Black Woman Walking

This could easily have been posted on our Girl Talk blog... But, it's probably more important for our guys to LISTEN to what these women are saying:

You Be The Judge

Humorous? Racist? Just good fun? Hard to say...

The line between when to laugh at ourselves and when to be offended is sometimes unclear and often inconsistent. Either way, it's hard to be mad at those who find this funny... But, it's also ok to hope they understand the damaging effects stereotypes can have...

Truly An Obamanation?

There are some folks in the South who are up to old tricks... Or, at least they haven't adopted any new ones. Turns out there are places in America that still have segregated proms!

Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis?!

Yep, best friends, teammates, study mates - all share a school and common experience until it's time to dance at the end of the year. Then, there is a White prom on one night, and a Black prom on the next. The students don't seem to want it this way, so who exactly are these proms for?

The worst part is the explanation: "It's how it's always been."

You know, there are a lot of things that had just "always been" that were eventually changed. And, no self-respecting school - or state, for that matter - should allow this to continue. Especially not when we have a 1/2 Black, 1/2 White president in the White House... (Wonder which prom he would attend...)

Mayor Bloomberg, I Need A Voucher

Are you a Black boy?

Do you want to graduate from high school?

Move to North Dakota.

It's a well-known mantra among Black Americans, especially older generations: "Black people have to work twice as hard to get half the chance."  The notion behind this sentiment is personified in an eye-opening study conducted by The Schott Foundation, "Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males."

The study uncovers glaring statistics and conclusions illustrating just how badly our school systems are failing Black males. Two that stood out most are:

1. North Dakota is the best performing state for Black males.  Upside? An 89% graduation rate.  Downside? Well, let's just say if you're looking to blend in, this may not be the place...

And, 2: Black males do better in White schools.  The report specifies that this is not due to proximity with White students, but rather enrollment in well-resourced schools (dedicated staff, libraries, textbooks and computers, science labs, etc.).

The question then becomes, can this mother really be in jail for sending her kids to a better school district? Maybe she read the report and knows that New York State ranked 45th (and New York City #1) on the "Lowest Performing" scale... Can't blame her for trying to give her kids the other half a chance, can you?