History in the making at DC's MLK memorial

Visitors to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial stand behind security fencing on the National Mall in Washington Sunday, Aug., 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

There are relatively few moments in our lives that make history; a precise occasion that is marked and reflected upon as either a game changer or a period of extreme significance.

The weekend of August 27th and 28th will be one for the books as we not only commemorate the 48th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, but also when the world bears witness to the unveiling of the national King Memorial.

As members of the civil rights community and all those who continue to push for equality across the board convene in our nation's capital to assess our progress and march on for the battles that still lay ahead, generations will look back on this weekend and recount how we paid homage to the people's true champion in the most fitting of ways. It is undeniably an unprecedented, remarkable event that anyone who carries on the teachings of Dr. King simply cannot afford to miss.

WATCH MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO'S COVERAGE OF THE MLK MEMORIAL HERE

We are living in perhaps one of the most unpredictable and capricious times in our nation's history. While people of color and the traditionally marginalized make enormous strides with access to places never even imaginable before, the working class and poor are still under attack in extraordinary and systematic ways. When the disenfranchised are further removed from the mainstream, the class divide between the haves and have not's naturally increases. For those who may be quick to forget the legacy of Dr. King, let us remember that he died while fighting for worker's rights and the basic human dignity of all.

Since last year's march in Washington, regressive tactics have sadly been on display across the country. In the state of Wisconsin, we first observed measures to dismantle unions and collective bargaining rights that sadly were soon emulated in other places from coast to coast. And unfortunately, the same conservative Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, recently signed a measure requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls, making it the 11th state to implement such a policy.

When many poor, elderly and rural residents do not even possess a driver's license, such legislation instantly deters certain sectors of the populous from voting. And when harsh immigration tactics and the refusal of elected officials to pass the DREAM Act impede on the ability of people of color to have a voice in society, we still have a tremendous way to go.

As working Americans incessantly struggle to gain employment and livable wages, we continue to watch rampant foreclosures and fluctuating markets most heavily impact those that are already suffering under tumultuous financial times. National Action Network (NAN), and our partners in labor, education, civil rights and the Church, call on every man, woman and child who understands the urgency of social justice on all levels to join us in Washington, D.C. this August.

If you have ever faced oppression, been discriminated against, lost your ability to provide for your family, lost decent health care, watched families torn apart from mass incarceration rates, or simply understand the nobility in fighting for equality, be sure to gather at the Lincoln Memorial as we carry on the message of Dr. King.

Following NAN's rally and march, we will all re-convene the next day on Aug. 28th and bear witness to the momentous unveiling of the King memorial. Thanks to the unwavering fundraising efforts of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the King Memorial will not only pay homage to our nation's greatest civil rights leader, but it will also be the first time a non-president will be memorialized on the banks of the Potomac.

It will be a weekend of reflection, organization, strategy, celebration and hope for what we have gainfully achieved, what unites us as human beings and what challenges still remain. All roads in August lead to Washington -- don't get left behind in the dust of stagnation.

What if Michael Vick were white?

Photo illustration by D'arcy Hyde for ESPN The MagazineNo getting around it: Race is still an undeniable element of the Michael Vick story.

This story appears in the Sept. 5 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

WHEN MICHAEL VICK PLAYS, I see streetball. I don't just mean that sort of football where you have to count to four-Mississippi before you can rush the quarterback, nearly everything breaks down and it's all great fun. I also mean street basketball. Vick's style reminds me of Allen Iverson -- the speed, the court sense, the sharp cuts, the dekes, the swag. In those breathtaking moments when the Eagles QB abandons the pocket and takes off, it feels as if he's thumbing his nose at the whole regimented, militaristic ethos of the game.

All of that is why, to me, Vick seems to have a deeply African-American approach to the game. I'm not saying that a black QB who stands in the pocket ain't playing black. I'm saying Vick's style is so badass, so artistic, so fluid, so flamboyant, so relentless -- so representative of black athletic style -- that if there were a stat for swagger points, Vick would be the No. 1 quarterback in the league by far.

