By RK Byers

It should come as no surprise that a population that treats the earth as bad as it does seems so overwhelmingly misogynistic in general.

America has historically treated white women as 2^nd class citizens so with the race/gender dynamic causing Black men to come in 3^rd class, the Black woman has historically ended up on the bottom of the pile.

Now, if we’re to believe (and ‘believe’ is the key word) some of the data about the condition Black women that has been coming out recently, we’d have to wonder why anybody even bothers with them.

One report says that by 2034, 100% of Black women will be overweight.

Another report says that a single Black woman’s median wealth amounts to a total of $5.

A third report says that 48% of Black women have the virus which causes herpes.

Black women are, in no fancy language, fat, broke and disease infected. They’re also Black so they’re clearly stupid.

It’s as if there’s a psychological terror campaign aimed directly at Black women. And as anyone knows, the first goal of terrorism is to cause true believers to lose faith.

Now, if you’re a Black woman, the most rational thing to do would seemingly be to realize that ‘scientific studies’ have manipulated data for years towards the scientists’ own ends. As recently as the late 1800s, scientific racism was used to suggest that Blacks were intellectually inferior to whites specifically because our faces were thought to slant at an 80 degree angle.

It might also be healthy to remember that normally, it’s the kid with the most potential that gets teased and lied about the most severely by children of far less talent and beauty.

What would be dangerous, reckless and insane would be for Black men to use any or all of this ‘information’ as justification for distancing themselves from Black woman.

If the condition of Black women was truly as dire as all this ‘evidence’ seems to suggest, there is no way that a Black woman could produce a child of either gender that would be of any worth.

Howard Stern’s saying something shocking! (Shocker, right?) Today his target is Precious‘ Gabourey Sidibe. “There’s the most enormous, fat black chick I’ve ever seen. She is enormous. Everyone’s pretending she’s a part of show business and she’s never going to be in another movie.” And on Oprah Winfrey: “Oprah’s another liar, a filthy liar. She’s telling an enormous woman the size of a planet that she’s going to have a career.” We should note Gaby just landed a role on Showtime’s The Big C.

Dear Erykah Badu,

What exactly is this that you posted on your website today?

Am I really watching a 5 minute video of you putting on make-up while your brand new single (which I love, by the way) “Window Seat” plays?

Why am I kinda in a trance?

Remember that Jamie Foxx bit where he talks about not looking Prince directly in the eye because he’d put a spell on you?

Yeah, I think that just might’ve been the case with this video.

Huh?   You want me to put on this funky lookin shirt?

I dunno about that…

I saw what happened with Common and Andre 3000.

This shirt really ain’t my style.

Well… does it come in large?

Sincerely,

Bill Johnson

Shout out to Rap Radar for ripping the video.

RELATED: VIDEO: Erykah Badu Performing “Window Seat” On Jimmy Fallon

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 By theGrio

Marcelas Owens, at age 7, lost his mother due to pulmonary hypertension.

Now, the 10-year-old fifth-grader from has been campaigning for changes in the health care system since his mother died after she fell ill and lost her job and her insurance.

Owens has told his story numerous times to various political leaders around the country who are for health care reform. He is now in DC for protest rallies for change.

by Cathy Holloway Hill

You’ve completed your resume, and you are now sitting beside the phone wondering why you aren’t getting calls from potential employers.  Your education is good, you have work experience, and everything is in order, so that should be enough, right?  Wrong!  The majority of resumes will end up in the trash can unless they are written in an “eye-friendly” manner.  Employers are busy and they don’t have time to read every word on a resume.  There have been outstanding candidates that have slipped through the cracks due to poorly crafted resumes.

The first piece of information a potential employee will look for is your objective statement.  This is typically at the top of the resume directly before your job experience.  Your objective statement must be interesting, intriguing, enthusiastic, and confident.  It must be written in a manner that is clear, concise, and brief.   Attention span and patience runs short when there are hundreds of resumes coming across an employer’s desk daily.

Following are key components for writing a resume that will get the attention of employers:

• Do not have gaps in your work history.  If there are gaps, be sure and explain it in your cover letter.
• Be brief with your job descriptions.  Use action words as much as possible (managed, created, designed, etc).
• Make bullet points
• Ensure your resume is written in a manner which highlights your accomplishments as a result of a particular job.  If you were an administrative assistant, briefly bulletize the achievements and results of your work.  Did you save the company money?  Did you increase employee morale or customer satisfaction?  If you can include numbers, stats, and percentages, this is an additional plus.  A “results-based” resume will get much more attention than a resume that simply offers bland statements of your job responsibilities.
• Include a section of awards & recognition you received.
• Include a brief section of community work and how your contributions made a difference.
• The most current education should be listed first with the name of the college, degree you received and date.
• If your GPA was above 3.5, by all means, list it on the resume.  GPA’s below 3.5 should not be listed.  It may work against you.

In addition to a resume, it is critical that you understand how to design a job portfolio.  According to statistics, a job portfolio is used by less than 4% of job candidates.  This one document alone would place you head and shoulders above the competition once the economy rebounds.  As you are preparing for your post-recession comeback, begin outlining a job portfolio which shows proof of your accomplishments.  If you mention an award in your resume, include a copy of the award in your job portfolio.  A job portfolio works similar to an artist, model, or photographer’s portfolio.  When going in for a potential job, they show samples of their work.  Job seekers should do the same.  When I was in management roles in corporate America, the few candidates that came in with a job portfolio always got the job.  A well-written resume may get you an interview, but the majority of the time, a well crafted job portfolio will get you the job!

