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Webbie
A Great Story! Pay Attention!!!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007, 09:33 PM [General]
David Aldridge | Time to stop all the dying
By David Aldridge
Inquirer Columnist
If you want to debate which quarterback is best for the Eagles, please, go
read somebody else. This morning, I don't give a damn. My concern today is
not whether Donovan starts Sunday but whether Dontae down the block is going
to be alive in a year.
Black men, I need your attention.
This means you, Jimmy Rollins.
Mr. Cosby, give me a minute.
I'm talking both to Beasley Reece and the guy who drives the downtown bus.
Will Smith and the electrician fixing the wiring at City Hall. The pastor at
the Baptist church. The waiter at the Capital Grille.
The pilot behind the stick of the USAirways flight this morning.
The teacher in West Philly.
The barber in the first chair.
Mayor-elect Nutter.
The 14-year-old who thinks no one believes in him.
The painter.
The convict.
The gay guy.
The sergeant just back from Iraq. The lieutenant who is going next week.
All of you. Listen up.
I'm tired of seeing young black men go into the ground.
Tired of seeing lives ruined by guns, and by drugs, and by bad choices, and
by people like me who sit idly by while it happens, because it isn't
happening to us.
Rich men, poor men, athletes, beggars, journalists, L.A., D.C., Detroit,
Chicago, it doesn't matter. We are dying.
I've just spent two days with the Redskins, who are trying to deal with the
fact that one of their best players and team leaders, a young, complicated
black man named Sean Taylor, is dead at 24, because someone broke into his
home at 1:30 in the morning Monday and murdered him.
There are those, including colleagues I respect, who say they're not
surprised, and infer that Taylor had it coming, because he had had a beef
with some bad people two years ago that led to brandished guns and cars shot
full of holes. And, thus, it was inevitable that he had to die, like life is
a Shakespearean play or something. A Montague is dead; a Capulet must
follow. It's in the script.
No, no, no. That is wrong.
As black men, we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by anyone - by the
media or by ourselves - and accept the premise that one beginning means only
one possible ending.
Sean Taylor, while no saint, was not a "thug." He didn't grow up in the
'hood. He went to private schools before college. And even if he was a thug
- whatever that is - or embraced that culture during one part of his life,
that doesn't mean he deserved to die in front of his child and fiancée, in
his home, bothering no one.
I'm angry that people cry about Sean Taylor's death because he was an
outstanding football player, as if his death has extra meaning because he
had great closing speed. This is not about sports.
We have buried 200 Sean Taylors in this city this year. We don't know what
would have come of their dreams and hopes. They deserve our tears, too, for
they may have been anonymous to you, but they weren't to their mothers and
fathers, their best friends and lovers, their teachers and mentors.
I'm angry that, as of 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control,
homicide is the No. 1 cause of death among black men ages of 15 to 34. I'm
angry that the Justice Policy Institute found more black men in prison than
in college.
I'm angry that young brothers who like school and want to learn are accused
of "acting white," and have to make the awful choice of sticking with their
education or sticking with their boys. It happened to me when I was 5. I've
never gotten over it. How does one mend a heart broken by those who look
most like him?
I'm tired of nodding in agreement as I did yesterday when Brian Westbrook
talked about how he has to be extra careful these days, because he knows
that, all-pro or not, he's a target when he steps off the field, and his
celebrity provides no shield.
"I feel as though everybody's vulnerable, to a certain extent," he said.
"You have to watch the company that you keep. You have to watch the
situations that you put yourself in. . . . You can't put yourself in a
situation where your friends are doing dirt or bad things, and then you hang
around those people. 'Cause at some point, karma catches up with you."
We can continue to throw our hands up and blame others or we can stop this
genocide and deal with the recriminations later.
In an otherwise demagogic campaign advertisement in 1964, Lyndon Johnson
said, "These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God's children
can live or to go into the dark. We must either love each other or we must
die."
What's it gonna be?
Darren White, Agent
Future Sports Management
301-335-0757
By David Aldridge
Inquirer Columnist
If you want to debate which quarterback is best for the Eagles, please, go
read somebody else. This morning, I don't give a damn. My concern today is
not whether Donovan starts Sunday but whether Dontae down the block is going
to be alive in a year.
Black men, I need your attention.
This means you, Jimmy Rollins.
Mr. Cosby, give me a minute.
I'm talking both to Beasley Reece and the guy who drives the downtown bus.
Will Smith and the electrician fixing the wiring at City Hall. The pastor at
the Baptist church. The waiter at the Capital Grille.
The pilot behind the stick of the USAirways flight this morning.
The teacher in West Philly.
The barber in the first chair.
Mayor-elect Nutter.
The 14-year-old who thinks no one believes in him.
The painter.
The convict.
The gay guy.
The sergeant just back from Iraq. The lieutenant who is going next week.
All of you. Listen up.
I'm tired of seeing young black men go into the ground.
Tired of seeing lives ruined by guns, and by drugs, and by bad choices, and
by people like me who sit idly by while it happens, because it isn't
happening to us.
Rich men, poor men, athletes, beggars, journalists, L.A., D.C., Detroit,
Chicago, it doesn't matter. We are dying.
I've just spent two days with the Redskins, who are trying to deal with the
fact that one of their best players and team leaders, a young, complicated
black man named Sean Taylor, is dead at 24, because someone broke into his
home at 1:30 in the morning Monday and murdered him.
There are those, including colleagues I respect, who say they're not
surprised, and infer that Taylor had it coming, because he had had a beef
with some bad people two years ago that led to brandished guns and cars shot
full of holes. And, thus, it was inevitable that he had to die, like life is
a Shakespearean play or something. A Montague is dead; a Capulet must
follow. It's in the script.
No, no, no. That is wrong.
