is coming to mind as you read this, give me a minute to explain.

Black Women and Heart Health: Know the Symptoms Of Attack and Be Smart About Your Heart

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/black-women-heart-health-and-heart-attack-symptoms/

by Denene Millner

My mother had beautiful hands—lovely, long and fresh, just like her. She kept her fingernails dipped in maroons and dark browns—subtle, but still noticeable. Strong. As she got older, though, Mommy’s hands became gnarled with the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis, almost at the same time that a workplace accident took out a disc in her spine. She spent an enormous amount of time posted up in hospital beds and doctors’ offices—enough so that when minor things caught hold of her, like coughs or stomachaches or any other general malaise, she paid it no mind. Soldiered on.

Doing this cost my mother her life.

My mother, you see, died at age 62 of a heart attack, five days into a family reunion trip to her childhood home. She got on the plane experiencing flu-like symptoms—shortness of breath, weakness, unusual fatigue, dizziness, back pain, but thought nothing of her malaise—that is was nothing serious. And even though everyone around her could tell something was seriously, progressively wrong, Mommy refused to go to the hospital—refused to let someone take a look at her. To care for her. She preferred to soldier on.

Black Moms and Breastfeeding: CDC Says Stats Are Rising, But We Need More Support

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/black-moms-and-breastfeeding-cdc-says-stats-are-rising-but-we-need-more-support/

by Denene Millner

Oh baby! The numbers of African American mothers breastfeeding is on the rise and more black mothers are forgoing formula for the breast for longer periods—a push that is narrowing gaps in breastfeeding rates between black women and other ethnicities.

A report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control says the proportion of black mothers who started breastfeeding jumped from 47.7 percent in 2000 to 58.9 in 2008. Similarly, the proportion of black moms who were still breastfeeding after six months rose almost 15 percent—up to 30.1 percent in 2008 from 16.9 percent in 2000.

And though black breastfeeding rates continue to lag behind white and Hispanic moms—they reported breastfeeding their infants 75 percent and 80 percent respectively—the gap in breastfeeding rates between black women and white women narrowed from 24 percentage points in 2000 to 16 percentage points in 2008.

ADHD Diagnoses In Black Children Increases By 70 Percent—Along With the Use Of Strong Meds

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/02/adhd-diagnoses-in-black-children-increases-by-70-percent-along-with-the-use-of-strong-meds/

by Denene Millner

African American and Hispanic children have seen a jump in their diagnosis rates for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder—a trend that comes as more psychiatrists are prescribing antipsychotic drugs some researchers argue haven’t been proven to accurately treat ADHD.

A recent study by Kaiser Permanente found that the overall rate of ADHD diagnoses for children increased 24 percent, from 2.5 precent in 2001 to 3.1 percent in 2010. But when broken down by race and ethnicity, black children saw a 70 percent increase in ADHD diagnosis over that nine-year period, while Hispanic children saw a 60 percent increase.

Darios Gatahun, a researcher and author of the study, says diagnosis rates could have increased because parents and physicians are more aware of the disorder and have increased access to preventative health screenings and treatment. Some experts argue that this is a step in the right direction because it means more children with the neurobehavioral disorder are likely to be treated, reducing their chances for missing school, becoming injured or having difficulty learning. 

Hadiya Pendleton: Chicago Gun Violence Takes Star Teen From Inauguration To the Mortuary

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/01/hadiya-pendleton-chicago-gun-violence-takes-star-teen-from-inauguration-to-the-mortuary/

by Denene Millner

Her name was Hadiya Pendleton, and she was only 15 years old. The dimples in her cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes—each of these tell the story. She was an honor student, a volley ball player and a majorette, nice enough with her studies and her drill team routines that she got the chance to perform with her school’s marching band during President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade in Washington, just days ago. Her pictures belie all that her friends remember of her: Hadiya was smart. Kind. Sweet. Full of light. With a potential that was limitless.

But now, Hadiya is gone from here. On Tuesday afternoon, she became the 42^nd person to be killed in Chicago this month, the deadliest January in that city in more than a decade. This was not a case of Hadiya being in the wrong place at the wrong time; this child, having been released early from King College Prep High School after taking final exams, was with her friends in a park near her school, taking shelter from the rain under a canopy of trees when some coward with a gun hopped a fence and shot into the crowd of teens. Hadiya was shot in the back; she collapsed a few blocks away in front of a row of upscale condos, not too far from President Obama’s family home, and died an hour later. Another boy, too, was shot and is in serious condition at an area hospital.

Lil Wayne’s ‘No Worries’ Made Me Question Myself as a Dad To Black Daughters

http://mybrownbaby.com/2013/01/lil-waynes-no-worries-made-me-question-myself-as-a-dad-to-black-daughters/

By NICK CHILES

It was Lil Wayne’s song “No Worries” that did it— sent me hurtling down yet another slippery slope on the rollercoaster ride that is parenting.

A prominent part of the song is Wayne’s blushingly explicit tribute to abundant pubic hair. Every time it comes on the radio when my teenage daughter is in the car, I feel shame­—a reaction that took me by surprise.

The song triggers my fatherly protective instincts—the desire to shield my daughter from things that will do her harm. I feel shame and embarrassment that as a dad, my generation has allowed “No Worries” and all the songs like it to be presented to my daughter as acceptable entertainment, as lyrics that she should absorb into her brain as an appropriate way for a young man to talk to her and about her.

Of course, we have been accosted by unbelievably explicit and offensive rap lyrics for more than a decade. But the difference for me is that now I have to listen to them with my newly minted teenage daughter in the car, a 13-year-old who has a deep passion for hardcore hip hop.

Gone are the days when I could simply change the channel when something came on the radio that I deemed inappropriate. Out of ear shot; out of mind. Now she’s actively looking for this stuff to download onto her iPhone. There’s no escaping it. The age of innocence is over. We still have some time with her little sister, who at age 10 is (thankfully? painfully?) in love with Taylor Swift and wants nothing to do with the rap that blankets the black airwaves here in Atlanta. Not sure how long this embrace of Taylor will last, but at this point I much prefer Taylor Swift to Lil Wayne (something I didn’t think I’d ever hear myself say).

BREAKING: Superwoman Writes Hall Pass; Has One For You Too!

http://www.evasaidit.com/2013/01/breaking-superwoman-writes-hall-pass-has-one-for-you-too/

By Eva Said It

Listen…

I. Am. SICK!

SICK, I tell you!

It’s taking all my focus to look at my laptop screen and tap the keys right now.  We’re talking the determined sleep bounce of a crackhead when crossing the street (I’m from the South Bronx, remember?), or the laser-like left/right of a DUI straight line test taker (for all you people with suburban problems). “I’m not as think as you drunk I am, Occifer!”