Lil Wayne Arrested for Drugs

Lil Wayne, the hottest rapper in America right now, was arrested for felony drug possession early Wednesday. The arrest occurred as the bus was being stopped at the California-Arizona border checkpoint.

Lil Wayne, actually named Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was arrested for alleged possession of cocaine and ecstasy, in addition to drug paraphernalia. He was being held in the Yuma County Jail on a $10,185 bond.

Other passengers on the bus with Lil Wayne included Curtis Stewart and Harold Johnson, who were both arrested for marijuana possession.

The bus was stopped by the Border Patrol agents at 11:30 pm Tuesday, after a dog smelled drugs on board. The amount of drugs on the bus included the following:

105 grams of marijuana
29 grams of cocaine
41 grams of ecstasy

Authorities also allegedly recovered a .40 caliber pistol. The gun was registered to Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne is not the only hot rapper to be arrested recently. The rapper TI was also arrested for felony weapons possession. The rappers are not without support. Dr. Boyce Watkins argued in a recent column that the scrutiny of rappers can lead to excess incarceration at times.

"If anyone had the feds following them around the country all the time, many of us would end up in jail," says Dr. Watkins. "This does not imply that I think Lil Wayne is a good person, I am not sure of that. But the truth is that many Hollywood celebs engage in drug abuse, but they are not being followed around by the cops."

Noose Cover Draws Fire for Golfweek Magazine

Golfweek Magazine announced that it had fired editor Dave Seanor after Seanor agreed to put a noose on the cover of the magazine. The noose was in response to a recent event in which PGA tour commentator Kelly Tilghman jokingly said that Tiger Woods should be "lynched in a back alley."

Tilghman apologized on the air two days later, and the Golf Channel suspended the anchor. However, the light nature of the disciplinary action angered many black leaders.

Golfweek argued that it was seeking to create a debate over the issue. However, some have accused the magazine of sensationalizing a very sensitive issue.

“We apologize for creating this graphic cover that received extreme negative reaction from consumers, subscribers and advertisers across the country,” William P. Kupper Jr., president of Turnstile Publishing Co., said on Golfweek's Web site.

“We were trying to convey the controversial issue with a strong and provocative graphic image. It is now obvious that the overall reaction to our cover deeply offended many people. For that, we are deeply apologetic.”

Jeff Babineau was the editor chosen to replace replace Seanor. The magazine has claimed that the decision making committee had no African-Americans present when making the decision to place the noose on the cover.

Oprah Winfrey already has a top-rated talk show, Web site, magazine, XM satellite radio network and a number of TV movies, now she is stamping her name on a TV network.

It was announced Tuesday, that The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will debute next year as part of a deal with Discovery Communications, according to The Associated Press.

The new network will replace the Discovery Health Network which has been declining in popularity over the years.

The deal states that OWN will be a 50-50 partnership between Discovery Communications and Winfrey's Harpo Productions Inc.

Winfrey will be chairwoman of the new network, which will reach about 70 million cabel accesssible homes.

"This is an evolution of what I've been able to do every day," Winfrey said.

Furthermore, Winfrey plans to show programs that deal with issues such as health, raising children, wealth and relationships.

My Hair by Donisha Adams

Hair texture and hairstyles have been complex issues in the African American community. Some of us prefer to straighten our hair, while others prefer to “go natural.” No one is right or wrong, but the causes for these modifications may be deeply rooted in American society and socialization theories.

American society is driven by white standards of beauty—that blond hair, blue eyed and model thin look. Media perpetuates this ideology in movies, television shows and books. They teach us that there is only one way to look, well if you want to be successful anyway.

Braids, cornrows and dreadlocks symbolize our culture—where we have come from and where we have yet to go. They are a link to our ancestors and they pay honor to creativity and originality.

I wear long, flowing braids because they are beautiful and they allow me to pay homage to tradition. I cherish my badge of individuality, knowing that my braids may look odd to some people. However, I know that people judge me by my braids.

Growing up in Washington, DC, most of the girls that I knew had braids of all different shapes, sizes and colors. If I had some nice braids, people in my community would be sure to let me know. On the other hand, if I had too much “new growth” I would be told to get a “touch-up” immediately. This is how things are. I mean, this was how things were until I decided to attend a predominantly white college in Pennsylvania.

“How do you get your hair like that?” “Does it hurt?” I heard all of these comments and more, on the day-to-day basis. While some comments were positive, some of them hurt.

