Video on CNN: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-751011.
I actually watched the video of the ESPN commentator who was suspended for using the term “chink in the armor.” He should have been given an opportunity to apologize for his mistake. This was not a Don Imus situation but shows what happens in a society that focuses on political correctness instead of teachable moments.
Video on CNN: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-750129
I love the Jeremy Lin story, but some of the commentaries I’ve seen have me wondering if we’re subtly reinforcing some stereotypes about Asians and Black people. I think the Asian “model minority” myth will be playing out before we know it.
Video on CNN.com: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-724522
I was thinking last night of all the top stories of 2011 and decided, why not have some fun and write another rap! I wrote this! Happy new year!
Earlier this fall, I was vacationing in Puerto Rico with several of my friends. While walking near the coast of an historic castle, I saw one of the cleanest and colorful basketball courts I have ever seen. I looked more closely at the court to try to make out the name of the court. To my amazement, it said “The Carmelo Anthony Court.” I was shocked for two reasons. The first reason is that I was not aware of Carmelo’s half Puerto Rican ancestry. The other reason was that I never heard of this park dedication on the news, which is one of two that Anthony created through his “Courts 4 Kids” program in Puerto Rico.
What I witnessed in Puerto Rico is really at the heart of my frustration with Mr. Kevin Powell’s Ebony Magazine article entitled “The Decline of the Elite Black Athlete.” While well-intentioned, the article serves to scold our young athletes as if they are little careless boys running around like chickens with their heads cut off. He also chides them for not being involved in political issues of the day as iconic athletes such as Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali were. While this may be true to some degree, an argument can be made that elite black male athletes are more engaged in their community and more engaged in being positive role models than they ever have since Jim Brown’s time.
I do not think I could have said this nearly a decade ago. This was around the time where Ron Artest, then with the Indiana Pacers, charged a fan in the stands and initiated what came to be known as the “basket brawl” involving several players and fans. This was the time where the NBA Portland Trailblazers were referred to frequently as the Portland “Jailblazers” due to members of that team frequently being involved with legal matters. Weapons and weed being found in the passenger seats of these athlete’s cars also seemed to be a weekly headline. While Powell’s article takes more of a paternalistic tone, it may have been more appropriate back then, though it may have fallen on deaf ears given that many of these athletes were probably not reading Ebony Magazine. In this new decade, however, the game has changed.
It is important to note that Powell said the “elite” black athlete. Just taking the NBA into account, I think of the elite athletes being Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul. Of course there are others. I cannot think of a single incident where any of these men have been involved in illegal activity. They have not only been upstanding citizens, but also dedicated fathers in the example of Dwayne Wade fighting for his children in a bitter custody battle. Several of them are married or in serious relationships, and they all have some form of foundation such as Carmelo’s where they are investing in athletic endeavors as well as educational programs such as LeBron’s foundation.
Lastly, the NBA lockout has solidified my positive view of these athletes. Without getting paid, these athletes have traveled the country playing basketball and have paid for their own travel arrangements. Ticket prices for these games have ranged from $5-50 in some cases. They have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities and have given NBA wannabes a shot at them. Some of these games have taken place at nice colleges, while other games have taken place in some of the most notorious areas of major cities such as Anacostia in Washington DC, where I happen to live. I have seen Kobe Bryant hit game winning shots at the Drew League gym and let kids swamp him who would never have a chance to pay for a game at the Staples Center. To cap it all off, Amare spoke publicly that these players have spoken seriously about starting their own league should the lockout continue. Is that not black entrepreneurship at its best?
It is time that we who have a platform within the black media sphere start celebrating our athletes. Let the rest of the media condemn the thug actions of a select few. The athletes of today will never be able to achieve the political stature of an Ali or Jim Brown because there are not as many examples of overt racism and oppression as existed during those times where the State was just as much the enemy of blacks as the KKK. Having said that, these athletes have flexed their political muscle in support of then-candidate Barack Obama, contrary to Michael Jordan who, at the same age of these players, refused to endorse a democrat for political office because “republicans buy sneakers too.”
Let’s prop up all that is great about our athletes. Most of these men (and women) will not speak about their charitable endeavors so let’s do it for them. During the NFL lockout we have seen a player go into teaching and another player turn down a multi-million dollar contract in order to go to business school. Let’s be the ones responsible for showing our youth how they can look at these athletes as role models. Let’s praise our elders like Magic Johnson and Tony Dungy willing to be mentors. Lastly, let’s not act as if it is only our black athletes have a void to fill in our community as it relates to black male role models. We are missing black male teachers, doctors, lawyers, and others who can be role models. Let’s stop criticizing what we are against and celebrate what we are for and the athletes who represent that in every sense of the word because the elite black athlete is reflecting a positive image on black America that we have not seen in quite some time.
