here’s a few links from around the interwebs that made me sad, mad, cry and hit my dougie:
1. i’ve been running from the story of another black teen shot for no other reason than being black — it’s just too hard. the fact we live in a country where these crimes can happen as a result of such visceral racism makes me sick to my stomach. for those who don’t know, renisha mcbride was brutally shot in her face when seeking help in a detroit suburb after getting into a car accident. the white homeowner claims he mistook her for an intruder, despite the fact that he was safely inside his home when he shot her through a screen door with a shotgun. watch this video produced by writer, activist and filmmaker dream hampton here that chronicles renisha’s senseless killing. her killer, ted wafer was arraigned last friday.
2. i’m absolutely livid about a recently release report from the aclu. according to the report, there are more than 3,000 people in this country languishing in prisons for committing non-violent crimes (80% for drug-related offenses.) those incarcerated are 65% of black, 16% latino and 18% white, exemplifying an extreme racial disparity, especially in light of the fact that studies show black people are no more likely to abuse drugs. watch jennifer turner, the report’s author on democracy now here.
3. nelly still doesn’t get it. remember when students at spelman protested during his visit to their campus for his misogynistic and sexist images of black women in his 2004 “tip drill” video? 
well, in an interview with marc lamont hill at huffpost live, nelly says he was there for a bone marrow drive, largely due to his sister’s battle with cancer. he says “are those students still protesting? they probably ain’t, but my sister died.” marc, quickly corrects him to say some of the students are feminists who remain involved in social justice causes. during the video, all i could do is shake my head — especially when nelly said he wanted to beat someone’s ass over the incident. i’m sorry for his sister’s death, but it has NOTHING to do with such negative messages perpetrated in hip hop, and nelly refused to take any accountability for this. watch the former spelman students respond to nelly here.
4. black women, please put the boxing gloves down. i’ve been in fights, sometimes as the aggressor and others defending myself.
however at 31, i’m not proud of this and have worked hard to understand the personal and political root of violence that’s a common denominator in interpersonal relationships in the black community. while i understand our history, the violent way some sisters so willingly interact with the world is disturbing. case in point — pebbles’ 30-year old daughter, ashley reid, took to her radio show and threatened to beat chili’s face in the concrete over the way her mother was portrayed in the tlc biopic, “crazy, sexy, cool: the tlc story.” to make matters worse, when ashley was questioned about this, she stood by her comments claiming she’s not wrong for being “passionate.” obviously, we need to do a lot of healing…
5. join me in hitting the dougie as we celebrate new york city’s new mayor, bill deblasio. here are the reasons we love him: 1.) he’s the first progressive leader new york has had in a very, very long time. 2.) he plans to withdraw bloomberg’s appeal to judge shira shindlin’s decision condemning stop and frisk 3.) he has vowed to settle the $250 million civil suit filed by the central park five, the black men who wrongly served years in prison for allegedly raping a white woman 4.) he’s married to a sister (peep the chocolate skin and dreads) 5.) his son has a real life afro straight outta the 1970s. good job new york.
Love, love, love!
I am also loving nyc new mayor!