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Manny B.

Michael Jackson Dead At Age 50

I am speechless at this time, but I am and will always be a Big Michael Jackson fan, I posted my favorite Michael Jackson Song below. Keep the Jackson family in prayer, I am really speechless...WOW

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Source LOS ANGELES (CBS)

King of Pop Michael Jackson died Thursday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where he was rushed around 1 p.m. PT by paramedics. Jackson, 50, suffered cardiac arrest.

Capt. Steve Ruda said earlier Thursday that paramedics responded to a call at Jackson's home around 12:26 p.m. Ruda said Jackson was not breathing when they arrived.

A law enforcement source told the LA Times that Jackson was declared dead Thursday afternoon after arriving in a deep coma at the hospital.

Jackson had announced months ago that he would be doing a comeback tour, but his representatives announced in May that the the star would postpone several of his London shows scheduled for this summer.

Jackson, who has sold more than 750 million albums and won 13 Grammys, hasn't undertaken a a major tour since 1997 or released an album of new material since 2001.

Read Entire Article

"College days swiftly pass imbued with memories fond"

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (New International Version)

When I started to reflect on my experiences of the last six years while I was enrolled in college, I began to think about the many challenges, battles, and inconveniences that I encountered. However, this passage in Ecclesiastes has always reminded me that although I may attempt to plan my life and ambitions “time and chance” has a role in influencing what happens in my life.


As a senior in High School, I felt that I knew what I wanted to do, I had a sense of “calling” to do ministry. Because of this sense of “calling”, my initial college choice was a conservative Bible College in the southwestern part of Ohio. Although I had been raised in social conservative family and church, I felt out of place. Prior to arriving at this institution, I had been taught that women were not allowed to pastor but could preach, but this school prohibited women from even gracing the pulpit to deliver a sermon.


This was a minor conflict at the time, compared to how little diversity existed amongst my classmates. Most of the students were white, from small rural towns, and came from the same Christian denomination; I can admit that I was ill prepared for the transition, which ultimately lead me to transfer from the institution after just one semester.


Transferring from the Bible College was difficult, this was not apart of my original plan, I was suppose to graduate with a degree in Biblical Studies with a focus in Preaching Ministry. What else could I do; I had only wanted to do ministry, but my plan was altered. Transferring from the Bible College was not because of the academic challenge, but because I was lacking cultural simulation.


I went from one extreme to another; I enrolled into a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). This HBCU prided itself on being the precursor of all HBCU’s. The student enrollment was smaller than at my High School, but the students were from all over the United States and they look exactly like me. What I lacked previously, I was immersed in daily.


Most of the professors were Black and spoke in the vein I was accustom to in High School with my teacher Abu Toure. Every class, whether it was English, Psychology, or Political Science discussed the problems of Black America. However, I felt boxed in, I felt in addition to race problems we needed to discuss class and gender issues. Now I wrestled with the dilemma that this institution was too homogenous.


Only if you could have imagined what I was going through mentally and emotionally. I was a freshman in college and already I had stop pursuing my childhood dream of ministry and left Bible College. Now I was at an HBCU, feeling like an outcast. This was not what I had envisioned when my mother drove me to College (a detail I sometimes forget), and told me to do my best. I questioned myself daily and indulge in self-pity, but one evening after hours of talking with my mentor on the phone, he encouraged me to apply to his Alma Mater Otterbein College. I thought out loud to him and recall myself saying, “transfer again, are you serious Derek?” a feeling of uncertainty and failure overtook me at that moment.




Now a graduate of Otterbein College, I wonder what would have happened if I had never taken the advice of my mentor and applied to Otterbein. Otterbein to me at the time was too expensive and their admission requirements were ambiguous, which to me was intimidating. By this time, I had come to realize that I had nothing to lose; I stepped out on faith and this faith allowed me to experience the blessings that God had for me.


I just finished reading my pastor’s book “Crazy Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives”. In the first chapter, Pastor Smith writes, “Having faith means we understand that expecting God to be God also means we understand that God’s ways are not our ways… God being God is completely out of our control”.


The races and battles that I experienced in College did not always make sense to me but to God, they always had a purpose and were out of my control. Once I had submitted to God’s will my life took a drastic turn. Most people in the beginning thought I had lost my mind, but what my faith in God produced was tremendous.


If I had never had the faith to endure “time and chance” and attended Otterbein College, I would have never become a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity (Omicron Rho Chapter), I would have never been elected to serve on my fraternity’s National Board of Directors (two terms), and I would have never been selected to serve as the first student of Color (an inclusive word used at Otterbein to address all minorities) on the Board of Trustees at Otterbein College. I would not have had the courage to challenge the bigotry and sexism that eventually caused me to leave my former church because of a New Testament class that challenged my Christian beliefs to the core. After venturing away from ministry with my eyes set on law school, it was Otterbein that continuously “called” upon me to do service, which rekindled my passion for ministry and has led me to attend Vanderbilt University’s School of Divinity in the Fall.






When I stop trying to be the fastest and the strongest, I realized Otterbein was where God wanted to prepare me for a “greater work”. Because it was at Otterbein were I came across an inclusive community of people who only wanted to see every student succeed regardless of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. At Otterbein, I felt I had finally experienced what Jesus
described as “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.



