Drop the Appeal, End Stop and Frisk Now!

Metro reports that:

Energized by the landslide victory of their mayoral candidate in yesterday’s election, stop-and-frisk opponents crowded onto the steps of City Hall to call on the out-going mayor to drop his appeal.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s law department is appealing federal Judge Shira Scheindlin’s ruling in Floyd v. City of New York. Scheindlin said the way the NYPD practices stop, question and frisk is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Last week, three Court of Appeals judges granted city lawyers their motion to stay Scheindlin’s ordered remedies while they appeal her ruling.

In an extremely unusual move, the judges also removed Scheindlin from the cases, seizing on allegations that she improperly coached attorneys to make sure the cases were brought to her.

But the timeline outlined in the Court of Appeals’ judges order extends well into 2014, when Mayor Elect Bill de Blasio will have taken over. De Blasio has vowed to drop the appeal.

Stop-and-frisk opponents today insisted Bloomberg should just drop the appeal himself.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler called pursuing the appeal a “total” waste of taxpayer money.

“The appeal… is going to be dropped in January,” Nadler said. “So why waste everybody’s time and money and energy in November and December?”

Sadly, some misguided and uninformed people actually support New York City's ineffective and wasteful stop and frisk policy.  The Huffington Post reports that:

CNN host Don Lemon got a big chunk of Twitter very mad at him on Tuesday after he endorsed New York's reviled stop and frisk policies.

Speaking during his regular slot on the Tom Joyner show, Lemon said that police were not always very respectful of the people they stopped, but that tampering with the "formula that has reduced crime in New York City" could be very dangerous.

"The question is, would you rather be politically correct or safe and alive?" he concluded.

Here are a few reasons why Uncle Don is wrong. As reported in The Huffington Post article entitled NYPD Stop And Frisks: 15 Shocking Facts About A Controversial Program,

The NYPD argues this shows the effectiveness of stop and frisk, saying the practice has prevented people from carrying guns on the street. While stops have increased by 524,873 since 2003, officers have found only 176 additional guns...

The NYPD and local politicians have repeatedly defended the racial disparity in stops by saying minorities are disproportionately involved in violent crime. In 2011, however, in only 10.5 percent of stops did cops record "violent criminal activity" as justification for the stop.

Nine out of 10 of those stopped in 2011 were neither arrested nor given summonses.

The NYPD and politicians have repeatedly justified the racial disparity in stop and frisks saying that they cops essentially go where the guns are, i.e. minority neighborhoods. Yet, only 1.9 percent of frisks in 2011 turned up weapons and interestingly, according to the NYCLU, "a weapon was found in only 1.8 percent of blacks and Latinos frisked, as compared to a weapon being found in 3.8 percent of whites frisked."

...In 2002, when Mr. Kelly last took office, officers stopped 97,296 New Yorkers and the city reported 587 homicides. Last year, those numbers were 685,724 and 532...

Last week, the NYPD said stop-and-frisk was used more than 200,000 times in the first quarter of this year – a 10 percent jump from the same period last year. The data covers the period from January to March. So far this year homicides are down by 19 percent over last year.

But of the 13 precincts where homicides were up, stop and frisks increased in six over the same reporting period last year. And in the remaining seven, stop and frisks were down.

“There is no evidence that stop and frisk is lowering or suppressing the murder rate in New York City,” said Chris Dunn, spokesman for the NYCLU, in a statement. “Murders have dropped steadily since 1990.”

Clearly, stop and frisk is not making New Yorkers safe and secure. Stop and frisk is only further eroding public confidence and trust in the NYPD. The NYPD's stop and frisk policy is degrading, humiliating, oppressive and repressive.  New York City police are criminalizing blackness and collectively punishing the entire black community. Police officers should protect and serve the community, not harass and terrorize the community. It is time to drop the appeal and end stop and frisk now.

Hip Hop is Dead

"Yo, you believe when they say we ain't shit? We can't grow? All we are is dope dealers, gangsters and hoes?...We begged, we prayed, petitioned and demonstrated just to make another generation black zombies." Nas - Black Zombies

"Old white men is running this rap shit. Corporate forces is running this rap shit. Some tall Israeli is running this rap shit. We poke out our asses for a chance to cash in." Mos Def - The Rape Over

A few years ago, Nas said hip hop is dead. He was right. Hip hop is dead in so many ways. Hip hop is no longer an art form. It is an artificial commodity, like McDonald's hamburgers, mass produced for mass consumption and destruction. Culture should be a tool for liberation but we have allowed hip hop to be used as a tool for own our oppression and destruction. Instead of promoting life, it celebrates death, mental death, spiritual death and physical death. Today's hip hop promotes the effeminacy, criminalization, incarceration and destruction of the black man. It degrades and objectifies the black woman.

