DWB

Missouri is a very racially polarized state. I have lived in St. Louis for most of my life and racism has become apart of my everyday life. I am not saying that every white person in Missouri is a racist but what I am saying is that there is white privilege given to Caucasians. For those of you that live outside of the Midwest you may think that Missouri is comprised of rural land, cows, farmers and a bunch of red necks and colored folks. Well you would be partly right….but not completely accurate. St. Louis is the gateway to the West and is very hip, urban, up and coming town. After spending a year in Los Angeles I love paying a mortgage of 699.45, which is less than half of the rent of my LA apartment! I love that I can fill up my car for less than 30.00 dollars and everything is less than 20 minutes away.

However, Missourians carry their race card in their back pockets. We have quite a few closet racist in our town. Although they won’t verbally admit to this heinous thought, their actions shows what they really feel.

For instance driving while black is very real in Missouri. Black drivers in the state are 67 percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. Blacks are the only racial group in Missouri pulled over by police at a rate higher than their percentage of population in the state. This information was found in a report on vehicle stops released by the attorney general’s office Monday. I have been back for less than two years and I have been pulled over 4 times! I was only guilty once out of those stops. It’s so bad that last month my cousin got pulled over in the driveway of his home.

It’s sickening to me that it is acceptable to do this to my people. Last week I took my little sister to court in a predominately white side of town (Des Peres), the median income for a family in this area is $96,433. The racial makeup of the city is 96.55% White, 0.79% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race is 0.83% of the population.

In spite of the racial make up of the city 90% of the people in court were black. Yes a town that is comprised of 96.55% of White people have an overwhelming amount of blacks in court. Most of the black people were stopped by traffic cops and few were caught stealing from the mall. Basically they ignore all the White people stealing from the mall and driving with expired tags and focus primarily on black people. Of course they may be wondering why a black person would be in the neighborhood and randomly run the plates or assume that most blacks in the mall are stealing.

When the traffic report was placed online one of the white commenter’s wrote the following statement:
“Blacks are disproportionately stopped by police, but they also make up a disproportionate number of those living in a lower economic status. This comes into play when discussing traffic stops for non-moving violations like improper registration or equipment defects. Poorer people may neglect to get their vehicle properly registered or fix an equipment defect, because they may not be able to afford to or they have other ‘priorities.’ People who are responsible, and who have the means, will get their cars registered and fix problems.”

When he said “People who are responsible”………I take that to mean White people. I also feel that many of the cities count on black people to subsidize their budget through traffic stops. I can not tell you the countless times that I’ve heard friends and family comment on how police just ride behind them and run their plates hoping to see a warrant or something illegal about the vehicle. There is also an entire industry devoted to these traffic stops….traffic lawyers. The will make that speeding ticket become a parking ticket for the low low price of $65.00 , plus court fees in addition to the cost of ticket. Of course you don’t want your insurance rate to skyrocket and you don’t want to have points on your license so you go to the traffic lawyers and pay them to “take care” of your ticket.

Sometimes it can be very frustrating but I can’t get Al Sharpton to come down and hold a rally. But I am tired of singing we shal

No One Escapes

In recent years I’ve had the unfortunate task of attending the funeral of many family members. I’ve attended the funerals of my father, brother, nephew, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, and two uncles. I was very close to all my family members and it was with great pain that I watched their bodies be lowered into the ground. This Thursday I lost another aunt, Aunt Shirley passed away in her sleep early Thursday morning. My aunt called me a 4:30 am to tell me she was gone and I just felt empty. I laid there and tried to think of ways to escape the feeling that was brewing inside of me, but because I experienced it so many times before I knew I had to just let my feelings out.

No mater how many people around me die, I never get use to it. It always knocks the wind out of my sails. I can never get accustomed to the people I love leaving this earth. Death’s sting always hurt! As I get older I begin to think of my own mortality and how fragile life really is. I start to think about what my funeral will be like, how my death will affect the people around me and what I want to leave as a legacy. One thing is for sure no one escapes death, it is promised to every living thing. Tomorrow is not promised, we never know when our time is coming.

