20/20 Hindsight

In the recent media craze over Geraldine Ferror's racial accusations, former Governor Spitzer's indecent act, and Reverend Jeremiah Wright's "fiery"comments, American's have been pulled in every direction. The mass media has blogged us down with 360 coverage of these pitty issues that are not solving problems for Americans. The mass media no longer leaves room for the common viewer to form an educated opinion on the issues of substance. Why are we allowing prostitutes to get prime time coverage while citizens are suffering from job loss? Similar to Govonor Spitzer, Reverend Wright has quickly become the media's punching bag. I recorded today that each major news Chanel aired his controversial comments at least two times within one hour. This extensive media coverage has only acted as a catalyst in the unpopular color discussion. Last week, Senator Hillary Clinton was spared the color discussion by quickly denouncing Ferror but now the focus has shifted to Senator Barack Obama.

The American people, fueled by the media surge, placed Senator Obama in an unfavorable position. He was asked today to abandon his religious morals and dis associate himself with a person he has built a great bond with. Unfortunately for critics, Senator Obama proved to be a human. Unlike Senators McCain and Clinton, Barack Obama did not turn his back on a friend just so he could be the Presidential Nominee. Instead, he spoke out against the comments while still acknowledging the reverends good morals. It takes a true leader to be able to act in such a way without degrading someones character.

In attempt to corner Senator Obama, the media has unintentionally aided him. Through the issue of Reverend Wright, Senator Obama was given the chance to tackle the even greater issue of race. Toady, he revealed another one of his Presidential qualities, 20/20 Hindsight.

The ability to have 20/20 hindsight is a rare quality that was shared by the founding fathers along with other great leaders of this nation. Consider President Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War he suspended Habeas corpus in response to race riots in New York. While this was a constitutional right, he had the ability to look ahead and realize that this would only help the war effort. Just as people are criticizing Senator Obama, President Lincoln faced numerous critics that said he made a bad decision. Ask yourself how many critics are honored for criticizing people and how many parents tell their children that XYZ has their own statue for criticizing President Lincoln. In truth, critics don't get their own statues, monuments are only built for visionaries.

In his speech today, Senator Obama made it clear that he was tired of playing games and ready to transcend discussions of skin color. AP called his speech, "the most racially pointed speech yet of his presidential campaign", I disagree. Barack Obama's speech today that focused on race, unity, and the future, was his most inspiring speech for all Americans.

In the Polls We Trust

While I was on Zogby.com, I happened to notice that the polls have been updated. The new polls show that the democratic "front runner" Senator Hillary Clinton is losing ground against the republicans. This update is alarming because the polls show that she even loses to Fred Thomson, who in my opinion has been running a sloppy campaign. The last Zogby poll took place back in July and during that time it showed Senator Clinton ahead of each candidate. Correct me if I'm wrong but has she really made any mistakes during the time between August and November?
But wait, that is not the only thing that has me raising a red flag. Ironically, the polls still show that Hillary wins against the other democratic candidates but those candidates like Senator Obama and Edwards, win when put up against the republicans. So what is exactly is going on here? The polls are actually showing me that democrats want Hillary but she has no chance against the republicans and, Americans would rather see Barack Obama and John Edwards over the republicans. Given that information I have come to the conclusion that we can no longer rely on the polls.

Through out my years of school, math has been one of my favorite subjects. If there is one thing I learned from math is notion that numbers do not lie, or at least thats what I was taught to think.

Zogby Polls Here

Are HBCU's good or bad for African American Youth?

Recently, U.S. News and World Report did a special ranking of historically Black colleges. The top tier universities listed were Spelman, Howard, Hampton and Morehouse. The colleges listed are truly important because they are responsible for producing a successful image for African-Americans. I interpret this recent article as beneficial to African- Americans because it breaks numerous stereotypes all across the board.. Contrary to the lazy and drop out stereotypes, students who attend the HBCU’s listed and those not listed, are motivated students who value education. It has taken some time but these students are finally receiving the national credit they deserve by ranking them among the top 100 schools across the country. This first step shows that the top predominantly black schools are just as good or better than the top predominantly white schools. I can only hope that the media reveals more in terms of the future of educated African Americans in this count

Click below to see the full list

Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Top Schools

The State of Teenagers

The many stereotypes that are commonly tied to teens are: Drug Users, spoiled, rebellious, idiotic, wild, and sex crazed. These stereotypes are reinforced through media conditioning which causes some teens to embrace them. For example, MTV’s hit show “My super Sweet Sixteen” includes snotty rich kids who throw extravagant parties and treat everyone around them like dirt. It is commonly said that MTV is the number one outlet for teen news and most of the viewers are teens. Rather than using their influence to do something positive, various media source just reinforce the stereotypes.