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"Encourage Yourself"-Donald Lawerence

As many of you know I am a senior at Otterbein College and I am nearing graduation. Because of my intense course load this quarter, I have not been blogging as much as I would like. However, I am in my final week of class, finals are next week, and graduation is June 14, 2009. This morning this song continuously played in my head while I was completing an online (the class is so tough, he needs to give us the quizzes online) quiz for a difficult science class. Nevertheless, I have to be like David when Ziklag was overthrown and his two wives were taken captive Ahinoam and Abigail, I have to encourage myself in the lord my God (1 Samuel 30:1-6)


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FRESH Perspective: Are Black Greek Letter Organizations Financially Out of Touch-REPOST

I wrote this entry in March but a few have requested that I repost it so your request has been granted

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I recently received a brochure for my fraternity’s 103rd Anniversary Convention and looked at the price of the convention and was awestruck. The registration cost for the convention ranges from $450 to $750 for alumni and $250 to $500 for collegiate members. After looking at our conventions cost, I began to investigate the prices of other BGLO’s national conventions. Phi Beta Sigma’s 95th Anniversary Conclave prices were similar, quoting $375 to $675 for alumni and $275 to $530 for collegiate members. What these prices do not include are travel and lodging, which can easily cost an additional $500 to $1,000. For those of us who are active or have been active at one time with our BGLO, we know that the convention cost is not the only expense that a member could incur within a year’s time. With the current economic crisis within the United States is the leadership of BGLO’s being sensitive to the current recession or are they just going on with business as usual.




The Truth Music is that on average we spent $500 to $1000 to be initiated in our organizations along with the chapter’s own assessment, which alone was costly. We then began a cycle of national due that range from $75 to $250 (some organizations have life memberships that range one-time payment of $1,000 to $3,000) that we must pay each year in order to be considered in good standing. Then there are chapter dues (if you associate with a chapter), that are normally more expensive then what you paid nationally.

And once you have paid to be a “card carrying member” you can then register for your District (statewide) meeting which can cost you an additional $50 to $200 and once you have participated within your District there is your Regional meeting. I saw one Regional Convention for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority online ranging from $300 to $600 to register.

Finally, you have had a year of fraternizing, it’s mid-summer and it’s time for your National meeting. I know that we enjoy seeing all of our Bruhz and Sorors, but honestly are we paying to maintain organization’s that are mismanaged and carrying too much overhead cost. BGLO’s initiate a few hundred to a couple of thousands of new members each year, but have the turnover rate of most low paying call centers. Most BGLO’s are struggling because of the lack of retention of members who join in college but never transition to the alumni ranks of the organization. But has the leadership provided them a reason that they should.




Therefore, we are left with the challenge to ask if I joined a brotherhood/sisterhood should it cost me over a thousand dollars a year to maintain my active status within the organization. If I have built relationships with my sorors and bruhz what is the benefit of being active? I believe that our BGLO’s are out of touch with the current economic crisis and have been for a long time. As a result, our organization will witness a year of low registering conventions along with a drop in their already struggling membership. I believe that our BGLO’s need to realign themselves and do away with our lavished and over budgeted conventions that really have no value. Our conventions need to be restructured to provide the training that is necessary to not just develop us to be leaders within our organizations, but to provide that leadership to our community as well. The funds spent on our conventions should be reallocated to our current membership management programs to provide better customer service, oversight, corporate mentorship program etc. Once we do this we will be able to tell that inactive brother or sister that there is value in being active with the organization, but until then, the Truth Music is we will continue to hear bruhz and sorors say “my membership is worth more than the organization’s magazine”.


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FRESH Perspective: That Sunday: When Homophobia is Preached at Church

As you walked into the worship service, nothing seemed out of place. Although you arrived later than expected, the praise team was still singing. You were excited about this week’s service because Pastor had been out of town at a revival and you knew he would have a word for the congregation.

The choir’s performance was impressive, they sang a few new songs, and you decided to give a little more in the offering today, because you felt the spirit moving. The sermonic soloist began to sing “Teach Me O’ Lord” and once she finished the church immediately commenced to shout, and as the Pastor approached, the congregation called out to him, "Preach Reverend, Preach!"

The atmosphere was set, the people were prepared to hear a message from the Pastor and as you grabbed your bible, you were not expecting this to be “That Sunday" The Pastor politely requested that the congregation be seated and turn their bibles to first Corinthians six, verses nine through ten. The congregation felt the pastor’s seriousness as they opened to the scripture.

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

The Pastor looked up from the scripture and with his baritone voice stated, “ I would like to speak from the subject, Don’t Get it Twisted”. A silence moved across the church because you knew that what would follow would not be the word that everyone had anticipated, but a sermon that would cut at the heart of many people’s existence. The Pastor had chosen this Sunday out of all the Sunday’s to deliver the infamous “That Sunday” sermon.

When I speak of “That Sunday” I am referring to that chosen Sunday when the pastor decides to preach a sermon about the sexual immorality within our society, especially homosexuality. The pastor’s message describes how homosexuality is incompatible with the Christian scripture and in order to be a true Christian, one must deny their sexual identity for their Christian identity.