The hair debate is very heated when it comes to the professional world, especially a career in journalism. For instance, I have been told many times that I should not wear braids to an interview, because it is not professional. People tell me: “It is better to straighten your hair and tie it back.” What is really being said is that white employers (and some black employers) will be less likely to hire me if I have braids.

Why is this? Do braids symbolize how smart I am? People might look at my braids and see all of the ethnic stereotypes—loud, uneducated ghetto girl, because that is what they see on television.

However, I am ME-the smart, funny, beautiful and polite young woman who likes to wear her hair in braids. I am just as qualified as the next person so check my resume before you look at my braids.

Ice Cube Inspires Black Students to Be successful

Ice Cube's new flick, First Sunday, was #2 on the Friday box office estimates. The film had an estimated take of $17.25M, putting it second behind "Bucket List", starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. "Bucket List" is estimated to have taken in $18.6M.

Ice Cube, considered one of the founding fathers of the multi-billion dollar gangster rap industry, has turned himself into a high powered film maker. What is most impressive about Ice Cube's resume is that he has been able to produce albums regularly, family films, and urban comedies, sometimes in the same year. Most artists are only able to brand themselves for a particular genre, without the ability to serve multiple demographics.

IceCube has incredibly successful at creating lasting series, earnings millions for the "Friday" series, along with "Barbershop" and "Are We There Yet?"

Some consider Ice Cube to be a film making genius.

"As a business school professor, I can say that Ice Cube is more brilliant than any dot com billionaire," says Syracuse University Finance Professor, Dr. Boyce Watkins. "He was able to take virtually no capital and create multi-million dollar films that served a clear and necessary niche in filmmaking. In fact, the film "Friday" was about two guys sitting on a porch. That's as inexpensive as you can get."


ICE CUBE'S ALL-TIME TOP FILM OPENINGS

1. Barbershop 2: Back in Business - $24.2M
2. Barbershop - $20.6M
3. Are We There Yet? - $18.5M
4. First Sunday - $17.25M (estimate)
5. Anaconda - $16.6M
6. Three Kings - $15.8M
7. Next Friday - $14.4M
8. Are We Done Yet? - $14.2M
9. Higher Learning - $13.2M
10. Friday After Next - $13M

"Get Low" (Our Song)~by Donisha Adams

Get low, get low, get reaaaal low until you touch the floor/

Those that spread their hate/ Those that kill your spirit leaving carnage in their wake/

They make you get low, get low, get reaaal low/

Those that want your body without taking the time.../the time to wonder about the inner trappings of your mind/

Those that say they love-like love was a brand new pair of Jordans that can be bought/I know that love is blind/

Yahhh, they make you FEEL low, FEEL low, FEEL reaaaal low until you feel this____big.

Who helps the little girls who are caught up in deception?/ Who can't love themselves unless they look like VIDEO GIRLS/

They feel low, feel low, feel reaaaal low-trapped/

Their wings have been cut/No one taught them how to fly/ Above it all/ And eventhough you are 5 feet tall you can still carry yourself like you are a GIANT/But, here you are in the club EVERY NIGHT trying to be seen/ Feeling good because you are looking like that VIDEO GIRL/Letting some man treat you like dirt...because "atleast you got a man."/ And sometimes love hurts/

Getting low, getting low, gettin real low until u hit the floor/

One day, you will see/ You create your own self-image/ You create your destiny/ You demand respect./

When all is said and done you give yourself the wings to...Get high, get high. Get reeeaaal high until...you...reach...THE SKY!

Educating Ourselves on Racism and Martin Luther King

I did a show on the CBS radio network today in which we discussed the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. I haven't been doing many interviews lately, but I took the interview as a favor to my buddy Chad, a producer for the Lars Larson Show. Lars is a crazy conservative guy out west who loves to try to push my buttons. I push his right back, and there is a friendly exchange. But given that he is down with Bill O'Reilly, I guess you can't assume that the friend of your enemy is your enemy. I respect Lars but can't stand O'Reilly. Bill O'Reilly is a loser and a terrible human being, which is why I am glad that Obama and others also agreed to never appear on his show again. My conversations with him have never been productive, and when he physically attacked Obama's aide this week, it reminded me of how negative he was toward me during my appearances on his show. I DO NOT respect that man, and I do not respect Sean Hannity.