I have a weird thing I do when some passes, I pray for their spirit. I pray that their spirit finds God and peace. The night before my Aunt Shirley passed she spoke with her son on the phone and seemed in pretty good shape. No one was prepared for her to die 5 hours later. The same could be said about MJ, he practiced his dance moves, sold his concert tickets, passed a health exam and was ready to turn London out….but he died before all that could take place. As you can see from the out pouring of fans….no one was prepared. Life is meant to be lived, lived in away the produces joy and happiness. If something or someone in your life is causing you grief and bring you down on a constant basis it may be time to extract that person from your life. If you are tired of your situation, be it financial or otherwise it’s time to change it.


People we only get one shot at this life thing, there is on sense in being unhappy for most of it. We never know when God will send his angel to collect his child(ren), live your life fully and completely, do what makes you happy, invite joy into your life. Because remember no one escapes it.

MJ Memorial Service Live!

12:14 PM (CST)

The memorial service starts and Smokie Robinson speaks. Smokie is speaking on behalf on Nelson Mandela. Nelson sends his condolences. What is weird is that it is very quiet in the stadium. All those people and they are so quite almost on edge.


12:21 PM

The are having audio problems and are making repairs and there are no speakers at this time.

12:25 PM

Still waiting... Now they are saying the family just walked in and people are speculating that the audio is fine, but they were waiting for the family come in. Man this is going to a circus... but it will be the closure that people need to realize the MJ is gone

12:34

They just brought out the golden casket holding the body of MJ. There is a black choir singing " We are going to see the King". If you are black and evar went to church you are familar with that song. The casket makes it real for me.


12:37

Lucious Smith Says MJ just wanted to give love to the world and to heal the world. I’m guessing this man must be a friend of the family or one of the Jackson’s personal pastor. But I have to agree with what he is saying.


12:40

Mariah Care looks for a change she is singing that I will be there. They sound awright but not that great. Of course MC is hitting all those damn high notes. Singing with her eyes closed like she really jamming.


12:43

Oh shit I hit the wrong button on my computer and lost connection

12:45

Queen La is reading a poem from Mya Angelo. She is just speaking about missing MJ and how he was a gift and how the creator gave MJ as a gift. She mentions MJ had passion, compassion, humor and style. MJ gave all that he had be given. The world is missing MJ

12:50

OH LAWD……Lionel Richie is singe Jesus is Love. This song always gets me going. I will be floored if they find Howard Hewit to sing Amen. I will be laying on the floor slained in the spirit. Lionel sound a bit off but he will do.


12:54

Now they got Barry Gordy up there giving MJ prayers. He says MJ was like a son to him. Really……. Barry screwed the Jackson’s over and would you do that to a son? Whatever! Barry says that as a child MJ sang Smokie’s song better than Smokie. Barry gave a very scripted speech but it sounded heartfelt. Barry said he feels that MJ is the greatest entertainer that ever lived. That may cause some contreversy but he up there with the best, and for me he is one of the best!


1:04

They are showing some footage of MJ and I remember mostly all of them. Me and my Aunt was watching the video for I’m Bad did yall know that Westly Snipes was in that video! That it was directed by Martin Scorsese.. this man made the Goodfellows, Casino Cape Fear, Gangs of New York, The Departed and many more


1:08

Stevie Wonder is really breaking my co-workers heart she is about to cry. Stevie sang I never thought you would leave in summer ( I think that is what it’s called). The song is so appropriate. Now singing is sanging. Mariah and Lionel need to take note. Damn I’m about to cry too! They are showing the reactions of people across the world and they are crying and looking extremely sad. Co worker had to excuse herself cause she was about to cry.

1:14

CNN is freezing up and messing with the damn audio. They betta get it together NOW. I just noticed all MJ brothers have on black suits with yellow ties and yellow roses on their lapel

1:17

Why the hell are Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant up on stage? They just some space fillers. Did yall know that MJ is in Guinness World Records record as the number one philanthropist for popstars?


