Alicia in Africa: A Journey to the Motherland Documentary

Alicia Keys traveled to Africa and created a documentary to share her journey with the world. Check it out:

Blacks earning less doctoral degrees

A recent study done by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education states that Black are earning fewer doctoral degrees. The following is an excerpt of Blacks earning fewer degrees by Jayne Matthews:

“A college degree is a ticket to middle class life”- Dr. Calvin Burnett, President Emeritus, Coppin State University

Dr. Burnett's words have proven to true for thousands of college graduates. For a small, but growing group of Africans Americans it was also the passport to the prestige of earning a doctoral degree and the economic power to enter the upper middle class.

However, after almost two decades of uninterrupted progress, the number of blacks receiving doctoral degrees has declined by 10 percent for two consecutive years. According to a report recently published in the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, blacks earned 7.1 percent of all doctorates awarded in the United States in 2004 and 6.2 percent in 2006. Here is an excerpt from the article titled “Once Again, a Decline in Doctoral Degree Awards to African Americans.”

Despite the setback of the past two years, the overall progress in the past two decades has been rock solid. In 1987 only 787 African Americans earned doctorates. This year's total of 1,659 doctorates is more than double the number earned by African Americans in 1987. In 1990 the black share of all doctoral awards was 3.6 percent. That has now grown to 6.2 percent, a showing of significant progress in a relatively short period of time of 17 years.

Although African Americans have made solid progress in doctoral awards, much remains to be achieved. African Americans are nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population. Therefore, black doctoral awards still amount to less than one half the level that would occur were racial parity to prevail.

The bad news is that there continue to be wide differences among blacks and whites in terms of the academic fields in which they earn doctorates. For instance, 36.5 percent of all doctorates awarded to African Americans in 2006 were in the field of education. In contrast, only 17.8 percent of doctorates earned by whites were in this field. This large percentage of all African-American doctorates in the field of education has been the case for decades with only minor fluctuations.

Continue the rest here

Are you willing to be arrested for civil rights?

You have to give it to Al Sharpton. He led a display of civil disobedience in New York City in order to send a wake-up call to the nation about police brutality. Here is what CBS in New York is reporting:

"NEW YORK (CBS) ― The Rev. Al Sharpton and more than 200 others were arrested Wednesday amid a series of protests throughout the city, part of a response to the acquittals of three New York City undercover detectives in the 50-shot killing of Sean Bell.

Hundreds took to the streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn as part of the citywide "slowdown" effort led by Sharpton and his National Action Network. Police arrested those who took part in acts of civil disobedience by blocking the streets and entrances to the Triborough, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges.

Sharpton was arrested without incident at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, along with Bell's fiancé, Nicole Paultre Bell, and the two shooting victims who survived, Trent Benefield and Joseph Guzman.

Bell's parents were also arrested.

They were all released from police custody about four hours later, said Sharpton's spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger.

Hoping to avoid future instances of civil disobedience, Gov. David Paterson is scheduled to meet privately with Sharpton and the Bell family on Thursday in New York City.

The governor had expressed surprise at last month's acquittal because of the number of shots fired.

One of the arrested protesters told CBS 2 HD on Wednesday the protests go far beyond Bell's death alone.

"We have to stand up for something or we'll fall for anything. It's not just about Sean Bell, it's about every man that's been injustly killed in America," he said. "The point to make to the people is to get their attention. It could be their son tomorrow or their daughter tomorrow."

Police estimate about 216 people were taken into custody overall."

Check out the rest of Sharpton Arrested In Citywide 'Slowdown' Protests

How many of you are willing to be arrested for standing up for what you believe in?

We Need to Strongly Consider 3rd Parties!!!!

The Green Party of New York State (GPNYS) offers its heartfelt condolences to the family of Sean Bell, and completely rejects the judge's decision to exonerate the police officers in Bell's killing, the latest in a long series of extrajudicial police killings of unarmed civilians.
The GPNYS calls for the City Council and the Mayor to establish an elected Citizen Police Review Board that has subpoena power as well as the authority to impose meaningful sanctions on police officers who violate the law.

