Why Protest in Beijing?

Everyone knows that China is a communist nation that restricts civil liberties. Who doesn't remember the hundreds of people who were killed and thousands of people who were injured at Tianamen Square in 1989? So why is it that people continue to risk their lives just to make a point?

In the case of Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying, their motivation is perfectly clear. Dianyian, 79, and Xiuying, 77, have lived in China their whole lives and have reached an age at which they finally feel free to speak their minds without worrying about the consequences. They are friends and neighbors who together petitioned for a permit to protest during the Olympics. As punishment for applying to protest, the Chinese government sentenced them both to a year of detention and, not surprisingly, the government does not allow detainee protests.

Their protest is not related to a free Tibet or the right to democratic elections, but is rather something much more unpretentious. These women felt they were unjustly compensated after an eminent domain claim on their homes in the interest of a government backed gentrification plan. Their concerns were no different than those felt worldwide by people who have been forced out of their homes in the interest of economic development.

Black America Shares Statistics with African Countries

The Black AIDS Institute has released a shocking new study comparing rates of HIV infection among African-Americans with those of the hardest hit nations in Africa. The study revealed that black Americans are just as likely to come down with the virus that causes AIDS as citizens of Uganda and South Africa. The Centers for Disease Control determined that black women are contracting HIV from heterosexual sex and injection drug use at 23 times the rate of white women and AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women between ages 25 and 34. The United States may be one of the wealthiest nations in the world, but this goes to show that money cannot buy good health and nor can it undo centuries of oppression against African people. There are many different theories as to why blacks are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS, but in my opinion, even all of them taken together cannot explain the dire nature of the statistics at hand.

Some people say that white people are just more responsible when it comes to sex than blacks, but somehow I'm just not buying that one. White people have plenty of unprotected sex. Others say that black men are contracting the disease in prison and spreading it to multiple women once they're released. I say that, yes, this may happen sometimes but there are not enough black ex-cons out there to account for a HIV rate among black women that's 23 times that of white women. Black men are only a few times more likely than white men to have a record. And others say that black men are more likely to be on the down low, but CDC research shows that closeted black men are no more likely to catch HIV than out gay black men.

I am no conspiracy theorist so I don't think the government is secretly infecting blacks with HIV. However, I do find some validity in new scientific research that points to a gene that makes people with sub-Saharan origins more likely to catch HIV when they are exposed. The gene in question is thought to have been developed as a natural evolutionary defense to malaria. It's just too bad that the same gene that results in an evolutionary advantage in the face of one disease can be a catalyst for infection in the case of another. As we all know, modern science is far from perfect and more research is needed to confirm these findings. Nonetheless I think this a very important and overlooked aspect of the worldwide black AIDS epidemic.

Walmart asks workers to reject Dems in November

Walmart continues it's excellent record on worker rights with dirty new intimidation tactics. Walmart execs have called meetings with mangers all over the country tell them that their jobs may be in jeopardy if they support Barack Obama for president. Their goal is to brainwash workers into believing that voting for a political party that supports worker's rights might get them fired.

Walmart can't seem stay out of the headlines for worker's rights violations. It seems just yesterday when Walmart made the papers for practicing sexism in it's decision making process for promoting workers. Women with more qualifications and experience were routinely denied promotions and forced to work underneath their less qualified male counterparts.

It's no wonder why Walmart has much lower prices than similar businesses like Target -- they don't give a damn about their employees. Walmart associates aren't adequately compensated for their work. The average cashier at Walmart lives below the federal poverty line and Walmart execs are working to keep it that way.

The fat cats at Walmart are afraid of the inevitable, that workers will eventually realize their worth and organize to demand fair compensation for their labor.

UniverSoul Circus

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my first ever UniverSoul Circus. To say that this event exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. Highly trained performers from all over the world showcased their tremendous talents before an enthusiastic audience of African-American families. South African acrobats, Guinean contortionists, American mimes, and a Brazilian tiger tamer were just a few of the myriad of performers at the UniverSoul Circus.

The circus presented a special opportunity for African-Americans to gather together in a family oriented atmosphere and admire the talents that exist in the black community. Children and adults alike were astonished by much of what they saw. In the last act, the audience was carried away by a trio of dancing elephants who's choreography corresponded to the lyrics of popular songs. When the song "Bed" by J. Holiday played, the elephants all lay down as if they themselves were going to bed.

I would strongly recommend checking out the UniverSoul circus when it comes through your town.

Houston, The Worst Recycler in the Nation

Why is it that Houston has the worst recycling record in the country? What will it take for Houstonians to come together and realize that our planet should not be treated as a dumping ground? As a Houston resident, I am embarrassed that my city is last on the list when it comes to something as important as recycling.

