Thursday Open Thread- Denzel Washington Week

Posted on January 22, 2015 by rikyrah

Denzel week continues.

Denzel in his award winning roles.

Denzel the hurricane

Denzel Washington-33

Pictured: Denzel Washington (Troy Maxson) & Viola Davis (Rose)

Denzel Washington-16

Denzel Washington-17

Denzel Washington-18

Denzel Washington-19

Denzel Washington-20

Denzel Washington-21

Denzel Washington-22

Denzel Washington-23

Denzel Washington-24

And the role for which he should have won every award possible: Malcolm X

Denzel malcolm x

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87 Responses to Thursday Open Thread- Denzel Washington Week

  2. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 9:08 pm

    you ever know bad news, but just don’t think it’s your business to tell?

    I made the decision not to tell, even though I’m madder than a mofo about it.

    tired of people being stupid and put themselves in bad positions.

    Reply
  3. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    Whoa, Find Out Which Actor Almost Landed Terrence Howard’s Role in Empire
    by TIERNEY BRICKER

    Empire almost had a different leader.

    Since its debut two weeks ago, the Fox hip-hop drama has become a cultural phenomenon, and has delivered the network its highest rating for a new series in years. (The network has already renewed it for a second season!) But the central role of Lucious Lyons almost went to someone other than Terrence Howard. And it’s a big name!
    And during the show’s panel at the 2015 Winter TCA Press Tour, creator, executive producer and director Lee Daniels revealed the actor he originally approached to take on the role of the hip hop mogul.

    Wesley Snipes.
    Yes, really!

    So when did he change his mind? When leading lady (and breakout star) Taraji P. Henson suggested (or kind of demanded!) Howard, her Hustle & Flow co-star, for the role of her character Cookie’s ex-husband.

    “Taraji says, I really want to do this role with Terrence Howard,’ and I was like, ‘You ain’t got the job yet,'” Daniels recalled. “And then, I was like, ‘Danny [Strong], that’s Cookie!'”

    Henson continued, “I was like, ‘Lee, this is an incredible project. I think Cookie is amazing. I would love to play her. If you can get Terrence, I’m all about it. If not, good luck with the project!'”

    http://www.eonline.com/news/615935/whoa-find-out-which-actor-almost-landed-terrence-howard-s-role-in-empire

    Reply
  4. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:32 pm

    Watch: Father Takes to YouTube to Stop Bullying of Adopted African-American Daughter
    Brad Knudson posted an emotional YouTube video after he learned that his daughter had been called a “n–ger” by classmates

    BY: STEPHEN A. CROCKETT JR.
    Posted: Jan. 22 2015 8:39 AM

    The father of two children who allegedly bullied another child has lost his job after the bullied child’s father posted an emotional YouTube video noting how both the children and their father reportedly called him and his daughter “n–ger.”

    Confused? Follow me.

    Brad Knudson and his wife adopted an African-American girl 11 years ago. On New Year’s Eve, his now-eighth-grade daughter, Dierdra, was at her Prior Lake, Minn., home taking Snapchats and sending them to friends when two kids started sending racist, derogatory messages to her. She told her dad, who, after several failed attempts to reach the parents of the children bullying his daughter, went to the police. The police coordinated a phone-number exchange between the parents, and Knudson thought the problem was close to being resolved.

    After a few conversations with the reported bullies’ father, Knudson took to YouTube to voice his disbelief. In a nearly six-minute-long video, Knudson plays the children’s Snapchat in which they call Dierdra a “slut” and “n–ger,” and then he plays a voicemail from the children’s father, Deron Puro, during which he allegedly calls Knudson a “n–ger lover” and “f-g.”

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/01/watch_father_takes_to_youtube_to_stop_bullying_of_adopted_african_american.html?wpisrc=mostpopular

    http://youtu.be/9levnXg2q3g

    Reply
  5. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:16 pm

    ONLY 12 WAYS?

    ……………

    12 Ways ‘Citizens United’ Changed Politics

    January 22, 2015

    by Michael Beckel and Jared Bennett

    This story was originally published by The Center for Public Integrity, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, DC.

    Five years ago this week, in a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruledcorporations and unions could spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for or against political candidates.

    The court declared that spending by labor unions and companies — including certain types of nonprofit corporations — did “not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption” so long as it was not done in concert or coordination with a political candidate’s own campaign.

