According to a new report by the Black AIDS Institute, if blacks in the United States constituted their own country, that nation would rank sixteenth in the world in the number of people living with HIV. Two percent of adult black Americans are infected with the virus, and only four countries outside Africa have a higher HIV prevalence.

Visit www.blackaids.org for  more info. Download the full report here.

Hear journalist Kai Wright discuss this report on Democracy Now! The brotha is holdin it down for real on this and subprime crime.

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Click for L.A. Times Story
The shootings occurred within the past two months. On Monday, Rep. Maxine Waters, supported by a group of protesters from the community, announced she is seeking a federal investigation.

“I don’t trust any police department to investigate itself,” Waters said Monday.

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The parents of LaVena were on Democracy Now! last week. There’s no way you can not take action after hearing this. Thanks to Color of Change for leading the way on this issue.  You can also visit www.lavenajohnson.com for more info.

LaVena Johnson was a 19 year old private in the Army, serving in Iraq, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned–by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called her death a suicide and has closed the case.¹

For three years, LaVena’s parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they’ve been met with closed doors or lies. They’ve appealed to Congress, the one body that can hold the military accountable. But, as in other cases where female soldiers have been raped and murdered and the Army has called it suicide, Congress has failed to act.

Will you join Mr. and Mrs. Johnson in calling on Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, to mount a real investigation into LaVena Johnson’s death and the Army’s cover-up²? Will you ask your friends and family to do the same?

http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/

From the beginning, LaVena’s death made no sense as a suicide. She was happy and had been talking with friends and family regularly³–nothing indicated she could be suicidal. And when the Johnsons received her body, they noticed signs that she had been beaten.⁴ That was when they started asking questions.

After two years of being denied answers and hearing explanations that made no sense, the Johnsons received a CD-ROM from someone on the inside. It contained pictures of the crime scene where LaVena died and an autopsy showing that she had suffered bruises, abrasions, a dislocated shoulder, broken teeth, and some type of sexual assault. Her body was partially burned; she had been doused in a flammable liquid, and someone had set her body on fire. A corrosive chemical had been poured in her genital area, perhaps to cover up evidence of rape.⁵

Still the Army sticks by their story. They refuse to explain the overwhelming physical evidence that LaVena was raped and murdered and continue to claim that she killed herself.

For many Black youth, and working class young people of every race, the military is seen as an option for securing a better future. LaVena came from a deeply supportive family, and while the military wasn’t her only option, she was attracted by its promise to help her pay for a college education and the opportunity to travel around the world. She also thought that by joining she could continue her lifelong commitment to serving other people in need. She made a decision to serve in the military, with all its risks, and expected respect and dignity in return.

LaVena’s death is part of a disturbing pattern of cases where female soldiers have been raped and killed, and where the military has hidden the truth and labeled the deaths suicides.^6,7 In virtually all cases, Congress has been slow to investigate or hold the military accountable in any way. Unfortunately, most families simply don’t have the resources, time, and psychological strength to push back.

We can help the Johnsons, and other families, by holding Congress accountable in the LaVena Johnson case and by demanding it investigate the pattern of cover-ups by the military.

Please take a moment to join those calling on Congressman Waxman to investigate the cover-up of LaVena Johnson’s death:

http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/

Thanks and Peace,

– James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 28th, 2008

References:

1. “The cover-up of a soldier’s death?” LavenaJohnson.com, March 6, 2007
http://www.lavenajohnson.com/2007/03/cover-up-of-soldiers-death.html

2. “Is There an Army Cover Up of Rape and Murder of Women Soldiers?” CommonDreams.org, April 28, 2008
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/28/8564/

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. “Suicide or Murder? Three Years After the Death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson in Iraq, Her Parents Continue Their Call for a Congressional Investigation,” Democracy Now!, June 23, 2008.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/23/suicide_or_murder_three_years_after

6. See reference 2.

7. “2 Years After Soldier’s Death, Family’s Battle Is With Army,” New York Times, March 21, 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/mzcvh

Other References:

“Justice for Pfc. LaVena Johnson,” DailyKos, June 30, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5bh73v

“Rapists in the Ranks, Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/2z2c8l

Thanks to those of you who signed the petition.