For the next 30 minutes, the Pastor ranted about perceived wrongdoing amongst his congregation and how their transgressions would ultimately keep them from experiencing the salvation of God. However, the Pastor merely highlighted the various SINS listed in the scripture but once he arrived at homosexuality, he boldly looked out across his congregation and said, “Yes homosexuality is a SIN”. “Despite what you have heard all homosexuals are going to Hell”. The church erupts with "amen’s" and "preach pastor", as he instructs the congregates to go to the book of Leviticus chapter eighteen verse twenty-two:

"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination”

All around the church, not everyone feels the same way the pastor does. There are congregants who feel embarrassed, who weep quietly because their sexuality they did not chose, and their sexuality they cannot change. While some are celebrating the pastor’s homophobic message others are retreating inside themselves because they have arrived at a place that does not appreciate them the way God created them. This is a reality for many Black Gay Christians. Every Sunday is like playing sermon roulette, wondering whether this be “That Sunday” when the pastor preaches against homosexuality.

“That Sunday” refers to the chosen Sunday when the pastor decides to preach a sermon about the sexual immorality within our society, especially homosexuality. The pastor’s message describes how homosexuality is incompatible with the Christian scripture and in order to be a true Christian, one must deny their sexual identity for their Christian identity



Within in his article, Homophobia, hypermasculinity and the US black church Dr. Elijah Ward a professor at St. Xavier University in Chicago explains within his article that “A palpable silence around homosexuality exists in many black churches”. I disagree that there is a “palpable silence” within the Black Church regarding homosexuality, but the conversation that surround homosexuality is, as the video shows, unhealthy and toxic.

There is nothing more horrific than listening to a toxic conversation, let alone being in a toxic environment. I can remember attending a worship service at a prominent Baptist church in Columbus, Ohio and the pastor condemned gay men and said he was going to kick them out of the church. I was shocked into silence as I watched the congregation clap and jump from their seats.

The minister continued, but I gathered up my belongings because I refused to sit and listen to this homophobic message. However, few black gays are willing to dismiss their church’s stance on homosexuality, a message laced with hate and bigotry. Prejudice is inexcusable and should not be tolerated, but why do so many black gay Christians allow themselves to be belittled?

I posed this question to one of the men at the church when the pastor was preaching about kicking gay men out and he stated

“It’s really not that bad. It’s really only one Sunday Manny and I love my church and I can tolerate that mad man going off on us kids one Sunday. It ain’t that serious for real”

I was not surprised by his response because of what the Black Church represents to so many Black Christians. The Black Church is undeniably one of the first institutions established by free Blacks. The Black Church has served as a cornerstone, it has spearheaded a lot of the social and political movements within the Black community and being a part of the Black Church in most Black communities is synonymous with success. The Black Church has continuously served as a place of comfort and belonging it is the place where many were baptized, met their friends, and where a majority of their family attends.

Within the Black community, the Black church is a family affair. The Black Church is where most of the family’s beliefs and values have been constructed. Therefore, to openly combat the church’s homophobic message would also mean to combat their known family ideology. This would cause immediate outrage from their family and church community and to go against the establishment would ultimately lead to exile.

For example, my friend who is a former youth minister is still rebuilding his life since he left his church. He decided to come out to his family, which led them to call the pastor and his pastor removed him from all of his duties at the church. The church’s stance on homosexuality is clear, that it was a sin and the desire was the result of an unclean spirit. Because of my friend’s courage to combat the stance of the church, he was ostracized from his church and painfully from his family.

Standing against the establishment of the Black Church is almost like standing alone, because there are few Black churches that are open and affirming to members of the GLBTQ community. The few that are open and affirming normally belong to mainstream White denominations because there is no mainstream Black denomination that affirms their gay brothers and lesbian sisters.

The Black Church continues to preach a homophobic message rooted in fundamentalism, the Black Church does not seek to change its message of bigotry and hate but rather control the homosexuals that are engaged within their church and exert a message of heterosexism. These Pastors who preach homophobic messages are not blind to the fact that gays are part of their churches membership. However, their prejudiced message is intended to make the remaining homosexuals submit to a theology of fear, trapping them in the closet. By doing so, the individuals would never relinquish their commitment to the church over their sexual identity.

They will remain choir directors, soloist, musicians, ushers, and ministers because this ill treatment toward their sexuality on “That Sunday” is not worth the risk of losing everything else. This is why the man from the church said,
“It’s really not that bad, it’s really only one Sunday Manny and I love my church and I can tolerate that mad man going off on us kids one Sunday, it ain’t that serious for real” Because despite the Black Church’s injustice toward homosexuals, it still remains a place of community and self-expression of spirituality.

I am not suggesting that Black Gay Christians turn their back on the Church. That is ridiculous, as grandma would say, “never bite the hand of the one who feeds you”. The Black Church is an important institution within our community, it remains an incubator for leadership within the Black community. Therefore, I believe that the Black Church needs to begin to have a healthy conversation around sexuality. This conversation is not just the responsibility of the gay men and lesbian women, but it is the responsibility of the entire village.

In closing, I understand that it is not easy to leave a place that feels like home but home should not be a place that abuses and mistreats you. Jesus’ message was centered on love and not exclusivity and hate. Therefore, even if you are not gay, you know someone who is, possibly your brother, sister, cousin, or best friend, what will you do the next time “That Sunday” arrives?


