Make lower crack sentencing guidelines retroactive!!!
December 5, 2007
What’s up fam,
As you prepare to wrap up the year, I want to alert everyone to a very important event regarding drug sentencing. On December 11, the U.S. Sentencing Commission plans to hold a public meeting where they are expected to vote on whether to make the new, lower crack cocaine guideline retroactive.
On May 1, 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposed an amendment to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to reduce the sentencing ranges for crack cocaine offenses by two levels. The amendment went into effect on November 1, 2007, and will affect 70 percent of crack cocaine cases sentenced in federal courts, reducing sentences by an average of 15 months.
Retroactivity is vital because for nearly twenty years now, no group has been hit harder with mandatory minimums than Black folks. But don’t take my word for it.
The Cares of This World
November 5, 2007
“Do not wear yourself out to become rich; have the wisdom to show restraint”
-Proverbs 23:4
“One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.”
-Proverbs 13:7
“Havin’ money aint everything, not having it is”-Kanye West
I have spoken of this many times, but it is a topic that has turned up many times as of late. So I am taking that as a sign that I should revisit this topic. And topic has to do with money and our relation to it. Read more
The Unforgivable Sin
October 7, 2007
What is the unforgivable sin for a black man? One would think calling a black woman out of her name, but apparently hip-hop and Isaiah Thomas have taken the sting out of that one. It used to be taboo to participate in interracial dating, but even that has lost its bite.
Actually, it is something a lot less politically charged than that or is it? It took me 24 years to figure it out, but the unforgivable sin for a black man is…to be unemployed. I did not realize it, now I am faced with the looming prospect of unemployment upon completing my post-graduate studies. And as the song says, I am living under pressure.
Up until this point, I have tried to be a pretty responsible guy. I have done my best to be the Dream of Dr. King and what not. But apparently, I did not realize how quickly that accounts for nothing when you do not have a J-O-B.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood: Democracy while Black
September 12, 2007
Cross-posted from Brave New Films Blog.
Rev. Lennox Yearwood released a statement today in response to his 10 Sep 2007 arrest.
My role is to make government more transparent to the people, especially people of color. How am I supposed to convince other African-Americans to come to Capitol Hill to participate in democracy, when Capitol Police will go so far as to jump me when I question my exclusion from a hearing that is open to the public? We all know what 'driving while Black' is, well I'd call this 'democracy while Black.'"
What is so sinister about the demonizing of dissenting voices is precisely what the Yearwood calls out here: if they make examples of a couple of "unfriendly" visitors, others who share their views will be less likely to speak up or act. Sadly, this draconian, Machiavellian sort of opinion squashing is precisely the goal of today's neo-Conservative.
Minority and marginalized people's fragile will to speak up is too often crushed by these sorts of scare tactics. It is therefore imperative that we use this as yet another reason to drive out these leaders who are neither able nor mature enough to answer questions posed by those who do not share their beliefs.
Clarification: Rev. Yearwood's leg is not broken. The police said that yesterday, but after people were actually able to speak to the Reverend, it was made clear that he instead has severe damage to ligaments in his ankles and is on crutches.
The entire press release is below.
An update on Rev. Lennox Yearwood’s Arrest
September 12, 2007
Things like this make it hard to convince young & marginalized people to get involved in the political process when they disagree with the establishment. Sadly, this is exactly the goal of Republicans these days.
One Love. One II.
Update & Clarification: Rev. Yearwood’s leg is not broken. The police said that yesterday, but after people were actually able to speak to the Reverend, it was made clear that he instead has severe damage to ligaments in his ankles and is on crutches.
Why are people so afraid of Black men who think?
September 10, 2007
It’s hard being a Black man in Washington that disagrees with the Bush administration. Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Leader of the Hip Hop Caucus was arrested gang-tackled and hospitalized today while trying to be a witness to the Congressional testimony on the status of the Iraq occupation by General David Petraeus today.
Video of Rev. Lennox Yearwood being arrested.
For such a tough guy, this president sure doesn’t like to face peaceful people that disagree with him and his policies.
Why are people so afraid of Black men who think?
One Love. One II.
Why Black Men Need Lobbyists
August 29, 2007
Cross-posted from Brave New Films Blog.
The Jena 6 are a group of young Black men that could use some lobbyists, lawyers, advocates in the Justice Department, something. If you get sentenced to 22 years for a schoolyard fight by a jury of your peers consisting on no one that looks like you, it is obvious that something or someone is out to get you for some reason. What therefore must be made equally obvious is that there are people that are out to help you as well.
The Jena 6 need your help. Please take a look at the petition here.
With today being the tragic anniversary of the greatest natural disaster ever to hit the United States, it is tragic that Katrina’s racial undertones and implications would be followed by more racially deplorable happenings in the state of Louisiana.
The Weekly Dream: Crisis in Manhood
June 22, 2007
Father’s Day has just passed and hopefully you took the time to appreciate the father in your life, whomever it may be. As I have written before, Father’s Day is an interesting holiday to me. I am not a father, but I think the relationship between a father and a child is a unique one and it tends to be a more complicated one than the mother and child dynamic.
As I was driving around the city last week, enjoying the excellent weather, for the first time I noticed that there were women and children everywhere, but you rarely saw the fathers or men. I am not talking about young men, but grown men. And I not only asked where are all the fathers, but where are all the men period?
Loneliness, Black Men, and Friendships: Part VII
May 14, 2007
Welcome back to the Black Male Friendship series! For those that are newto this series, it is my take on the current state of Black male friendships and how I think they should be improved. Today, we are going to talk about getting beyond superficial conversations that prevent real friendship from being fostered.
Saving Black Men at the Barbershop
May 9, 2007
I came across a great article today which found that “After an eight-month, barbershop-based intervention, men with high blood pressure were much more likely to start receiving treatment and to get their blood pressure under control than their peers given standard care, Dr. Paul L. Hess of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and colleagues found.” Read more
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