Tiger Woods took questions from reporters for the first time in four months Sunday, saying "I've done some pretty bad things in my life" and that he doesn't know what kind of reception he'll get when he returns to competitive golf at the Masters. .
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
The Attacks Of Marcelas Owens
Marcelas Owens and his Grandmother Gina about the Criticism the boy is receiving from some members of the Media.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Black News: Tavis Smiley Can't Win with Anti-Obama Rhetoric
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
Tavis Smiley has a problem. The problem is one that is rooted in egregious miscalculation, poor target selection and mild delusions of self-righteous grandeur. As Tavis plans his symposium this week to define the black agenda in America, most of us are wondering if it's Smiley's agenda that will be highest on the priority list. While Smiley presents himself as a consistent political figure who has held all politicians equally accountable, many view his gathering this weekend in Chicago as a Barack Obama bashing festival.
Let's be clear: It's not easy to objectively criticize President Obama when his approval ratings in the black community remain above 90 percent. At least half of my articles about Obama have been critical, and I always have to make sure that I am not haunted by the ghostly spirit of Obama-mania, which is just as bad as Obama-haterology. Dr. Julianne Malveaux and Rev. Jesse Jackson have done a very good job of holding Obama accountable in a way that does not appear to be driven by personal motivations or latent hostility. Tavis Smiley, however, can't shake the perception that he has a personal vendetta against the president, for it is quite rare to see a prominent public figure so obsessed with the career of another person.
The Your Black World Coalition monitors the political mood of our supporters when it comes to issues that matter to African-Americans. With 60,000 African-American members nation-wide, we have the ability to put our fingers on the collective pulse of black America through various forms of statistical sampling. In our analysis, a few things remain abundantly clear: Most of our followers love Barack Obama (probably more than they should), and a large percentage of them, to be quite frank, can't stand Tavis Smiley. What makes matters worse for Smiley is that many of those who refuse to buy his books were once loyal fans - meaning that he has engineered the double loss of turning many of his friends into enemies. This is enough to make any publishing house or corporate sponsor run in the other direction, undermining the power of the Tavis Smiley brand. With such a terrible approval rating, Smiley wouldn't even be invited to sell predatory loans for Wells Fargo.
The Attacks Of Marcelas Owens
Marcelas Owens and his Grandmother Gina about the Criticism the boy is receiving from some members of the Media.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
President obama fights with Fox News
President Obama sits down with Fox News' Bret Baier to discuss his healthcare reform bill. Obama describes their conversation as "a little frustrating."
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Black News: Jay - Z Gets PushBack on His New Stadium
by Dr. Boyce Watkins
I curiously watched the press conference held last week to celebrate the New Jersey Nets (well, not quite New Jersey anymore) stadium set to be built in Brooklyn. A group of investors, led by Bruce Ratner, were joined by many prominent New York public figures to celebrate the ground-breaking of one of the highest impact economic endeavors in the history of Brooklyn. Jay-Z is part of the group of investors who bought the Nets, so of course he attended the ceremony.
The excitement of bringing a professional sports team to a city is overwhelming. Teams can bring out a sense of community spirit and unity which ultimately helps provide a little meaning in a complex world. Cities compete to bring teams to their town because the fans want them. Cities give teams extensive tax subsidies and even offer to use eminent domain to take property away from residents who are not willing to sell their homes in order to have the stadium built. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? Well, sometimes it can be.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Dr. Boyce: Why African Americans are More Optimistic than you Think
According to a recent survey by Experian, African-American consumption grew by over 50 percent from the year 2000 to 2008 ($590 billion to $913 billion), and it is expected to grow to over $1.2 trillion dollars by the year 2013. The study also shows that blacks are more economically optimistic than whites, with 36 percent of us stating that we expect our financial future to improve, as opposed to 31 percent for all adults.
The Experian study says a couple of things: First, it says that black people love to consume and that we are getting better at it. In fact, black people have historically been very good at buying things and working hard to get them, but we are not very good at production, investment and saving our money. We grab our tax refunds and run to the mall. We become highly paid corporate lawyers in order to purchase the house and car we really can't afford. We are chubby kids in the economic candy store, accelerating our collective addiction to the monetary engines controlled by corporate greed.
Kansas City To Close Half Its Schools
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Facing potential bankruptcy, the board that governs the once flush-with-cash Kansas City school district is taking the unusual and contentious step of shuttering almost half its schools.
Administrators say the closures are necessary to keep the district from plowing through what little is left of the $2 billion it received as part of a groundbreaking desegregation case. The Kansas City school board narrowly approved the plan to close 29 out of 61 schools Wednesday night at a meeting packed with angry parents. The schools will close at the end of the school year.
