By Sr. Correspondent, D. Kevin McNeir

It has been a tradition since the time of pagan pageantry and early Christianity to honor our mothers. At the start of the 20th century here in the United States, Anna Jarvis created Mother's Day as a day for each family to honor its mother - now as we know, it is celebrated on various days in many places around the world. And while the day may change, and the method of celebrating may vary, from Indiana to Indonesia, on one particular day of the year, we honor the mothers of our lives - biological and adopted.

 

But for me, Mother's Day happens 365 days of the year because of the special woman that the Creator chose to be my mother - Edna Lorraine Adkins McNeir Baker.

When our publisher asked me about writing a tribute to mothers I wondered how I could speak adequately about this fiery, feisty phenomenal woman that loves and encourages me more than any other being on the planet. But ... here goes! Sure we are in a celebratory mode right now because of the special bond between First Lady Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson, as the recent issue of Essence illustrates for the world to see. But guess what? I have my own First Mother and while the sacrifices, contributions and achievements of her life may never grace the pages of a publication like Essence, at least now, as an editor and senior correspondent for this website that continues to grow in popularity and readers, I can take a moment to honor her and all of the mothers of our staff and readers whose stars shine just as brightly. So, what makes my mother, a normal sister from Baltimore, so special?

First, she is my muse - my inspiration for writing. She was the one who set me on the lap of the celebrated poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, during a reading at the Detroit Public Library in the late 1960s and started me on my way. We were one of only four Blacks in the audience - the other two being my cousin, Michael, and my Aunt Evelyn - but Miss Edna was not to be deterred. She walked proudly like the African queen that my father saw when he first laid eyes on her and she told me and Michael that we could be whatever we wanted to be and do whatever we wanted to do - as long as we kept God first in our lives. And Brooks told me the same thing - two sistah girls encouraging a little Black boy who dreamed of being a writer with a message that mattered one day.

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By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

Michael Vick is scouting for his own reality show, according to this month's Vibe Magazine.

 

 

He's done his time but why would I want to see what his day is like. And the poor dogs that were under his care, what about them? So I ask again, why? You read it here at GBMNews.com

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) - Muted, low-key and elegant were the words that best described the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) annual "Celebration of Courage" awards, held for close to 200 invited guests on Monday, Mar 30 at NYU's Kimmel Center. The awards honored a Lebanese gay and lesbian organization, a technology corporation and presented to one of the organization's own, an appreciation for work done.

 

Prior to the start of the evening's program, during the cocktail reception, an assortment of Lebanese hors d'oeures were served. Members of the Lavender Light Gospel Choir, dressed in black with Kente cloth sashes over their shoulders, as they heralded the beginning of the program, performed one of their signature songs. Following the choir, Carson Kressley, the television fashion savant who appeared on Queer Eye, and who was master of ceremonies for the evening said in his introduction that he values the work that IGLHRC is doing. "It allows people all over the world to be themselves. We here in the United States do not always realize that people around the world do not have the same rights as we do," he said. A special recognition award was presented to Debbie Stevens, Group Manager, Microsoft by Patrick McMahon, representing IBM. Accepting the award on behalf of Microsoft, Stevens said her company is proud to receive the recognition and that the company has been promoting LGBT issues since 1989. With gay and lesbians at Microsoft, the company has included gender identity, domestic partner benefits, anti-discrimination policies, and advances in transgender benefits. LGBT groups at Microsoft, Stevens added, have developed contact with other groups and countries globally.

Debbie Stevens, Group Manager, Microsoft

Hossein Alizadeh, communications director, IGLHRC, then presented the Felipa De Souza Award to the Lebanese LGBT organization, Helem, which was received by the organization's national coordinator Georges Azzi. Accepting the award, Azzi said that in Sept 2004, about 10 people gathered and started Helem, which in Arabic means "dream," as an underground movement to provide defenses against legal, social and cultural discrimination, and a safe space for LGBT people in Lebanon. When the organization started, at a time when being gay was illegal, alliances were also made with straight groups. But, after receiving support from many politicians, Helem was able to organize its first LGBT public protest in downtown Beruit and as an organization, has partnered with the government in the fight against HIV/AIDS. "For Helem, this award is extremely symbolic - it is a recognition, acceptance and support from the international LGBT community. It is through the relationships with the international community that we receive the strength to carry on. Five years ago there were no LGBT organizations in the Islamic world and now we are reaching a tipping point in the battle against discrimination in that world," he said.