On CBS today, we talked about the legacy of Martin Luther King, and what it means for all of us. I went through the somewhat challenging exercise of explaining exactly how racism works and why people don't always seem to get it. People think that racism is about someone calling you a "n*gger" in the hallway or hanging a noose on your door. It is not. The biggest racial disease is INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM. Institutionalized racism is what you get when you have universities, board rooms, coaching positions and other entities that have never allowed an African-American to walk through the door or get the job. I think about my own university, which has dozens of academic departments that have NEVER tenured an African-American in over 100 years of operating history. Rather than working to fix the problem or at least acknowledge it, people would rather attack those who choose to point it out.

Imagine an oil spill. Let's say that a company spends 400 days dumping thousands of barrels of oil into a lake. The poison from the oil kills every single animal in the lake and makes the lake unfit for swimming, fishing or anything else. Then, after the company is confronted with what they've done, they simply stop doing it.

When asked what they are going to do to rectify the problem, the company simply says "We stopped dumping the oil, what in the hell else do you want?" They may even claim that another management team was in place when the dumping occurred and although they profited directly from the dumping, they are not liable for cleaning up the mess. I mean, after all, it's not like they're doing it anymore.

That is how America deals with racism.

The social poison of racism has been dumped into the lake of humanity of our country and into our institutions for 400 years. We fought like hell to stop the dumping, but the poison remains. It is not going to naturally clear itself up, the same way that the oil left behind by the corporation isn't going to go away on its own. A proactive, prolonged and committed effort must be made to clean the lake if it is ever going to be healthy again.

That, in a nutshell, is how I explained Dr. King's legacy to the show hosts. The conversation was respectful, but I made it clear that America and its ancestors left a 400 year legacy of toxic socioeconomic inequality that (many of) their grandchildren have taken little or no personal responsibility for helping to clean up. So, respecting Dr. King's legacy means dealing with all legacies of this country, and not just the ones that make us feel good.

Educating Ourselves on Racism and Martin Luther King

I did a show on the CBS radio network today in which we discussed the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. I haven't been doing many interviews lately, but I took the interview as a favor to my buddy Chad, a producer for the Lars Larson Show. Lars is a crazy conservative guy out west who loves to try to push my buttons. I push his right back, and there is a friendly exchange. But given that he is down with Bill O'Reilly, I guess you can't assume that the friend of your enemy is your enemy. I respect Lars but can't stand O'Reilly. Bill O'Reilly is a loser and a terrible human being, which is why I am glad that Obama and others also agreed to never appear on his show again. My conversations with him have never been productive, and when he physically attacked Obama's aide this week, it reminded me of how negative he was toward me during my appearances on his show. I DO NOT respect that man, and I do not respect Sean Hannity.

On CBS today, we talked about the legacy of Martin Luther King, and what it means for all of us. I went through the somewhat challenging exercise of explaining exactly how racism works and why people don't always seem to get it. People think that racism is about someone calling you a "n*gger" in the hallway or hanging a noose on your door. It is not. The biggest racial disease is INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM. Institutionalized racism is what you get when you have universities, board rooms, coaching positions and other entities that have never allowed an African-American to walk through the door or get the job. I think about my own university, which has dozens of academic departments that have NEVER tenured an African-American in over 100 years of operating history. Rather than working to fix the problem or at least acknowledge it, people would rather attack those who choose to point it out.

Imagine an oil spill. Let's say that a company spends 400 days dumping thousands of barrels of oil into a lake. The poison from the oil kills every single animal in the lake and makes the lake unfit for swimming, fishing or anything else. Then, after the company is confronted with what they've done, they simply stop doing it.

When asked what they are going to do to rectify the problem, the company simply says "We stopped dumping the oil, what in the hell else do you want?" They may even claim that another management team was in place when the dumping occurred and although they profited directly from the dumping, they are not liable for cleaning up the mess. I mean, after all, it's not like they're doing it anymore.

That is how America deals with racism.

The social poison of racism has been dumped into the lake of humanity of our country and into our institutions for 400 years. We fought like hell to stop the dumping, but the poison remains. It is not going to naturally clear itself up, the same way that the oil left behind by the corporation isn't going to go away on its own. A proactive, prolonged and committed effort must be made to clean the lake if it is ever going to be healthy again.

That, in a nutshell, is how I explained Dr. King's legacy to the show hosts. The conversation was respectful, but I made it clear that America and its ancestors left a 400 year legacy of toxic socioeconomic inequality that (many of) their grandchildren have taken little or no personal responsibility for helping to clean up. So, respecting Dr. King's legacy means dealing with all legacies of this country, and not just the ones that make us feel good.

