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.

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.

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.

Roland Martin Hosts Annual Ascot Affair at CBC

 

September 25, 2012 – Ascots, politics and networking were the topics of discussion at Roland Martin’s Annual Ascot Affair in Washington, DC on Saturday. The event, held during the Congressional Black Caucus week, welcomed more than 2,000 politicians and socialites for a chance to party with a purpose while discussing everything from the upcoming elections and voter suppression to fashion and entrepreneurship. Celebrity guests in attendance included actress Nia Long, director Robert Townsend, NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, comedians Chris Tucker andGary Owen, actor Quinton Aaron and top power executives Judy Smith and Cheryl Pearson-McNeil.

“I host this party because I like to remind people that politics can be fun,” said Martin, who donned a white dinner jacket with a lavender and green ascot. “We work hard to make sure the political process works for the people, but at the end of the day, we play hard, too!”

WASHINGTON WATCH WITH ROLAND MARTIN airs Sundays at 11AM ET on TV One.

Black Urban Media: The New Blackploitation

http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2012/07/black-urban-media-new-blackploitation.html

By Torrance Stephens

Information is freely available everywhere. So much that it is easy to verify and substantiate with a little effort. However, for most African Americans, the major news topics of the day are ignored by their most treasured sources of information – black owned urban media and radio.

Now if you want to find out about the release of an album, which is sleeping with who, the latest baby momma or what celebrities were fighting at the club, black urban media is your place. Most it seems to have adopted the playbook of the National Enquirer. Now they will cover every itty bitty nuanced piece of information on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta, Real Housewives and Basketball Wives, as well as stories on young black men being shot by white men, but only after it becomes the focus of the world. And let us not forget President Obama, it seems as if the only politics covered dally with the commander in Chief 95 percent of the time. But rarely anything else. You won’t find anything on the Eurozone Crisis, or the LIBOR scandal, or serious presentations of what is occurring in Libya, Syria, Somalia, or even the continuing crisis in Haiti or the senseless shootings in Chicago.

Harlem Charity Event To Help NYC Inner Kids

NYC OFFICIALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS “GAMBLE ON YOUTH”

– HITS, Inc. and the 300 Club Host The Fourth Annual Uptown Summer Classic:”The Red Door” Charity Casino Night to Inspire Service and Support Inner City Youth –

HITS: Michael Richardson Youth College Tour at Howard University

Harlmen, NY(BlackNews.com) — On Saturday June 30, Hearts in the Streets, Inc. (HITS) will host the 2012 Uptown Summer Classic: The Red Door to benefit NYC students through the Michael Richardson Youth College Tours. The casino themed event will include a night of music, games and fun while also recognizing professional trail blazers that have demonstrated a commitment to giving back.

The event will take place from 7pm to 12am at the Historic Alhambra Ballroom located at 2116 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. (At 126th Street). Hosted by Camille McDonald, America’s Next Top Model, along with New York state elected officials, The Red Door will attract more than 500 young professionals with a common interest of striving for success while serving their communities.

Ponytail For Ponytail: Mom Mad that Judge Had Her Cut Daughter’s Hair As Punishment

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/06/ponytail-for-ponytail-mom-mad-that-judge-had-her-cut-daughters-hair-as-punishment/

by Denene Millner

A mother who lopped off her 13-year-old daughter’s ponytail in a Utah courtroom to reduce the girl’s sentence in a nasty bullying case says she regrets her decision to cut her daughter’s locs and has filed a formal complaint against the judge who made her do it.

District Juvenile Judget Scott Johansen initially ordered Kaytlen Lopan to pay damages, spend 30 days in detention and serve 276 hours of community service as punishment for chopping off several inches of hair from the head of a 3-year-old girl without permission from the child or her mother. But then Johansen made Kaytlen’s mom, Valerie Bruno, an offer she couldn’t—and did not—refuse: a reduced sentence for Kaytlen’s ponytail.

Stand Your Ground, Domestic Violence and Black Ballerinas: Melissa Harris-Perry Talks Black Women

http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/05/stand-your-ground-domestic-violence-and-black-ballerinas-melissa-harris-perry-talks-black-women/

By Denene Millner

Have I told you lately how much I super heart Melissa Harris-Perry?  Her self-titled show on MSNBCgives me life—not just because the Tulane professor is absolutely brilliant, but because she is one of the rare TV political analysts who actually talks masterfully—and gives a doggone—about issues affecting women in general and women of color in particular. Such was the case this past weekend, when she featured ballerina Misty Copeland and violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins in a discussion about the importance of the arts for black children, and dedicated a significant portion of her show to the pathetic Stand Your Ground law that threatens to send Florida domestic abuse victim Marissa Alexander to prison for 20 years for firing a warning shot as her husband attacked her.

I don’t always get to tune into Melissa’s Sunday morning show—sometimes, church calls. But when I do watch, I’m consistently tickled by the subjects she chooses and the mastery, wit and humor she brings to the discussion. She won me over months ago when she spent almost the entirety of her show talking to a panel of African American and Latina mothers about our value—our purpose in the upcoming presidential elections, and why our struggles make us a key voice that politicians need to pay attention to. Sure, some of my MSNBC favs, like Rachel Maddow (I’m a total Maddow stan) and Ed Shultz train their laser-sharp analysis on issues relevant to our every day lives, but there’s something to be said for the nuanced perspective that comes when a smart black woman brings her experiences and thought process to the table.