Today is Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King Day, the holiday in the States in which we remember our 'Drum Major For Justice' and the remarkable but all too brief life of as Tavis Smiley called him, one of the greatest Americans we have ever produced as a people.
I usually spend a portion of my King Day doing what he called it 'hard solid thinking' about various social justice and other issues. I also engage in doing a little introspection on how and what I need to do personally to continue evolving toward being a better human being.
Sometimes that introspective process has me rereading some of Dr. King's essays. Many people are aware of his oratorical skills, but sometimes forget that Dr. King was one dynamite writer as well.
I am also tired of the focus of the celebrations on Dr. King's life being before 1963. Dr. King did live until April 4, 1968.
After 1963 Dr. King started focusing on economic justice issues in addition to opposing the Vietnam War, which didn't sit well with a lot of people. His essays and speeches post-1963 are just as timely and on point for our times as they were back then, and just as insightful as his pre-1963 ones.
So Happy King Day TransGriot readers. May it be a peaceful and stress free day for you.
Because tomorrow we resume the ongoing work of making 'The Dream' become a reality.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, time to say 'Happy Birthday' to Muhammad Ali.
Today is the birthday of 'The Greatest', who was born in Louisville, KY on this date in 1942. 1960 Olympic gold medalist, three time heavyweight boxing champ, humanitarian, just all around awesome human being.
Enjoy the video from the Ernie Terrell fight, in which Terrell dissed Ali by referring to his old name in a pre fight interview with Howard Cosell, then got his butt kicked in their Astrodome fight.
Ali chanted 'What's my name?' as he pounded Terrell.
The Superdome has hosted many historic events since it opened in 1975. It has hosted six Super Bowls, three NCAA Mens Final Fours, the 1988 Republican Convention, a mass by Pope John Paul II, is the host stadium for the Sugar Bowl, several BCS Title games, and the annual Bayou Classic tilt between Grambling and Southern.
But next week it will host its first ever NFC Championship game as the New Orleans Saints blasted the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 to earn their second trip ever as a franchise to the NFC title game. The Saints will play the winner of the Dallas Cowchips-Minnesota Vikings game later today.
The Saints are the number one seed in the NFC playoff bracket, which means the NFC road to the Super Bowl goes through them if they keep winning. But Who Dat Nation was a little nervous about the fact that the Saints came into this playoff game after the bye week with three straight losses in their final NFL regular season games.
Twenty seconds into it they found themselves trailing 7-0 after a 70 yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower stunned the raucous Who Dat Nation Superdome crowd into nervous silence.
The Saints struck back with three consecutive touchdowns in 6:36 to forge a 21-7 lead. Arizona scored another touchdown early in the second quarter to narrow the Saints lead to 21-14, but a 44 yard bomb to Devery Henderson followed up by a two yard pass to Marques Colston broke the game open.
Reggie Bush added to an already stellar day with a third quarter 83 yard punt return for a touchdown to close out the scoring. Bush had 84 yards and a touchdown rushing, 24 yards receiving and 109 yards on three punt returns.
Ever since coach Sean Payton arrived in New Orleans, the Saints have cast aside their lovable losers image and have been building toward elite NFL team level status. The Saints are one of five NFL teams who have never played in the Super Bowl, and this win put them one step closer to earning a trip to Miami and scratching their names off that list.
I'm in Kentucky's state capital and three hours into an all day summit meeting that commenced at 9 AM EST.
We're discussing legislative strategies for the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly session which has already started, defensive strategies against anti-GLBT laws the right wing yahoos will be trying to pass and other issues of interest to the progressive coalition in the state.
Should be an interesting day before it ends at 5 PM, and yeah, I made sure I got my beauty sleep.
I am a huge fan of her music, and today is the birthday of Helen Folasade Adu, who was born on this date in 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria.
I love me some Sade, but wish she'd record and tour more often. I've had the pleasure of seeing her in concert, and even though that was back last century (1988) still haven't forgotten it.
A Sade CD release these days is an event almost as rare as sightings of Halley's Comet, but when she puts it out, you won't be disappointed.
I am definitely looking forward to the latest Sade CD when it gets released in April, and have been in love with its first single, Soldier of Love.
Happy Birthday Sade! May you have many more, and release a few more CD's this decade as well.
When I was matriculating in college, every Wednesday and Friday for several weeks during the fall and spring semesters we UH Cougars would get to see the probates line up at noon in front of the UC.
There would be the usual testosterone fueled antics of the frats as they verbally dissed their brother orgs and get into the occasion pushing and shoving match. The ladies would be standing at perfectly coiffed attention in matching outfits in their various sorority colors as a gathered crowd of Greek and non Greek peeps watched the fun and festivities.
As I sat there as part of that gathered crowd focusing on the sisters, I felt a mix of emotions ranging from sadness to jealously because I was in the wrong body at the time for membership.
Well, now that the Phenomenal Transwoman has been honestly living her life for the past 16 years, the 102nd anniversary of the founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. has me pondering what would happen if I were given the honor of being extended an invitation to join one of those sororities.
After falling over in shock because it happened, then the serious questions would kick in related to the historic gravity of the situation.