    While it is still illegal for corporations and labor unions to give money directly to candidates for federal office, that ruling, known as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, has dramatically reshaped the political landscape for federal and state elections.

    Among the most significant developments: A surge of political “dark money” — secret cash that opaque nonprofit organizations funnel into US elections. Such groups do not publicly disclose their donors.

    Here are a dozen stories from the Center for Public Integrity that illuminate howCitizens United has changed politics.

    1. Clinton could become the top Citizens United beneficiary

    http://billmoyers.com/2015/01/22/12-ways-citizens-united-changed-politics/

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    From screaming and jumping with my mom all the way to the West Wing, it’s been quite the journey!

    http://youtu.be/nn22mn_HwgU

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:53 pm

    T @truthrose1
    @PragObots what has changed in #ferguson since the”new civil rights movement” got all activated?

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Gospel World Pays Tribute Andraé Crouch At Funeral Service [VIDEO]
    Comments: 2 | Leave A Comment
    Jan 21, 2015 By Angela Bronner Helm

    A constellation of stars from the holy and secular world came out to pay homage to the supremely talented gospel giant Andraé Crouch, who was laid to rest at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ on Wednesday. Crouch was a singer, songwriter, conductor, arranger, and choir director who earned the title “father of modern gospel music.”
    SEE ALSO: Gospel Greats Celebrate The Life Of Andraé Crouch
    Bishop Kenneth Ulmer officiated the services and Pastor Marvin Winans gave the eulogy, flanked by a veritable who’s who of the gospel world, according to Christian Today, including:
    Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dr. Bobby Jones, Kirk Franklin, CeCe Winans, BeBe Winans, Shirley Ceasar, Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Ledisi, Bryan Duncan, Yolanda Adams, Kurt Carr, Donald Lawrence, Karen Clark-Sheard, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Kim Burrell, Byron Cage, Edwin Hawkins, Lynette Hawkins-Stephens, David and Nicole Binion, Erica Campbell, Smokey Norful, Richard Smallwood, Israel Houghton, Tata Vega and an 80-voice choir. Members of the choir have sang with Crouch throughout the years and are flying in from all over the world for the funeral.

    The funeral also featured video tributes by Bishop T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, Michael W. Smith, The Pointer Sisters, Bill Gaither, The Winans Family, Bishop Clarence McClendon and Bishop Noel Jones.

    On Tuesday, a memorial service was held at the same venue, where hundereds of fans, Crouch’s contemporaires, and celebrities including Prince, Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Tyler Perry, Queen Latifah, and siblings Marvin and BeBe Winans, came to pay their repects.

    http://newsone.com/3083340/andrae-crouch-funeral/

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:22 pm

    Only African American on the St. Louis County Board of Elections Gets Removed
    Jan 22, 2015 By NewsOne Staff

    The racial tensions in Ferguson following the death of Michael Brown are spilling over in to politics. The only African American on the St. Louis County Board of Elections has been removed. Former State SenatorRita Days (pictured center), who served as the director of the St. Louis County Board of Elections, was recently removed from her position.

    Days was appointed four years ago by Former County ExecutiveCharlie Dooley, who is African American. The newly elected St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, who happens to be White, has removed her from the board of elections. Although Stenger is denying that he had Days removed, other local politicians believe that he is the reason that she is no longer serving on the board. “When she was put in to this position, many people were upset that an African American was put in a position dealing with elections. That was about four years ago.

    Charlie Dooley made several appointments of African Americans in important positions, which was an incredible move going against tradition which in St. Louis County tradition has been defined by having brothers and uncles and sons who are put in to certain positions… without opening up opportunity to women and to minorities,” said State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal. “Senator Days is the only African American who has been on the Board of Elections for the last four years. The environment that we are in right now is one of distrust of state government of local government.”

    http://newsone.com/3083419/rita-days-st-louis/

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    MLK estate drops lawsuit against King Center over licensing
    By KATE BRUMBACK Jan. 22, 2015 5:13 PM EST

    ATLANTA (AP) — With the dismissal of one of two lawsuits that effectively pitted them against each other, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s children took a step Thursday toward resolving the issues that have divided them in recent years.

    The Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc. on Thursday voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit it had filed in August 2013 against the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Dexter Scott King is president and CEO of the estate and Martin Luther King III is chairman of the board. Their sister, the Rev. Bernice King, is CEO of the King Center.