"The shooting at, and killing of, unarmed men of color, has become an acceptable and justifiable behavior both in the NYPD, the media, and the criminal justice system that regularly finds the police innocent of their crimes. These deliberate attacks have steadily risen. with the stakes ever increasing, 41 shots, 50 shots, what next, one hundred? What next, grenades?" said Evergreen Chou, former Green Party candidate for State Assembly in Flushing, New York. "These are no longer cases of police brutality. It is shock and awe, it is the deliberate terrorism of minority communities."

These are no longer cases of police brutality. It is shock and awe, it is the deliberate terrorism of minority communities.
Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, a Green Party presidential hopeful, has released an extensive press release about the Sean Bell verdict, that references our flawed legal system. She states, "It is not impossible for us to have justice. We don't have to lose any more people to police abuse, brutality, or murder. But, in order to change things, we're going to have to do some things we've never done before in order to have some things we've never had before."
Green Party of New York State web-site:
http://www.gpnys.org/
Link to GPNYS Platform:
http://www.web.gpnys.com/?page_id=205
Web-site of Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney:
http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/
Web-sites for other Green Party Presidential candidates:
Jesse Johnson - http://www.jesse08.org/
Kent Mesplay - http://www.mesplay.org/
Kat Swift - http://www.voteswift.org/
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Hot Topics: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly!!!

Just a few news updates! Enjoy!

The Good: Calls for Hillary to drop her presidential bid are becoming louder and from more prominent voices. See NBC's Tim Russert and former Senator & presidential candidate George McGovern below.





The Bad: Clinton makes her best Huckabee impression and vows to fight on despite the unlikely odds. I admire Clinton's tenacity, but even in the political junkie in me is tired of this race. Let's move on.



The Bad part deux: The citizens of Myanmar continue to suffer while their isolationist, military government continues to refuse to open its borders. Recent reports have the death toll above 100,000 people.



The Ugly: The Philadelphia Police are at it again! The PPD has always had a strained relationship with its residents (former six-year resident myself) and incidents like this happen more often than reported. All three suspects required hospital treatment.

A Little Humor For Your Tuesday

In Defense of Rev. Wright

Father Pflegler being confronted by O'Reilly Factor Producer Porter Berry for supporting Rev. Wright and Min. Farrakhan. This is a must see!

You probably won't save money at the pump, but...

I'm sure you all have noticed that the gas prices are getting ASTRONOMICAL again. Just today I put $25 in my tank and got about 6 gallons of gas in return--and that's a generous estimate. And while the presidential candidates are pontificating and strategizing on how to get us better gas rates IN THE FUTURE, if you are like me, your' pockets are suffering in the now!

So today I impart on you all some tips, snatched from CNN.com, on how to increase your car's fuel economy. In other words, the following tips won't save you money at the pump, but... they may help you use the expensive gas you put in your care more efficiently.

Tips for Improving Fuel Economy

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  Make sure that your car's regular maintenance needs are met. That means get that oil changed, make sure you have a clean air filter, and that your spark plugs are working properly.


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  Tire pressure is huge. Check your tire pressure to make sure its at the correct level suggested by the manufacturer. You can find the appropriate levels in your manual or on the inside door jamb of your car. Low pressure=waisting gas.


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  Slow down, cool out. Speeding and aggressive driving is not only DANGEROUS, but it waists gas too!


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  Pack light. Follow Erykah Badu's advice, and "pack light/yea, yea, yea,yea, yea, yea" ("Bag Lady"). But seriously, carrying around unnecessary junk--or people ;-)--will weigh your vehicle down, which forces the engine to burn more gas per mile. So clean out your trunk, back seat, etc.

To watch the CNN video and get more tips for improving your fuel economy, visithttp://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/05/03/seg.saving.gas.cnn

Are You Highly Qualified??

So my hometown county (Gorgeous Prince Georges) has decided to replace teachers who are not considered highly qualified.

And here is what the superintendent has to say about it:
"I think it's an undeniable fact that when you have highly qualified teachers in front of students, they can do better," Deasy said.

Yikes! We wonder how many teachers will be out of a job? While this is more than likely a good thing, we wonder what will happen to the culture of these schools. I mean can you imagine losing half your teacher staff? As a child, what would you think?

Let Righteous Minds know your thoughts!