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Reorganization Project

Thank you for visiting my site, I am currently working on a reorganization project, so I will be a way for a few days. Feel Free to read some of my past writings.


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FRESH Perspective: What Happen to The Rules: Is Texting Destroying English?

Mary had a cell phone. She texted day and night. But when it came to her exams she’d forgotten how to write.”- John Humphry


I must admit before writing this FRESH Perspective that I am an adherent user of text messaging and instant messaging. Using these tools, has allowed me to communicate with people efficiently. In addition, most of my peers prefer to send text messages, rather then speaking on the phone. As well, I am not complaining about not talking on the phone, because this has allowed me to reduce the minute usage on my cell phone and save money.

However, what has led me to investigate the relationship between texting and inadequate writing skills is that individual within my peer group sometimes refuse to switch between Texting and Standard English. I understand that texting is a social language, which is used to communicate causally throughout the day with individuals.

I remember when I first started to text, I attempted to write my messages with proper grammatical sentences and punctuation. However, it did not take long before I realized that I could write faster without paying any attention to grammar 101(Thanks Clif Williams). No one else was attempting to write sentences with a subject and predicate, few even cared if they used the correct restrictive and non-restrictive clause, and I fell victim to just writing my messages as they came to my fingers. I replaced compound sentences with run on sentences that were ambiguous to the reader, and lacked the richness of complex communication.



Most of us have received a message like the following:

Idk if im goin r u I call u b4 I go

im gr8 wat r u doing 2day?

or my favorite

OMG SMH g2g ttyl ( Thanks Jasmine for teaching me what SMH meant…lol)

When I first begin to receive coded messages like the above, I would have to spend additional time trying to figure out what the messenger was trying to convey. Now I have a grips on this codified language used in text messages, but what happens when we go into our classrooms, workplaces, and write as well as speak, the way our text messages our written?

Although I have fallen prey to the social language of texting, I have made sure that this informal communication remains just that, informal. Nevertheless, what do we do with individuals that do not know how to compartmentalize the two worlds of writing? I am not suggesting that we be held accountable to grammar 101 in our texting, but I am worried that we are slowly forgetting why we have these rules.


This is the dissonance that makes me perplexed, because when do we put down the casual social language of text messaging, and apply the rules of Standard English? I am awestruck when I read even messages on facebook and on some blogs that are written too harsh for me to comprehend and follow.

Should there a difference in the standard of how we communicate privately in a text, and publicly on the World Wide Web? Some would argue that both of these are places of informality, but I would strongly disagree because what and how we write, has a reflection on us.




Some suggest that these subjective rules are in need of a revolution and texting is making us have this continuous conversation about whether texting is destroying the richness of the English language. But until we officially say “To Hell” with the rules, I think we should try publicly to write comprehensible and as far as privately, you be the judge.

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FRESH Perspective: Are Gay Men Less Masculine?

I was hesitating to write about this topic after a rather heated conversation yesterday with an intellectual colleague about gay men and masculinity, he believes that all gay men are less masculine. I find that when individuals begin to discuss Masculinity and Femininity they eagerly associate these terms with genders, but fail to realize that these are concepts that are culturally and socially constructed. We think that women own femininity, and men own masculinity. This results from constructed ideals that have indoctrinated individuals to believe that they are either masculine or feminine.

Because of these erroneous concepts, it leaves individuals believing that being gay is a sign of emasculation. In addition, if a man does not participate in socially constructed “manly” behaviors then his peers ostracize him by calling him gay to demeans as if being gay is a symbol of being less then a man. As a result, this effort to brand men as masculine and women as feminine leaves both the gay man and the man who does not ascribe to classically shaped masculine behavior searching for identity as a man.



Therefore, to understand the prevailing relationship between gay men and masculinity, it is imperative that I address three fundamental elements: biological sex, gender, and sexual orientation


When children are born, they are assigned a biological sex that is decided by their external genitalia. In addition to the external genitalia, there are also internal reproductive structures, chromosome makeup, and hormone levels along with an assortment of secondary sex characteristics that assist in selecting an individual’s biological sex. Although traditionally we only think of this as male and female, we must understand that not everyone is born a male or female, but in an effort to not overwhelm you with the continuum of various biological sexes, I will analyze only the sex of male and female within the essay.

When a child is born a male, they are expected to adhere to the gender role that has been socially constructed. Gender roles can be defined as how society expects an individual to behave based on their sex. The problem with this is that sex is biological, and gender is socially learned behaviors and attitudes such as how you dress, the activity you participate in, and how you behave.

Within our society, we have perceived expectations of how men are to behave and this is defined as masculinity. Masculinity is the cultural standard of manhood, it is shaped by behaviors that encourage men to behavior aggressively, show little emotion, and dominate over anything that is feminine. This is rooted in a concept that masculinity is superior to femininity.

Femininity is the cultural standard of womanhood and since the earliest interpretations of genders roles were develop by theologians, it is no surprise that masculinity is superior to femininity because the bible has been a source of oppression to women. What is important to understand, is that neither masculinity nor femininity are biological influenced but culturally constructed by social interaction.

