only black people can save themselves!

THAT COVER IS A MESS

First of all that pic was a mess. If black men want to do better they will if they don’t they won’t. Just stop crying about how hard your lives have been. Stop acting like boys and be men. As for Hillary she may not win but she is giving them a challenge.

One thing is correct, having so many black men in jail is a National Crisis for this Country.

This country would be better off served by preventing Black/AA Men of The United States from jail not being passive on filling cells.

But as someone else stated…it’s time for people to take charge of their lives.

Make better choices, step into the father’s/mother’s role for real.

Do the things needed to become successful for yourselves and your families.

this cover is sick.

Howaboutstop being 40 y/o thugs and rappers

How about stop being 40 y/o thugs and rappers

HILLARY IS HOT…but it’s Obama for the Win…

nice try to win us over Hil, but I aint buyin it. To be perfectly honest the majority of young black men who are considered ‘failures’ squandered their opportunities themselves and it started with their own rejection of certain ideals (primarily education & good Christian values) and placing their emphasis on other aspirations (making quick bucks via music/crime scense, living an ostentatious opportunistic lifestyle). My nephew came out a success despite living in a deprived area and it was rather the state which helped him fulfil his potential…but I dont live in every state so this can only be an opinion.

LOVE LOVE LOVE her view on marriage. I’m not saying that every woman should stick with a man who does her wrong (hell even i had to drop K-Ci’s abusin ass after a while) but I LOVE the fact that she actually FOUGHT for her marriage. so rare these days. Good luck to you Hilary (altho Barrack still gets my vote)

All my love

Mary J

*scene

LOL, I love Radar.

Anyway, people are going to be and do what they want. The number of black men in jail is troubling, but it’s not representative of the whole. I feel sorry for those brothers but I don’t feel anything more than that. I feel sorry they didn’t have good role models, sorry they were abandoned and even more sorry for the children many of them are leaving without a father.

My solution: go back to our Christian roots and family values. Honor the love and committment in our families and put health, safety and education above EVERYTHING else. Honor and idolize smart, successful honorable people and not celebrities. Watch less tv, read more books.

AND STOP PUTTING PEOPLE DOWN BASED ON LOOKS.

Are you serious? Oh no, they didn’t. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Oh, they played Barak out with this. I’ve seen that cover before. It’s a rehash of the Vanity Fair cover from a few years back, with Tom Ford, Scarlett Johannson, and Keira Knightly. They just took the heads of the bodies and photoshopped it.

Oh but wait, it gets better. AND HERE’S THE KICKER. You see how they have Barak as the one lying on the floor right, and how Hilary’s naked, and Rudy comes off like a pimp . . .you’re probably thinking it’s some right wing conspiracy thing, right? Well think again. RADAR is a BLACK OWNED company. Do you wanna know who’s investment group ownes the magazine that just played out Barak Obama with that cover . . .Jesse Jackson’s son, Yusef.

THIS COVER IS A DISGRACE!

Do we need any more proof of how people view us? Guiliani is fully dressed while the black man is down on all fours naked! Racism is alive and well!

how about hilary who’s naked? what in the world are you talking about, hope? and he’s not on all fours!

That cover is funny! However, Hillary can go straight to hell! Her husband, Bill, is responsible for so many Black men being incarcerated when he passed the maximum sentence for crack dealers and the 3 strikes rule. That’s what started this entire epidemic of so many Black men being hemmed up in the system.

Don’t be foolish enough to think that any of them posed for this picture. It is totally disrespectful. But atleast they covered Guiliani up. Why did the woman and the black man have to be naked.

I think whoever did that is a sick as individual. And, please no and understand that there is a plan to jail every young black man in America. Because the prisons have become privitazied.

And for those of you who don’t know what that means that means legal slavery. They can make them work for nothing and call it paying their debt back to society.

Yes some black men need to stop hanging out on the corners and making it so easy for them to catch you up in the system.

But be real clear it is not a mistake nor a coincidence that all of these black men are being locked up. What happens when you get locked up? Um you can’t vote and you can’t find a decent job. You can’t find a job to take care of yourself are you going to starve? No. You are going to get out there and do what you have to do. Hence the cycle repeating itself.

What has been the goal to do the black family since America began? Divide and conquer. If you take away the head the neck and the body can’t survive.

All you have to do is look at our neighborhoods and you see the neck and the body can’t survive.

Maybe if some of these sistas would keep their legs closed, or more of these brothas would use a condom, they wouldnt be breeding the next generation of boys who dont know their fathers and have no positive role models in their lives.

People can can blame black men all they want, and yes, these young men have to take ultimate responsibility. But people are a product of their environment. 2/3 of all black kids now are born to single mothers, and thats at the root of most of the social problems the black community has to deal with.

