65 year- old Detroit artist/activist Aaron Ibn Pori Pitts was allegedly assaulted by an employee of Epicurus restaurant, 111 West Warren in Detroit on Feb. 28 for attempting to use the restroom.

According to Ibn, when he asked to use the facilities he was told to leave. Then he was told the bathroom was broken. When someone exited the restaurant - demonstrating that it was in service after all - Pitts rushed in and locked the door.

In a statement Ibn says the employee jerked open the door. “He started hitting and kicking me, then grabbing me around my shoulders and dragged me out of the washroom into the restaurant area, calling me foul names and slinging me towards the door.”

To see a video of Pitts telling his story on YouTube click HERE: “Listen to Ibn”.

(more…)

It wasn’t a surprise when Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced that he has been looking for ways to establish more charter and private schools in the city.

The mayor has made no secret of his desire to control the city’s educational system. Since dominion over Detroit Public Schools (DPS) was denied, Kilpatrick has decided he will help others build the schools he wants to see. This goes hand in hand with the mayor’s privatization crusade where he has worked to turn over the reins of many city departments and services to private corporations.

Though DPS schools targeted for closure received a temporary stay of execution from the school board, the closure plan is not dead yet. Board members told the Detroit News that they will bring a revised plan back to the table in a couple of weeks.

So the school board is determined to shutter at least 43 schools by 2008, and the mayor is working to build new schools that he can run like he wants to. What’s wrong with this picture?

(more…)

Among the many scandals that have rocked the United Nations over the last several years, none has been more damaging to its reputation and mission than accusations of rape and sexual abuse by UN Peacekeepers.

Refugees - most notably in The Democratic Republic of Congo - have been terrorized by the very men who were sent to protect them. According to The Christian Science Monitor, 319 peacekeepers worldwide have been investigated for abuse in the past three years. Of those, 179 were repatriated or dismissed, however the UN has no power to prosecute the troops. That can only be done by the contributing country.

The UN hopes to counter some of these problems with the deployment of its first all-female peace keeping unit in Liberia. (more…)

As I walked through Capitol Park on Griswold in downtown Detroit I heard a voice call out,
“Hey you”
“Hey you”

I turned and a finger was pointed at me and I pointed to myself and she said,
“Yes, you”
I made a u turn and walked towards the bus stop that I had passed only a few seconds before.
In my mind I was sure that she wanted to know why I was asking people questions and taking their photos. It’s not uncommon for me to hear those questions. However, once I made it inside the bus stop area I wasn’t prepared for what I would encounter.

(more…)

Terry McMillan is suing her ex-husband, Jonathan Plummer, for $40 million after their much publicized and bitter 2005 divorce.

Their romance had been the subject of McMillan’s best-seller How Stella Got Her Groove Back and the movie of the same name. Imagine McMillan’s surprise when her husband told her he was gay.

According to Black America Web, the lawsuit claims Jamaican native Plummer only married McMillan to gain US citizenship.

McMillan’s allegations include emotional distress, invasion of privacy and placing her in a “false light” to harm her professionally and personally. She also claimed that Plummer violated a restraining order by calling her to speak with her son.

“Hell hath no fury…”

Black America Web

We’ve got another item to add to the list of Bush administration crimes. (As if we needed more, right?)

John Bolton admitted in a BBC interview that the US blocked truce negotiations during the 2006 Israeli attacks on Lebanon. The goal was to eliminate Hezbollah’s military capabilities first.

Over 1000 Lebanese and nearly 200 Israelis are reported to have died during the conflict. Mr. Bolton told the interviewer he was “damned proud of what we did.”

As a US citizen, I’m damned ashamed.

BBC News

Was Judge Robert Mandelbaum attempting to teach Naomi Campbell some humility by sentencing her to janitorial duty at the New York City Sanitation Department?

Of course.

From The New York Times:

Ms. Campbell pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge, acknowledging that she had lobbed a cellphone and hit her maid, Ana Scolavino, on the head. Ms. Campbell was ordered to pay Ms. Scolavino’s medical expenses, $363, attend a two-day anger-management seminar and do five days of community service, of which yesterday was Day 1.

The 36 year-old supermodel has some infamous anger issues, but was making her a laughing stock really the best way to teach her a lesson? Why not have her talk to groups of girls or find some other more productive outlet for her?

Broom and mop detail is meaningless. Compared to standing in the snow in next to nothing or dealing with fashion nazis, cleanup is a cakewalk. Naomi is a smart business woman. She will milk this free publicity for years to come.

