What Happens When Community Colleges Take Away The Helping Hand?

This is one of my favorite statues:



Booker T. Washington lifting the veil of ignorance. For the Black community,
from the moment laws were enacted to prevent us from READING…

EDUCATION has been the key to lifting the Black Community.

It isn't a 'cure all', but it's been one of the most dependable paths to self-improvement that the Black community has known.

I have been in the process of possibly transitioning from one career to another. But, in
order to get into the program that I’m interested in, I have to prerequisites
for those programs. The cheapest way to get those credits where I live is
community college. Going to the local community college has been a positive
experience. You meet all types of people at the community college: races,
ethnicities, age groups, differing goals.

Which is why, when I read this article, I was definitely upset:

Community Colleges Rethink 'Open Door' Admissions as Remedial Costs Rise
By Caralee Adams on August 13, 2010 6:03 AM

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley this week called for an end to the "open
door" admissions policy at Chicago City Colleges, citing concerns about
the cost of remedial courses and a desire to build a quality program.
Every year, the system spends about $30 million for remedial
classes—about 6 percent of its $457.5 million budget. Daley suggested
that a better approach might be to offer programs through alternative
high schools to get students up to speed before they enter college.
Is this a sign of things to come?

Read more »

The President on the Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

President Obama Speaks on the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Xavier University, New Orleans, Louisiana
August 29, 2010 3:00 PM EDT

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Barack Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha and First Lady Michelle Obama, arrive in New Orleans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010.
----AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber


U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (2nd R) after stepping off Air Force One with First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha (C) and Malia in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 29, 2010.
---FREUTERS/Jim Young


New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu greets President Barack Obama, with daughters Sasha and Malia as First Lady Michelle Obama talks to Rep. Joseph Cao and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after arriving in New Orleans to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010.
----AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber


U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 29, 2010. ----REUTERS/Jim Young


US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the crowd at Xavier University as they arrive to attend a ceremony on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital. ----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the crowd at Xavier University during a ceronomy on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


U.S. President Barack Obama (C), First Lady Michelle Obama (L) and their daughters Sasha (3rd L) and Malia (2nd L) place a food order at Parkway Bakery and Tavern in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 29, 2010.
----REUTERS/Jim Young


US President Barack Obama speaks at Xavier University on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visit Columbia Parc Housing complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Maude Smith to her house as they visit Columbia Parc Housing complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Image


US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visit Maude Smith's house at Columbia Parc Housing complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2010. Obama arrived in still-struggling New Orleans to join residents marking five years since flood waters driven by Hurricane Katrina inundated the famous jazz capital.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

August 28, 1963: 'A Check Stamped Insufficient Funds'

Most people ignore the financial concerns explicit in the entire speech, choosing to focus only on ' I have a dream.'

Gil-Scott Heron - Ain't No Such Thing As Superman

Ain't No Such Thing As Superman
Gil-Scott Heron & Brian Jackson

Lyrics:

You have understood
The riddles of the ages

Yes and you have understood
The universal mind

You have placed your footprints on
The everlasting sands of time

Yes so tell me why
Can't you understand that there ain't no such thing as a superman?
There ain't no such thing as a superman

You was on the Nile
You went to see great Egypt fall
It fell down to the ground

Yes, and you was out there on the corner
When being cool went blind
Oh, you alone understand that if we gonna win
We've got to get together, stay together, be together, stick together

So tell me why, can't you understand
That there ain't no such thing as a superman
There ain't no such thing as a superman

You alone consider mercy after it seems like all you get is pain
It seems to me that you have found the courage that others could not find
You alone have the wisdom to take this world and make it what it needs to be, wants to be, will be, someday you'll see

The day, the day you understand
That there ain't no such thing as a superman
There ain't no such thing as a superman

Kendrick Meek: The black man who beat a billionaire

Have you ever beat a billionaire in anything…me neither. But, today Rep. Kendrick Meek did in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate when he defeated Jeff Greene. Two months ago, it was not at all sure that Meek hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his political career in giving up a safe congressional seat for the dangers of a senate bid.

Read the rest at The Loop.

Black Muslims and the Ground Zero Mosque

As is their way, Republicans not only do not care about minority opinions (note their positions on healthcare reform and the 14th amendment), they believe that dumping on minorities will help them with conservative white voters. Sadly, they might be right.

Read the rest at The Loop.

Abbey Lincoln Has Passed Away At the Age of 80

From The New York Times

Abbey Lincoln, Jazz Singer and Writer, Dies at 80
By NATE CHINEN
Published: August 14, 2010

Abbey Lincoln, a singer whose dramatic vocal command and tersely poetic songs made her a singular figure in jazz, died on Saturday in Manhattan. She was 80 and lived on the Upper West Side.

Her death was announced by her brother David Wooldridge.