As black men, we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by anyone - by the
media or by ourselves - and accept the premise that one beginning means only
one possible ending.
Sean Taylor, while no saint, was not a "thug." He didn't grow up in the
'hood. He went to private schools before college. And even if he was a thug
- whatever that is - or embraced that culture during one part of his life,
that doesn't mean he deserved to die in front of his child and fiancée, in
his home, bothering no one.
I'm angry that people cry about Sean Taylor's death because he was an
outstanding football player, as if his death has extra meaning because he
had great closing speed. This is not about sports.
We have buried 200 Sean Taylors in this city this year. We don't know what
would have come of their dreams and hopes. They deserve our tears, too, for
they may have been anonymous to you, but they weren't to their mothers and
fathers, their best friends and lovers, their teachers and mentors.
I'm angry that, as of 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control,
homicide is the No. 1 cause of death among black men ages of 15 to 34. I'm
angry that the Justice Policy Institute found more black men in prison than
in college.
I'm angry that young brothers who like school and want to learn are accused
of "acting white," and have to make the awful choice of sticking with their
education or sticking with their boys. It happened to me when I was 5. I've
never gotten over it. How does one mend a heart broken by those who look
most like him?
I'm tired of nodding in agreement as I did yesterday when Brian Westbrook
talked about how he has to be extra careful these days, because he knows
that, all-pro or not, he's a target when he steps off the field, and his
celebrity provides no shield.
"I feel as though everybody's vulnerable, to a certain extent," he said.
"You have to watch the company that you keep. You have to watch the
situations that you put yourself in. . . . You can't put yourself in a
situation where your friends are doing dirt or bad things, and then you hang
around those people. 'Cause at some point, karma catches up with you."
We can continue to throw our hands up and blame others or we can stop this
genocide and deal with the recriminations later.
In an otherwise demagogic campaign advertisement in 1964, Lyndon Johnson
said, "These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God's children
can live or to go into the dark. We must either love each other or we must
die."
What's it gonna be?
Darren White, Agent
Future Sports Management
301-335-0757
Mannie Fresh's Sister Killed Today!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007, 09:09 PM [General]
Thanks to Leo Getz in New Orleans for relaying this information. Please pray for the family.............
http://www.wwltv.com/video
Mother of two found gunned down in Algiers homeFamily members of a woman shot and killed in her Algiers home tell Eyewitness News she is the sister of New Orleans rapper Mannie Fresh.Video: Watch the Story Police said the 41-year-old woman, identified by family members as Angela Bryant, was found dead in her home in the 1000 block of Farragut Street around 8 a.m. Thursday from an apparent gunshot wound, although police believe she was gunned down sometime late Wednesday evening.Police said two children - ages three and seven - were at the home at the time of the shooting. Both were found unharmed and safe.Police have asked for the public's help in locating the victim's vehicle - which is missing. It was described as a black 1998 Lexus LS 300 with license plate PTF 205 - it has black tinted windows.Police said they were searching the residence with a fine tooth comb.Carrie St. Cyr, the mother of the victim, told Eyewitness News Reporter Jill Hezeau that Bryant just got married in October. She said Wednesday was her birthday and the family had gone out to dinner to celebrate.She said the victim's husband was out of town, but that he was on his way back.
Kanye West Mom Dies..................
Sunday, November 11, 2007, 10:15 PM [General]
Kanye West's mother dies
November 11, 2007
Dr. Donda West, the mother of hip-hop superstar Kanye West, who nurtured and promoted her son’s musical career from its infancy, died Saturday in a Los Angeles hospital. She was 58.
Beyond her son’s international fame, Dr. West had carved out her own niche as a well-respected educator in Chicago — long affiliated with Chicago State University where she rose to the chairmanship of the school’s English department.
Hip-hop superstar Kanye West performs with his mother, Donda West, during a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in May 2006 in Burbank, Calif. The rapper's spokesman said Donda West died Saturday in Los Angeles.
(AP file)
(AP file)
Donda West, mother of rapper Kanye West, was a former English professor at Chicago State University.
(Courtesy)
(Courtesy)
RELATED STORIES
• Click here to read more local storiesShe left the school in 2004 as her son’s musical career exploded — leading to a series of various endorsement opportunities and other marketing and licensing agreements. Dr. West became the CEO of Super Good, the parent company of Kanye West Enterprises, and moved to California two years ago. In recent months she was heading West’s foundation, which aimed to keep kids from dropping out of school.
Kanye West, who was just in Chicago last week filming a music video for his song ‘‘Homecoming,’’ had just arrived in London when he learned of his mother’s death Saturday. He immediately flew to Los Angeles to join fellow family members.
The entertainer never hid the fact that he and his mother were unusually close — both personally and professionally, telling the Sun-Times in 2005, ‘‘I never make any important decision without consulting her.’’
Usually a popular member of Kanye West’s entourage at all the major music awards shows, such as the Grammys, Dr. West most recently grabbed headlines last spring with the publication of a memoirs, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, co-authored with Karen Hunter.
In the book, Dr. West focused on raising her talented son as a single mother in the African-American community — eventually becoming his manager as he gained national attention as a new musical sensation.
In the early period of West’s career, Dr. West herself was known to call local Chicago radio and television stations in order to promote her son — persistently attempting to get Kanye booked for live or taped appearances.
In recent years, Kanye West also made headlines for his comments on homosexuality, his addiction to pornography, his supposed feud with rap superstar 50 Cent and his posing as Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns on his head on a cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Earlier this year, Dr. West told Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster, ‘‘I don’t see anything wrong with what Kanye said. And I don’t see the controversy. He is telling how he feels and he is speaking the truth as he sees it.’’
Always quick to stand behind her son, Dr. West told Foster, ‘‘I support my baby.’’