    The estate said in its suit that it had granted the King Center a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use King’s name, likeness and image and to publicly exhibit his writings and spoken words. But an audit done in April 2013 revealed that artifacts were being held in unsafe and unsecure conditions and that the terms of the licensing agreement had been violated, the suit said. The suit sought to have the estate’s property returned safely.

    The case had been set for a bench trial next week.

    Dexter said in an emailed statement Thursday that he instructed the estate’s lawyers to withdraw the lawsuit because it appeared his brother, Martin, had had a recent change of heart. The dismissal of the lawsuit is a show of good faith as the siblings move to resolve the issues at stake outside the courtroom, Dexter said.

    “I understand my brother’s apprehension days before a public trial, and I share those concerns,” he said. “None of us want to see the legacy of my parents, or our dysfunction, out on public display.”

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a1c25c7fdec749b582ea69f8574d4741/mlk-estate-drops-lawsuit-against-king-center-over-licensing

    Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:18 pm

    CNN International ✔ @cnni
    Follow
    Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud has died, announcement on #Saudi state TV says. He was 90.
    5:23 PM – 22 Jan 2015

    Reply
  16. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 22, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    The YouTube Interview with President Obama

    Reply
  17. SouthernGirl2 says:
    January 22, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    Jim Crow won’t DIE!

    GOP rep.: Keep minimum wage low ‘for minorities’ who aren’t worth more than $7 an hour

    Rep. Tom McClintock

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/gop-rep-keep-minimum-wage-low-for-minorities-who-arent-worth-more-than-7-an-hour/#.VMFPKUKHrVE.twitter

    California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock said on Thursday that the minimum wage should not be raised because low pay was necessary for minorities and other unskilled workers who were not worth more than $7 an hour.

    During an appearance on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, host Greta Brawner asked McClintock if he could get behind a presidential candidate like Mitt Romney, who is one of an increasing number of Republicans saying that the minimum wage should be at least $10.10 an hour.

    But McClintock argued that raising the minimum wage would “rip the first rung in the ladder of opportunity for teenagers, for minorities, for people who are trying to get into the job market for their first job.”

    Reply
  18. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    have no sympathy for these folks
    they continue to vote for the GOP
    …………

    Life in the Sickest Town in America
    I drove from one of the healthiest counties in the country to the least-healthy, both in the same state. Here’s what I learned about work, well-being, and happiness.
    Olga Khazan
    JANUARY 22, 2015

    Donald Rose has no teeth, but that’s not his biggest problem. A camouflage hat droops over his ancient, wire-framed glasses. He’s only 43, but he looks much older.

    I met him one day in October as he sat on a tan metal folding chair in the hallway of Riverview School, one of the few schools—few buildings, really—in the coal-mining town of Grundy, Virginia. That day it was the site of a free clinic, the Remote Area Medical. Rose was there to get new glasses—he’s on Medicare, which doesn’t cover most vision services.

    Remote Area Medical was founded in 1985 by Stan Brock, a 79-year-old Brit who wears a tan Air-Force-style uniform and formerly hosted a nature TV show called Wild Kingdom. Even after he spent time in the wilds of Guyana, Brock came to the conclusion that poor Americans needed access to medical care about as badly as the Guyanese did. Now Remote Area Medical holds 20 or so packed clinics all over the country each year, providing free checkups and services to low-income families who pour in from around the region.

    When I pulled into the school parking lot, someone was sleeping in the small yellow car in the next space, fast-food wrappers spread out on the dashboard. Inside, the clinic’s patrons looked more or less able-bodied. Most of the women were overweight, and the majority of the people I talked to were missing some of their teeth. But they were walking and talking, or shuffling patiently along the beige halls as they waited for their names to be called. There weren’t a lot of crutches and wheelchairs.

    Yet many of the people in the surrounding county, Buchanan, derive their income from Social Security Disability Insurance, the government program for people who are deemed unfit for work because of permanent physical or mental wounds. Along with neighboring counties, Buchanan has one of the highest percentages of adult disability recipients in the nation, according to a 2014 analysis by the Urban Institute’s Stephan Lindner. Nearly 20 percent of the area’s adult residents received government SSDI benefits in 2011, the most recent year Lindner was able to analyze.