DNA Test Frees Dallas Man~by Donisha Adams

Charles Chatman left a Dallas courtroom Thursday, with his arms raised in victory. The 42-year-old man was released after spending 26 years in prison for rape that DNA tests proved he did not commit.

“I’m bitter. I’m angry,” Chatman said. He continued: “But I’m not angry or bitter to the point where I want to hurt anyone or get revenge.”

Chatman said that his race proved to be a factor in his conviction, noting that there was one black member of the jury.

In 1981, Chatman was arrested for aggravated sexual assault after a woman pointed him out in a lineup as the man who raped her. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

Although Chatman lived five houses from the victim, he said that he did not know her.

“I was convicted because a black man committed a crime against a white woman,” Chatman said. He continued: “And I was available.”

This case made Chatman the 15th Dallas County inmate since 2001 to be exonerated by DNA testing.

Vivica A. Fox Was Doing What on Camera?

Rumor has it that Vivica A. Fox may have an opening to get her dead ass career back on track. Porsche Foxx at V-103 in ATL is confirming that there is a sex tape circulating where Vivica allegedly got drunk off her booty and started giving head to some dude. The dude allegedly took advantage of the situation and recorded it on his cell phone.

That damn technology!

Apparently, the tape was forwarded to old dude's friends, who forwarded it to Vivica, who then forwarded it to the police.

Here is the truth:

1) The dude who put out that tape is going to get Michael Vicked. You go to prison for taping someone "in their rare form" without their permission.
2) I can only pray that old-ass Vivica isn't doing this ish on purpose. Dang girl, is it that hard to get an acting job?
3) Should anybody really be embarrassed over this too much? I mean come on, it ain't like we all don't take care of our man in some special way. We dog out chicks like Superhead for doing it on tape, but alot of people can outdo that girl in private. Get a damn life.

In fact, if you ain't taking care of your man, somebody else probably is. But then again, a man who ain't your man recording you on his cell phone and sending it to all his friends? Well, that's another story.

Study: Racism in Emergency Room Medication Dispension

CNN is reporting that whites are more likely than blacks to receive painkillers when waiting in the emergency room. The results are from a 13 year study of 150,000 emergency room visits. The gap exists for every type of pain, and for both urban and rural hospitals.

"The gaps between whites and nonwhites have not appeared to close at all," said study co-author Dr. Mark Pletcher of the University of California, San Francisco.

The results are to appear in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Linda Simoni-Wastila of The University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy argues that the racial gap may be due to the fact that doctors suspect minority patients of being drug abusers and lying to get narcotics. This would be ironic, since the rate of white prescription drug abuse is far greater than that of African-Americans.

The researchers argue that stricter protocols for prescribing narcotics may help close the gap.

In the study, opioid narcotics were prescibed 31% of the time for whites, 28% for Asians 24% for Hispanics and 23% for blacks. Minorities were slightly more likely than whites to get aspirin, ibuprofen and similar pain-related medication.

In kidney stone visits, whites got drugs 72% of the time, Hispanics 68%, Asians 67% and African-Americans 56%.

Study: Racism in Emergency Room Medication Dispension

CNN is reporting that whites are more likely than blacks to receive painkillers when waiting in the emergency room. The results are from a 13 year study of 150,000 emergency room visits. The gap exists for every type of pain, and for both urban and rural hospitals.

"The gaps between whites and nonwhites have not appeared to close at all," said study co-author Dr. Mark Pletcher of the University of California, San Francisco.

The results are to appear in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Linda Simoni-Wastila of The University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Pharmacy argues that the racial gap may be due to the fact that doctors suspect minority patients of being drug abusers and lying to get narcotics. This would be ironic, since the rate of white prescription drug abuse is far greater than that of African-Americans.

The researchers argue that stricter protocols for prescribing narcotics may help close the gap.

In the study, opioid narcotics were prescibed 31% of the time for whites, 28% for Asians 24% for Hispanics and 23% for blacks. Minorities were slightly more likely than whites to get aspirin, ibuprofen and similar pain-related medication.

In kidney stone visits, whites got drugs 72% of the time, Hispanics 68%, Asians 67% and African-Americans 56%.

Is the Heisman Trophy Racist?

Perhaps they should just call it the "Whiteman Award" and cut to the damn chase. Seriously. 3 out of 4 of the Heisman Candidates this year were white, although anyone with eyeballs knows that college sports is dominated by black men.