OBAMA SPEECH TRANSCRIPT:
Remarks of Senator Barack Obama (as prepared for delivery)”A World that Stands as One”

July 24th, 2008

Berlin, Germany

Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

More than 20 years after being tortured into giving confessions by Chicago police officers, dozens of black men remain behind bars.

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After 12 years, Tavis Smiley is turning over the mic on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and they’ve put the choice for his replacement in your hands. What’s more, our own Van Jones, co-founder of ColorOfChange, is one of the seven finalists for the prestigious spot.

Van just finished delivering a great live commentary, followed by a rave review by Joyner’s celebrity judge. We’re encouraging everyone we know to check it out and then rank his performance online. It takes only a moment; just click here:

http://tomjoyner.com/commentator/contenders/commentator_van.html

This week they’ll cut the seven finalists to four, so your vote really counts. If he makes it through, we know Van will elevate the issues we care about–improving our schools, fighting for healthcare, creating good, green jobs and fixing our broken justice system–on one of the most listened-to shows in America.

If you want to vote for Van, it’s easy, but you have to do it before voting closes tonight. Follow this link, then click on “Listen Now” to hear the commentary and “Vote Now” to cast your ballot:

http://tomjoyner.com/commentator/contenders/commentator_van.html

Once you’re there, you can also find out more about Van’s work and life through the series of links to his articles and appearances.

Thank You and Peace,

– James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
July 22nd, 2008

The Green Party made history last week when it nominated the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket in US history. Former Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was the first African American woman elected to Congress in Georgia, won the Green Party’s nomination last Monday. She named longtime community organizer, journalist and former director of the Hip Hop Caucus, Rosa Clemente, as her running mate earlier this month. They both join us for a wide-ranging discussion on the 2008 race, the media, the impact of the hip hop generation and more. [includes rush transcript]

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CINCINNATI — David A. Paterson, in his first major speech to a national audience since becoming governor of New York, said on Thursday that even as black Americans rejoice about the possibility that Senator Barack Obama could become president, they cannot lose sight of the serious social and economic ills that plague their community and should remain mindful of the racism that still exists.

A voice of reason.

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In Washington, a historically black church is trying to attract white members to survive. Atlanta’s next mayoral race is expected to feature the first competitive white candidate since the 1980s. San Francisco has lost so many African-Americans that Mayor Gavin Newsom created an “African-American Out-Migration Task Force and Advisory Committee” to help retain black residents.

“The city is experiencing growth, yet we’re losing African-American families disproportionately,” Mr. Newsom says. When that happens, “we lose part of our soul.”

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Letter to Huffington Post.

Your running line of commentary on Sherri Shepherd (Sherri Shepherd Moment Of The Day) suggesting she is ignorant and unintelligent is racist and you should stop. You have no appreciation for Black humor or a Black world view so you are not in a position to judge her intelligence. I assure you that Black women do not achieve their positions by accident or some fortunate twist of fate. It takes a certain amount of intelligence for any Black woman to navigate her way to success in white corporate America (which our media is a product of), and to endure racist and sexists stereotyping that you have stooped to. So I assure you she is not stupid. She’s a comedian, she’s a real person (and funny as hell, when you getting your sitcom girl?). This running joke about Sherri is insulting and should stop.

Wild Roots

Any Sista who has worked long enough in corporate America knows what I’m talkin bout too. Wish politicians,  or anyone in the corporate media for that matter, had the guts to be themselves on TV everyday the way Sherri does.  Maybe we’d start to see some real changes. (Not calling no names).

They haven’t responded to their email yet, but in my experience, calling the Huffingtonpost, so-called “progressive media” out on their bullshit gets no more response than mainstream corporate media.