1:23

Look and J Hud. She pregnant as all get out. She sounds pretty good she need to go all the way there. She can take us all to church.

1:26

They done let Al Sharpton get on the stage. Jesus take the wheel! Al is losing weight aint he. Al is saying that MJ was the first one to get on MTV making it easier other black entertainers to get on MTV. He said MJ made it easier for people (white people) to accept seeing blacks on the TV screen and the magazines. Al said Obama wrote the Jacksons a letter!
OHHHHHH Man Al told the kids that their daddy was not strange… what he had to deal with was strange. Al was speaking the truth. The Jacksons did make it easier to integrate, MJ did cross over like no other before his time. Al you betta speak the truth!

1:49

Sorry I went MIA I had to do some work!


1:50

Is that Jermaine up there singing? Damn he don’t sound too bad. Shit he sound better than Lionel Richie! I wonder if that is MJ original glove that he has on? He better not have an album coming out cause Imma be pissed if I find out that he trying to launch his career at his brother funeral

1:53

The King kids are up there speaking. Man those people look just like their daddy.

2:01

Sheila Jackson Lee up there now. I’m not sure what her significance to MJ. Oh okay she just said they are introducing a bill that will declare MJ as an American icon. I did not know they did that, you learn something new everyday


2:11

Did Ursher just make up this song "Gone to Soon". I've never heard it before and it just sound like something he made up in the dressing room right before he was told it was his turn to get on stage. Publicity Whore!


2:20

Who is that little boy!


2:26

It's winding down and a bunch of no name singers are singing we are the world. Now all the other celebrities are on the stage singing we are world.


2:35

Now all his brothers are on the stage thanking people for coming out. Naw that aint the orginal glove they all have on gloves. Marlon on stage trying to hold it together and he is trying to hold it together. He said his brother endured so much and that maybe now they would leave him alone

I wonder if his body is truely in that coffin. I bet it's not in the there that would not be a good idea. The Staples Center is packed! MJ little girl says her daddy has been the best dad you could ever imagine and that she loved him so much. Now that was tear jerker. That girl has courage... she wanted to world to know regardless of what they thought about her dad he was the best to her.

Now they just have the spotlight shining on the mike and its almost like he is standing there.

The pastor is back on stage.

Anyway I am glad all the hoop la is over. Hopefully they won't follow the body and give the family all type of grief.
My first love is gone, may he rest in peace. BTW yesterday when I was at Family Dollar I saw a lady selling MJ shirts. Look like she just took some t-shirts and got MJ pics put on them. Sista getting her hustle on.

RIP..... MIKE

Can you hear it...my heart just broke into a thousand pieces. I just heard Michael Jackson passed away. Truly Michael was the first boy I ever loved, my first crush. I remember me and my cousin would get into arguments about who was the bigger MJ fan and who he would date between the two of us. I LOVE MJ, I'VE BEEN A FAN SINCE I WAS 5 YEARS OLD AND I AM 33!!!!! MJ holds fond memories of me and my brother dancing and singing along to thriller and beat it. I remember my mother dressed me up in a beat it jacket with pleather pants and my brother had a thriller jacket with red pleather pants and we looked too good on Easter. I know MJ had all those surgeries and had that child molestation thing... but you could not deny his talent. I remember when they would do world premiers of his videos me and my family would sit around the television and be mesmerized by this amazing guy doing amazing moves. He seemed so full of charisma and charm. Michael is the reason me and my brother got Jherri Curls. MJ is the King of Pop and there will NEVER be another like him. Last night my friend's and I had a memorial service for Mike and we had a blast. We made pizza rolls, brownies and nachos and turned on BET, CNN and MTV and watch the coverage. We sang songs, drank koolaid jammers, discussed how Mike had to fight so many demons and keep his head up at the same time. We laughed at our favorite MJ memory. We basically had a good time celebrating the life of the legendary Michael Jackson. We lost a great one y'all. Michael represents a time when I was naive and innocent, when music was fun and life was easy. My family was good, I was good and it was the 80's. I remember in the
70's having a dancing contest with my family to the song dancing machine. Man before the song was over everybody in the house was dancing, bell bottoms moving and grooving. I've shared so many moments of my life with Michael. He is part of the sound track of my life. I feel like a family member passed away. You know who you get that bad gut feeling that won't leave, well that is how I feel. Michael was personal to me, he was apart of my life. I really will miss him more than than the words on this screen can convey. But what gives me joy is my little brother is in heaven and I believe he was waiting on MJ to clear the gate so he could get a personal dance lesson. Life is precious, time is priceless, spend it wisely. Be kind to others, understand that everyone is not like you and that is okay. We love you and we will miss you. Mike rest in peace and fly, dance and sing with the angels baby. When you see my lil brother John in heaven, please teach him how to do the moon walk the right way....without socks gliding on the kitchen floor!

