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Condi Rice, Cool As Ice

Posted on October 21st, 20101 Comment

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.

Justice Thomas’ House Out Of Order

Posted on October 20th, 2010No Comments

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.

Altogether now: “What was she thinking?!”

Chore Battles

Posted on October 20th, 20101 Comment

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.

VWS

The Root’s ‘Confab’

Posted on October 15th, 2010No Comments

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.

Listen here…

Rhee Wrong On What’s Most Important

Posted on October 15th, 2010No Comments

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).”

If Walls Could Talk, We’d Plug Our Ears

Posted on October 15th, 2010No Comments

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 And Its Cross-Dressing Men

Posted on October 15th, 2010No Comments

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.”

Are NFL Positions Segregated?

Posted on October 12th, 2010No Comments

Danny Woodhead and Wes Welker

Have you noticed that NFL linemen tend to be very large, while NBA centers are invariably very tall? And marathon runners are usually slender, while jockeys stand short? The only shock about those observations would be if someone failed to notice. You can’t watch football or basketball without picking up on the participants’ physical profiles. There’s nothing subtle about 7-footers or 380-pounders, and we’re totally comfortable pointing out their size because there’s a direct correlation to their job requirements.

However, discussions become much thornier when we highlight a distinction that has nothing to do with the task at hand and yet stands out just as much or more: skin color. Some of the most glaring examples — say, the scarcity of African Americans in the NHL and Major League Baseball — can be explained as purely cultural coincidences. Black youths simply don’t play that much hockey or baseball; consequently, not many grow up to be pros in those sports.

But if we highlight the scarcity of white halfbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs in the NFL (or white players in the NBA, period), the discussion gets more complicated. Tens of thousands of white kids play football and basketball, from youth leagues to high school and through college. So our conversation takes an awkward turn, with stereotypes and preconceptions battling reason and logic for supremacy. As the late tennis great Arthur Ashe said in the 1989 NBC News special Black Athletes — Fact and Fiction, the issue of race in sports is “a sociological red button.”

Well-Intentioned, But Misguided Policy on Women

Posted on October 12th, 20102 Comments

I didn’t realize the good fortune in being assigned to Carver Hall upon my arrival at Howard University in 1982. It was one of two all-male dormitories (the other was for lowly freshmen; I was a transfer), and I soon discovered that it was the only dorm with a 24-hour visitation policy. We enjoyed the privilege of having company anytime we wanted, even overnight.

At some point in time those privileges must have been rescinded, because Howard was in the news last week for once again allowing upperclassmen in one residence hall 24-hour visitation. Residents at every other dorm must continue to escort their guests out by midnight during the week, or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. But a 2 a.m. curfew must seem like unbridled freedom to members of the University of Kansas football team, who are saddled with archaic restrictions under first-year coach Turner Gill.

One of five black coaches at college football’s highest level — the Bowl Championship Series leagues — Gill has instituted at least two rules that will test his young players’ discipline, if not break their will. The first isn’t too bad: Players must hand over their cell phones the day before a game and go without until the game is over. But the second is downright puritanical, an edict that challenges common sense as much as common decency.

Gill has forbidden his players from being in the company of women past 10 p.m.

Fear & Ignorance > Courage & Wisdom

Posted on October 11th, 20101 Comment

The Twin Tower attacks, assorted suicide bombers and global furor/death threats sparked by creative works have pretty sealed the perception of Islam for many Americans. Although the vast majority of Muslims denounce the terrorism and insist that Islam advocates peace and harmony between all people, a sizeable segment of our society believes that Muslims are out to kill non-believers and take over the country, if not the world.

I’ll be the first to admit that Muslims at the radical end of the spectrum are VERY EXTREME. But I have a frat brother who’s a Muslim, an award-winning journalist with a national cable network, and he’s as extreme as coffee with milk. So are millions of others. I guess that’s a common of description of many folks who eventually flip out and shoot up their office, but I think that’s more of a mental health issue than adherence to religious doctrine.

Because the truth is, you can cause mayhem and destruction in the name of any religion. It just depends on how you interpret and pervert the scriptures.

New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof illustrates the point perfectly in a pop quiz.