As of this writing I'm not aware of any open transwoman members of a BGL sorority. I'm not aware if there have been any discussions at the organizational or the National Pan-Hellenic Council level on the parameters for admitting transpeople to BGLO organizations.
But with transpeople transitioning as early as elementary and middle school, sooner or later what I'm talking about here will come to pass.
Because of the scrutiny that I (or any first transperson) would get inside and outside the organization I'd have to ask myself do I not only want it bad enough, do I have the intestinal fortitude and the will to make it happen?
If I can deal with a gender transition, pledging would seem anticlimactic compared to that. But then again, I'd have to go through it to know for certain how difficult it is to be able to honestly make that comparison.
I'd be doing so knowing that a microscope would be on me in the BGL sorority world, that particular organization, that particular chapter and inside the chapter of that org who extended me the invitation to join.
I'd come in knowing that I would have to be better than the average incoming pledge, be willing to accept that challenge, and know that how well I do will determine whether future transpeople would follow in my footsteps.
BGL sororities are moving into their second century of service to our community. They have grown to be international organizations with over a half million women as members encompassing a wide spectrum of fields and legions of trailblazing women. I would want to be a compliment to that tradition of excellence, not a detriment to it.
BGL sororities have welcomed women of different ethnic backgrounds into their ranks for over 50 years, and it's a matter of time before transwomen who are down with what these organizations stand for are permitted to join.
So would Moni join a sorority if one extended her an invitation to join?
Today is what would have been the 81st birthday, for the greatest American we have ever produced as a people, the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We take the time on the day of the birth of our 'Drum major for Justice' to reflect on his wonderful legacy. You are definitely missed and your words will live on to inspire future generations of human beings to do great things.
So now that we've taken the time to remember a great American, let's get to the nettlesome task of searching for the fools spouting jibber jabber as our mascot would say.
We had a bumper crop of fools springing up this week including our 2009 Shut Up Fool! of the Year Award winner Michael Steele. Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter.
It was a tough decision, but I gave it this week to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for this comment:
“It’s such a cynical business, and most of the people in the business are full of shit and phonies, but I was real, man—and am real. This guy, he was catapulted in on hope and change, what we hope the guy is. What the fuck? Everything he’s saying’s on the teleprompter. I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived. I saw it all growing up.”
You wish you could be Barack Obama, but tragically, you're not. You're more like Navin Johnson.
Today is the 102nd anniversary of the founding of the first African American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
It was founded on the campus of Howard University on January 15, 1908 by nine students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. From those humble beginnings it has grown to an international organization headquartered in Chicago with over 900 chapters in the United States and several other nations.
The over 250,000 college educated women that make up its ranks include women in my own family and the current First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt speaks to the fact that the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc come from many ethnic backgrounds. There's also a long and distinguished list of AKA women who have been or are history making trailblazers in many fields of endeavor.
Congratulations AKA on reaching another anniversary year in your second century of service to all mankind.
With all the fuss over the Leno vs Conan controversy, and I'm not a big fan of either one, it reminded me that January 3, 1989 was the first broadcast of my standard for late night shows, The ArsenioHall Show.
Late night shows haven't been the same to me since his went off the air.
Boy the competition for this week' TransGriot Shut Up Fool! Award just got a little tighter.
The entire planet is focused on expeditiously getting help to the people of Haiti following a devastating 7.0 earthquake and once again Marion 'Pat' Robertson opens mouth and inserts foot in the wake of a natural disaster.
Pat went off on a bizarre tangent over the successful slave rebellion that ejected the French and led to Haiti's independence during his 700 Club broadcast.
"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. "They (Haitians) were under the heel of the French...and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you'...and so, the devil said 'Okay, it's a deal' and kicked the French out," Robertson said.
During an earlier report with a reporter for Robertson's CBN News, the televangelist questioned whether the earthquake in Haiti was a "blessing in disguise."
Haiti's Ambassador to the United States Raymond Joseph verbally pimp slapped Robertson and gave his clueless behind a history lesson he sorely needed when he appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show to discuss the situation in his country.
In addition to being a racist fool wallowing in vanilla flavored privilege, you've shown yourself to be ignorant of history as well. Haiti is the world oldest Black republic and the second oldest in the Western Hemisphere after the United States.
One of the causes of Haiti's poverty is because the Southern slaveholders didn't want a repeat of Haiti's successful revolt on US territory and sought to make life difficult for the nascent nation. France forced Haiti to pay crushing reparations in exchange for diplomatic recognition.
Speaking of recognition, because of Southern opposition the United States didn't extend diplomatic recognition of Haiti until 1862, a year after the Southern states jumped off the Civil War and seceded from the Union.
There's no truth to the rumor that President Obama proclaimed Pat's mouth a disaster area, but I suggest that Pat change the name of his show to the more apropos title of the 666 Club.
Was shocked to hear as I tuned in to the TJMS that Teddy Pendergrass, one of my favorite soul singers of the 70's and early 80's died Wednesday in his hometown of Philadelphia at age 59 after a long illness.