Race is an undeniable and complex element of Vick's story, both because of his style as well as the rarity of black QBs in the NFL. A decade after he became the first black QB to be drafted No. 1 overall, about one in five of the league's passers is African-American, compared with two-thirds of all players. But after his arrest for dogfighting, so many people asked: Would a white football player have gotten nearly two years in prison for what Vick did to dogs?

This question makes me cringe. It is so facile, naive, shortsighted and flawed that it is meaningless. Whiteness comes with great advantages, but it's not a get-out-of-every-crime-free card. Killing dogs is a heinous crime that disgusts and frightens many Americans. I'm certain white privilege would not be enough to rescue a white NFL star caught killing dogs.

The problem with the "switch the subject's race to determine if it's racism" test runs much deeper than that. It fails to take into account that switching someone's race changes his entire existence. In making Vick white, you have him born to different parents. That alone sets his life trajectory in an entirely different direction. Thus when this hypothetical white Michael Vick ... wait, I can't even continue that sentence in good faith. I mean, who would this white Vick be? That person is unknowable. When you alter his race, it's like those Back to the Future movies where someone goes back in time, inadvertently changes one small thing about his parents' dating history and then the person starts to disappear. If Vick had been born to white parents, you wouldn't even be reading this right now. That Vick would have had radically different options in life compared with the Vick who grew up in the projects of Newport News, Va., where many young black men see sports as the only way out.

This is not to say there aren't insights to be gained from hypotheticals. One pertinent question: Would a white kid have been introduced to dogfighting at a young age and have it become normalized to the extent that he builds it into his life after he joins the NFL? It's possible, but it's far less likely because what made Vick stand out among dogfighters is less race than class. The deep pockets of an NFL star led to a kennel that was too big not to fail eventually. But if it did, though, would this white kid have been busted? Remember, it wasn't suspicion of dogfighting that started the investigation that put Vick in jail. It was that element that we've all seen hold back or bring down so many athletes from the hood -- the entourage. Vick's cousin Davon Boddie was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell in Hampton, Va. When police asked him for his address, he led them to the home where Bad Newz Kennels was located. After that, Vick never had a chance.

Here's another question: If Vick grew up with the paternal support that white kids are more likely to have (72 percent percent of black children are born to unwed mothers compared with 29 percent of white children), would he have been involved in dogfighting? I ask this not to look for an excuse but to explore the roots of his behavior. Vick's stunningly stupid moral breakdown with respect to dogs is certainly related to the culture of the world he grew up in, which he says fully embraced dogfighting. But it's also related to the household he grew up in.

Vick's father, Michael Boddie, was not a positive influence on him growing up. Boddie admitted to The Washington Post that he was a cocaine user and had been high and drunk around young Vick. He says he often prepared the family garage so Vick could have pit bull fights there. Boddie's account is disputed by a family friend, who says Vick's mother would not have allowed that. Either way, at some point in Vick's youth, his father became estranged from the family. This breakdown of Vick's paternal relationship is a pattern that's all too common among black men of his generation. Too many are left to define manhood on their own, so they gravitate toward the most charismatic and inspiring men in their world. Sometimes those men are gritty local sports coaches who teach them the value of hard work, but sometimes they're ghetto celebrities who are unsavory role models with bad habits.

Ultimately, there is no separating Vick from his circumstances: his race, parents, economics and opportunities. Alter any of those elements and everything about him and how the world sees him would be unrecognizable.

So let's look at him a different way. Let's see him as someone in the third act of the epic movie that is his life, leading a team that many expect to see in the Super Bowl. Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" is playing underneath because the humbled protagonist has finally overcome his personal demons and has begun living up to his athletic promise. And to those who believe we should judge a man by how he responds when dealing with the worst life has to offer -- with how he climbs after he hits rock bottom -- Michael Vick has become heroic.

And that has nothing to do with race.

A Dream Fulfilled, Martin Luther King Memorial Opens

A Dream Fulfilled, Martin Luther King Memorial Opens

Philip Scott Andrews/The New York Times

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be formally dedicated on Sunday, the 48th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

By SABRINA TAVERNISE

WASHINGTON - Now we know: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it leads to a picturesque glade beside the Tidal Basin, with the Washington Monument providing sentry.