Although other districts nationwide are considering closures as the recession ravages their budgets, Kansas City's plan is striking. In rapidly shrinking Detroit, 29 schools closed before classes began this fall, but that still left the district with 172 schools. Most other districts are closing just one or two schools.
Emotional board member Duane Kelly told the crowd of more than 200 people Wednesday night, "This is the most painful vote I have ever cast" in 10 years on the board. Some chanted for the removal of the superintendent, while one woman asked the crowd, "Is anyone else ready to homeschool their children?"
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
African American Male Charter School Sends All of its Graduates to College
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
There is one public, all-male, all-African American high school in the city of Chicago. That school is called The Urban Prep Academy for Young men, located in Englewood. The school recently got the attention of Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools Chief Ron Huberman when they were able to get all of their 107 seniors accepted into 72 different colleges across the country.
Huberman had this to say:
"All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream."
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Black Player Told He's too smart for the NFL
Most NFL coaches and executives would be ecstatic if Myron Rolle was their son or their daughter’s date.
Rolle played at FSU for three years.
(Dave Martin/AP Photo)
Drafting him is another matter.
Welcome to proof of the NFL adage: You want players to be smart, just not too smart. Rolle is an example of a gifted, driven, accomplished young man. He’s a guy who could survive and thrive without playing mankind’s version of demolition derby.
Rolle is a man with otions and that makes NFL types, some of whom would be teaching P.E. in high school if not for the pro game, very uneasy.
“We’ll have to find out how committed he is,” an NFC assistant coach said, echoing the sentiment of five other NFL types leading up to this weekend’s scouting combine. “Committed” is a euphemism for desire, care, passion and whatever other combination of emotions goes into wanting to play football enough to make it a career.
Trainer Tom Shaw, who has worked with Rolle for the past year, understands the process very well. Having trained the likes ofPeyton Manning(notes), Chris Johnson and Deion Sanders, a total of 118 former first-round picks and nine straight Super Bowl Most Valuable Players before this year, Shaw hears the criticism and shakes his head.
“I hear all the negative things that he has too many things going on in his life,” Shaw said. “But if [the NFL] is saying that Myron Rolle is a bad example, that’s a joke. … Myron is what you want all these kids to be. Every one of these kids should want to be Myron Rolle.
“The reason I say he’s going to be a 10-year veteran is he’s a guy who is going to out-work everybody. He’s not just going to rest on his athletic ability.”
Click to read by clicking on this link: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-committedrolle022510&provSaturday, March 6, 2010
Dr. Boyce Watkins - U. Missouri Cotton Ball Racism Raises Questions
by Dr Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
One of my friends, Dr. Tommy Whittler, is a very talented and prominent Psychologist. Dr. Whittler once told me that when he was training rats in the lab, he would sometimes become frustrated with the fact that the rats would not do what he believed he’d trained them to do. His mentor would always correct him with a reminder that when the rats do things that deviate from his intended outcome, it was likely due to the fact that he may not have done his job properly. His mentor would say to him, “There is no such thing as a dumb rat. There are only dumb trainers.” Dr. Whittler went on to become an outstanding scholar because he learned how to properly critique his own behavior.
While human beings are certainly not lab rats, a similar analogy can be applied to college professors working with their students. Sometimes, college students do things that disappoint us: Some choose to drink till they puke every weekend and become lifelong alcoholics. They might commit violent acts against each other, sometimes as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Some choose to engage in irresponsible sexual choices and end up with venereal diseases and unplanned pregnancies. Also, they sometimes say or do things that are terribly ignorant, racist and insensitive.
Read more by clicking the link below
http://newsone.com/nation/boycewatkins/dr-boyce-some-u-missouri-students-want-us-picking-cotton/
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Brought to you by The Great Black Speakers Bureau, the #1 Black Speakers bureau in the world (www.GreatBlackSpeakers.com) . Please join Your Black World for the latest in black news and black social commentary from Dr. Boyce Watkins and other leading black scholars!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Dr. Boyce Watkins Critiques the NCAA
I was invited this week to speak to the Stanford University NAACP about whether or not college athletes should be paid. When I am asked whether I think college athletes should be compensated for their labor, I simply respond to the question with another question: “Why shouldn’t they get paid? Did they not earn the money? Is someone else earning money from their labor? Is the labor of the athlete essential to the revenue-generating process?” Answers to these questions help us to understand how insane it is that athletes earn billions of dollars for coaches, but aren’t entitled to any of that money for themselves. I’ve seen race horses get better deals than that.