Teddy was born in Philadelphia on March 26, 1950 and started out his music career as a drummer. It wasn't long before we began hearing that sexy, powerful baritone voice on Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes songs such as their 1972 Number One hit 'If You Don't Know Me by Now'.
Teddy left the group to go solo and had a string of hits such as "I Don't Love You Anymore', 'Love THO', 'Turn out The Lights' and 'Close The Door'.
Pendergrass had a string of 10 consecutive platinum albums while receiving several Grammy nominations, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award and an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978.
For the brothers of the late 70's, if you wanted some romantic attention from the ladies, Teddy Pendergrass' music or concert tickets became a requirement for setting the proper romantic mood. Teddy's music is probably responsible for many of the people who were born in the late 70's and early 80's being here.
Sisters back in the day loved them some Teddy and the 'Teddy Bear' loved them back. Teddy was one of the first artists to have 'For Ladies Only' concert tours that were sold out affairs.
I still chuckle about a 1980 Kool Jazz Festival I attended at the Dome with my uncle, brother and mom in which Rick James and Teddy were the highlight acts. We had floor seats twenty rows from the rotating stage, and five minutes into Teddy's set, two sexy sisters sweetly asked my uncle if they could borrow his binoculars because in their words, they wanted to see if Teddy had a big package.
As my Uncle Leo chuckled and handed over his binoculars, the stage rotated back in our direction. The first sister squealed in delight as her homegirl said 'Ooh girl, lemme see, lemme see' as panties started flying toward the stage.
In 1982 as Teddy's career was at its apex with him becoming an international superstar and sex symbol, Pendergrass and passenger Tenika Watson were involved in a near fatal Philadelphia car accident that left him paralyzed.
But Pendergrass returned to the studio in 1984 to record an album. That album featured a song in which a young female singer got her first recording opportunity.
That singer's name was Whitney Houston. Wonder what happened to her?
Teddy also did a lot of work through his Teddy Pendergrass Alliance founded in 1998 to help people suffering from spinal cord injuries.
But my feelings about Teddy are echoed by his son Teddy Pendergrass II.
"To all his fans who loved his music, thank you. He will live on through his music."
That he will. But another one of the legendary R&B singers has passed on.
The day we Battlestar fans have been waiting for since our fave series found our Earth 150,000 years ago and went out on top in the ratings after four seasons is fast approaching.
Caprica, the prequel series for Battlestar Galactica will finally start Friday, January 22.
While waiting for Caprica to start we BSG junkies have been teased with trailers and given a taste of Caprica thanks to last year's miniseries.
While there are some elements that are familiar to BSG viewers, this prequel takes place 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica in a technologically advanced world similar to our own planet.
The other thing that's an integral part of this series is the dawn of the Cylons weaved into the stories of two families, the Graystones and the Adamas.
And while we do have a teenage William Adama, the future commander of the Battlestar Galactica appearing in this series, the other characters are specific to this series and this time period in the BSG storyline.
It's being produced by Ronald Moore and David Eick, the same team that brought us BSG as well.
In any case, looking forward to finally getting the chance to watch intelligently written TV again and being back in the BSG universe even though we know how this story is going to play out.
The long suffering but proud nation of Haiti has taken another blow as it was hit by the worst earthquake in 200 years.
The magnitude 7.0 quake was centered only 10 miles west of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince and was only 5 miles deep according to the Unites States Geological Survey. The USGS also stated it was the worst quake in what is now Haiti since 1770.
Port-au-Prince is home to 2 million residents, and the quake severely damaged or crushed thousands of buildings ranging from homes, schools and humble shacks to the Presidential Palace and the building serving as the headquarters for the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
The quake was felt in the neighboring Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and in eastern Cuba as well. Neither of those areas reported any major damage.
The quake made communications difficult inside the country and has the 4 million Haitians who live abroad justifiably concerned about friends and family back home.
Musician Wyclef Jean is already headed to Haiti on a relief mission according to the Tom Joyner Morning Show, while award winning author Edwidge Danticat gathered friends and family at her Miami home and turned it into a defacto command center.
"Some people are online, some are watching CNN, some are listening to Haitian radio," she said late Tuesday night. "There's a huge sense of helplessness about it. You want to go there, but you just have to wait. I think the hardest part is the lack of information."
Canada's Governor General Michaelle Jean, who was born in Port-au-Prince, issued this statement:
I am following, with great attention and concern, the emerging reports regarding the earthquake that struck Haiti with force, and which was felt elsewhere in the region.
This natural disaster has hit a country with an extremely fragile infrastructure, where many buildings are already unstable, and where living conditions are often very difficult. I fear for its people.
I would like all Haitians to know that they are not alone and that the people of Canada will respond to this emergency.
President Obama in a statement issued moments ago said the United States will help in any way possible. "I have directed my administration to respond with a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives."
"The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine — that Haitians will need in the coming days," he said.
The people of Haiti will not only need our help in whatever way possible to recover from this tragedy, they need our prayers as well.
Today is Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King Day, the holiday in the States in which we remember our 'Drum Major For Justice' and the remarkable but all too brief life of as Tavis Smiley called him, one of the greatest Americans we have ever produced as a people.
