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Editorials/Column
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A Black Queen Captured By A White Knight
hen Serena
Williams broke the news last week that she was en- gaged to be married, the an- nouncement ruffled more than a few feathers. It wasn't only the idea that she was suddenly off the market that had her male admirers' boxers in a twist. For many, the anger stemmed from the fact that the man she decided to settle down with was a member of the
melanin-light persuasion.
The woman, whose Iconic curves made women's tennis must-see-television (at least when she was playing) for over a decade and a half, was now committing all of her volup- tuousness to a white guy. It was a development worthy of every "OH...HELL...NAW" response
it generated.
I mean, this isn't Halle
Berry or Paula Patton hop- ping the fence. This is Serena we're talking about. The woman who kept it so hood that she once performed the crip-walk on the centre court at Wimbledon after a victory.
Her marrying Alex Ohan- ian, the geeky co-founder of the internet company Reddit, is the social equivalent of Ameri- can Sweetheart, Taylor Swift, deciding to tie the knot with someone like Trinidad James.... The visual is just that disturbing.
As disappointed as I am, I would be lying if I said I didn't understand how it happened. The truth, that Black men like myself don't readily want to admit, is that she probably sim- ply got tired of our B.S.
It wasn't like she never gave brothers a chance. Her well- documented dating history is filled with her being connected to a number of popular Black athletes and entertainers. None of whom, apparently, viewed her as anything more than a trophy lay that they could brag about later. Ohanian, as it turns out, saw something in her far more valuable.
The fact of the matter is that Serena represents a growing number of young, single, pro- fessional, Black women who
are looking for more out of life than to continuously be labeled as someone's girlfriend, baby- momma, jump-off or late-night booty call.
And since it seems that Black men, particularly the suc- cessful ones, are too busy en- joying the perks that come with being forever-available-rare- commodities, women like Ser- ena are choosing to expand their horizons in search of the stability and security they crave.
As much as we might not like the idea of a white knight capturing one of our Black queens we really can't blame anyone other than ourselves for his success because it was our lack of attention to her needs and desires that, ultimately, left her alone and vulnerable in the first place.
And now, due to our negli- gence, all we can do is watch as our opponent rides off into the sunset with one of our greatest treasures.
While Serena wasn't the first Black woman to abandon ship there's no doubt that, if we don't start showing more con- sideration for the mental, phys- ical and emotional well being of our female counterparts, she definitely won't be the last.
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The NAACP Strikes Back!
We support last Tuesday’s peaceful-yet-purposeful sit-in by NAACP President Cornell William Brooks and other demonstrators at the office of Senator Jeff Sessions, Conservative Republican who is currently being considered to become America’s next attorney gen- eral. And though we were concerned to learn the NAACP sit-in resulted in arrests by Mobile, Alabama police, we were proud of the resolve that NAACP executive mem- bers reconfirmed.
In a move that reminded many of an NAACP at its peak during the Civil Rights 1950s, 60s, and 70s, its lead- ers voiced a growing opposition to the nomination of Al- abama Senator Jeff Sessions as the Trump Administration’s attorney general.
Though referring to Sessions as a “fellow son of Selma, Alabama,” NAACP President Brooks stated, “We don’t derive pleasure from opposing this nomination,” but announced, “We’re calling on citizens of this country not to accept as fait accompli to the nomination of attor- ney general.”
Brooks and more than 1,000 college professors oppo- sition to Sessions’ confirmation is based on the Republi- can senator’s previous comments that he favored the Ku Klux Klan, and that he blatantly opposed the Civil Rights Act. Such stances caused Brooks to “call on people to tweet, e-mail, and show up at [Sessions’] office, and voice their opinion, wisely, and thoughtfully.”
And may we add as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King would have added, the NAACP call must include going to jail if necessary.
Therefore, we congratulate the NAACP, not only for its courage in Alabama, but for reminding the world that America’s premiere Civil Rights organization is still strong.
Psalm 105:15 Invoked On America?
ow that Republicans occupy the White House and have the majority vote in both the
House and Senate, Americans will see just how much Republicans care about the “working class” that “cut off their noses to spite their faces” by electing Donald Trump as President and returning “do nothing” and “Anti-Obama” as well as “disrespectful” GOP sen- ators and representatives to Congress.
Therefore, no one should be surprised that the first Republican agenda item was to at- tempt to scuttle the very organization that was supposed to keep them honest and monitor their unethical behavior.
Historically, the Republican Party – when it ceased to be the Party of Lincoln -- became the champion of businesses and the never accomplished ‘trickle down” economic theory. Thus, their second agenda item is to deregulate (once again) the Wall Street investment and banking industry that engineered the unstable mortgage crisis and high unemployment that brought America to the brink of economic depression in 2007.
Thanks to President Barack Obama (with no help from Republicans) and his administra- tion’s stimulus packages, strong regulation of the investment/banking industries and eco- nomic policies, unemployment dropped to 4.6 percent and the banking, automobile and industries were saved.
One of our readers prophetically mused that Psalm 105.15 (“Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”) may have been invoked on America because of the way Pres- ident and “anointed” Barack Obama was treated.
If so, America may now face what could very well be its greatest nightmare in the election of Donald Trump, an unfortunate consolation prize.
BREAKING NEWS!! BREAKING
Charleston 9 Shooter Tells Jurors:
‘There Is Nothing Wrong With Me Psychologically’
Convicted Charleston church shooter Dy- lann Roof spoke to the jury for the first time at his death penalty trial Wednesday, telling them there's nothing wrong with him psy- chologically and that he is not trying to keep any secrets from them.
The jury last month unanimously found Roof guilty of hate crimes and other charges in the shooting deaths of nine black church members during Bible study. The jurors will
Dylann Roof spoke
for the first time on now decide whether he should be sentenced
Wednesday.
to life in prison or death.
Roof's attorneys have indicated that he
chose to represent himself during the sentencing phase of his trial be- cause he was worried they might present embarrassing evidence about himself or his family.
NEWS!! BREAKING NEWS!! BREAKING NEWS!!
NAACP National President And 5 Others Arrested After Protest Against Attorney General Nominee
Six civil rights activists, one including the CEO and President of the NAACP, were arrested on Tuesday (Jan. 3) for a non-violent protest at the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Ses-
sions, the attorney general nominee picked by President-elect
Donald Trump.
ACCORDING to reports NAACP President Cornell William Brooks helped lead the sit-in with other members when they qui- etly sat in Sessions’ Mobile, Ala. office. They were identified as Devon Crawford, Stephen A. Green, Joe Keffer, Lizzetta McConnell and Bernard Simelton with local or national titles in the NAACP.
Trump named Sessions his attorney general pick in Novem-
ber. “He is a world-class legal mind and considered a truly great
Attorney General and U.S. Attorney in the state of Alabama,” Trump said at the time. “ During the Ronald Reagan administration, Sessions reportedly made insensitive comments towards African-Americans and once mentioned he didn’t have issues with the Ku Klux Klan until “he learned that they smoked marijuana.”
Brooks and the group of activists said they would remain in Sessions’ office until he withdrew himself from the nomination or until they were arrested.
Cornell Brooks and 5 others were ar- rested in Mobile, AL. Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions has had a history of racists comments and actions.
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