New York Times 

If you happen to have thumbed through a copy of our greater city’s “local” daily you’ll come across a story about activists in Detroit and boycotts. The usual characters of Minister Malik Shabazz and the Black Panther Nation and preachers are presented in the story but the difference is what it’s about.

The News story is about a council created to investigate and look into whether or not citizen boycotts are legitimate. The Public Protests Ratings Council founded by Rick Robertson is what the Detroit News decided to cover.

(more…)

We are pretty late on this Comerica-thing. After all, Comerica announced last week that it is moving its headquarters out of Detroit to Dallas, Texas. But that is mostly because of apathy.

Comerica has ceased lending in the innercity a long time ago. That is unless you are a politician who has power over billion dollar budgets. Remember former mayoral candidate Freman Hendrix’s million dollar loan on his home? (This is in a city where most can’t get their house appraised for more than $100,000.)

And hiring? Well that has been questionable too.

So forgive us if the Comerica announcment caused a tiny furor. However, we couldn’t help but notice an article on Texas’ electric grid. What they say about Texas is true. Everything is bigger in Texas including the energy gap. The states growth has outpaced the old system and we can expect power shortages starting in 2009.

With global warming and our energy hog habits…Michigan doesn’t look so bad after all.

Sisters are doin’ it, y’all!

Canada’s Governor General Michaelle Jean, the commander-in-chief of our northern neighbor’s military, visits war-ravaged Afghanistan, discusses policy with President Hamid Karzai and meets with Afghan women on International Women’s Day.

The question of whether women could be effective world leaders was answered long ago. But despite Jean’s powerful position, it seems there are still political (chauvanist? racial?) barriers for the African-Canadian leader to overcome.

Last year sources told The Canadian Press that Jean, who is commander-in-chief of Canada’s armed forces, had asked and was twice denied permission to visit Afghanistan because of security concerns.

That was despite visits by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor.

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson visited Canadian troops in Kabul on New Year’s Day 2005.

Canada.com

It has been ten years since The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered after a party at The Petersen Automobile Museum in Los Angeles. A decade, and no one has been convicted of his murder. In fact, no one has ever been arrested.

Now, before you say “Aw, here goes that ‘hip-hop girl’ talking about rappers again.” Give me a chance to explain. See, the unsolved ten-year old murders of Biggie and 2 Pac are relevant to all Black folks. I mean, look at how often the slaying of our men goes unpunished. Emmett Till’s case was recently closed again, with no indictment. Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, their killers were not in court until they were senior citizens. Jam Master Jay’s killer has not been arrested, either.

Then, there are all the Black men who are leaders of their families and their communities who are murdered every day. Some of their assailants are other Black men, which is tragic. But then, why should one Black man value the life of another when society doesn’t? (more…)

As Black History Month came to a close, two news items prove that the legacy of slavery in America is far from over.

The first was former presidential candidate, the Rev. Al Sharpton’s, revelation that one of his ancestors was owned by a relative of late South Carolina Senator and segregationist Strom Thurmond.

Professional genealogists working for Ancestry.com found that Sharpton’s great-grandfather, Coleman Sharpton, was a slave owned by Julia Thurmond, whose grandfather was Strom Thurmond’s great-great-grandfather. Coleman Sharpton was later freed.

In the second report, a geneaologist claims that an ancestor of current presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s white mother owned slaves.

According to the research, one of Obama’s great-great-great-great grandfathers, George Washington Overall, owned two slaves who were recorded in the 1850 Census in Nelson County, Ky. The same records show that one of Obama’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, Mary Duvall, also owned two slaves.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone. If your ancestors were in the United States before 1860, then it is highly likely that their lives were touched by the peculiar institution in one way or another. So why is this such a big deal? (more…)

They say “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.”

However, after losing her hearing in 2005 and then regaining it through surgery in Feb. 2006. Foxy Brown has been arrested more than numerous times. The arrests have been petty and childish incidents.

One took place in August of 2004 during which time she allegedly attacked two manicurists and left a nail salon refusing to pay a $20 tab. The case dragged on for over a year and in October of 2006, Foxy was finally sentenced to three years probation for the incident.

During one of her court appearances, in Dec. 2005, Brown allegedly stuck out her tongue at the Judge in her case. She was then handcuffed to a bench and then engaged in an argument with an officer of the court. She later apologized to the Judge stating that she had stuck out her tongue to show that she was not chewing gum.

Most recently, Foxy was arrested in Florida, where a “take-down” measure had to be taken against her by police.

What is wrong with Foxy Brown? (more…)