    According to Lindner’s calculations, five of the 10 counties that have the most people on disability are in Virginia—and so are four of the lowest, making the state an emblem of how wealth and work determine health and well-being. Six hours to the north, in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties, just one out of every hundred adults draws SSDI benefits. But Buchanan county is home to a shadow economy of maimed workers, eking out a living the only way they can—by joining the nation’s increasingly sizable disability rolls. “On certain days of the month you stay away from the post office,” says Priscilla Harris, a professor who teaches at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, “because that’s when the disability checks are coming in.”

    http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/01/life-in-the-sickest-town-in-america/384718/

    Reply
  19. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    Barack Obama (and Family)’s Proudest Moments of Shade

    Can we come together on both sides of the aisle and admit that Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and their kids are likely the most intentionally funny people ever to inhabit the White House? I don’t mean to disparage Lyndon Johnson’s deftness with a one-liner, but this family clearly enjoys a quip, a retort, and a withering glance. Let’s count up their saucier, shadier moments…

    http://www.hitfix.com/comedy/barack-obama-and-familys-proudest-moments-of-shade#ELZeRUk5lgjGvKCg.99

    Reply
  20. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    The Patriots should be disqualified from the Super Bowl
    By: CHRIS CHASE January 21, 2015 10:06 am ET

    Cheat on a test in school? You fail, no questions asked.

    Cheat on your taxes, the IRS will find you. It won’t be pretty.

    Cheat on a World Cup bid and, well, you probably get awarded that World Cup, but that’s neither here nor there.

    The New England Patriots cheated in the AFC championship. As such, the team should be disqualified from the Super Bowl.

    http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/01/patriots-deflate-ball-super-bowl-disqualified-penalties-sanctions

    Reply
  21. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Larry Wilmore Loved Obama’s SOTU: ‘He Doesn’t Give a F*ck!’
    11:25 am, January 22nd, 2015

    http://youtu.be/iokz39Y2wnA

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    Ohio gov backs Medicaid expansion, budget amendment
    3:41 p.m. MST January 21, 2015

    HELENA – Ohio Gov. John Kasich told a small group of Montana legislative Republicans they should not oppose expansion of Medicaid on the basis of “strict ideology.”

    “I gotta tell you, turning down your money back to Montana on an ideological basis, when people can lose their lives because they get no help, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” Kasich told Republican lawmakers.

    Kasich, a possible 2016 Republican presidential contender, is touring state legislatures across the West to drum up support for a constitutional convention to modify the U.S. Constitution to include a balanced budget amendment.

    At a closed-door gathering of Legislative Republicans at the Montana Capitol, Kasich took questions from GOP lawmakers about his balanced budget amendment plan.

    However, the discussion quickly turned into a spirited party debate about Medicaid expansion when Sen. Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, challenged Kasich on the Ohio governor’s support for Medicaid expansion in his home state.

    http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/politics/2015/01/21/ohio-gov-backs-medicaid-expansion-budget-amendment/22128175/

    Reply
  25. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    rant from isonprize:

    isonprize • 14 minutes ago
    Just did a Coalition on Human Needs conference call that is spelling out the hatefulness that is in the Re-thug-lican Federal Budget. Ryan really was/is a crazy eyed, granny starver!! And Boehner has no spine at all. McConnell is portrayed as the Groundhog coming out of a hole!! LOLOL WE NEED TO PLAY WHACK-A-MOLE and WIN!!!

    Non-defense spending (SNAP, SS disability insurance, Education, Earned Income Tax Credit, Childcare Tax Credit, etc.) and Medicaid is either cut, flat-lined, or structure change (shift from Feds to States) to the point of near destruction. The Medicaid stuff directly affects ACA (Obamacare) and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program).

    These people are MEAN, EVIL, NO GOOD, DIRTY, RACIST, HATEFUL BASTARDS!! In addition, they HATE poor white people!

    ALEC is EVIL incarnate. They are trying to destroy Medicaid at the state level. They are using the states to set up for a Constitutional Convention to call for balanced budgets. If they get 34 states to agree, a Constitutional Convention must be held. They are trying to change the Constitution to make this “non-defense” spending unconstitutional.

    Dems need to get their ISHT together and advertise WHAT NOT VOTING REALLY MEANS!!! They should break these cuts down by state so people can see how these budget issues affect their specific situations. Yes, PBO will veto some of this crazy isht, but FOLKS NEED TO RECOGNIZE that VOTING MATTERS!!!