The social interaction between the sexes leads to some behaviors being socially tolerant for men and intolerable for women. This has lead to the construction of what is masculine and what is feminine. The behaviors that are considered manly easily fit into the box of masculine and the behaviors deemed womanly are placed in the box of feminine. This causes both sexes to be placed in a gender straightjacket, not allowing them to express their self, as they feel comfortable.

In addition, what we sometime interpret as testosterone such as boys playing rough is nothing more then a socially accepted behavior coined “Boys Being Boys”. What the hormone of testosterone does produce is the masculine traits of a man, not the behavior. Men have deeper voices and a more muscular structure then women, because men produce testosterone forty to sixty percent more then women. When a boy prefers to read rather then play football, it is not because he is effeminate; the young boy may enjoy reading because it is positively reinforced within his household.

The problem is that we have consciously and subconsciously labeled certain behaviors as masculine and feminine, we must understand t as Dr. William Pollack suggest “there is no correct pathway to masculinity”. A young man’s interests in so-called effeminate behaviors has nothing to do with them being gay, but with what their interests are.

Therefore are gay men a challenge to masculinity, is being gay less masculine? Within the gay community, there are diverse individuals whose expression of masculinity varies but to make an assertion that gay men lack masculinity is an oversimplification. Being gay is not less manly. Being gay like, being straight is natural.










The problem is that society attempts to stereotype what being gay actually looks like and how gay men behave. The problem with this is that anything that is perceived effeminate is cautioned with the “THATS GAY” label or if men exchange affection towards each other, it has to be followed with the idiotic statement of “NO HOMO”.

It is sad that men have to go to such extremes to demonstrate perceived masculinity. The TRUTH MUSIC is, that the attempt to emasculate gay men can really be summed up in one word Homophobia.




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Historian and Legend Dies

I am sad to announce the passing of a man who epitomized intellectualism and true scholarship, my Fraternity Brother Dr. John Hope Franklin. He died today at Duke University Hospital due to congestive heart failure at the age of 94.

Well Done Dr. Franklin enjoy your rest,

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FRESH Perspective: Did Sport Illustrated Get it Right: Why Do Professional Athletes Go Broke?

HOW DO THEY GO FROM THIS



TO THIS




Yesterday I heard Pablo S. Torre on NPR discuss his recent article in Sports Illustrated “How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke”, within this article he outlines the misfortunes and financial mismanagement of professional athletes. Torre’s attributes their misfortune to their glamorous lifestyle, bankruptcy, paternity suits, divorce, and foul investments.
However, he neglected to discuss the socialization of these athletes and address the role that the media has played in creating a culture of inner city youth who are committed to the court but not committed to college. The article failed to discuss how colleges recruit these athletes to dominate on the field but not demand success in the classroom.

These same athletes who become professionals are mostly in their early twenties and come from dilapidated housing and poor neighborhoods, but now have millions of dollars at their disposal with no previous financial training. What he failed to address is that a majority of these athletes are African American’s who have witnessed their mother and father (if he’s around) struggle to provide economically for their family and once they are auctioned to the college of the highest bidder, they have no real intention to finish school but to turn pro “to get paid”.

This is the mindset of a majority of these professional athletes, their opportunity and financial success is not just to benefit themselves but for their entire family. What Torre’s should have mentioned is that these athletes feel obligated to help and to give odd jobs to their “entourage” because they made it. How can they turn down the neighborhood drug dealer who wants to be the next Master P and start a record company, because to the athlete he owes him for financing his high school wardrobe and purchasing him a car in college.



They believe they can trust their AAU coach, because they have been their mentor/father figure throughout their career. I disagree with his premise that you should not give back because people are greedy. I cannot imagine the pressure they feel with their community on their shoulders, how do you say no? Because it is difficult to say no, it is important that experts assist these men in balancing out all of the demands. There must be an early intervention program for these men when they do decide to become professionals before they receive their first check.

In addition, Torre’s does not discuss the role of the media and how it spotlights the glamorous lifestyle of the wealthy and famous. Recently CNBC’s NEWBO The Rise of America’s New Black Overclass appalled me, because it emphasized the erroneous concept that the only way out the hood is through athletics and entertainment. These men believe that they have an image to uphold based on what has been created by media and are expected to be “Ballin” but in actuality their closer to bankruptcy.
I am not advocating that these men should go broke but when we analyze sometime the financial decisions that they make, there is sometimes an untold story regarding their awkward transactions.





In order to change this behavior within the industry we cannot expect a light bulb to come on once they become professional athletes. We must begin to ask questions about whether these athletes should be compensated at the collegiate level beyond their scholarship. We must make sure that we do not allow children to be miseducated about the prospects of becoming a professional athlete. We must learn to articulate a message that its ok to dream but make sure that they have more than One.
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FRESH Perspective: Has Technology Changed How We View Relationships: Soulja Boy: Kiss Me Thru The Phone

Today we live in a mobile society and because of this sometimes we are forced to find partners outside of our preferred area code. In addition to the distance, we have relationship within our city that we can’t invest as much time as we would prefer, because of our conflicting schedules.

Is it true that technology allows us to build better lines of communications with our partners? Are we now more susceptible to having a long distance relationship? Are we willing to substitute physical touch for a kiss through the phone?

Take the Poll and Let me Know

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FRESH Perspective: Can Hip-Hop Be Holy?