Omékongo Dibinga, M.A., is a diversity consultant, motivational speaker, and musician. He is the author of several books including G.R.O.W. Towards Your Greatness! 10 Steps To Living Your Best Life and The UPstander’s Guide To An Outstanding Life. He serves as Director for UPstander International. Email him at omekongo@iupstand.com or follow him on Twitter @omekongo.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-485210
The stabbing of the cab driver because he is Muslim should be disturbing to us but based on what I am reading online, many people are just brushing this off. Others are going back to 911, the WTC bombing, etc. Look, we responded to the attackers of 911. In America, we are not supposed to take out our frustration on individuals in the street. Some are saying this isn’t a hate crime. Based on what we know so far, it is. Furthermore, we’re seeing from other videos that people who are thought to be Muslim are coming close to being attacked. Whether you agree with the mosque or not, you should agree that in this country, we should be able to find better ways to express our discontent. This taxidriver has lived here for over 25 years and said he never felt this insecure. We are doing something wrong in America right now. We don’t even have to worry about what the terrorists will do. We’re too busy figthing each other.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-481663
Dr. Laura’s ignorant racial (not racist) comments should be a teachable moment for ALL Americans.
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-480855
It’s so sad that we are critiquing the FLOTUS on her trip to Spain. We are grabbing at anything to condemn the Obamas. The people who are condemning her will never give her credit for her plans to lower childhood obesity rates or come to neighborhoods like my own and speak to young girls about the dangers of teen pregnancy. For those saying she should have vacationed in America, where are these other Senators vacationing now? Furthermore, sure the FLOTUS left America but we spend most of our money IN America buying items NOT made here. iPhones & iPads are rapidly selling out of the stores and we’re supposed to be broke. Most cars purchased aren’t made here. In this “recession”, we just saw a movie called “Avatar” become the highest grossing movie ever. It seems like rather than checking Michelle Obama, we should be checking ourselves. We have too many serious issues in American right now to be spending time on this.
Imagine
Imagine a world where speakers were no longer needed
Where corporate revenues were all exceeded
Negative thought processes all defeated
A world where our clients all lived in the black
All children reading on grade level, no child left back
All starfish having a difference made in their lives
Humorists making us all laugh just for fun and not for our own salvation
Imagine
Imagine a world where the words you uttered
Led to
1 less hate crime
2 fewer sexist sentiments sputtered
3 fewer racist remarks
4 fewer anti-Semites
5 fewer forgotten infants because of our insight
Imagine
Imagine a world where Lenora’s lectures attained the appreciation for diversity we so crave
Where Patricia Fripp’s elegance was the law of the day
Where Brendon Burchard showed us all how to have meaning in our lives
And our spouses supported all we do like van Hooser’s wife
Imagine
Well I submit to you that the day will come when what we imagine will be a reality
Because we speakers walk this planet
With the spirit of Robert, Cavett
Living to serve humanity in the humblest of ways
We move forward for we believe we can birth a better day
So we’ve charged ourselves with bringing hope to the world
Speaking words that’ll make a president out of that fearful fifth grade girl
Creating presentations that show corporations
To incorporate the environment in their work like Tim Sanders
We grow forward showing the world the glass is half full
Because Charlie tremendously reminded us that it doesn’t work unless you work it
So we work harder everyday to make our imagination a reality
Until our cup runeth over to all of humanity
We must always go forward with that Ziglar “Gosh” attitude
That Les Brown latitude that Jana Stanfield gratitude
For we are the fearless
And when it comes to the size of our hope we are peerless
So speakers of the world let’s indeed come together
And continue to show the world that if we believe it
The whole planet will see it
Deep down in your gut I know that you feel it
You feel that if we think it, we will be it
If we just…imagine
Obama took a bold stance on NY mosque (video)
August 21, 2010http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-481755
President Obama took a brave stance on the construction of the mosque near Ground Zero. He knows full well that this will give added fuel to the fire of the birthers as well as those who believe he is Muslim. Obama clearly believes in the creed of this country. It’s as if people stopped believing in America becoming as good as its promise. As Jon Stewart said, if we can’t practice our principles when we’re being tested, our principles are not principles. They are hobbies. If we truly believe in the Constitution, we wouldn’t be fighting so hard to bring this country back to the solely the complexion of the people who wrote it.
Tags:comment, hln, muslim, opinion, ramadan, religion, sound_off
Posted in Culture, Politics, Race, Religion | 1 Comment »