    We need to be VERY CLEAR. We need to work on spineless Dems. Re-thugs need Dems to pass this ISHT. And they definitely need Dems to over-ride a PBO veto. Don’t accept the line that there is “no difference” between parties. We might have some weasels Dems, but EVERY SINGLE ONE of these RE-THUG Senators and Reps are EVIL. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!!

    WE MUST SUPPORT Nancy Pelosi (SMASH!!) to keep these Dems together to block foolishness. OR if foolishness gets to PBO and he vetoes, Dems must stick together to sustain PBOs vetoes.

    THIS IS WHY PBO keeps saying “good things happen in the 4th quarter”

    /rant off.

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 1:31 pm

    01/22/15 09:11 AMhttp://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/house-gop-fumbles-abortion-fiasco

    House GOP fumbles abortion fiasco
    By Steve Benen
    With their largest majority in generations, House Republicans are ostensibly in a position to pass whatever they please. Sure, most of their top priorities will struggle to clear Democratic filibusters in the Senate, and they stand little chance of earning President Obama’s signature, but with a whopping 246 members, party leaders know a simple truth: what the House GOP wants and House GOP can pass.

    At least, that’s the way is seems. If you missed Rachel’s reporting on this last night, House Republican leaders were forced to pull a proposed abortion ban that had been scheduled for a floor vote today.
    House Republicans are scrapping their plans to consider a controversial anti-abortion bill Thursday after a group within the GOP conference raised objections.

    A senior GOP leadership aide tells NBC they were “not quite ready” to go forward with the Pain-Capable Abortion bill after both men and women pushed back on the bill.
    The phrase “not quite ready” makes it seem like Republicans were close to success, but ran short on time. For those who’ve followed the process closely, however, this effort to downplay a fiasco isn’t persuasive at all.

    Remember, House GOP leaders have worked on this plan for quite a while: they would bring up a 20-week abortion ban, months in the making, and pass it on the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling – as a reward of sorts for the abortion protesters who gather annually in Washington for the “March for Life.”

    Reply
  31. Ametia says:
    January 22, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    I was just in Nairobi, Kenya last month

    Police Fire Tear Gas On Kenyan Kids Protecting A Soccer Field
    January 22, 2015 3:34 AM ET

    Listen here:
    http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=378873364&m=379010328

    Hundreds of elementary schools were protesting the illegal seizure of their playground by a private developer in Nairobi, Kenya, when police fired tear gas into the crowd.

    The incident sparked outrage across the city — and on social media, where Kenyans tweeted with the hashtag #OccupyPlayGround.

    But the shocking images and videos of the ordeal provoked a surprisingly proactive response. In the end, these Kenyan kids did what ordinary Kenyans are rarely able to do: defend disappearing public space.

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2015/01/22/378873364/police-fire-tear-gas-on-kenyan-kids-protecting-a-soccer-field

    Reply
  32. Ametia says:
    January 22, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    A federal investigation has not found enough evidence to charge Darren Wilson with the federal crime of depriving Michael Brown of his civil rights, according to multiple officials.

    http://www.cnn.com/

    Reply
  33. Ametia says:
    January 22, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    LOL KARMA comes knocking quickly for Boehner-Netanyahoo conspiring to undermine POTUS.

    Reply
  34. Ametia says:
    January 22, 2015 at 11:46 am

    SG2, et.al, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this observation

    Thursday, January 22, 2015
    “Immigrants and Native Americans”
    Smartypants

    President Obama not only acknowledged the existence of Native Americans, he is the first one I’ve seen who took it to a whole new level. Let’s break down the pairings he introduced.
    •man and woman
    •young and old
    •black and white, Latino, Asian
    •immigrant, Native American
    •gay, straight
    •Americans with mental illness or physical disability

    Rather that listing black and white, Latino, Asian and Native American – which is what most people do when they are being inclusive – he introduced the pairing of immigrant and Native American. In other words, we’re all either an immigrant (by choice or slavery) to this country or Native American.

    http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/01/immigrants-and-native-americans.html

    Reply
  35. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    January 22, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Shaun King @ShaunKing · 2h 2 hours ago
    “3 states make MLK Day a joint holiday with Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Yeah, for real.”