Being raised in a predominately African American Christian congregation, it has always been interesting to see how the black church relates to the music of the majority culture. I can remember when Kirk Franklin went from traditional gospel to a more urban youthful genre with Stomp and it was considered diabolical. In today’s congregations the church is attempting to integrate, hip-hop into the worship experience however it is branding this genre of music as Holy Hip Hop. I find that disturbing, because it has a negative implication on hip-hop. The implication I believe perpetuates a hypocritical message because hip-hop is more then just a musical phenomenon, it is a cultural experience and a way of life for many individuals.

As many know, I am an admirer of Hip Hop music and the lyrical genius of these artists. Their ability to articulate their struggles as well pontificate social, political and religious subjects that stretch beyond political correctness explains why hip-hop is successful and is popular around the world. Therefore, hip hop as a musical experiment in the church is necessary, because it is how these artist have learned to share their story, but this experiment should not be treated as a bastard child to hip hop, but as an expression of hip-hop within the church.

I understand that holy hip hop attempts to provide a message that directs people to Christ instead of rapping about sex, drugs, and violence but not all genres inside of hip hop speak positively about these subjects. When I listen to holy hip-hop the message is pious and sanctimonious but lacks a conscious message because its so imbedded in preaching scripture and not substance. I am by no means saying that scripture is not substance, but scripture without explanation is just words with no meaning. Holy hip hop replaces the message about sex, drugs, and violence and supplements it with scripture but the fault of holy hip hop is that of the church, because it still does not advocate a more conscious message about global concerns but places more emphasis on self-righteousness.

Therefore, the replacement of the glorification of sex, drugs, and violence is vanity, which is sometimes the fault of hip-hop artist whose message glorifies sex, drugs, and violence. I would prefer a conscious message in the church that verbalizes the consequences of glorifying these behaviors rather then a pompous message of self-righteousness. When you parade this genre of music as Holy Hip-Hop, it is Christian elitism in its purest form, because its not an evangelism tool, because what non-Christian really seeks out Holy Hip Hop over just Hip Hop?

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FRESH Perspective: High Technology, It’s Just a Part of Me

When I woke up this morning, I immediately checked my blackberry for any news updates, headlines, and text messages. I scrolled through my schedule for the day, read emails that came while I slept. And before I started a pot of coffee, I had already loaded up my computer, read articles, and viewed media clips without thinking twice. I read an article last week about Roman Catholic Bishops requesting the faithful to fast from high technology for lent. I must be honest, that would be extremely difficult especially for Millennial’s because we grew up with technology, and it helps us manage our lives.

We have surrounded ourselves with gadgets that help us communicate and stay abreast on the latest information being transmitted. Emailing, instant messaging, and text messaging is our preferred way of communicating. Armed with our laptops, blackberry, iphones, and G1’s, it allows us to connect to stay connected to web and check our facebook and myspace accounts. My friend Jasmine at Otterbein while we were supposed to be studying for a final exam on Sunday was getting me acquainted with twitter, because I had just recently started an account.

What is true about Millennial’s, is that we’re not afraid to investigate new technology and decide if it works for us, this is something that our parents generation is a lot more hesitate about doing. So as I move along in my day, is it really possible for me to live without high technology, hmmm I guess one day I will have to find out but as of now, it’s just apart of me.

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FRESH Perspective: Sodom and Gomorrah: Don’t Be Quick To Blame Homosexuality

I want to follow up on yesterday’s FRESH Perspective on the Prophets Todd Hall and if you haven’t viewed the video take a look. I can remember the first time I had the cognitive ability to understand the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Simply God destroyed the city because of the homosexuality that had existed. As a youth, I was raised primarily in a homophobic church their message had an influence on how I viewed homosexuality. As I grew, I realized that this portrayal of Sodom conflicted with me and I decided that further exegesis was needed.

John Boswell a Yale Historian provides four possible reasons for the destruction of Sodom:
(1) The Sodomites were destroyed for the general wickedness which had prompted the Lord to send angels to the city to investigate in the first place; (2) the city was destroyed because the people of Sodom had tried to rape the angels; (3) the city was destroyed because the men of Sodom had tried to engage in homosexual intercourse with the angels...; (4) the city was destroyed for inhospitable treatment of visitors sent from the Lord.


Considering Boswell assumptions, I intend to focus more on Boswell’s fourth reason that has no relationship to sexual orientation, and by doing so, it is important to recognize the cultural aspect that surrounded Sodom.

We must understand that during this time, the Hebrew’s were living in a hostile environment and hospitality was important to their survival. If you were not hospitable, it could cause you your life. I am sure it is difficult for us to imagine ourselves as an ancient traveler riding all day and night. And once we decided to rest, we were unable to find shelter at a hotel or even a family member’s house, but we could only find shelter with a stranger who invited us in out of hospitality.

This measure of hospitality was important in ancient near east cultures because they wanted that same favor returned to them when they were off traveling between cities (treat others the way you want to be treated).



With that said, Genesis 19 opens with Lot displaying to the Angels hospitality insisting that they come and spend the night at his house, and wash their feet. Lot extends this hospitality to the angels and feeds them, which was common practice. During this time in history, traveler’s safety depended on a stranger’s hospitality.

Lot knew the importance of hospitality and when the hostile crowd came insisting that he “Bring them out unto us, that we may know them”, lot refused and even offered his two virgin daughters.