Following are items to include in your job portfolio:

• Recommendation letters
• Letters from Professors or Teachers (if you don’t have work experience)
• Copies of awards and/or recognition
• Copies of evaluations (do not include the entire evaluation – just a few pages will do)
• Critiques you may have received from classes you taught
• Samples of projects that had a significantly positive outcome
• Newspaper clippings of articles written about you
• Committee nominations

A job portfolio should strongly highlight your character and accomplishments.  Your documents could be in a hard cover binder, or you could create a paper document to leave behind.  When you leave a copy behind, this gives the potential employer a constant reminder that you stood out from the other candidates.

And by all means, at the end of an outstanding interview, ASK FOR THE JOB!

By Boyce Watkins, PhD

There is one public, all-male, all–African American high school in the city of Chicago called “The Urban Prep Academy for Young Men,” located in Englewood. The school recently got the attention of Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools Chief Ron Huberman, when they were able to get all of their 107 seniors accepted in to 72 different colleges across the country.

Huberman had this to say:

“All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream.”

The school has a very strict dress code, consisting of black blazers, khaki pants and a red tie. The red tie is swapped out for a gold one once the student is accepted in to college. When one student, Rayvaughn Hines, was asked which college he was accepted to, he said, “Do you want me to name them all?”

Hines, a student who once thought college wasn’t made for him, has chosen to become a Morehouse man. He cherished the moment when he switched out his red tie for a gold one.

“I wanted to take my time, because I was just so proud of myself,” he said. “I wanted everyone to see me put it on.”

Urban Prep has a unique set of hurdles. It is in a troubled part of the city, and only 4 percent of the incoming freshmen could read at grade level. With hard work and persistence, the students who could not read at grade level four years ago are now on their way to college.

“I never had a doubt that we would achieve this goal,” said Tim King, the school’s founder and CEO. “Every single person we hired knew from the day one that this is what we do: We get our kids in to college.”

From the day the students enter high school, they are prepared for the next step. They have a college counselor from day one, and their first field trip is a visit to Northwestern University. Their school day is longer than that of students who attend other schools. The school’s voice mail has a student saying, “I am college bound,” before the caller is able to dial an extension.

It was hard to write about Urban Prep without my eyes filling with tears. When I think back to my days as a high school student, when I truly believed that I wasn’t smart enough to go to college, I become petrified. The memories frighten me, because I almost missed out on the chance to become Dr. Boyce Watkins. When someone kills your spirit and willingness to try, they have given a death sentence to your destiny.

Urban Prep certainly scores one point for charter schools. At the same time, President Barack Obama has a unique opportunity to learn lessons from Urban Prep and apply those lessons to every single school in the country. Urban Prep Academy should be given a massive budget to replicate its activities, since it has clearly shown a recipe for success. Additionally, the model of Urban Prep should be applied across the nation, because they are reminding us that when adults create an environment conducive for success, the children in the environment will always rise to the occasion.

You can watch the Urban Prep’s 2009 Convocation below and get a whiff of the spirit and dedication they are bestowing on their students. I’m sure it will touch you and remind you that we are all capable of greatness. Show this to your children, show this to your neighborhood kids. Urban Prep Academy is breaking mental barriers and prescribed capabilities with each graduate they usher in to this big, bold world.

Maxwell and Jill Scott will join forces this summer for a 20-city arena tour of the US.

The tour kicks off on May 21st in Cleveland with additional dates to be announced through June.

Tickets go on sale in select cities at LiveNation.com www.livenation.com/artist/maxwell-tickets or www.livenation.com/artist/jill-scott-tickets

UPDATE:

The first round of tour dates have been announced!

May 21: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
May 22: Detroit (Palace of Auburn Hills)
May 24: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
May 25: Chicago (United Center)
May 29: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
June 2: Seattle (Key Arena)
June 4: Oakland (Oracle Arena) (on sale 3/13)
June 5: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
June 8: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
June 9: Houston (Toyota Center)
June 12: Atlanta (Philips Arena) (on sale 3/13)
June 14: Miami (American Airlines Arena)
June 18: Washington DC (Verizon Center) (on sale 3/12)
June 19: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center) (on sale 3/12)
June 21: Uncasville, CT (Mohegan Sun)
June 25: New York (Madison Square Garden) (on sale 3/13)

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by Tony Lamont

I had the pleasure of speaking with the most wonderful Tasha Smith this morning on my show. She is such a delight to talk too. What a wonderful spirit, and beautiful example of a nubian queen. She’s going to be the host of the ”All Male Revue…Love, Sex and Relationships from a male’s perspective  panel discussion, this Saturday 1:15pm at the 2010 Women’s Empowerment Series at the Murat. Take a listen

RELATED: THE LEAK: Erykah Badu “Agitation” & “Don’t Be Long” (Radio Rip)

Also, did you catch the spandex pants? Jay Electronica is a lucky mofo. (props to MrWorldPremier.net)

GARY, Ind. (WLFI) – An Amber Alert was  issued for a 4-year-old girl from Gary Indiana at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, but has now been canceled.

The Gary Police Department said they believed Naomi Primos was abducted and believed she was in extreme danger. 44-year-old Nelson Chew was suspected in her disappearance. It is not known if the child was with Chew when she was found.

The Gary Police Department announced that Primos had been located just before 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The Amber Alert was canceled at this time.