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National Dialogue and Black Church Summit Provide Provocative Conversation

By Sr. Correspondent,  D. Kevin McNeir

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) recently hosted a groundbreaking discussion at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, CA which focused on the intersection of race and sexual orientation. Moving Beyond History: LGBT Civil Rights in a Post-Racial America was the subject on the table and it brought hundreds of interested African Americans from a wide range of perspectives and lifestyles including: lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, mainstream LGBT organizations, clergy and straight allies.


 

Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, CA

According to NBJC Executive Director/CEO H. Alexander Robinson, while the election of our first African-American President Barack Obama has both made history and changed this country's conversations on race, race remains a key factor in American life and in the efforts to achieve equality for Black LGBT people. "We are looking at the LGBT movement and asking ourselves what's next? Robinson said. "In the aftermath of significant loses in several states on ballot initiatives, particularly in California, we discovered that there were racial differences and varying opinions on LGBT equality. And we see that there are divisions and racism within the LGBT movement. So we want to talk about that reality and get to the business of building relationships and alliances with those working for racial justice. In addition, we are looking to recruit and enroll people in our educational campaigns and advocacy efforts so we can get laws passed that fully protect LGBT people and our relationships.

Rev. Byron Williams H. Alexander Robinson     Rev. Amos Brown

This writer asked Robinson if the issue of relationships, or more candidly, marriage, was more of an issue for white members of the LGBT community than black. Robinson was eager to respond. "Clearly the financial resources that have been invested in the gay movement have focused on marriage," he said. "And the individuals funding that have been primarily white gays and lesbians, many of whom have the means to do so. But in other segments of the overall LGBT movement and in certain parts of the country, there are many equality issues that are either equal to or take priority over gay marriage. For example, in North Carolina there is no protection based on sexual orientation, so clearly that is the issue that is of the greatest importance. Robinson adds that with the theme of the town hall meeting, Moving Beyond History, one of the goals of the planners was to begin to talk about what race means in 2009 and the issues that must be brought to the table as it relates to the lives and well-being of African-American LGBT people.

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By Entertainment Correspondent, John Frazier

Many of you may recall that  in June 2008, I interviewed Ms. Lola , owner of NYC's famous Soul Food Restaurant. At that time, a SoHo neighborhood action team was fighting tooth and nail, in hope to kick "Lola's" out of its mostly "Lilly" white community.

Unfortunately due to this team's actions  and the economy, the fight to keep Lola's open has been lost.

 

Below is a note that I received from Lola and Tom, regarding this eatery.

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By Victor Kerney

Folks were concern about Obama extending the Faith based initiatives Bush started years ago. However, there could be a new twist to that. The President just named Fred Davie to serve on the Policy Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

But what's so special about this? Well, Fred is openly gay and the president of Public/Private Ventures, an organization that creates and strengthens programs to improve the lives of residents in low-income communities.

In this role, Davie will provide objective, nonpartisan advice to the President on public policy matters, including strategies to strengthen the social services and community- and faith-based organizations, and their potential as part of long-term economic recovery efforts.

By Victor Kerney

The news is not good for LGBT teens. A study: Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation’s Schools found that LGBT kids of color are experiencing overt prejudice and considerable negative peer pressure.

More than four out of five students within each racial/ethnic group, reported verbal harassment in school because of sexual orientation; about two-thirds reported harassment because of gender expression.   At least a third of each group reported physical violence in school because of sexual orientation.

More than half of African American, Latino, Asian and multiracial students  reported verbal harassment in school based on their race or ethnicity.  Native American students were less likely than other students to report experiencing racially motivated verbal harassment. The study found that about a quarter of African American/Black and Asian/Pacific Islander students have missed class or days of school in the prior month because they felt unsafe. Latino, Native American, and multiracial students were even more likely to be absent for safety reasons – about a third or more skipped class at least once or missed at least one day of school in the prior month for safety reasons. Native American students experienced particularly high levels of victimization because of their religion, with more than half reporting the highest levels of verbal harassment, and a quarter experienced physical violence.

It's scary to see our youth going through the same mess we went through . The harrasment, violence and abuse needs to stop. Change must come for next generation's sake.

By Viktor Kerney

Terrorists and those insidious underground cells are a considerable national concern. Worry not America because the Maryland State Police Department is on the job! Recently, Maryland's finest made sure that a particularly devious terrorist group stayed under heavy surveillance.