I’m tired of people blaming racism and the legacy of slavery. Nonsense. It begins in the home, and if the home environment is unhealthy, then the kid has an uphill climb from the very beginnig of his/her life.

When you look at the statistics , non-US-born blacks (from Africa/ the West Indies,etc) have a lower illegitimacy rate, higher average household income (even though many of them came here with nothing) , higher rate of home ownership, their kids go to college at a higher rate, etc. All this , despite the fact they face the same racism than American born blacks, and even MORE discrimation sometimes for having blacker/darker skin sometimes, not knowing the language well, having a different accent, or whatever the case is. (My family came here when I was a little kid, so I’ve seen it first hand. I’ve gotten so tired of hearign AA’s complain that black immigrants are succesful because the govt gives them “special loans” to start a business, etc. Nonsense)

So some of y’all need to stop blaming “the man”, get off your butts and handle business , instead of waiting for sympathetic white liberals like Hillary to stand up for black people.

@ StopTheMadness

So some of y’all need to stop blaming “the man”, get off your butts and handle business , instead of waiting for sympathetic white liberals like Hillary to stand up for black people.

_______________________________________________

You betta say that. This is what I live by. If you want it work for it and earn it. I want my future husband to have the same mindset as this person. Stop waiting for someone to ‘give’ you something and just work for it. I don’t want any handouts.

@brea

No excuses no one can put me in jail if I don’t commit any crimes, PERIOD. If you break the law you go to jail. Are some people trying to put more black men in jail yes but the black has to stop making it soo damn easy. They practically coming out the womb with prison numbers.

Damn did she say 1.4 million father, role models, adn etc…so what are the others oh yell drug dealers and deatbeats…I think she knows our community.

THIS MESS IS HILARIOUS!!!!

Bottom line the plight of black men can only be changed by black men. If you tired of being called lazy, get a ‘legal’ job. If you tired of being put in jail, stop committing crimes. If you tired of being looked down upon, do something worthy of praise. If you tired of being stereotyped, stop giving people more examples of them. DO BETTER.

I do believe in the virtues of hard work, family, community but I am also a conspiracy theorist. We (Black America) have been the victims (and yes in some cases the perpetuators) of what seems like a conspiracy to destroy our race. In this country we’ve had to endure slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, Reganomics, the Clinton Era, and now the Bush Era. I know I’m leaving many other things out but the point is there is some real deal sh!t going on and we need to work together to save our families and our communities. Our sons and daughters need to be raised right: loved, cherished, disciplined, educated, inspired. It’s hard to do what we need to do though because we are often struggling to make ends meet… We need to focus on what we can do to make it better before it’s too late.

How are they going to steal Tom Ford’s ish? ohmif-inggoodness, I should cut them for this. I love TF. This is insulting to him.

@ awake

Income/salary is directly affected by eduation level. Those people who can’t do better b/c ‘we are often struggling to make ends meet…’ are like that by choice. Education is the key and it’s free in this country unlike others. That’s the reason Oprah built a school in Africa instead of just giving away material things to kids. What she has given them is hope and an opportunity. Something that many black americans take for granted.

@AWAKE …

I’m sorry , I cant ride that train with you at all.

There is no grand conspiracy to destroy black people. None.

We tend to focus on the negative white folks and the racists, to maintain this “woe is me” mentality that afflicts too many black folk.

But actually believe MOST white people like to see blacks doing well. They tend to like seeing positive black people like Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Condoleezza Rice, etc. and they wish more black kids would look to people like them as positive role models, instead of these semi-literate rappers, etc. Most white folk are not high-fiving each other with joy when they see all these black men in jail, the 1-parent families, and the statistics that show us lagging behind in terms of finance,education, etc.

Lets get rid of the defeatist attitudes and conspiracy theories. That stuff just holds our people back.

@StopTheMadness

You are on it like white on rice. I don’t believe that ish either. Our destiny is in our own hands.

And I tell you what always puzzles me. Why do so many of us complain about the system “putting our black men in jail” , and ignore the fact that most of the time these guys DID stuff to DESERVE going to jail??

If Pookie didnt rob the liquor store he’d be getting ready to go to the club tonight with his girl, instead of sitting in his cell reading the letters his girl sent to him while he’s behind bars.