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/22/1359443/-Three-states-make-MLK-Day-a-joint-holiday-with-Confederate-General-Robert-E-Lee …

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:29 am

    Monday, Jan 19, 2015 06:00 PM CST
    I’m tired of suppressing myself to get along with white people

    I pocket my black rage, and swap “hey girl” for hello. But in making others comfortable, I’m making myself sick
    Priscilla Ward

    I met my new roommates on Craigslist. Two white, one Chinese. Together we represented Portland, Florida, China and (with me) D.C., and as we moved into our apartment in Bed-Stuy last fall, I was excited for the potential of cross-cultural exchange.

    We had a get-to-know you powwow on the rooftop. We talked about ourselves, what brought us to New York. It was a warm evening in September, a couple of weeks after Michael Brown was shot, and somewhere in the mix I brought up Ferguson, hoping to spark a “conscious conversation.” Then it happened. The nightmarish response.

    “What’s happening in Ferguson?” one of my white roommates asked. “I heard some kid got shot or something like that.”

    The words clamored in my ears. How could he not know? Weren’t his Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds flooded with opinions and hashtags? I’m sure he meant nothing by his statement. We’re all ill-informed from time to time. But as I stood there, awkwardly not saying a word — while hundreds of words ran through my head — it was a reminder of how much I would have to suppress in order to get along with my white male roommates in our tiny four-bedroom apartment. This place I would call my home for a year.

    It hasn’t always been like this for me. I’m a girl with a fro, raised in the place once known as “Chocolate City.” I grew up part of a black nuclear family, was home-schooled, then became part of of the mini-Historic Black College Experience at Temple University. After arriving in New York, I became an intern at Essence, a magazine so safe I likened my boss to an aunt. Those settings were as comfortable as my grandma’s cooking on any given Sunday.

    I longed to crawl back to my tiny black universe. A place where I could create a sense of peace, identity and acceptance, a place where I could sit there, trying to untangle my fro and make sense of what it means to be an African-American woman in this country, rehashing our history while facing present pain. But life happens, and most of us can’t stay in our own utopias forever.

    Now I faced a new reality. The brief conversation on the roof that hot September night lasted much longer in my head. I sent myself into a 200-year-old tizzy, reckoning with outdated ideas on race, tampering with prejudice and stereotypes. I became enslaved by my emotions.

    ………………

    I wanted my home to be a refuge, a place where I could be wretched when I wanted, walk around in my bonnet, fry chicken and sing real loud to Aretha Franklin’s R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Suppressing my blackness every day is exhausting. Back at Essence, we used “sister girl language,” but since then, I’d faced tougher environments. I briefly worked at a (now-defunct) women’s fashion website, where I was one of the only black people. I would pitch ideas that mattered to me, like how to do natural hair, only to see them ignored, shuffled to the side or diluted like apple juice in order to be made palatable to mainstream “whiteness.”

    I was tired of catering to everyone else’s comforts. How much of my day-to-day experiences as a black woman do I have to filter? I replace “hey girl” with boring hellos. I eat my leftover fried chicken outside the office. In order to have some common point of identifiable communication, I pretend to care about Taylor Swift, or white movie stars on their I’ve-lost-count remarriages and those other white pop stars I could not care less about. “Oh yeah, she’s cute,” I tell them. “Yeah, that’s cool.”

    As summer turned to fall and then winter, I continued to be dumbfounded at the way, for some white people, the killing of Michael Brown just didn’t resonate. They didn’t feel the need to pay attention. I guess some white people do act “real vanilla” and only understand the realities of their own universe. Like running around drunk in Santa costumes in the name of SantaCon while “The Millions March NYC” launches in response to the non-indictment verdicts. That’s real.

    In December, when the Eric Garner verdict came out, I became loaded down with more emotional baggage than I could conceal. I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t care if I wasn’t mixing with others. I found my little black planet at work. I went over to my black boss and talked real low and real brief about how disturbing this all was. I grabbed one of my home girls I work with. We took to the streets to protest right outside my job. I hoped no one would see me and think something misguided.

    Walking home that night, I unleashed all my tears. I wanted to reach out and hug a black man. Before I arrived at my apartment, I dried off my face as though nothing happened. My white male roommate asked me about the protest; I gave him a non-detailed response. I said something like, “I’m really upset, but it was a good way for me to get those feelings out.” I couldn’t handle revealing too much; I wanted to avoid a loaded conversation. I took a deep breath and exhaled, closed my bedroom door, picked up the phone, and spoke in whispers about how racist these non-indictments were to my parents, and to my socially conscious white and black friends.