And which group was that?

Equality Maryland, naturally!
The Washington Post reported that the group was classified as a terrorists organization in a Maryland State Police database. Also Equality Maryland was considered a "security threat" by the Homeland Security's Intelligence Division. I'm a bit lost on this one. Maybe if you feared being turned into flag carrying queer by such group would you consider Equality Maryland a threat. Let's face it, only in some warped world would Equality Maryland be considered a threat to national security. I wonder who else is on this list. The Masons? Fraternities? Book Club members? Who knows, but please check out the Equality Maryland's site. Maybe you can help The Maryland State Police Department uncover all the dangerous activity going on there?

By Rudo Mungoshi
BuaNews

Johannesburg — It's almost that time of year again, when brightly dressed performers take to Joburg streets to celebrate the New Year with a bang.

Hosted by the City of Joburg and the South African Police Service, the Joburg Carnival will again give Joburgers the opportunity to bid a colourful farewell to 2008, reports Joburg.org.

 

Performers from several African countries, such as Nigeria, Burundi, Senegal and Tanzania, will participate in this year's festivities, adding extra spice and excitement. This vibrant annual event will start at 2pm on Wednesday, 31 December at Berea Park, in Berea, and at Pieter Roos Park, in Parktown. The two groups will meet on Kotze Street, in Hillbrow, and proceed in a single procession to Newtown. The carnival, which is themed Nyakaza-Joburg unplugged, will travel along Empire Road, Claim Street, Catherine Avenue, O'Reilly Road Joubert Street, De Korte Street, Bertha Street, Nelson Mandela Bridge, Jeppe Street and Miriam Makeba Street.

About 20 000 participants, including various carnival troupes, choirs, bands, clowns, stilt walkers and drummers, are expected to take part. Communities from all over the city have taken part in carnival camps in the run-up to the main event, during which budding artists were trained in various carnival-related arts, equipping them with skills that could eventually earn them a living. According to Steven Sack, the city's director of arts, culture and heritage services, the carnival will give people in the inner city an opportunity to engage in a free, safe and constructive activity on New Year's Eve.

"The carnival atmosphere captures Joburg's unique urban flavour. It is always a joyous and uplifting experience that symbolises the melting pot of cultures making this edgy, world-class African city," Mr Sack said. Once at Mary Fitzgerald Square, in Newtown, there will be a concert from 6pm to 2am, featuring acts such Freshlyground, KB, Wonderboom and MXO. "No alcohol, weapons or fireworks will be allowed, and the police and emergency services will be on hand to ensure that the evening's festivities run smoothly," he said. Source link

By Herman J. Cohen
New York Times

The conflict in eastern Congo over the past 12 years has been as much a surrogate war between Congo and neighboring Rwanda as an internal ethnic insurgency, as a United Nations report underscored last week. The only way to end a war that has caused five million deaths and forced millions to flee their homes in Congo’s two eastern provinces is to address the conflict’s international dimensions. The role of Rwanda — which borders the provinces and which denied the accusations in the United Nations report over the weekend — is of prime importance.


 

The international community has worked hard to resolve the conflicts among the various parties: the sovereign states of Rwanda and Congo as well as the assorted militias and private armies that are sponsored by these two governments and by opportunistic local warlords. But despite the deployment of 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers, and many efforts at mediation with constructive American support, the situation appears intractable. The failure of international diplomacy is related to the economic roots of the problem, which began with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Until the economic conundrum is addressed, there is little prospect for a solution. The genocidal war between the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi in Rwanda spilled into Congo, and the eastern part of that vast country has been unstable ever since. When Tutsi rebel forces took power in Rwanda in June 1994, more than a million Hutu fled to Congo, where they settled into refugee camps on the Rwandan border.

After two years of cross-border raids from the refugee camps by exiled Hutu soldiers who had participated in the genocide, the Rwandan Army attacked and destroyed the camps, with the quiet but unambiguous approval of the United States in the absence of another solution to the violence. Most of the Hutu refugees returned to Rwanda, but about 100,000 of them, along with the exiled Hutu soldiers, moved westward as a disciplined group into Congo’s interior. The Rwandan Army pursued the escaping Hutu and caught up with them near the city of Kisangani at the headwaters of the Congo River. The refugees were massacred, but the former Hutu soldiers escaped to neighboring countries. The move against the refugee camps was the first step in a well-planned action by Rwanda in 1996 and 1997 to overwhelm the weak Congolese Army and, with the help of the Congolese opposition, overthrow the 30-year dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. With logistical support from Uganda and Angola, the military action succeeded in less than three months. A new government in Congo was installed under President Laurent Kabila, an exile handpicked by the Rwandans. And from 1996 to today, the Tutsi-led Rwandan government has been in effective control of Congo’s eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. This control has been maintained through intermittent military occupation and the presence of Congolese militias financed and trained by the Rwandan Army.