After more than two decades of planning, fund-raising and construction, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial - a four-acre tract south of the Mall featuring a granite statue of Dr. King - has officially opened to the public.

The memorial will be formally dedicated on Sunday in a ceremony that is expected to draw perhaps a few hundred thousand people from around the country. But some of its earliest judges came on Monday, as hundreds of city residents and visitors stood in line for their turn to take a look.

"I wanted to be part of this history," said William Wilson, a retired federal employee. "This is the architecture of progress."

The dedication, which is to include remarks by President Obama, coincides with the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.

The monument is the first on the Mall and its adjoining memorial parks to honor an African-American, said Harry E. Johnson Sr., the president of the foundation in charge of erecting it. That made it an emotional occasion for many who came to see it.

"This is important as a black American," said Jerome McNeil, who was there on Monday taking photographs for his grandchildren. "It's not just a statue, it's a symbol of what we can do if we put our minds to it."

In 1996, Congress authorized the memorial's establishment, and Alpha Phi Alpha, an African-American fraternity, set up a foundation to accomplish that. A Chinese sculptor, Lei Yixin, was selected to create the 30-foot sculpture, and an architect, Ed Jackson Jr., designed the layout, which includes a bookstore, a wall with Dr. King's quotations and nearly 200 cherry trees. The cost was $120 million, and organizers said they are still trying to raise the last $5 million.

The design gave form to a line from Dr. King's "Dream" speech - "With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope," said Mr. Jackson. In the memorial, he noted, Dr. King is seen emerging from the stone of hope. The two towering mounds set slightly behind him, forming a sort of passageway to the statue, are mountains of despair.

Some visitors said they did not like the fact that Dr. King was facing the Jefferson Memorial, not the Lincoln Memorial, but Mr. McNeil said he did not mind.

"The only thing I don't like is that I have to wait until 11 a.m. to get in," he said.

During a press briefing on Monday, Mr. Johnson chose to emphasize Dr. King's focus on poverty and justice, steering away from questions about race. It was more a gesture of hope, he said, than a tactic of avoiding an inevitably difficult conversation.

"We hope that in the next 100 years, that won't be important," he said, referring to race relations. He sought to emphasize universal themes. "What's important is that you have food in your belly."

For Mr. Wilson, race is still very much present, but he did not expect the monument to do much to change that.

"I don't think this will resolve a lot of things," he said. But, glancing up toward the statue of Dr. King, he added: "He definitely earned it."

The Black War Over Obama

http://www.thedailybeast.com

African-American leaders fear academic rebel Cornel West’s fierce attacks on the president could spell trouble in 2012.

How did Cornel West become the administration’s No. 1 gadfly? The noted African-American scholar and radio host may have helped Barack Obama into the White House, but he has spent the better part of the president’s term taking shots at him, calling him a “black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs,” among other names. “These last few weeks have only proven my point about Brother Obama,” West says in his signature “one love” voice as he talks about the debt-reduction debacle on Capitol Hill. “He simply caved in again.”

Never mind the slings and arrows of Tea Partiers. The most politically problematic criticism of Obama these days is coming from his base. And there’s no question that there is a deep reservoir of frustration, confusion, and even rage among many in the African-American community for West to tap into. With unemployment hovering near 17 percent for African-Americans (the national average rate is 9 percent) and 11 percent of black homeowners facing imminent foreclosure, African-Americans have ample reason for anxiety about the coming budget cuts that Obama reluctantly signed into law this month. The Congressional Black Caucus chairman called the recent debt deal “a sugar-coated satan sandwich” that will do little to help communities already struggling.

West and his longtime friend, radio host Tavis Smiley, have taken their criticism of Obama to the streets, launching a two-week, 15-city “poverty tour,” aimed at forcing the powers that be to once again focus on the “least among us” and getting the president to “wake up.” Their efforts are increasingly stoking fears among some African-American leaders that West and Smiley could discourage black voters from turning out when the nation’s first African-American president stands for reelection in 2012.