I wasn’t saying that MOST white people are against us and in on the “conspiracy”. Most white people are regular folk trying to work and take care of their families, get ahead, etc… Also I didn’t say that our destiny isn’t in our own hands and that we should all just fold our hands and give up. My point is simply that there is some sh!t which was set in motion a long, long time ago at work here. We contribute to it by having kids we can’t (or won’t) take care of, focusing on the material, and being distracted by entertainers, sports, etc… I was with you in your earlier comment Stop the madness about getting off our butts, etc… but best believe that there is and has been some f’ed up stuff going on here for a long, long time, we’re just continuing to do exactly what is wanted of us:

http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/wil.html

@StopTheMadness

You’re right. I know this is probably gonna cause a stir but hear me out. I think the same thing applies to those boys in Jena. I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND why they did what they did but you have to understand that wrong is wrong. If you don’t do anything wrong “the man” can’t put you in jail. I think many black people just want justification for their wrong deeds. “My momma was on rocks, my daddy was in jail, blah,blah,blah” what does all that have to do with you. If you want better do better.

Wow AND… The Jena thing is a perfect example of racism, both institutional and judicial. Those boys should NOT have done what they did, you are correct about that but why weren’t the white boys punished for what they did? There was clearly some racist sh1t going on.

Here’s an exerpt from Democracy Now’s website:

JACQUIE SOOHEN: Most people we spoke to in Jena’s white community, however, see no connection between the students’ charges and race. Barbara Murphy, the town librarian, claims there isn’t a race problem in Jena.

BARBARA MURPHY: We don’t have a race problem. It’s not black against white. It’s crime. The nooses? I don’t even know why they were there, what they were supposed to mean. There’s pranks all the time, of one type or another, going on. And it just didn’t seem to be racist to me.

JACQUIE SOOHEN: A few days after the nooses were hung, the entire black student body staged an impromptu demonstration, crowding underneath the tree during lunch hour. Justin Purvis, the student who first asked to sit underneath the tree, described how the protest came about.

JUSTIN PURVIS: It was like, the first beginning, in the courtyard, they said, “Y’all want to go stand under the tree?” We said, “Yeah.” They said, “If you go, I’ll go. If you go, I’ll go.” One person went, the next person went, everybody else just went.

JACQUIE SOOHEN: The school responded to the protest by calling police and the district attorney. At an assembly the same day, the District Attorney Reed Walters, accompanied by armed policeman, addressed the students. Substitute teacher Michelle Rogers, one of the few black teachers at the school, was there. She recalls the DA’s words to the assembled high schoolers.

MICHELLE ROGERS: The kids didn’t say anything. They were listening. The kids were quiet. And so, District Attorney Reed Walters, you know, proceeded to tell those kids that “I could end your lives with the stroke of a pen.” And the kids were just — it was like in awe that the district — you know, Reed Walters would tell these kids that. He held a pen in his hand and told those kids that, “See this pen in my hand? I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.”

JACQUIE SOOHEN: A series of incidents followed throughout the fall. In October, a black student was beaten for entering a private all-white party. Later that month, a white student pulled a gun on a group of black students at a gas station, claiming self-defense. The black students wrestled the gun away and reported the incident to police. They were charged with assault and robbery of the gun. No charges were ever filed against the white students in either incident. Then, in late November, someone tried to burn down the high school, creating even more tension.

@ awake

Those boys were punished for what they did. They were suspended for school for three days. Is that enough I can’t say but they were punished. Also Justin, the guy that got beat up, was not one of the people who hung the noose; he was just popping off at the mouth about it at school.

So many people are so misinformed that they form their opinions on half-truths.

Just as i have said in my previous post every body is tired but people are failing to act and that single factor of not acting is the major problem the AA are facing as a people . Continental Africans, Asians, and people from all over the world see the US as the land of hope and fullfilled dreams, they come to the US and better their lives whilist taking every opportunity that comes their way, the AA seem to take all these things for granted and see taking some positive steps in transcending against all the obstacles that might stand in their way in bettering their lives as acting white. how long will this thinking and mentality continue? The white people have hurt us deeply but we just can’t put away virtures that will ensure that we grow out and rise above our predicaments as acting white simply because such virtures are believed to be the white man’s way or tradition. Denoucing and berating all our lapses without acting will not change anything. Since it seems we all have the conviction that we are on the wrong course then we should try to see that we turn things around, cos thats the only way we can move forward as a people.

@Bindex

I don’t know what kind of sermon you trying to preach but not everyone as you say “we all have the conviction that we are on the wrong course” feels this way. There are some but if you go back and read these threads and some from previous posts and topics you will see that there are plenty doing what they need to. The only person I have control over is me. I will help any and everyone who wants my help and is helping themselves.

Oh by the way, did you notice Michael Bell, the Jena 6 kid, is back in jail?

Yes Mr. Bell is back in jail and they planned it. He, his lawyers, and his parents thought they were going to court for a simple hearing and they pulled a move on him.

Wake up people. No one is saying they shouldn’t take responsibility for their actions, but, the system is not equal. And justice is not blind. She sees color very well.

Do you understand what it means in this country to have a felony on your record. That means that illegal immigrants have more rights than you do.

I know we would like to believe that everything is fine and well, but, it is not. Stop sleeping.