I know that it is hard to believe that Lot would offer his two virgin daughters to protect strangers he did not know, but it was customary that you protected your visitor at whatever cost. Lot’s response to protect his guest was expected of him in his culture.

The story ends with the angels blinding the men and Lot and his family being rescued by the angels while Sodom is destroyed.

So was Sodom demise due to the homosexuality that existed?

Here is what a few scholars say regarding the claim

Dr. Richard Hayes, of Duke Divinity School,
The Sodom story “is actually irrelevant to the topic." [of homosexuality].
"there is nothing in the passage pertinent to a judgment about the morality of consensual homosexual intercourse."

Dr. Robert Gagnon, of Pittsburg Theological Seminary
However, to the extent that the story does not deal directly with consensual homosexual relationships, it is not an “ideal” text to guide contemporary Christian sexual ethics.”

Therefore, what was the sin of Sodom?

(Ezekiel 16.49-50)

49)This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50) they were haughty and did abominable things before me; there I removed them when I saw it.

Although the attempt has been made to single out one factor for the destruction of Sodom to instill fear into the lives of homosexuals and supporters, it is apparent that the sexual act of attempted rape, a violation of the hospitality code was not enough. However, if you go back to chapter eighteen of Genesis God had already intended on destroying Sodom and the angel had yet to arrive when God had made this decision.

Therefore, what was Sodom’s grieve sin, it must have been a combination of offensives such as, the inhospitality to others, idolatry, and violence. Also to blame the destruction of Sodom on the attempted rape of the angels without understanding that rape during that time was a sign of humiliation and to assert ones power on another and it was commonly practiced by heterosexuals. Also claims that the city was infested with homosexuality, leads me to question the populations growth because the story records that there were both old and young men in the city attempting to get to Lot’s guests.


The point that I have attempted to illustrate is to show that the destruction of Sodom was not contingent on one single factor, nor was it because of homosexuality. Over time, people have used this story to manipulate so many people. Moreover, I find it interesting that homosexuality is viewed almost exclusively as a male dominated topic when it pertains to the bible, but I guess that because the bible does not mention anything about women same-sex relationship NOW THAT JUST TRUTH MUSIC.


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FRESH Perspective: Insensitive Homophobic Message by Prophet Todd Hall

On Sunday while I viewed videos of preaching, I came across one of the most homophobic messages I had every heard. The “Prophet” Todd Hall preached about God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Todd Hall goes on an eleven-minute ramble about homosexuality, while trying to make the argument that God destroyed the city because of the homosexuality that existed. Todd Hall preaches that “no good men” could be found, because they were all homosexuals.

What also disturb me were his rants blaming homosexuality or “no good men” as the premise for divorce, financial hardship, and AIDS. Here is a man, who pompously states he is a psychologist by vocation (I was not able to verify any information about his educational background) but admits that he must preach manipulation i.e. fear in order to control people. Throughout the message, he implies that gays are the Devil, gay men are not “real men”, and that homosexuality is disgusting.

However, he does promote premarital sex for gay men, stating that the men in Sodom were demons because Lot offered them his virgin daughters and refused. Todd Hall believes homosexuals are in the church because the church has allowed them in because they are positive having education, good jobs, and our gifted. Todd Hall ideology is similar to the view of the majority of Black Churches “don’t ask, don’t tell policy”. Todd Hall continuously spewed derogatory words such as “Sissy” and stated “If you had fifty preachers and thirty were sissies, you ain’t got no preachers you got a gay club”

This hateful messaged delivered by Todd Hall is why the Black Church continues to not properly educate young people about sexual responsibility because to them HIV/AIDS is a gay disease and this is resulting in epidemic of HIV/AIDS cases in the Black community because our children do not believe HIV/AIDS relates to them. This message is why so many of our homosexual youth struggle living double lives because their not allowed to live open and honest, due to the fear of going to hell because this is what their minister preaches. I wonder what would happen to anti-gay Black congregations if their homosexual members decided to stop coming to church.

The Black Church is an important aspect for many African Americans despite their sexual orientation, and it is time for the Black Church to affirm its homosexual brothers and sisters with the love of Christ.


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Shooting in Illinois Church Kills Pastor

These are certainly perilous times when someone enters a church and guns down a pastor. In Maryville, Ill, that is exactly what happened to 45-year-old Pastor Fred Winters earlier this morning, while 150 congregants believed it was originally a skit. Two members of the church were wounded while they apprehended the gunman. Pastor Fred Winters was rushed to the hospital but died, he had served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Maryville since 1987.



Pastor Fred Winters was married and had two children. My prayers go out to the family and church.

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President Obama's Weekly YouTube Address

President Obama capped off a busy week in Washington remarking on new lending guidelines aimed at lowering mortgage payments; an initiative to generate funds for small business and college loans; the release of his administration's first budget which includes $2T in deficit reduction; and the start of long overdue health care reform.

Oprah Shares Cover with America's First Lady Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Whitney look amazing on the cover of April's issue of Oprah's O magazine. First Lady Michelle Obama looks radiant as always and Oprah looks like she has lost weight as she continues her on going battle with her weight. I think that this magazine cover really shows a positive image of African American women and counters the images that we see used by other media outlets to portray African American Women.