    These non-indictments reiterated what I’m up against every single day: the unintentional ignorance of white people. But I was also aware of my willingness to put away my justified “black rage” in order to ensure that my interactions with white people remain comfortable. And the more I hid it, the more crazed I became. By the time my birthday rolled around, in December, I was cooped up in my bed, without an appetite, my fro needing a good deep conditioner. I was making myself sick.

    http://www.salon.com/2015/01/20/im_tired_of_suppressing_myself_to_get_along_with_white_people/

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:11 am

    Fair Housing Act debated by Supreme Court

    Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, talks with Rachel Maddow about the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the Fair Housing Act, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation, and fears and expectations for the outcome of the case.

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/fair-housing-act-debated-by-supreme-court-387459651893

    Reply
  43. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:10 am

    GOP women reject abortion bill, end debate
    Rachel Maddow relays breaking news that House Republicans have abruptly dropped plans to debate a federal ban on abortion after 20-weeks after women in the party raised objections.

    http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/gop-women-reject-abortion-bill–end-debate-387450947755

    Reply
  44. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:07 am

    The 50 Healthiest Snacks

    Snacks can be a dieter’s best friend, if you choose the right ones. The list below offers 50 between-meal bites that will help you stay slim and satisfied. Those marked with an * contain protein, fiber, calcium or antioxidants to keep your body at its best. The rest will help fend off a craving without a lot of added fat, sugar or calories. No matter what you choose, you’ll lose (weight, that is

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/the-50-healthiest-snacks/ss-AA8cRkZ?ocid=HPCDHP

    Reply
  46. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:03 am

    FBI: NY Assembly speaker arrested, to appear in court later
    Jan. 22, 2015 8:25 AM EST

    New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has been one of the most powerful men in Albany for more than two decades, was arrested Thursday.

    FBI spokesman Peter Donald confirmed the 70-year-old Silver was taken into custody around 8 a.m. at FBI headquarters in New York City, but he declined to discuss the charges. Silver was expected to make a court appearance later Thursday, and the U.S. attorney’s office was expected to hold a news conference to discuss the case.

    Silver’s spokesman Michael Whyland declined to comment before the arrest.
    The arrest sent shock waves through New York’s Capitol as a new legislative session has begun, and it came just a day after Silver shared the stage with Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address.

    U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took over the files of New York’s Moreland anti-corruption commission after Cuomo closed it in April. He said in October that investigations into Albany’s pay-to-play politics are continuing.

    The commission and Bharara were looking into lawmakers’ earnings outside their state salaries. Silver’s outside income has long been a subject of discussion and controversy. Last year, he reported making up to $750,000 for legal work, mostly with the trial firm of Weitz & Luxenberg.

    As speaker of the Democrat-controlled Assembly, Silver is one of the most influential people in New York state government. Along with the Senate majority leader and the governor, he plays a major role in creating state budgets, laws and policies in a system long-criticized in Albany as “three men in a room.”

    Silver has gone toe-to-toe with five New York governors _ from the late Mario Cuomo to his son Andrew Cuomo _ since early 1994, when he was selected Assembly speaker to replace the ailing Saul Welprin.

    Silver was first elected to the Assembly in 1976, representing a district on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where he was born and still lives with his wife, Rosa.

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fbi-ny-assembly-speaker-arrested-appear-court-later

    Reply
  47. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 8:01 am

    if folks won’t help themselves, how can we help them?

    ………………..

    Few candidates file for Ferguson election despite protests
    By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
    Jan. 20, 2015 7:35 PM EST

    …Activists who initially sought to oust Ferguson elected leaders and
    Police Chief Tom Jackson, who also remains on the job, said many
    residents remain disillusioned with local politics. Others believe the
    most effective way to push for new laws and policy changes on issues
    such as police conduct and voting district boundaries is to agitate from
    outside rather than to negotiate from within, said protest leader
    Ashley Yates, co-founder of Millennial Activists United.

    “It’s more about building power within our own community,” she said.
    “Ferguson really gave us an idea of what the City Council’s powers are — it’s not much. And there’s a realization that the system has failed
    black America at large. So why operate in a system that does not work?”