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By Edmund Sanders
Los Angeles Times

From his tented refugee camp, James Karanga Ngugi seethed as he scanned a vast horizon of fallow, unoccupied land -- most of it owned by two of Kenya's most prominent political families.

"Why do they have so much and I have nothing?" he asked.

His grandfather once prospered here, before he was displaced by British colonialists. After independence, villagers regained control, but were soon forced out again, this time by a rich Kenyan businessman with ties to the president.


 

Kenya's land is owned mostly by politicians who grabbed millions of acres in questionable deals over the last 45 years. Above, Masai warriors with bows and arrows clash with a rival tribe in a postelection land dispute in March. Now the new lands minister has an ambitious redistribution plan.

As compensation, Ngugi received 10 acres of land about 100 miles away, but residents there, from a different tribe, always resented his presence. During the election turmoil late last year and early this year that grabbed headlines worldwide, his house and business were burned down. "Now I have to restart with nothing," he said. As this East African nation struggles with food shortages, a sluggish economy and wounds from post-election violence, there's a growing consensus that one issue rests at the heart of Kenya's woes. It's the land, stupid. All across Africa, battles over land continue to simmer, largely a fallout of European colonialism. During most of Africa's history, sparse population and tribal traditions meant land was plentiful and disputes were rare. Colonialists introduced alien concepts such as borders and private ownership. Since independence began to sweep the continent 50 years ago, fledgling African governments have struggled to unwind injustices, sometimes with disastrous results. The Zimbabwean economy was devastated by President Robert Mugabe's campaign to seize and redistribute land owned by white farmers.

Kenya suffered a similar colonial legacy, but has taken a different route. As is the case in many African nations, more than half of Kenya's land is owned by a minority of its richest families, including some white foreigners. But unlike Zimbabwe and South Africa, where the struggle has pitted whites against blacks, the land here is owned mostly by Kenyan politicians who have grabbed millions of prime agricultural acres in questionable real estate deals over the last 45 years. "This is really an issue between us as Kenyans," said Paul Ndungu, head of a landmark 2004 report that investigated more than 40 years of land fraud. "It's Kenyan versus Kenyan." Tribal clashes that killed more than 1,000 people after the disputed presidential election last December, were rooted largely in historic disputes over land. As Kenya struggles to feed its people, vast swaths of its most productive terrain sit idle and underutilized -- and the land grievances remain unresolved. "Peace, tranquillity and stability in Kenya is predicated on sorting out this land issue," said Odenda Lumumba, head of the Kenya Land Alliance, a land-reform advocacy group. Newly installed Lands Minister James Orengo, a former student activist who was once jailed for aiding a 1982 coup attempt, has vowed to take on Kenya's rich and powerful with a progressive new land policy.

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by Mark Silva

On the eve of Thanksgiving, the president-elect and his wife and young daughters turned up at a food bank on Chicago's South side.

Ten-year-old Malia Obama and 7-year-old Sasha Obama joined their parents in shaking hands and dishing out holiday wishes to hundreds who had lined up for hours at the food bank. The family handed out wrapped chickens to the needy at St. Columbanus Catholc Church, where boxes of potatoes, oranges, fresh bread, peanut butter, canned goods, oatmeal, spaghetti and coffee also were passed around.

 

Veronica Lewis bows for President-elect Barack Obama, and his family, from left, Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha, 7, (hidden) Malia, 10, distributing Thanksgiving turkeys at the food bank at St. Columbanus Catholic Church on the South Side of Chicago today. (AP Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The president-elect, dressed in a leather jacket, black scarf and khakis, called out "Happy Thanksgiving" and invited everyone to be casual: "You can call me Barack."

The father of two explained that he wants his girls "to learn the importance of how fortunate they are, and to make sure they're giving back."