Hip hop used to be an expression of black masculinity and machismo. In 1980s, brothers wore jogging suits and sneakers. In the 1990s, brothers wore army fatigues, Timberland boots and baggy clothes. Now, hip hop is gay. Today, it is the "normal" to see men wearing two earrings. Dudes actually think that it's cool to wear bright colors and skin tight, sagging jeans exposing their underwear and entire buttocks. As if that is not bad enough, very popular male rap artists actually wear skirts and leggings now.

Listen to Lord Jamar speak the truth on this issue. Warning: some of the language is harsh.





There was a time when hip hop was authentic.  It was the voice of the voiceless.  During the Reagan and Bush I eras, artists like Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash rapped about hard times and life close to the edge.  That was the genuine voice of poor, black urban communities.  It represented the hopes, dreams, frustrations, love, consciousness, struggle and life of the community, of the hood.

There was a time when hip hop ushered in an era of black consciousness.  Hip hop groups like Public Enemy inspired us to learn or read about Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, the Black Panther Party, Joanne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur, Huey Newton and other important black leaders.  Groups like the X Clan, the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian and others taught us to love the Motherland and her culture.  People like KRS One told us that we must learn.  The brother told us to stop the violence.  He warned us about how the love of material things can lead to our destruction.  Those groups and artists taught us to love ourselves.  They taught us to embrace our blackness and our history. Such music was mainstream.  It was played in the streets, in the clubs and on the radio.

Today, "conscious" hip hop artists have essentially been pushed underground.  They are not played on the radio or in the club.  I have never heard Dead Prez or Immortal Technique played on the radio. Most young people are not listening to artists like Mos Def, Common or the Roots.

In late 1980s and early 1990s, hip hop groups celebrated and honored the red, the black and the green, the black liberation flag. Today, Kanye West, one of this generation's most popular rap artists, honors and sells the Confederate flag, a symbol of oppression and slavery. Why would any black person in his right mind celebrate and sell clothing bearing the Confederate flag on it? Kanye's decision epitomizes the mental death of hip hop.

Back in the day, hip hop was also about dancing and fun. You had groups like Kid N Play, Salt-n-Pepa, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, the Fat Boys, LL Cool J and others who made you want to dance.  Back then, you could listen to hip hop with your family.  Today, hip hop is laced with profanity and obscenity.  You can't listen to it around the children and the elders.

Back then, we also had "gangsta rap" artists as well like NWA, Ice T and other. However, they represented one voice among a plethora of diverse black voices.  Most of their songs were not played on the radio.

Today, that genre is the main genre of hip hop.  It is played over and over on the radio.  Every other hip hop song glorifies guns, murder, crack dealing and using "Molly".  Killing people, getting shot, selling drugs and incarceration are badges of honor and prerequisites for success in hip hop now. Unfortunately, for a few dollars, too many of our people are willing to play the role of the minstrel, the coon, the buffoon, the exaggerated gangster, the crack cooking drug dealer and the pimp. Those disturbing and negative images are projected around America and the world. Such images create, perpetuate and reinforce stereotypes about black criminality and stupidity. In an interview with XXL, T.I. mentioned the pressure to project such images:

Was Atlantic Records happy about the new family-friendly T.I.?
Nah, they hated it. Labels love hardcore T.I. That keeps the cash register ringing. They don’t want me to go to prison and caught though. They want me to be the Teflon Don, and I can’t blame them. That shit’s sexy. But I’m older, man. I’m wiser, I’m calmer… I’m better, stronger. I’m ready for whatever tomorrow got coming.

As others have said, mainstream hip hop is like an extended advertisement for prison and death. This is no coincidence. As documented in Davey D's article titled Jailhouse Roc: The Facts About Hip Hop and Prisons for Profit, there are financial ties between the entertainment industry and the prison industry. More specifically, Davey D writes:

According to public analysis from Bloomberg, the largest holder in Corrections Corporation of America is Vanguard Group Incorporated. Interestingly enough, Vanguard also holds considerable stake in the media giants determining this country’s culture. In fact, Vanguard is the third largest holder in both Viacom and Time Warner. Vanguard is also the third largest holder in the GEO Group, whose correctional, detention and community reentry services boast 101 facilities, approximately 73,000 beds and 18,000 employees. Second nationally only to Corrections Corporation of America, GEO’s facilities are located not only in the United States but in the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa.

The entertainment industry has a financial incentive to promote life styles that increase the incarceration rates. 