But then again, the Heisman always goes to the golden boy. That is usually a white quarterback. The black guys get the Heisman sometimes, but they have to be supermen to beat out the leading white guy.

Then, the NFL draft comes, and we see all the black guys getting drafted first. This clearly shows that they are the best players on the field, but the white guys keep getting the Heisman.

So, let's just call it the WhiteMan Award. What is most ironic is that it was not until after the year 2000 that the Heisman became it's most racist. Since the year 2000, 6 of the 8 Heisman Trophy winners have been white quarterbacks. What is also interesting is that when a black man wins it, he is usually a running back. When a white guy wins it, it is as a quarterback.

Here is a list of the Heisman Winners since the early 80s. Out of this list, only a couple of the white winners have done jack squat in the NFL. Most of the black running backs who win the Heisman went on to have great NFL careers. Some of them did not. But while the black failure of a Heisman winner is rare, the failure of white quarterbacks after winning the Heisman is the norm. It is no different from the year that Shaquille O'neal was given none of the player of the year awards, while Christian Laettner got everything. That was a travesty.

Here is a list of the Heisman winners. You be the judge:

2007 Tim Tebow Florida (Quarterback)
2006 Troy Smith Ohio State (Quarterback)
2005 Reggie Bush USC (Running Back)
2004 Matt Leinart USC (Quarterback)
2003 Jason White Oklahoma (Quarterback)
2002 Carson Palmer Southern California (Quarterback)
2001 Eric Crouch Nebraska (Quarterback)
2000 Chris Weinke Florida State (Quarterback)
1999 Ron Dayne Wisconsin (Running Back)
1998 Ricky Williams Texas (Running Back)
1997 Charles Woodson Michigan (Cornerback)
1996 Danny Wuerffel Florida (Quarterback) 1995 Eddie George Ohio State (Running Back)
1994 Rashaan Salaam Colorado (Running Back)
1993 Charlie Ward Florida State (Quarterback)
1992 Gino Torretta Miami (Quarterback)
1991 Desmond Howard Michigan (Wide Receiver)
1990 Ty Detmer Brigham Young (Quarterback)
1989 Andre Ware Houston (Quarterback)
1988 Barry Sanders Oklahoma State (Running Back)
1987 Tim Brown Notre Dame (Wide Receiver)
1986 Vinny Testaverde Miami (Quarterback)
1985 Bo Jackson Auburn (Running Back)
1984 Doug Flutie Boston College (Quarterback)
1983 Mike Rozier Nebraska (Running Back)
1982 Herschel Walker Georgia (Running Back)
1981 Marcus Allen Southern California (Running Back)

Civil Unrest Rocks Kenya

There is tremendous unrest in Kenya, as the elections of President Mwai Kibaki to a second term has led to violence.

A mob burned down a church holding hundreds of Kenyans fleeing for safety, killing at least 50 people. The riots themselves have led to the deaths of 263 people. This is a shock, given that Kenya is considered one of Africa's most stable countries.

The EU and the US have refused to congratulate Kibaki, since they feel that the elections were rigged. The EU and four Kenyan officials have called for an independent inquiry. Some have criticized the US for their actions, since many around the world feel that President Bush rigged the 2000 elections.

"There was a huge mob; they attacked the church," said an anonymous witness. "We counted 15 to 20 bodies."

Police officers are not authorized to speak to the media, but some of them did confirm the death toll in the city. Allegations of election rigging were driven by the fact that the opposition party won most of the seats in parliament. Also, there were unexplained delays in vote tallying and peculiar anomalies, such as 115% voter turnout in one constituency.

Opposition leaders have called for a million people to come out and rally against Kibaki. They plan to move forward, even though the government has banned the demonstration.

The Only Historically Black College in Detroit may have to shut down

Lewis College of Business, the only black historical college in Detroit, may have to shut down due to the lost of its accreditation. They are currently trying to recruit a president and has a few students enrolled thus far.

According to the Detroit Free Press, staffers at the 80-year-old school haven't been paid since October and students have been complaining about broken computers.

The agency that determined Lewis College of Business was in financial trouble has agreed to let the college try to regain accreditation as a new institution. Unfortunately, numerous tuition - paying students have left, therefore it isn't certain how long Lewis will remain open.

"From the beginning we had financial problems, but it's like all other things in the black community, you just keep going as far as you can go," said Phyllis Ponders, whose mother, Violet Lewis, founded the school in 1928 to offer underprivileged African-American students business and secretarial degrees.

Classes are scheduled to resume January 14 at Lewis College of Business.