What the Hell is Going on Iran

If you are like me you may be wondering what the hell is going on in Iran. Currently I do not have cable and do not have a converter box either. Therefore everything I watch is on dvd, however when I listen to the news in the car I keep hearing about the protest in Iran. My job keeps CNN playing in the break area and I saw what seemed to be riots, people marching, fires and basically a bunch of pissed off people.

With that in mind I decided to research the problem.

On June 12th there was an election. Although there were a few candidates the real race was between the incumbent president and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hossein Mousavi.

Many people felt that the incumbent president represented the “old” Iran and the people wanted the change the international perception of their country. With uncertain and declining oil revenues and a global financial crisis, Iran has fallen on hard times. The nation suffers from high inflation and an unemployment rate that tops 30 percent (according to unofficial figures) -- one of the highest in the region, despite the country's huge oil exports. Public discontent over the faltering economy has seen President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad become increasingly unpopular. His reformist and conservative opponents alike have criticized him publicly for spending too much time agitating the U.S. and Israel and not enough trying to fix the crumbling economy. Some feel he has essentially alienated the country because of his vampire-like blood thirst for nuclear weapons and hate for Israel.
The youth was really excited about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and their was kind of an Obama effect associated with this man. The youth openly support him in the streets, but instead of donning branded merchandise they dress head to toe in brilliant green. Some even paint their faces. , Mousavi has publicly criticized Ahmadinejad’s incompetent, foolish and irresponsible behavior on the international stage. He said he wanted to increase positive relations with neighboring countries and the United States. Mousavi also claims his effort to advance the nation’s nuclear program will be for “peaceful purposes.”

Many Iranians felt this election represented the need for freedom in Iran. Freedom of a tyrannical government and freedom under an oppressive leader.
To the dismay of many the incumbent president won the election then all hell broke loose.

Supporters of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, upset at their announced loss and suspicions of voter fraud, took to the streets both peacefully and, in some cases, violently to vent their frustrations. Iranian security forces and hardline volunteer militia members responded with force and arrests, attempting to stamp out the protests. The protest went on for days and is still going on in some areas
I guess I can understand what the people of Iran are going through. They want freedom in everyway, a true democracy that pushes away dictatorship. It also reminds me of the McCain and Obama election. People were tired of the same ole thing and wanted change so badly that they voted a black man into office. Frustration can be a great change maker and that seems to be what is going on in Iran. We would have been rioting too if Obama lost the election. When the people want, need and desire something that their government refused to give will jumpstart a revolution. My prayers are with the protesters and the people of Iran. Just for a moment I pray that peace will be still

American Companies Assisted Apartheid

Think slavery was a bitch…..apartheid was no fun either. Imagine living in a land where your people are a majority and still subjected to being treated as a second class citizen. For those of you that is not familiar with apartheid I will give you a brief run down.



With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent. For example, a white person was defined as ``in appearance obviously a white person or generally accepted as a white person.'' A person could not be considered white if one of his or her parents were non-white. The determination that a person was ``obviously white'' would take into account ``his habits, education, and speech and deportment and demeanor.'' A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry.