As children from the church school came down to the auditorium, Obama climbed up on the stage to screams and cheers. "I just wanted to come by and wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving," he said, fielding questions from some. One wanted to know what it's like to be followed around all the time. Obama spoke of a certain loss of privacy.

""I gotta admit, sometimes it's kinda strange,'' the 47-year-old former junior senator from Illinois said. "You just want to go take a walk or go out and ride your bike or something, and you always have someone with you... So you don't have a lot of privacy and that's one of the things you have to sacrifice in order to run for president."

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At least 50 dead after three-storey building falls, trapping hundreds of children inside

Rescuers in Haiti have been searching for survivors in the rubble of a school that collapsed, killing at least 50 people.

Around 500 people were believed to be inside the three-storey La Promesse college in Petionville, on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, when it collapsed yesterday morning.

 

The head of a male student, still alive, trapped under the Haiti school rubble. Photograph: Joseph Guyler Delva

More than 80 survivors were being treated for injuries by Médecins Sans Frontières workers. The rescue effort by Red Cross staff, UN peacekeepers and Haitian authorities was hampered by people who blocked the steep, narrow street trying to enter the collapsed building in search of their loved ones. Some rescue workers had to be airlifted in by helicopter, and they were unable to transport heavy equipment through the crowds - leaving them to work only with their hands. They maintained the search through the night under floodlights.

A person climbs out from under the rubble of a school after it collapsed in Petionville, Haiti, Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. The concrete school building collapsed during classes, killing at least 30 people and injuring many more students. (Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The school taught children from kindergarten through to high school. Several nearby houses were also damaged by the collapse. "There are 50 killed and 124 wounded, including 20 in serious condition," the civil protection service official Nadia Blachard told Haitian radio. One person who was trapped after debris pinned his legs down begged rescuers to "please cut my feet off", a firefighter told Reuters.

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A planet has been pictured outside our Solar System which appears to be circling a star like our own Sun - a first in astronomy.

Most of the potential exoplanets imaged to date have been seen orbiting brown dwarfs, which are dim - making it easier to detect companion objects.

The planet is the small dot in the upper left

The new planet is huge, with a mass about eight times that of Jupiter.

The Canadian team that obtained the picture says the parent star is similar to the Sun but somewhat younger.

Three astronomers from the University of Toronto used the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to take images of the young star 1RXS J160929.1-210524 and the planetary candidate.

The star and its companion lie about 500 light-years from Earth.

"This is the first time we have directly seen a planetary mass object in a likely orbit around a star like our Sun," said lead author David Lafreniere.

"If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward."

Far out

The planet itself lies out at a great distance from its parent star: about 330 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

By comparison, the most distant planet in our Solar System, Neptune, orbits at about 30 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Dr Matt Burleigh, from the University of Leicester, UK, commented: "This is a very good candidate for a first picture of a planet orbiting a normal star.

"Now the team needs to make more observations to hopefully confirm that the two are moving together through space," he told BBC News.

Finding a planetary-mass companion so far from its parent star came as a surprise to the astronomers, and poses a challenge to theories of star and planet formation.

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The Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos are being hammered by Hurricane Ike, the fourth major storm to sweep the region in the past three weeks.

AP quotes the islands' prime minister as saying that 80% of homes on the main Grand Turk island have been damaged.

 

Ike, measuring a ferocious Category Four, barrelled over the archipelago with winds of up to 135mph (215km/h). Forecasters say it could dump up to 12 inches (30cm) of rain as it powers towards Cuba and the Bahamas. Ike will pass just north of Haiti, which is still reeling from earlier storms, which left at least 600 dead.

While it will escape Ike's monstrous winds, Haiti's north-west coast is bracing for a fresh deluge, threatening the already battered country with worse devastation.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned of "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain".

The UN children's charity Unicef says some 650,000 Haitians have been affected by flooding caused by Tropical Storm Hanna last week, while more bad weather will further hamper the aid effort there.

At 0900 GMT, the centre of Hurricane Ike was about 65 miles east of Great Inagua Island in the south-eastern Bahamas, according to the NHC.

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By Ashwon Martin

Well, Gustav came through and went; he made landfall on Monday, Labor Day in Mobile, AL. which is where I live. Next he was headed off to New Orleans. Mobile received some flooding in our downtown area and along the coast. So to say the least,  Labor Day in Mobile was drenched and quiet. We Mobilians tend to be resilient, when it comes to hurricanes.