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Please join Your Black World to get the latest in black news from Dr. Boyce Watkins and leading black scholars.
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Meet the Smartest Kids in England
Paula and Peter Imafidon are just like any other nine-year-olds. They love laughing, playing on the computer, fighting with each other. What sets these twins apart from their peers, though, is that they are, hands down, prodigies, who are about to enter high school and make British history as the youngest to do so.
Technorati Tags: Meet,Smartest,Kids,England,Paula,Peter,Imafidon,computer,British,history,Click,prodigiesTuesday, March 2, 2010
Rhode Island School Firing: Was it Justified?
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, AOL Black Voices
You don't have to go to college to know that America's educational system is as embarrassing as our bloated, expensive health care system. Such wide-scale dysfunction inevitably undermines the integrity of America's competitive future. The only thing more frightening than what we see today is the realization that the products of this system will eventually control the wealthiest, most powerful country on earth.
Some would argue that only radical change will improve the problems in our schools. Apparently, Frances Gallo, Superintendent of the Central Falls Rhode Island Public School System, got the memo. In a shocking move that has received national attention, Gallo instantly fired 93 teachers and other staff from Central Falls High school, a failing school with a 48 percent graduation rate.
The move was cheered by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who said that school administrators are "showing courage and doing the right thing for kids." The decision also got the militant attention of teachers unions everywhere, who some believe to be standing in the way of education reform. As expected, many union leaders thought the move was outrageous, insensitive and hurtful to the student body.
Superintendent Gallo didn't have to use the "nuclear option" on Central Falls High School. She actually had four options provided to her by the Obama administration. She could have closed the school down completely or had it taken over by a charter school. She also could have "transformed" the school, with longer days and other demands placed on faculty and staff. Instead, she went with the "turnaround" option, giving her the authority to boot teachers out at her discretion.
Click to read.Prof. Boyce Watkins Addresses Stanford University NAACP
From Your Black World
Dr. Boyce Watkins, faculty affiliate at The College Sport Research Institute, is going to speak to the Stanford NAACP on Wednesday, March 3. The topic of the conversation will be “Does the NCAA Represent an Opportunity or Exploitation?”
Dr. Watkins is one of the leading authorities on NCAA compensation. He has advocated for college athletes to be paid, and founded the group ALARM: The Athlete Liberation and Academic Reform Movement. He is also the founder of the Your Black World Coalition, with 60,000 members nation-wide.
Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton Talk Black America
Dr. Boyce Watkins and Rev. Al Sharpton Talk Black America on the Syndication One News-Talk radio Network
Monday, March 1, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Dr. Boyce Watkins on NewsOne.com – 2/24/10
The Bottom Line
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and author of the book, "Black American Money." For more information, please visit www.YourBlackWorld.com.
DR. BOYCE: Al Sharpton, Tavis Smiley Fight Is Post-Obama America
By Dr. Boyce Watkins February 24, 2010 12:17 pm
Read more about DR. BOYCE: Al Sharpton, Tavis Smiley Fight Is Post-Obama America
TAGS: Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, Tavis Smiley
DR. BOYCE: Do Young Leaders Now Make the NAACP Relevant?
By Dr. Boyce Watkins February 22, 2010 2:59 pm
Read more about DR. BOYCE: Do Young Leaders Now Make the NAACP Relevant?
TAGS: NAACP
DR. BOYCE: The Guts Behind Tiger Woods’ Press Conference
By Dr. Boyce Watkins February 19, 2010 12:47 pm
Read more about DR. BOYCE: The Guts Behind Tiger Woods’ Press Conference
TAGS: sex scandals, Tiger Woods
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
News: Dr. Michael Fauntroy Speaks on Felon Voting
“I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”
– Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, at a 1980 training session for Christian conservatives
While there are a number of very worthy issues that need to be addressed in this area, I propose that we include the issue of felon disenfranchisement in our deliberations. Felon disenfranchisement is critical as it impacts the outcomes of elections throughout the country. Too often, conservative, anti-minority candidates are elected because of the disproportionate removal of African Americans and other minorities from the election rolls. As the policies that disenfranchise felons disproportionately impacts African Americans (both those caught up in the criminal justice system AND the larger Black public which does not get the policies that it could because supportive people are not elected to office), we must understand it undermines the policies that we believe to be helpful to our community.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Dr. Boyce Speaks on Russell Simmons
Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons seems to feel that banks are not treating the poor in a proper fashion. This week, in a rant on his site, “The Global Grind,” Simmons had this to say:
“They trick customers into doing things that are not good for them through lack of transparency, and surprise them with new fees when they can least afford it. I’m learning an important lesson about ethics or lack of ethics in this industry. In fact, I’m fighting with a bank right now that doesn’t know what kind of ass whipping they are going to get when I expose them for the abusive practices and exuberant fees they are charging the poor. What they are doing is trying to double their already outrageously high fees in exchange for providing absolutely nothing to my customers.”
