on the black hand side

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? [VIDEO]

Tyler Perry is back with the sequel to Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too?. This film promises surprises and the trailers are interesting. Perry's films tend to be formulaic with a positive message about family and relationships. This latest film will be out April 2. It's a safe bet that it will be a blockbuster even if the bootleg version is already on the streets.

Get Counted! Mail in Your Census Form!

Census information affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives. And people from many walks of life use census data to advocate for causes, rescue disaster victims, prevent diseases, research markets, locate pools of skilled workers and more.

When you do the math, it's easy to see what an accurate count of residents can do for your community. Better infrastructure. More services. A brighter tomorrow for everyone. In fact, the information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion dollars of federal funding each year is spent on infrastructure and services like:

• Hospitals
• Job training centers
• Schools
• Senior centers
• Bridges, tunnels and other-public works projects
• Emergency services

Participation isn't just important—it's mandatory.

 

Vanessa Williams Speaks Out on Movie Message [VIDEO]

Actress Vanessa L. Williams has an opinion and shares it on ABC-TV's 'The View." Williams said what many blacks think and have written about this movie. Rather than dismiss her opinion about this movie, this country --- that would be us --- really needs to address the issue of race and images in all media.

There's no denying 'The Blind Side' is based on a true story. There's also no denying that some women can identify with the horrendous life memorialized by the movie, 'Precious.' We could get into a discuss about Tyler Perry's 'Madea' movies but I think you get the point. The issue Williams raises is a matter of balance in the image of blacks. Where is this decade's version of The Cosby Show?

Bloggers of Color set to gather for largest conference ever

'Blogging While Brown' to be held June 18-19 in Washington, DC

 

Washington, DC --- At a time when many social media conferences are struggling with issues of diversity and inclusion among their speakers and attendees, the Blogging While Brown Conference continues to provide one of the largest lineups of Black social media experts and serves as one of the largest gatherings of Black bloggers each year. Since its launch in 2008 Blogging While Brown has grown to become the premier blogging conference dedicated to collaboration, education, and innovation among bloggers of color. 
 
Blogging While Brown 2010 will be held in Washington, DC, June 18-19, 2010 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Despite challenging economic times the conference has grown exponentially and this year's conference promises to be the largest ever

. 
 
African Americans are embracing their roles as independent digital media content creators and are emerging as a burgeoning class of media owners.
 
"Blogging While Brown is a must-go to conference if you are looking for the next Black leaders in American culture. If you're a blogger who happens to be African American, this is the place to go to connect with and learn from those who have succeeded in the blogosphere," said Cheryl Contee of Fission Strategy and co-founder of the blog, Jack and Jill Politics. Contee is a member of the Blogging While Brown Advisory Committee.
 
"For sponsors and media influentials, this is where the action is - look no further to find the next generation of influentials who already have strong, vital audiences who have flocked to build active, motivated communities online," Contee says.
 
Conference organizers predict that this year's conference will be the largest ever. "If the initial response to our Call for Ideas is any indication, this year's conference will be our largest ever," said Gina McCauley, the founder of the Blogging While Brown Conference.
 
This year the conference is once again expanding by adding a Blogging Day of Service. Conference organizers will be offering a FREE Beginning Blogger Boot Camp aimed at non-bloggers in the local Washington, DC community. The Boot Camp will be held Friday, June 18 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Public Library.
 
"It's our gift to our host community and a tangible manifestation of our goal to live in a world where everyone can blog," McCauley said.
 
Conference activities will kick off Friday morning with our pre-conference Beginning Blogger Boot Camp. Conference registration check-in begins Friday afternoon followed by our Friday night social event. Saturday will be a day filled with workshops, panels, case studies, and a town hall meeting. 
 
For more information and to register visit www.bloggingwhilebrown.com.

 

Queen Latifah and Common Star in Romantic Comedy 'Just Wright' [VIDEO]

A new romantic comedy starring Queen Latifah, Common, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Pam Grier and Phylica Rashad is set to be released May 14. 'Just Wright' looks like a nice movie with Common as a basketball player and Queen as a physical therapist who helps him after a career-threatening injury.

So what's the plot besides that? Well, Latifah's friend, played by Paula Patton, hooks up with Common only to diss him when she thinks his professional career is over. Latifah develops romantic feelings for Common and the rest is to be known when the film is released.

Oh yeah, be on the lookout for real ballers such as Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard.

Brainwashed: Black Inferiority/White Superiority [VIDEO]

“You’ve been misled. You been had. You been took.”  --- Malcolm X

Tom Burrell has written a powerful book, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, that exposes and explains why the black collective finds itself in a current condition of dysfunction. It was difficult to put this book down because Burrell’s perspective is different from many books on this same broad subject.

Burrell’s perspective as a marketing and public relations expert is straight forward, eye-opening and raw. Our mental conditioning must be addressed before blacks can ever realize true, substantive progress as a people.

Brainwashing is not just a victimization of blacks although blacks seem to be the most damaged by it. Whites have been brainwashed, as have women, men, Latinos, Asians, etc., etc., etc. Pick a group, any group and you have been brainwashed too.

Shout out to Roland Martin of the Tom Joyner Morning Show for interviewing Tom Burrell and turning me on to this book. I've purchased a few as gifts. We'll discuss this book in more detail. Get a copy and Stop the Brainwash!

 

Haiti Earthquake Relief Song: Are You Listening [VIDEO]

Zeta Tau Alpha Brings Diversity and Controversy to Sprite Step-Off [VIDEO]

Apparently, there's been a bit of controversy over the naming of the all-white step team from Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity (yes, they are a women's organization) of the University of Arkansas as 1st Place winners of the national Sprite Step-Off competition. What was up with the booing after they were named winners? Come on, people.

 

After the announcement and complaints by blacks, competition sponsors said there was a discrepancy in the scoring and named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority of Indiana University as co-winners and awarded them $100,000 also.

Here's the performance by Alpha Kappa Alpha.

 

Now, let's be real. Undoubtedly there was some novelty and surprise for ZTA to be in the competition but a few seconds into their routine and it was obvious they brought their "A" game. Their showmanship, execution and overall peformance was tight.

 

The historical significance of stepping based on African boot dance and the obstacles blacks overcame for the right to a formal education are not discussed nearly enough. If it took a group of white girls from Arkansas winning a historically-black contest to instigate that discussion then it's all good. Be on notice that Zeta Tau Alpha has raised the bar in stepping. So to all participants, just raise the bar higher next year or stay home.