Click Here to read some of Oprah’s exclusive interview with First Lady Michelle Obama




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When it Rains, it Pours: The African American Unemployment Rate

My Uncle and I were talking this morning about the current financial crisis and the unemployment rate. My Uncle Lewis tells me all the time that “Before its going to get better, it will get worse”. I would have to agree with him because despite the recent changes in leadership in Washington we cannot expect a miracle overnight. Americas current condition is not something that was just created and the new leadership in Washington needs time to overturn eight years of Bush policies.


However, the unemployment rate is alarming and the soon to be College Graduates receiving job offers is scarce. Some of us have are not even attempting to land that dream job that we went to college to receive, were going immediately to Graduate School. That is not the case for the average American especially an African American and the economy crisis is affecting the African American community dramatically.

The Unemployment Rate in the African American Community

13.4% compared to national rate 8.1%
Black Men 16.3%
Black Women 10.8 percent

Read more on the Black Unemployment rate

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President Obama announces $61.6 million for Ohio law enforcement agencies

President Barack Obama waves as he returns to the White House in Washington, Friday, March 6, 2009, after a day trip to Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Click to read entire story

D.L. Hughley Breaks the News Finally Cancelled

Comedian D.L. Hughley was pummeled by critics when his weekend talk show debuted on CNN last fall. "What the hell was CNN thinking?" a columnist for AdAge asked after watching the first episode. It remains unclear what was running through the minds of CNN execs when they signed him up for the spectacularly unfunny program featuring painfully awkward interviews. But the network may have come to its senses or at least decided to cut its losses. Read the Entire Article

Fresh Perspective: Are Black Greek Letter Organizations Financially Out of Touch?

I recently received a brochure for my fraternity’s 103rd Anniversary Convention and looked at the price of the convention and was awestruck. The registration cost for the convention ranges from $450 to $750 for alumni and $250 to $500 for collegiate members. After looking at our conventions cost, I began to investigate the prices of other BGLO’s national conventions. Phi Beta Sigma’s 95th Anniversary Conclave prices were similar, quoting $375 to $675 for alumni and $275 to $530 for collegiate members. What these prices do not include are travel and lodging, which can easily cost an additional $500 to $1,000. For those of us who are active or have been active at one time with our BGLO, we know that the convention cost is not the only expense that a member could incur within a year’s time. With the current economic crisis within the United States is the leadership of BGLO’s being sensitive to the current recession or are they just going on with business as usual.

Truth Music is that on average we spent $500 to $1000 to be initiated in our organizations along with the chapter’s own assessment, which alone was costly. We then began a cycle of national due that range from $75 to $250 (some organizations have life memberships that range one-time payment of $1,000 to $3,000) that we must pay each year in order to be considered in good standing. Then there are chapter dues (if you associate with a chapter), that are normally more expensive then what you paid nationally.

And once you have paid to be a “card carrying member” you can then register for your District (statewide) meeting which can cost you an additional $50 to $200 and once you have participated within your District there is your Regional meeting. I saw one Regional Convention for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority online ranging from $300 to $600 to register.

Finally, you have had a year of fraternizing, it’s mid-summer and it’s time for your National meeting. I know that we enjoy seeing all of our Bruhz and Sorors, but honestly are we paying to maintain organization’s that are mismanaged and carrying too much overhead cost. BGLO’s initiate a few hundred to a couple of thousands of new members each year, but have the turnover rate of most low paying call centers. Most BGLO’s are struggling because of the lack of retention of members who join in college but never transition to the alumni ranks of the organization. But has the leadership provided them a reason that they should.

Therefore, we are left with the challenge to ask if I joined a brotherhood/sisterhood should it cost me over a thousand dollars a year to maintain my active status within the organization. If I have built relationships with my sorors and bruhz what is the benefit of being active? I believe that our BGLO’s are out of touch with the current economic crisis and have been for a long time. As a result, our organization will witness a year of low registering conventions along with a drop in their already struggling membership. I believe that our BGLO’s need to realign themselves and do away with our lavished and over budgeted conventions that really have no value. Our conventions need to be restructured to provide the training that is necessary to not just develop us to be leaders within our organizations, but to provide that leadership to our community as well. The funds spent on our conventions should be reallocated to our current membership management programs to provide better customer service, oversight, corporate mentorship program etc. Once we do this we will be able to tell that inactive brother or sister that there is value in being active with the organization, but until then, the Truth Music we will continue to hear bruhz and sorors say “my membership is worth more than the organization’s magazine”.


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What is Truth Music

Truth Music derives from a metaphor that my Uncle Lewis always says when he is speaking about something of grave importance and wants to set the record straight. Truth Music is most of the times information that we don’t want to hear, because it makes us uncomfortable. Truth Music is the conversation and dialogue that we feel should be left alone. Truth Music is the fly on the wall or the elephant in the middle of the room. It is at times, what we have already thought, but refuse to say out loud, because Truth Music is the unspoken reality. Those unadulterated conversations with my Uncle leave me with great appreciation. Because I know he is not talking to be politically correct or to pontificate holiness, it is simply how he feels and what is on his mind. With that said, it is my goal within this blog to provide you with my thoughts regarding an assortment of topics old and new that may not provide you with an answer that is always agreeable, but that’s Truth Music.

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