Like virtually every other African-American smoker I know, the only acceptable brands of cigarettes for me came in green-and-white packs. If you didn’t puff Salems — my cancer sticks of choice — you probably consumed Newports or Kools.
I always found it odd that the top three brands shared the same color scheme. It took a few years to realize that menthol was another commonality, which Dave Chappelle had fun with on his “I Know Black People” game-show sketch on his Comedy Central show. He asked contestants why blacks love menthol so much. “I don’t know,” said a social worker. “That is correct!” Chappelle said. “No one knows for sure.”
Whatever the reason for that preference — shared by an estimated 80 percent of black smokers, according to most reports — cigarette manufacturers and anti-tobacco groups are well aware that we favor menthol. But a proposed ban on mentholated cigarettes has caused a rift among forces that advocate on behalf of blacks’ interests. In one corner, favoring a ban, are the NAACP, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. In opposition are the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
The NAACP joined the debate last week, just three days after the other groups urged the Food and Drug Administration to reject calls for a ban on menthol flavored cigarettes. The issue appears to be a Catch-22: You either support blacks’ access to a dangerous-but-legal product (and arguably sustain its usage), or you support discrimination against the mostly black consumers of a dangerous-but-legal product (and arguably promote growth in the illicit cigarette trade).
I haven’t been a smoker for more than 20 years and have no intention of picking up the habit again. But if I did and discovered that my Salems were forbidden while those disgusting Marlboros were still on sale, I’d be livid. Why would the government ban the cigarettes that I prefer, while the estimated 78 percent of non-Latino, white smokers who prefer non-mentholated cigarettes are allowed to keep on puffing?
That’s been my stock answer whenever asked – always in a “You’re a what?” tone of disbelief – how in the world I can be a fan of the Dallas Cowboys AND the New York Giants. I was just a little kid. That’s how.
And while many folks act like I’m getting over on the system, or I have an unfair advantage compared to typical fans, there’s nothing fun about watching my teams face one another. Let’s just say I know how Richard Williams must feel when he watches Venus and Serena compete against each other.
My Giants beat my Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and like every other time they’ve met in my lifetime, it was pure misery. My daughters get a big kick out of my agony, repeatedly asking who I’m rooting for. It’s simple: I root neither for nor against either team when they butt heads. I just sit there in pain.
I’m a huge fan of natural hair styles like braids and dreads, and I’m especially fond of sisters who rock billowing Afros or kinky twists. I’ve been known to raise my fist in a black power-type salute and say “Free hair!” when passing a sister like, say, Danielle “The Black Snob” Belton (when she wears it out).
I’m not hating on the sisters who get perms. But I think it’s important to let black girls know there’s nothing wrong with their natural hair – regardless of what mainstream America thinks. That’s why I’m sharing this Sesame Street video and encourage you to do likewise.
It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma: How can African-Americans gain power and influence within the Republican Party – giving them a welcome option and an insurance policy against being taken for granted by the Democratic Party – when the GOP seems so indifferent, if not hostile, toward African-Americans?
I don’t have the answer. But it might help if Republicans had more black members who are as introspective as Condoleezza Rice appears to be on her book tour. Rice, author of “Extraordinary, Ordinary People,” doesn’t come off like the stereotypical “color-blind” black Republican, someone who acts like 40 years of Civil Rights has wiped out 400 years of discrimination. As a woman who grew up in Bull Connor’s “Bombingham,” Ala. – and a childhood friend with one of the four girls killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church – she says her views can’t be easily categorized despite her party affiliation.
I don’t what’s happened between Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. But he must have really pissed her off. That’s the only explanation for bringing so much unwanted and unnecessary attention to the Supreme Court Justice.
Either that or she’s nuttier than the craziest members in her Tea Party organization. Liberty Central purports to “restore the greatness of America” and oppose the “tyranny” of President Obama and Democrats in Congress.
When she founded Liberty Central and became its chief executive, Virginia Thomas dropped a mess of ethical issues on her husband’s lap. But by calling Anita Hill and dredging up a sexual harassment case that transfixed the nation nearly 20 years ago, Virginia Thomas shoved a pile of old mess back in her husband’s face.
What parent hasn’t squared off with a child about completing chores?
I know I’ve had my share of battles when it comes to getting my kids to clean their rooms, the bathroom, kitchen, family room or car – you name it. But my dear friend and author Kimberly Parker, aka “Writing Momma“has an answer for parents who are tired of haggling with kids about chores.
According to Parker, it’s all about incentives and positive reinforcement. She explains on her new blog for the Prince George’s County (Md.) School District. She offers a great way to motivate children and teach them the rewards of hard work and discipline. I’m definitely going to implement her advice.
This week on “The Confab,” theRoot.com’s weekly podcast, managing editor Joel Dreyfuss, senior editor Teresa Wiltz, and contributing writer Deron Snyder discussed:
“The Root 100,” and what it tells us about the positive side of black America; the peculiar racial politics of Caste Football, a site that tracks white players in the NFL; Antoine Dodson and how he’s made the best of his 15 minutes of fame; and why President Obama needs a Chile mine rescue to boost his own fortunes.
I’m not a teacher but Vanessa is, and I get a little defensive when her profession is treated like a punching bag by rampaging reformers such as Michelle Rhee (who spent about three years in the classroom before becoming a know-it-all on teaching). I’ll be the first to admit there are terrible teachers and terrific teachers, and our daughters have experienced both.
But I’m watching this national debate on education reform, teacher qualifications and test scores, it’s killing me, because too many people think there’s a simple, single solution. Consider this sentence from from The Washington Post article on presumptive mayor-elect Vincent Gray and interim D.C. school chancellor Kaya Henderson, who’s replacing Rhee:
“In Henderson, Gray inherits someone in tune with Rhee on the fundamentals of education reform, especially the belief that teacher quality is the most important determinant of student success (emphasis mine).”
We’re settling into our house a little more every day, and the delivery of our bedroom furniture should help the process along even further. We’ve been in it for six weeks now and the place is really feeling like home. But I can’t help thinking about the former residents from time to time.
And I can’t help wondering exactly how many folks were living here!
We bought the house from a couple who, sadly, were divorcing if the act wasn’t already final. They obviously had a couple of kids. I found a snapshot of a little girl in one bedroom closet, while another bedroom was covered in a sports motif. There was playground equipment in the backyard when we first visited the house, and stenciled on a wall in the family room was a beautiful sentiment: “Family – a journey together forever.”
Morehouse College is among our most venerable HBCUs, alma mater to prominent African Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr., Spike Lee, Howard Thurman and Lerone Bennett Jr. The nation’s largest liberal arts college for men, “the House” has conferred bachelor’s degrees on more black men than any other college.
There are no statistics on the number of graduates inclined to wear makeup, dresses and high heels. And if the administration has its way, we’ll never know, because it instituted a dress code that prohibited those practices last year. Although feminine clothing wasn’t the focus of Morehouse’s “appropriate attire” policy, that aspect was the most sensationalized and publicized.
The school finds itself in the news again this month, with a lengthy article in Vibe called “The Mean Girls of Morehouse.” Reading the headline, I thought the story was about women from nearby Spelman College or perhaps the surrounding neighborhood. But no, in an article highlighting the difficulties faced by a small group of current and former cross-dressing gay students, Vibe took the conversation in a childish direction from the start by calling the men “girls.”
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Like virtually every other African-American smoker I know, the only acceptable brands of cigarettes for me came in green-and-white packs. If you didn’t puff Salems — my cancer sticks of choice — you probably consumed Newports or Kools.