While are our young men are being steered toward prison and death. Hip hop is degrading, objectifying, stripping and prostituting black women.  Today, most rap songs constantly refer to black women as bitches, hoes and other degrading terms. The hip hop industry parades our sisters around the world as modern day, half-naked Venus Hottentots.

As we reflect on the current state of hip hop, we must remember that African Americans do not control hip hop. We are just the front people. As rapper Scarface said old white men are defining the culture. Listen to Scarface speak the truth about hip hop.



Those old white men decide what kind of hip hop will be signed, promoted and played.  White corporate forces and their black minstrel minions killed hip hop. Hip hop is dead.

Nobody Gives A Damn About U.S. Drones Killing Civilians

Common Dreams reported that:

Despite being heralded as the first time in history that U.S. lawmakers would hear directly from the survivors of a U.S. drone strike, only five elected officials chose to attend the congressional briefing that took place Tuesday.

Pakistani schoolteacher Rafiq ur Rehman and his two children—9 year-old daughter Nabila and 13 year-old son Zubair—came to Washington, DC to give their account of a U.S. drone attack that killed Rafiq's mother, Momina Bibi, and injured the two children in the remote tribal region of North Waziristan last October.

According to journalist Anjali Kamat, who was present and tweeting live during the hearing, the only lawmakers to attend the briefing organized by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), were Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.).

Before the handful of reporters and scant lawmakers, however, Rafiq and his children gave dramatic testimony which reportedly caused the translator to break down into tears.

In her testimony, Nabila shared that she was picking okra with her grandmother when the U.S. missile struck and both children described how they used to play outside but are now too afraid.

Unfortunately, that tragedy is not an isolated event. The Washington Post reported that:

The United States on Tuesday defended drone strikes targeting al-Qaida operatives and others it deems enemies, rejecting reports by two human-rights groups questioning the legality of strikes they asserted have killed or wounded scores of civilians in Yemen and Pakistan.

Human Rights Watch alleged that 82 people, at least 57 of them civilians, were killed by the unmanned aircraft and other aerial strikes in Yemen between September 2012 and June 2013 and called such strikes unlawful or indiscriminate. Amnesty International called on the U.S. to investigate reports in Pakistan of civilian casualties, among them a 68-year-old grandmother hit while farming with her grandchildren.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said such strikes are unlawful or indiscriminate. Amnesty, based in London, said it is concerned that the attacks outlined in the report and others may have resulted in unlawful killings that constitute extrajudicial executions or war crimes...

Among the six strikes detailed by Human Rights Watch is an attack in Sarar, in central Yemen on Sept. 2, 2012, in which two warplanes or drones attacked a minibus, killing a pregnant woman, three children and eight other people. The report said the apparent target, tribal leader Abd al-Raouf al-Dahab, was not in the vehicle. The Yemeni families were only compensated for the deaths after Human Rights Watch brought the case to the Yemeni government’s attention, the report said.

The researchers also examined the U.S. cruise missile strike in al-Majalah in southern Abyan province on Dec. 17, 2009. The report said the Yemeni government described the attack as a Yemeni airstrike that killed 34 at a training camp, but a later Yemeni government inquiry found the strike actually killed 14 suspected AQAP fighters, but also at least 41 local civilians living in a Bedouin camp, including nine women and 21 children.

Based on the low attendance and the scant media coverage, I guess no one really gives a damn about innocent children, grandmothers and pregnant women being blown to bits by U.S. drones.

Jay Z's Barneys Statement is Disappointing

As reported on News One, Jay Z issued the following statement regarding the Barneys controversy:

This collaboration lives in a place of giving and is about the Foundation. I am not making a dime from this collection; I do not stand to make millions, as falsely reported. I need to make that fact crystal clear. The Shawn Carter Foundation is the beneficiary and the foundation is receiving 25% of all sales from the collaboration, 10% of all sales generated in the store on November 20th and an additional donation from Barneys. This money is going to help individuals facing socio-economic hardships to help further their education at institutions of higher learning. My idea was born out of creativity and charity… not profit.

I move and speak based on facts and not emotion. I haven’t made any comments because I am waiting on facts and the outcome of a meeting between community leaders and Barneys. Why am I being demonized, denounced and thrown on the cover of a newspaper for not speaking immediately? The negligent, erroneous reports and attacks on my character, intentions, and the spirit of this collaboration have forced me into a statement I didn’t want to make without the full facts. Making a decision prematurely to pull out of this project, wouldn’t hurt Barneys or Shawn Carter, but all the people that stand a chance at higher education. I have been working with my team ever since the situation was brought to my attention to get to the bottom of these incidents and at the same time find a solution that doesn’t harm all those that stand to benefit from this collaboration.