Ms. Lincoln’s career encompassed outspoken civil rights advocacy in the 1960s and fearless introspection in more recent years, and for a time in the 1960s she acted in films, including one with Sidney Poitier.

Long recognized as one of jazz’s most arresting and uncompromising singers, Ms. Lincoln gained similar stature as a songwriter only over the last two decades. Her songs, rich in metaphor and philosophical reflection, provide the substance of “Abbey Sings Abbey,” an album released on Verve in 2007. As a body of work, the songs formed the basis of a three-concert retrospective presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2002.

Her singing style was unique, a combined result of bold projection and expressive restraint. Because of her ability to inhabit the emotional dimensions of a song, she was often likened to Billie Holiday, her chief influence. But Ms. Lincoln had a deeper register and a darker tone, and her way with phrasing was more declarative.

“Her utter individuality and intensely passionate delivery can leave an audience breathless with the tension of real drama,” Peter Watrous wrote in The New York Times in 1989. “A slight, curling phrase is laden with significance, and the tone of her voice can signify hidden welts of emotion.”

Read more »

The President Defends Religious Freedom

I think we need to celebrate religious freedom in the United States.

hat tip-W.E.E. See You

Celebrating Ramadan At The White House

The President defended the building of a mosque/cultural center near Ground Zero, recalling the fundamental premise of religious freedom which is an original tenant of the foundation of the United States of America.





WASHINGTON - AUGUST 13: U.S. President Barack Obama hosts an Iftar dinner in celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the State Dining Room of the White House August 13, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the dinner Obama spoke in support of the controversial construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
-----Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 13: U.S. President Barack Obama hosts an Iftar dinner in celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the State Dining Room of the White House August 13, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the dinner Obama spoke in support of the controversial construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
----Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images


Unidentified guests listen to US President Barack Obama speak at an Iftar meal, the breaking of the Ramadan fast, at the White House in Washington on August 13, 2010. Muslims all over the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan in order to purify themselves and concentrate on Islamic teachings.
----NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 13: U.S. President Barack Obama hosts an Iftar dinner in celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the State Dining Room of the White House August 13, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the dinner Obama spoke in support of the controversial construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
-----Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 13: U.S. President Barack Obama hosts an Iftar dinner in celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the State Dining Room of the White House August 13, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the dinner Obama spoke in support of the controversial construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan.
----Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images


U.S. President Barack Obama (center, L) greets guests after delivering remarks during the Iftar dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington August 13, 2010. The Iftar dinner celebrates the evening breaking of fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
----REUTERS/Jason Reed


**Guests listen as President Barack Obama speaks at an iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2010. For over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection. Obama emphasized the American tenet of religious freedom just as New York City is immersed in a deeply sensitive debate about whether a mosque should be built near the site of the World Trade Center that was destroyed during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
----AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite


President Barack Obama hosts an iftar dinner, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast for Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 13, 2010. For over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection. Obama emphasized the American tenet of religious freedom just as New York City is immersed in a deeply sensitive debate about whether a mosque should be built near the site of the World Trade Center that was destroyed during the September 11, 1981 terror attacks.
----AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Racist Rant

From Media Matters:

On August 10, Dr. Laura Schlessinger launched into a racially charged rant, during which Schlessinger -- in her own words -- "articulated the 'n' word all the way out -- more than one time." Among other things, Schlessinger also told an African-American caller that she had a "chip on [her] shoulder." Schlessinger has since apologized for her remarks, but audio from the discussion appears to have been excised from the recording of that day's show that appears on Schlessinger's website. Media Matters has obtained full audio of Schlessinger's comments:

Transcript at link above.

She never took up the woman's issues about why she called. AFTER THIS WOMAN TOLD HER SHE WAS OFFENDED, Dr. Laura continued with her racist rant. And, that's what it was, a fullblown racist rant. You can tell - those that have been wanting to reveal their true selves, and that's what she revealed - her ugly ass racist self.

But, even with the ugliness exposed, who can say that they are surprised by what happened?

She is who we thought her to be. There's absolutely nothing shocking about what she did, because if you have followed her in the least, you know what she's all about.

Kiss my 'Sensitive' Black Ass about her so-called ' apology'.


Rev. Al's response:

Why blacks must reject "anchor baby" fever: African-Americans and Latinos should be brothers-in-arms in fighting Republican extremism

A young mother has a baby in San Antonio, TX. Minutes later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents swoop in and place the mother and baby under arrest. The mom goes to jail for “harboring an illegal” while the baby goes to jail for being in the country illegally. Later that day federal agents take them to the border and tell them not to come back.

Read the rest at The Loop.

Congratulations, Justice Kagan

Senate approves Kagan for high court

Washington (CNN) -- Solicitor General Elena Kagan was easily confirmed Thursday as the next associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, completing the 50-year-old native New Yorker's climb to the peak of the American legal profession.