Simmons went on to try to create a “movement” by adding a call to action:
“Let’s start the biggest public discussion ever about how banks treat us and expose these banks for their unequal treatment and unconscionable conduct. The time is now.”
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
University of Alabama Huntsville Shooting
U. Alabama Huntsville is confirming that three people were killed in a campus shooting. The suspect was a female. Another student was injured, and the woman is in custody. Another student was injured as well. The shooting took place in the science building.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Did Clark Atlanta University Violate the Law?
The firing of nearly one-quarter of the full-time faculty members at Clark Atlanta University a year go led to an investigation by the American Association of University Professors.
The investigatory committee has just released its report about the sudden termination of 55 faculty member, concluding that the college’s actions were egregious.
Among the findings:
The administration selected the particular faculty members for dismissal without any discernible prior consultation with appropriate faculty bodies. The administration in its selections also paid no heed to the rights of tenured over nontenured faculty with respect to retention.
- By not affording the dismissed faculty members opportunity for a hearing before a body of faculty peers, the Clark Atlanta University administration denied them academic due process to which they were entitled under stated university regulations as well as Association-supported standards.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Would Dr. Martin Luther King Support Obama
Dr. Boyce Watkins on MSNBC Live discussing if Dr. King would support President Obama's policies
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks With MSNBC Live
Dr. Boyce Watkins Talks With MSNBC Live about the need for a national conversation on race.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
alpha Phi Alpha Stops Membership Drive Nation-wide
From Macon.com:
WARNER ROBINS — Citing flawed membership intake processes at chapters across the country, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity incorporated has put a halt to new membership processes nationwide.
The ruling, announced to active members in a letter from the fraternity’s General President Herman “Skip” Mason Jr., comes nearly a month after a member of the student chapter at Fort Valley State University was charged with aggravated battery against a new member. Mason said the decision to halt intake was due to “the failure of some of our members to behave honorably and with care.”
Click to read.Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Black Commentators Speak – 12/23/09
Media & women's basketball writer for Fanhouse.com
NFL finally comes to on impact of head trauma
9:36 AM on 12/23/2009
OPINION - On October 28, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was slammed about a House Judiciary Committee hearing room like a quarterback facing a blitz....
Freelance filmmaker, writer, blogger and Political Consultant.
Obama and Dems weak-kneed on health care
7:40 AM on 12/22/2009
OPINION - Is the health care bill, as it is, worth the political capital that it has cost the President and the Democratic congress? ...
Co-Director of the Political Participation Group at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Slideshow: 12 key civil rights moments of the decade
10:26 AM on 12/21/2009
OPINION - The first decade of the new century has been marked by incredible triumphs, ongoing challenges, and a number of historic moments......
Author and Finance Professor at Syracuse University
NCAA's educational mission is great scam of 21st century
9:41 AM on 12/21/2009
OPINION - For the NCAA, the educational mission of their professional sports league is one of the great scams of the 20th and 21st centuries, no different from the Ponzi schemes of Bernie Madoff......
Writer for VIBE, Newsday, The Source, Publishers Weekly, and Giant Magazine.
Avatar: A timely message of respect for native people and environment
6:31 AM on 12/21/2009
REVIEW - Avatar is a reminder of the lessons to be learned from indigenous cultures and the respect and honor that must be paid to the environment....
Sports contributor
Chris Henry's missteps don't outshine memories of a good heart
9:01 AM on 12/18/2009
OPINION - In the ego-driven world of professional sports, it says a lot about a player, about man when all of his teammates seem to genuinely share an affinity for him....
Writer
Bankers' bonuses benefit Main Street
7:11 AM on 12/18/2009
OPINION - Amid all the sound and fury generated by banking bonuses, left unspoken are the external benefits that those amounts provide to large states....
Editor of BookerRising.net
China's 'One-Child' laws won't translate for African-American women
8:25 AM on 12/17/2009
OPINION - The adoption of China's one-child policy in the US would have a disproportionately negative impact on women of color....
National Public Education Director for Queers for Economic Justice
Conspiracy theories about HIV do real harm
10:00 AM on 12/16/2009
OPINION - HIV/AIDS conspiracy theories circulate in homes, barber shops, churches, and among activists in the African-American community....
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