I am against discrimination of any kind, but if I make snap judgements, no matter who it’s towards, aren’t I committing the same sin as someone who profiles? I am no stranger to being profiled and I truly empathize with anyone that has been put in that position. Hopefully this brings forth a dialogue to effect real change. – Shawn “JAY Z” Carter

In my latest YouTube video, I explain why his statement is inadequate and disappointing.

"If It Hurts A Bunch of Lazy Blacks...So Be It!"

The GOP supports many policies that are detrimental to black people.  Many Republicans are just plain racist.  For instance, they want to do everything in their power to prevent you "lazy blacks" from voting. If you think that voter ID laws and restrictions on early voting are not designed to suppress black voters, watch this video and wake the hell up. GOP precinct chair of Buncombe County in North Carolina Don Yelton's only problem was his failure to effectively camouflage his racism. That's why he was forced to resign.

Is Shopping While Black A Crime?!?!

This week, I read some disturbing stories about racial profiling and police harassment. Those stories are a reminder that, in many ways, nothing has changed in America for black people. You can be a hard working college student or a rich actor. It does not matter. In the enemy's eyes, you are just a criminal, a nigger.

As reported in the Daily News,

A black teenager is shopping for justice — claiming snooty Barneys staffers and New York City cops racially profiled him for credit card fraud after he bought a $349 belt.

Trayon Christian, 19, told the Daily News he filed a lawsuit after he was targeted by staffers at Barneys’ Madison Ave. flagship store and detained by police because they didn’t believe a young black man could possibly afford to buy such an expensive belt.

The fashion-forward teen, who lives with his mom in Corona, Queens, is studying engineering at the New York City College of Technology, where he had a work-study job.

Christian said his paycheck had just been direct deposited into his Chase bank account, so he went straight to Barneys on the afternoon of April 29 to buy the pricey Ferragamo belt with a silver buckle and a reversible black and white strap.

“I knew exactly what I wanted,” Christian said. He’d seen the belt on a lot of his favorite celebrities, including rapper Juelz Santana.

Unfortunately, that is not the first time that Barneys humiliated and degraded a black customer. Daily News reports that:

Four plainclothes cops accused a black woman of credit card fraud after the Brooklyn mom bought a $2,500 designer bag from Barneys — stoking a fresh round of outrage against the high-end store.

Kayla Phillips, 21, a nursing student from Canarsie, told the Daily News she had long coveted the orange suede Céline bag. Armed with a cash infusion from a tax return, she took her Bank of America debit card and headed to the Madison Ave. flagship store on Feb. 28.

Phillips made the purchase without incident but says she was surrounded by cops just three blocks away, at the Lexington Ave. and 59th St. subway station.

“There were three men and a woman,” she recalled. “Two of them attacked me and pushed me against a wall, and the other two appeared in front of me, blocking the turnstile.”

Barneys is not the only store that believes that shopping while black is a crime. MSN News reports that:

A black actor on the HBO drama series "Treme" said in a lawsuit on Friday that he was stopped because of his race while buying sunglasses at Macy's — the third discrimination allegation made this week by a black shopper against a department store.

Robert Brown, who filed the lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Manhattan, said he was detained by police at the flagship Herald Square store on June 8 after employees contacted authorities about possible credit card fraud.

He said he was "paraded while handcuffed" through the store to a holding cell, where he was kept for nearly an hour while officers grilled him and searched his bag. His lawsuit said Macy's employees suggested he couldn't afford to make such an expensive purchase. He eventually was released without charges.

The department store was profiling Brown because of his race, said his lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The days of Jim Crow are gone. The "No Coloreds" signs have been taken down. We have a legal right to shop wherever we want to shop. We have a legal right to purchase whatever we have the money to purchase. I hope that Robert Brown, Kayla Phillips and Trayon Christian prevail in their lawsuits. The New York Police Department, Macy's and Barneys must end their discriminatory practices.

In the meantime, we must stop supporting businesses that do not support us. We must stop giving our hard earned dollars to businesses that despise us, whether it is a local convenience store or a high end department store. Don't be a new slave. We should not be pacified by Barney's recent PR moves. Boycott Barneys and Macy's until they end their discriminatory practices. Please sign this petition urging rapper Jay Z to end all of his partnerships with Barneys.

My Review: 12 Years A Slave

"Well, I don't want to survive. I want to live." Solomon Northup

Yesterday, I saw the movie 12 Years A Slave. I loved it. It is a must see movie. Check out my review below.