Our country's consumption oriented culture produces inordinate amounts of waste and certain municipalities don't bother to mitigate the impact of this waste on the environment. At least in San Francisco, residents can feel comfortable that a majority of their trash does not end up piled up in landfills polluting the earth for eons.

The City of Houston has one of the nation's strongest economies in this time of hardship, yet public officials refuse to spend a few dollars on protecting our planet. In other cities, recycling has been integrated into the fabric of society through programs that have made it accessible to ordinary citizens. In Houston, not only can I not leave my recycling outside to be collected alongside my trash, the nearest recycling facility is several miles away so I have to gas up my car and drive to another part of town just to drop of my recyclables. Environmentally conscious business owners have expressed that they too have to jump through hoops if they choose to recycle.

I guess it's only fitting that a fossil fuel hotbed like Houston wouldn't care about the footprint that we as humans are leaving on our only planet.

CNN's Black Women and Families

Last night, I had the opportunity to watch CNN's long anticipated Black Women and Families segment of the Black in America series. Disappointingly, the documentary was framed through an entirely heterosexist and patriarchial lens. Simply put, it assumed that every black woman should be married to a man. This is an outdated view of the black family structure. Not all black women need to or even want to be married to a man.

Having children out of wedlock is not the cause of the health, education, and income disparities facing the black community. While many single mothers would like to have a committed intimate partner, most of them will tell you that not having a man is the least of their problems. What they need most is more along the lines of reliable child care, health care, quality education, enrichment programs, job training, transportation and a network of family members and friends dedicated to helping in brining up the next generation.

Simply being married to a man does not necessarily improve a woman's quality of life, and in too many instances, such marriages can be oppressive to women.

It's true that studies show that two parent households, regardless of the parents' gender, are generally better for children than single parent households. But this does not mean that single parent households, equipped with necessary resources and support, cannot be equally as beneficial for children. For example, many single mothers rely on family members and friends to give additional emotional support and guidance to their children. And middle and upper class single moms can afford to provide for their children's needs on just one income.

CNN needs to realize that this is no longer 1950's America when all women were expected to live as subservient wives and forgo their career ambitions to cook and clean all day. Times are changing and women are feeling freer to live their lives as they choose. Marriage rates and out of wedlock births are not the best indicators of the overall well being of black America.

Black Patriotism and President Obama

Right wing extremists, with the support of mainstream media outlets, have begun to challenge the presidential candidates on patriotism. In Barack Obama's case, suggestions of his alleged traitor tendencies are based in racism and xenophobia. The dominant narrative of American history largely privileges white people and ostracizes immigrants.

The pages of common textbooks will tell you that whites founded this nation and that all American presidents have been of European descent. From the same books, you'll learn that blacks were generally servants and had no role in the prosperity of this wealthy nation. Even today, ordinary immigrants are being associated with vicious terrorists. Thus, President Obama is being subjected to a double whammy. Not only is he black, but he is also the son of an immigrant.

Millions of West Africans were brought to the so-called New World against their will and subjected to involuntary servitude for hundreds of years. They were exploited workers who never benefited from the fruits of their own labor. Would it be extreme for the relatively recent descendants of these forced migrants to be a bit unpatriotic?

Although Mr. Obama does not carry the same historical legacy of the majority of African-Americans in this country, dominant culture still places him within the broadly defined racial category of blackness. In America, everyone with one drop of black blood is considered black, regardless of country or ethic origin. For President Obama, that will mean that he is part of a history that is not directly his, but is that of his kindred people of African descent.

Chastising is Counterproductive

Even though I plan to vote for Obama in November, I was deeply disturbed by his remarks on Father's Day. I know that he is running for President of one of the richest and whitest countries in the word, but I don't think it's acceptable for him to abandon his alliance with all people of African decent.

We are all one group, a diaspora, with one origin and many present whereabouts. In the United States, the community of people of African descent is very diverse. A majority of us were brought here as captives in chains, while still a sizable minority chose to immigrate here on their own free will in search of the American Dream. President Obama's people are from the latter group, characterized by their willingness to immigrate to the West on their own terms.

On Father's Day, Barack Obama was oblivious to the plight of African-Americans who were forcibly transported to this Hemisphere. Audre Lourde taught us that the master's tools will not dismantle the master's house. In this case, that means that people of African descent should not succumb to the old tactic of divide and conquer. President Obama should not have berated other black people in his attempt to get into the Oval Office. As we have learned from Dr. Rice, opportunism can override grassroots activism as easy as a bomb destroys a village.

Black fathers are not the principal cause of the many social ills affecting African-Americans, more over, there are institutionalized forces that negatively impact many people from different walks of life. Mr. Obama's speech conveniently excluded major barriers to a stable middle class two parent household including, but not limited to: the prison industrial complex, inadequate reproductive health services, unfair representation in the media, prohibitive health insurance costs and racially based educational disparities.