Anyone from NY here notice in ALL these years she’s been senator, she hasn’t done a thing to specifically benefit the black community. She’s however managed to assist “other” ethnic communities.

First of all, the picture of Obama is emasculating and that has to be for some subconscious affect…

There are many of troubled black men, but for some reason I am not convinced with the #’s. In NYC I see soooo many professional & educated Black men to the point that it is intimidating, I mean some serious dudes. And not just here, in most Metropolitan areas D.c., Charlotte, Jersey, Chicago there seems to be a contingent of Black men in positions of influence and authority. We dont see a media representation of that as we do our troubled men. I have gone to conventions for Black professional associations {trying to network} and the number of successful Black that I witness is astounding to the point of embarrasment b/c I had to admit my ignorance. I thought they were ALL drugged out thugged out or YES rapper dudes…

@ LaLa

I agree, Clinton has been all talk and empty promises.

@BREA

Maybe some black folks wouldnt like to hear this, but I dont know how much sympathy I can have for this Mychal Bell character.

News article: “A judge decided the fight that thrust a teenager into the center of a civil rights controversy violated his probation for a previous conviction and ordered the boy back to jail, the teen’s attorney said.

Mychal Bell, who along with five other black teenagers is accused of beating a white classmate, had gone to juvenile court in Jena on Thursday expecting another routine hearing, said Carol Powell Lexing, one of his attorneys.

Instead, state District Judge J.P. Mauffrey Jr. sentenced Bell to 18 months in jail on two counts of simple battery and two counts of criminal destruction of property

”

So if this fool was already on probation, why was he even getting into this later fight, beating up on this white kid?

I’m tired of making excuses for young black men that do dumb stuff and acting like they have no fear or respect for the law. This kid had been in the legal system multiple times as a teenager. He knew better. This kid was just a disaster waiting to happen. Maybe jail is the best thing for him, since he cant stay out of trouble.

No more coddling of criminals, especially repeat offenders. Most crime by black men is against other blacks. If this kid doesnt get some jail time, maybe he’d end up shooting or raping some black man or woman one day.

Next!

Those jailbirds can find jobs if they really look. I know a bunch that got very high paying jobs ($20 bucks an hour) working for Ford, Pilgrim Pride and other companies in their factories. So it’s not that impossible to find a job depending on your state.

We have to start teach our children to say NO to stuff. I just buried a boy that was set to go to college and he decided to try to rob a dollar store security guard. He and another boy got 11 rounds of a AK47 in them for that. And you will be amazed at how many (BLACK) adults laughed about it.

We do need to stop coddling criminals. It was digusting to see all those blacks defend Michael Vick. We need to call out BET and tell them if you want to show buffonery, show some educational stuff that counters that.Same with these radio stations, I don’t want to hear Soulja Boy 24-7, how about some Rahsaan Patterson or Jurrassi Five? What good is it being number 1 in the black market when you’re 10th in the market behind stations, who will play every black artist you don’t?

@Ghost

Its true, arent you amazed at how BET is so full of it and hypocritical?? I mean when I was seeing all the efforts they were coordinating around Jena 6 or Katrina and then turn around and promote degrading images of our men/women it baffles me. I dont watch BET- well if I happen to pass the station and something stands out I will briefly stop- but other than that, I avoid BET. The real irony is that early morninings you can be engrossed in Creflo Dollar or Pastor John Cherry and then by the end of the program a$$es are popping all over my tv screen. There is nothing of value or substance being produced by BET and I understand that they want to make $$, but obviously from a majority of the posts I see, people are looking for something different with a little more substance. I dont know what majority networks are referring to when they suggest that the audience wants booty, drugs, murder and self- degrading materials, I am not hearing that at all from the people I communicate with. They are selling us smut all day and telling us we like it and that’s all we want b/c that’s all we’re worth. We are being fed garbage and forced to like it, we have tolerated lower standards in our entertainment programming and given up on appreciating variety. The one station that is charged with representing us exclusively, takes the first blow at destroying our minds, development and the potential to produce capable, mature and competent individuals. What we and our youths see glorified on BET brainwashes us to accept what is bottom barrell. I’d rather give my money to CBS- a network that hasnt supported Black images at all, but it is better to watch and see what responsible and variety programming looks like rather than to see our own images portrayed daily in the worst and most negative ways possible. Screw BET and boycott that mess!! Until they bring us programming that represents more than one demographic, we shouldnt deal with them, PERIOD!!

That cover is disrespectful and disgraceful, they could have come up with something better even if they were looking for a laugh.

That cover is disgusting. IS this a real cover. I’m upset that Obama is portrayed the way he is naked on the floor while Guliani is clothed. Disgusting, distasteful and insulting. Fresh intelligence my ass.