Feel free to copy and paste and edit into your own email. info@huffingtonpost.com  (There’s no email on their site to contact the editors.  Get it together HuffPo.)

 I’ve seen it all now.  Black folks talking about the state of the Black nation in the Corporate media.  If I hear “personal responsibility” one more time I’m liable to go postal on that ass.  So when predatory lenders go after Black first time homeowners trying to grab their little piece of the American pie, who will call out mortgage bankers on their personal responsibility, i.e. stop being so damn greedy.  Every facet of American life is still stained with racism, from inconsistent health care, disproportionate incarceration rates, failing public schools, etc.  Oh but “Black folks, look within and stop whining and walk in the light of the American Dream,” is all we seem to be hearing these days.  I’m all for self reflection, but CNN is not forum for that.  If CNN can call us out on our lack of personal responsibility, then they should equally call white folks out on their white priviledge and ingrained racism.  Couple of ideas for CNN’s next forum:

 1.  Hold a forum for the financial community and ask them how they, in their professional opinions, contributed to the economy to going down the drain because of subprime loans that unfairly targeted Black home buyers and home owners.

2. Hold a forum for healthcare professionals to explain the article that came out recently that reveals the disparity in deaths from cancer between Black and whites in the same urban centers.

3.  Hold a forum for the education and law enforcement communities discussing an end to the Cradle to Prision pipeline.  How about that?

But that would be too much like right.  Didn’t Dr. King say racism is a disease that afflicts us all?  Black folks for a false sense of inferiority and white folks for a false sense of superiority.  There always comes a time when white folks in the media think they know us and racism seems like a distant memory (usually after a creative breakthrough on our part, like jazz, Motown or this time, hip hop).  They think they get us now and it’s all good.  The last time I remember it was just before the Rodney King verdict and the Rebellion that followed.  Didn’t hear a peep about racism in the media until Chuck D and KRS and NWA strong armed the mic.  (Note to self:  Re-read James Baldwin “The Fire Next Time”)  And I just love the promos, “after watching this America will know what it’s like to be Black in America.”  We will explain 400 years of Black suffering and struggling and overcoming in two hours.

And what happened to Umoja?  Essence, if you are going to bring advertising dollars to a network so that white America can try and fill in the blanks that hip-hop left, at least do it on BET.  Essence and the Black thinkers that contributed their time to the program, I ain’t mad at you.  You tried to bring light to our issues, and add a nice little entry to your personal bios and resumes, and clock dollars at the same time.  But we are in a precarious time right now y’all.  We’re being told that racism is all in the past and if we talk about it we’re living in the past.  Eight years of Bush did shift the boogyman focus from us to the “terrorists.”  But all that shit can shift right back on a dime.

Trust.

QUNU, South Africa (AP) — Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday Friday by urging the wealthy to share their prosperity with the less fortunate and by saying he wished he had been able to spend more time with his family during the anti-apartheid struggle.

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Mumia breaks down his take on Barack’s campaign and raises questions about its future.

It should surprise no one the candidacy of Illinois senator Barack Obama has evoked fascination, not least because of his presumed outsider status as a man at least partial African descent. It is this racial inheritance that accounts, to a considerable degree, for the fascination among both Blacks and whites posed by his candidacy. But as ever in America, race often hides as much as it reveals. For if Barack is an outsider to the American body politic because of his Blackness, he is too an outsider to much of Black America precisely because of his direct East African heritage, one unleavened and unmitigated by the 500 years of Black bondage, resistance, repression and rebellion that is at the heart of the African American experience and identity. In this sense Obama is a double outsider and has had to work out his own way into what being Black in America means.

Listen to the full commentary here.

More from  Mumia

The Grammy Award-winning singer said: “I’ve been so fortunate to have learned so much from my past experiences. I am embraced by the love and support of my family and friends.

“I am committed to my belief in myself and in my abiding faith to meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination.”

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