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5bc4e9e643dc49748be2171041888e2e/few-candidates-file-ferguson-election-despite-protests

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      January 22, 2015 at 8:20 am

      Leslie F @Leslie_Muse

      @PragObots So clueless about civics. If you have a chance to work frm within, do it! Most of MLK’s team went on to become political leaders

      Reply
  48. Ametia says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:57 am

    MALCOLM came in like a HURRICANE, took our breath away, over the FENCES, for TRAINING DAYS into GLORY.

    Mr. Denzel Washington, you do the THING. Keep it up!

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:50 am

    Israeli Mossad Goes Rogue, Warns U.S. on Iran Sanctions
    Jan 21, 2015 7:26 PM EST
    By Josh Rogin & Eli Lake

    The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling U.S. officials and lawmakers that a new Iran sanctions bill in the U.S. Congress would tank the Iran nuclear negotiations.

    Already, the Barack Obama administration and some leading Republican senators are using the Israeli internal disagreement to undermine support for the bill, authored by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Robert Menendez, which would enact new sanctions if current negotiations falter.

    Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee —
    supported by Republican Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain — is pushing for his own legislation on the Iran nuclear deal, which doesn’t contain sanctions but would require that the Senate vote on any pact that is agreed upon in Geneva. The White House is opposed to both the Kirk-Menendez bill and the Corker bill; it doesn’t want Congress to meddle at all in the delicate multilateral diplomacy with Iran.

    Israeli intelligence officials have been briefing both Obama administration officials and visiting U.S. senators about their concerns on the Kirk-Menendez bill, which would increase sanctions on Iran only if the Iranian government can’t strike a deal with the so-called P5+1 countries by a June 30 deadline or fails to live up to its commitments. Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister’s office has been supporting the Kirk-Menendez bill, as does the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, ahead of what will be a major foreign policy confrontation between the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government in coming weeks.

    Evidence of the Israeli rift surfaced Wednesday when Secretary of
    State John Kerry said that an unnamed Israeli intelligence official had said the new sanctions bill would be “like throwing a grenade into the process.” But an initial warning from Israeli Mossad leaders was also delivered last week in Israel to a Congressional delegation — including Corker, Graham, McCain and fellow Republican John Barrasso; Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly and Tim Kaine; and independent Angus King — according to lawmakers who were present and staff members who were briefed on the exchange. When Menendez (who was not on the trip) heard about the briefing, he quickly phoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer to seek clarification

    http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-22/netanyahu-mossad-split-divides-u-s-congress-on-iran-sanctions

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:37 am

    Good Morning, Everyone :)

    Reply
  51. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:32 am

    “Maureen Dowd’s clueless white gaze: What’s really behind the “Selma” backlash”
    http://www.salon.com/2015/01/21/maureen_dowds_clueless_white_gaze_whats_really_behind_the_selma_backlash/

    Excerpt:

    Beyond that, the movie asks us to understand the spiritual weight, the indignity, the brutality, the visceral pain of racial injustice and the vision, perseverance  and digging deep required every day to stand up, fight back and keep moving.

    Many white people missed this, because they need the civil rights movement to be fewer dirges and more redemption songs. Just as there has been a failure of white people to truly grasp the singularity of the racial atrocities committed against black people (and indigenous people) in the name of white supremacy, there remains a studied indifference to the ways that we are, 50 years later, feeling these pains of democracy aborted all over again.

    Mothers cry out and grandfathers weep that our nation’s past sins are revisited upon another undeserving generation of black people vulnerable to injustice by a system and a people that forget their capacity for brutality far too quickly.

    Reply
  52. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    January 22, 2015 at 7:15 am

    Thank you so much, rikyrah, for this fabulous article on Denzel Washington with all the great videos you have presented to us!!!

    Reply
  53. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    January 22, 2015 at 6:51 am

    Good Morning Everyone :)

    Sam Cooke was born on this day in 1931. From Wikipedia:

    “Samuel “Sam” Cooke (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964)[1] was an American recording artist and singer-songwriter, generally considered among the greatest of all time. Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and importance within popular music.

    His pioneering contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Billy Preston and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown.

    AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was “the inventor of soul music”, and possessed “an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed.”

    Tribute to Sam Cooke:

    http://youtu.be/EegtTFv41eA&rel=0

    Reply

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