1260 Search results for "coming of age"

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYHguBEXkac I wrote this blog literally a year ago today. It was not a published blog because the Black Youth Project had yet to premier online. Well, I think my thoughts a year ago still resonate today as we honor Michael Jackson’s memory. The title of the blog is, “The Feasting of Michael Jackson’s Flesh: […]

Oscar Grant Trial: Gripping Testimony Opens Defense Julianne Ong Hing, June 23, 2010 Johannes Mehserle’s defense opened Tuesday with more than three hours of tense, emotional testimony from Oscar Grant’s good friend Jackie Bryson, who was on the train platform with Grant when he was killed. Defense attorney Michael Rains worked to paint Bryson as […]

I have a hard time placing Tupac Shakur into a box. Like many intelligent young men, he seems to have struggled a lot with marrying the reality of his world with the ideas that he may have learned from the adults in his life. Was it hypocrisy or human nature? Who knows? Unfortunately, he was […]

The following post was inspired by a video sent to me by @moyazb : httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k–lBw8nTCk

Guerrilla Union, the promoters behind the annual travelling Hip Hop extravaganza that is Rock The Bells, announced earlier this week that Lauryn Hill is officially the latest addition to a line-up that includes The incomparable Wu-Tang Clan (performing every track from 36 Chambers), A Tribe Called Quest (performing their incredible Midnight Marauders album in its entirety), Snoop Dogg (who’s bringing the Dogg Pound, RBX and Lady of Rage along to perform all of his classic 1993 debut album Doggystyle), Rakim (who will be performing all of Paid in Full), and KRS One (performing all of Criminal Minded). Yeah, I know.

I would like to know what alternate universe Slim Thug is currently smoking in where it’s okay for him to comment on the state of Black women. That’s all I want to know. This week, the rapper caused a firestorm with a blog that he posted on Vibe.com that basically says Black women should lower […]

I’ve had my fill of LeBron James this season.  Seriously.  I’m not interested in being a witness to anything James-related until on or immediately after July 1.  I’m no longer watching interviews wherein James tells the viewing audience things we already know.  No more James free agency countdowns.  No more terrible renditions of “We Are […]

…Others harbored concern for the album’s stylistic direction, pointing to the aforementioned, decidedly unexpected collabos as proof that Eminem may be going “pop.” Of course, this sentiment is absurd.How can anyone consider an artist who literally sold more albums than anybody else this past decade, and put out two diamond albums (The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show have each sold 10 million copies) in a row, to be anything but pop?

“The roof, the roof is on fire we don’t need no water let that muthafucka burn, burn, burn mutha burn”.  Although this quippy party catch phrase is a bit antiquated, I believe it still carries relevance today, specifically in Chicago. For a city that has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the Great […]

Good morning, and congratulations to the class of 2010.  I know you’re wondering what inspiring words of wisdom I might impart on to a new generation of graduates.  Well, frankly, I have none, which is probably why my commencement address is coming to you via this blog and not as you sporadically doze your way […]

Who will commit juvenile crime?: Florida purchases ‘predictive’ software to identify at-risk youth Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel, May 16, 2010 Is it possible to identify young offenders most likely to commit a crime in the future, and then intervene to stop it? Yes, answer officials at the state Department of Juvenile Justice in touting a […]

In high schools and colleges popular portrayals make male athletes out to be strong, powerful… and invincible?  The worst part is that lots and lots of misogynistic males buy into this hero-worship and view becoming an athlete as a lifestyle. This dynamic is demonstrated in high schools where the teenage jocks are at the “coolest” […]