Along with MTV, movies help to create the stereotypes. Specifically, Juice, Fresh, and Thirteen have created many stereotypes tied to race and age. Unfortunately, teen stereotype vary according to race. White teens are portrayed in negative ways such as: drug users, spoiled rich kids, rebellious, idiotic and sex crazed. In most white teen movies, the main character is a virgin and the plot is about him/her trying to lose their virginity. Hispanic teens are portrayed in movies as sex crazed, gang bangers, bullies and murderers. In movies, they are usually portrayed similar to black teens. They are put in similar situations as the black teens as well as the environments that surround them. Asian teens are portrayed in movies as quiet natured, geeks, martial artists, and virgins. In some movies, they are anti-social, losers who do not get with boys/girls; they are commonly bullied.

Shows and movies have been strong influences for a long period of time but the new modern approach is the internet. Consider Myspace.com and Facebook.com, the two sites are major teen networking spaces that allow teens to show off their photos, speak about their lifestyles and branch out into new networks. Teens often assume that this freedom is a good thing but conventional wisdom has it that large companies take advantage of them. Now, Myspace.com has become an entertainment capital filled with ads and companies that push teens to confide in a certain look or way of life. The same is not said for Facebook but with the recent sale to a major corporation, Facebook.com is following the same path as myspace.com.

Can African American Youth succeed?

In recent discussions of African-American population, a controversial issue has been whether Black history shall be confined to Black History Month or extended into the regular curriculum. On the one hand, some argue that Black History month will slowly undo the damage done by Eurocentric history. Looking at the issue from this prospective, one would be in favor of keeping Black history within the month of February. In spite of this, others argue that one month of history per year is not enough for African American’s to get around the barriers and obstacles that have left them socially crippled. In the words of this views main endorser, Malcolm X, “When we send our children to school they learn nothing about us other than that we used to be cotton pickers.” The essence of Malcolm X’s argument is that the African- American youth are not directly exposed to the pleasant history of Blacks. Ultimately, the issue is whether Black History is only left to the moth of February or the school systems incorporate an Afro-centric history into the year round curriculum.

I agree that Black history should be extended beyond black history month because my experience as an African-American student confirms it. I grew up seeing only the images of George Washington and famous Caucasian explores, but not historically important Black leaders, this left me feeling lost and alienated. This lack of location within a historical plot created a stigma on me that caused me to question my chances for success in this country. In response to my limitations, I found asylum in reading out side of the school curriculum. I began my enrichment with studies of ancient Egypt, Ethiopia and ventured as far beyond Toussaint L’ouveture and the Haitian revolution. These are but a few essential examples of the many facts left out.

While African-Americans have only a few hundred years of history in America, African history dates back to thousands of years. The preferential focus on the relatively short part of the story beginning when Blacks were enslaved and dominated by whites once again makes white - not Blacks - the focus of Black history month. Incorporating Black history into the regular curriculum will successfully wipe some of the negative misconceptions that have been tied to blacks. Meanwhile white students are more prepared to respect and value Blacks' contributions today when they having a more realistic understanding of the thousands of years of Black history.

It is often said that America is a big melting pot. To be more specific, my hometown is in famous for its diversity. The reputations of both America and my home town, implies that they consist of many different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. How in the 21st century, can a place be so diverse but it’s history is not. In order to keep up with the status quo, we must incorporate the African part of history as well as the Caucasian. Clearly, the teaching of Black History must not be arbitrarily limited to Black History Month. Although some assert that that time is an issue, I contend that we have it within our power to use time any way we like, because, as Albert Einstein proved, time is not a constant. More thorough teaching of Black History will lead to a positive outcome. As I learned by independent study, Students, Blacks, whites and others will realize that the history of Blacks is much more than the history of Black struggle in the United States of America.