 

In Mobile, we headed the warning and therefore causalities were minimal at best. So, I spent my Labor Day sleeping and watching tv. Usually on Labor Day our stores are closed and people spend it with their perspective families. But all in all we made it through. There's still another one out there, Hanna which is hitting the coastal Atlantic seaboard and IKE which is somewhere in the Atlantic, not sure where he will hit just yet, but of course the Caribbean should be watchful.

Well until next time!

Eight people have died after Hurricane Gustav arrived in the US, but New Orleans has escaped a repeat of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

By Tom Leonard

The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 storm and passed west of the city as high winds and heavy rain hit the coast of Louisiana.

Three people were killed by falling trees in the state and four more died in Georgia when their car struck a tree as they attempted to flee the storm.

However New Orleans itself only received minor damage and the storm failed to live up to initial fears that Gustav had found the same weaknesses in the city's defences as Katrina.

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, said it was too early for residents to return to the city, which remains largely without power, but said their homecoming was "only days away, not weeks".

Mr Nagin, who had previously warned Gustav was the "mother of all storms" praised the city's defences.

"I was hoping that this would happen, that we would be able to stand before America, before everyone, and say that we had some success with the levee system," he said.

"I would not do a thing differently. I'd probably call Gustav, instead of the mother of all storms, maybe the mother-in-law or the ugly sister of all storms."

As the storm passed, New Orleans was left battered, but intact.

Waves from the hurricane pushed large amounts of water over the steel floodwall of the city's industrial canal to the east of the city, causing knee-deep flooding in streets of warehouses in the adjoining Upper 9th Ward.

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By Adam Nossiter and Shaila Dewan

NEW ORLEANS — City officials ordered everyone to leave New Orleans beginning Sunday morning — the first mandatory evacuation since Hurricane Katrina flooded the city three years ago — as Hurricane Gustav grew into what the city’s mayor on Saturday called “the storm of the century” and moved toward the Louisiana coast.

 

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, center, and other city officials hold a news conference at City Hall in New Orleans, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. Nagin briefed media on preparations for the possible arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which became a Category 4 storm as it crossed over Cuba. Photo Bill Haber

 

Bus driver Barbara Word helped residents evacuate the Ninth Ward in New Orleans on Saturday. Photo: Michael Ainsworth

The mayor, C. Ray Nagin, said Hurricane Gustav was larger and more dangerous than Hurricane Katrina, and he pleaded with residents to get out or face flooding and life-threatening winds.

“This is the mother of all storms, and I’m not sure we’ve seen anything like it,” Mr. Nagin said at an evening news briefing. “This is the real deal. This is not a test. For everyone thinking they can ride this storm out, I have news for you: that will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your life.”

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Recently, MSNBC caught up with the lives of two young people made famous in the Hurricane Katrina tradgedy. Nine year old Charles Evans, seen below and wise beyond his years, became the spokesperson for the suffering prople of New Orleans when he pleaded for help for his people on national televison.

 

Katrina victim Charles Evans shares the stage at the 2005 Emmy Awards with "Everybody Hates Chris" star Tyler James Williams.

July 4th for ‘Black’ America: ‘A day late and a dollar short’

By Hazel Trice Edney

WASHINGTON - As flags fly in special commemoration and fireworks boom in the streets this week, many people across the nation – including African American newspaper publishers – will not only reflect on the freedoms that have been gained since the July 4, 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence, but also on the promises that are yet unfulfilled.

Frederick Douglas

“We’ve always been a day late and a dollar short in terms of how we relate to how this country has treated us,” says Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of the Washington Informer, reflecting on a question posed by the NNPA News Service.

“It’s a good family time, but we really haven’t – I don’t think necessarily bought into the celebration.”

Abolitionist newspaper editor Frederick Douglass faced a similar dilemma on July 4, 1852, as a speaker in Rochester, N.Y.

“Pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?”

In the speech, known as “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” the editor/publisher of the North Star answered himself:

“But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.”

Last week, 156 years since the Douglass speech, African American newspaper publishers, editors and journalists who gathered in Louisville, Ky., for the annual summer conference of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, grappled with later stages of this dilemma in response to a question from the NNPA News Service last week, “What to the Black Press is the Fourth of July?”

Most agreed that although ‘Black’ America has come a long way – as evidenced by the presidential candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama - the job of the Black Press of America on this Independence Day is to escalate the plea for justice.

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