Now that we all on the same page… apartheid victims have won the right to sue companies in the United States.


In a major court ruling, victims of South Africa's apartheid era have won the right to sue General Motors, IBM and other multi-national corporations
for complicity in human rights abuses.
A federal judge in New York gave the green light Wednesday for class actions against the corporations under US law allowing rights claims from abroad to be addressed in a US court.



IBM is being sued because it is likely that the tool which made the most crucial contribution to the system of apartheid was the computerized population register. The Plural Affairs Department maintained the passbook system on the more than twenty five million Africans defined as black. These records were all kept electronically on British-made ICL hardware. The Department of the Interior maintained the "Book of Life" files on the other seven million citizens classified as non-blacks using an IBM hardware system. The main purpose of the population registry was administration of the influx control system, a system which channeled needed black workers into the labor force to be exploited, and confined others to the desolate homelands. The passbooks, which every black person was automatically given at the age of sixteen, coupled with the computer database, guaranteed one's instant identification and one's history of government opposition. If these passbooks were properly endorsed, the owner had the right to work or live in "white areas", and lack of these endorsements or failure to produce the passbook resulted in arrest and jail. Many were detained for months at a time without a trial and their families were not given notification of their whereabouts



The lawsuits argue that the car-makers knew their vehicles were being used by South African forces to violently suppress protests. Allegedly Daimler, Ford and General Motors aided and abetted apartheid, torture, extrajudicial killing and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment -- in part because their security personnel were”intimately involved" with the torture and inhuman treatment of several plaintiffs and also because the companies provided the military equipment and trucks used by the South African Defense Forces and the special branch for attacks on protesting citizens and activists;


Based on the ties many American companies have with slavery it would not be a far fetch idea to believe they were involved with apartheid too. The American and European economy was built on the exploitation of Africa. Stealing her diamonds and her most precious commodity… her people. Not only do I hope the victims of apartheid are victorious in their court case, I also hope reparations can be paid to the descendants of slavery. I know this has been debated by far more educated and refined pundits, but I feel that issuing an apology is wack and not enough. Seriously, they paid the Japanese and Native Americans, why not pay the African Americans. Hell at this point 40 acres and a Ford F-150 don’t sound too bad.


The sad part about apartheid is it ended in 1994. I graduated from high school that year and I never knew that people in Africa was dealing with such racism and hatred. My school(s) never taught about the trials and tribulations of my African brothers and sisters. However, they did teach us about European history and every February we would talk about Martin Lutha Kang...Harriett Tubman, W.E.B. Dubois, and Fredrick Douglas. They acted like these were the only black people worth discussing for the 28 days of black history

The Resurgence of Colt 45

Y'all remember the tag line. Colt 45 is the dynamite taste and It works every time. Lately I have been seeing adds with Billy Dee and Colt 45 all over the hood. First I saw it on a billboard on Kingshighway, then I saw it advertised on a bus stop covering on the South Side, then I was on hwy 367 and saw it on my way to work. I was like damn when did they start back advertising Colt 45 again. This time the add is in cartoon animation and Billy Dee still looks like he is 25, when in reality he is probably closer to 75.


Colt 45 brings back childhood memories for me. I remember my Aunt Dee use to love drinking a cold 40oz of Colt 45 after a long day. Aww lawd when they came out with double malt Colt 45 she would be sipping on the foam and feeling real lovely after the first 3 cups. By the time Aunt Dee knocked down her 3rd Colt 45 errbody would have been cursed out, threaten, put out or fucked up. She would play the quiet storm all night while she sat up and drank that "fo-five"

I am just in awe that they are trying to revive that brand. I mean really what type of person in this day and age would be dying to try a Colt 45. Are they trying to capture a new market or get the old market back? I wonder if they still come in glass 40oz bottles or if they switched to cans. I know one thing thank the Lord Aunt Dee is gone to glory cuz if not she would be the first one in line and Hawks Liquor and Check Cashing getting her a ice cold "fo-five"