The 63-37 vote was mostly along party lines. Five GOP senators backed Kagan, and only one Democrat -- Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- opposed her. Republican leaders offered spirited floor opposition to the nominee, but were unable to muster a prolonged delay or filibuster of the vote.

Kagan is set to begin a lifetime position as the nation's 112th justice. She will be sworn into office Saturday afternoon, taking the traditional constitutional and judicial oaths. The newest justice will then be able to assume her court duties immediately.

What is it about the 14th Amendment that scares them so?

Remember, when you were in school and you had to pass the U.S. Constitution test to graduate 8th grade? You had to memorize the Amendments to the Constitution...and there were groups, the two most distinct being: 1st 10 - Bill of Rights, and then the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, which you could shorten to SLAVERY (13), CITIZENSHIP(14), RIGHT TO VOTE(15).

So, I watch from the sidelines, as the folks on the right keep on bringing up REPEALING the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

AND the silence from our so-called ' leaders'.

WHY does the right care about this Amendment?

THEY SAY, it's because the children of illegal aliens, born in this country, and are U.S. Citizens, is a perversion of the Amendment.

So, what exactly does the 14th Amendment say:

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 1 is what deserves the focus.

Read more »

Republican-driven lawsuits against health care reform will particularly hurt blacks

Here’s just a sampling of the sorry state of black health in America from Kaiser’s Key Facts: Race, Ethnicity & Medical Care. People living in poverty are more likely to report being in only Fair or Poor health. Regardless of education, African Americans lead the nation in infant mortality. African American men and women have highest death rate due to heart disease. African Americans even lead in death rates by breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Twenty-three percent of working African Americans are uninsured.

Read the rest at The Loop.

President Obama Holds Townhall with young African Leaders.

hat tip-W.E.E. See You

President Obama Holds Townhall with young African Leaders.







Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s address to the forum this morning


US President Barack Obama greets participants after a town hall meeting with Young African Leaders in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 3, 2010. Obama said he was "heartbroken" over the situation in Zimbabwe, and that President Robert Mugabe was not "serving his people well." The event brought 115 young leaders from civil society and the private sector from more than 40 countries across Africa to Washington to meet with their American counterparts and US government officials.
----JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 03: U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in the East Room of the White House for a town hall meeting with young African leaders August 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the town hall meeting, Obama took questions on economic issues, health issues and foreign relations between the United States and African nations.
----Win McNamee/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 03: Young African leaders listen as U.S. President Barack Obama answers questions n the East Room of the White House during a town hall meeting August 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the town hall meeting, Obama took questions on economic issues, health issues and foreign relations between the United States and African nations.
----Win McNamee/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 03: Young African leaders listen as U.S. President Barack Obama answers questions in the East Room of the White House during a town hall meeting August 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the town hall meeting, Obama took questions on economic issues, health issues and foreign relations between the United States and African nations.
----Win McNamee/Getty Images


WASHINGTON - AUGUST 03: Young African leaders try to ask U.S. President Barack Obama a question during a town hall meeting in the East Room of the White House August 3, 2010 in Washington, DC. During the town hall meeting, Obama took questions on economic issues, health issues and foreign relations between the United States and African nations.
----Win McNamee/Getty Images

Youth's passion for learning beats the odds

hat tip-W.E.E. See You

Youth's passion for learning beats the odds
Atlantan succeeds while he overcomes family tragedy, other obstacles.
By Mark Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The trophies are impossible to ignore. At least 37 fill the living room of the south Atlanta apartment Deonte Bridges shares with his mother. Thirty-six extol the teenager’s academic achievements at Booker T. Washington High School.

The 37th trophy? Bridges, 18, smiled. “Basketball,” he said. Turns out he played the sport in ninth grade but gave it up. The game got in the way of more important things.

Such is the focus of Deonte 
Kivon Bridges, a kid who still marvels at what he’s accomplished at such long odds.

Bridges is Washington High’s first black male valedictorian in more than a decade, a rising freshman at UGA, the winner of scholarships totaling more than $1 million.

And this: A YouTube posting of his graduation speech, nearly five minutes long, has been viewed more than 80,000 times. He has nearly 1,600 Facebook friends who live all over the world.

Bridges reset the academic bar at Washington, despite his mother’s cancer, his brother’s death, an armed hold-up and peer pressure to put down his books and embrace the street life.

With a 3.9 grade point average, he’s the recipient of 26 scholarship offers. Emory University tossed a $201,000 scholarship at his feet, which he declined in favor of an all-expenses-paid education at the University of Georgia, courtesy of the $360,000 Gates Millennium Scholars Program. The award, given by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, will pay for his undergraduate and graduate education.

Read the rest of his story at the link above.