“The negative discussion Dr. West is having can only put more apathy in the hearts of African-Americans and could ultimately cause them to lose more faith in the entire political process,” says the Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor of Obama’s former church in Chicago. “Where will that leave us?”

Lately, Obama’s supporters in the black community are fighting back. As West and Smiley pulled up aboard their “Call to Conscience” bus in Detroit in early August, a crowd of hecklers awaited them outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. “We will not stand silent as Smiley and West criticize the man who brought us health-care reform, one of the greatest accomplishments for the poor in this country’s history,” says a spokesperson for Detroiters for Better Government.

Photo illustration by Newsweek (source photo: Jemal Countess / Wireimage-Getty Images)

The pushback is not just coming from community organizers. “The poor did horribly under every president before Obama, and yet there wasn’t this level of outcry toward them by these men,” says Michael Eric Dyson, professor of sociology at Georgetown. “That makes folks skeptical about the intent.”

West insists he does not intend to suppress support for Obama’s reelection. “If African-Americans choose to stay home this time and not go to the booth, it would be most regrettable -given the options,” he says. “But that can’t stop my message.”

It’s hard to say how much electoral impact the Princeton professor and the media personality might have. Obama retains overwhelming support among black voters. Still, the numbers have been slipping. He received a staggering 96 percent of the African-American vote in 2008. In a poll done by Black Entertainment Television in March, black approval of Obama had slid to 85 percent. According to a recent Washington Post/CBS poll, the number of African-Americans who believe Obama’s actions have helped the economy has dropped from 77 percent in October to about half that this month.

That’s not the kind of news the president’s reelection team wants to hear heading into a campaign year.

Obama’s team has reached out to West several times and invited him to meet with the president, a White House official says, adding that West has declined. For his part, West says he has received a call from White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, but did not get invited to meet with Obama. “A beer summit won’t help our issues,” West adds, recalling the now-famous meeting the president had with a white police officer and Harvard’s Skip Gates following a tense confrontation between the two in 2009.

Gates stands by West, his longtime friend: “He is completely sincere in his concern for the poor. I may disagree, as brothers sometimes do, with the way the message is being handled, but I commend him for his work and his passion.”

Popular talk-radio personality Tom Joyner recently joined the fray, writing an open letter to West suggesting that he and Smiley were motivated more by a desire for attention and book sales than a genuine concern for the plight of the poor. (The two co-host a Public Radio International daily radio show, and Smiley owns a book imprint that publishes most of West’s written works. Smiley’s most recent book, Fail Up, was released in May.)

The Rev. Al Sharpton has also voiced concerns that the pair’s efforts may do more harm than good. “African--Americans are struggling with many issues, and serious discussions need to be had by all,” Sharpton says. “But instead, West has resorted to personal attacks … All that does is distract the attention from where it needs to be. I’ve said that to Cornel and explained the damage being done.”

West has openly admitted being angered by perceived slights from Obama after his election. He says he campaigned nonstop for Obama in 2007, hosting more than 60 events, yet he says he didn’t receive inauguration tickets and lost all access to Obama once he was in office. Smiley fell out of favor with many African-Americans prior to the 2008 election, owing to his unrelenting criticism of Obama. Many think his distaste for the president influenced West’s attitude.

Some of Obama’s staunchest allies are confident a truce is near. Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, who befriended both Barack and Michelle Obama in the 1990s, introduced the couple to West in early 2007. Ogletree sounds determined to resolve what he terms a “disappointing distraction” as soon as possible.

“This is not about two very brilliant men squashing a beef,” says Ogletree of Obama and West. “This is about what’s best for this country … The two men will meet before 2011 is over, and this won’t be allowed to impact the 2012 reelection of Barack Obama. That’s simply not an option.”

Tavis Smiley To Examine the Education of African American Boys and Their Impact on America

TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS Premieres on Tuesday, September 13 at 8 p.m. on PBS

LOS ANGELES, August 16, 2011, /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new episode of TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS primetime special on PBS will examine one of the most disturbing aspects of the education crisis facing America today -- the increased dropout rate among teenagers specifically among black teenage males. In the fifth installment of TSR, host Tavis Smiley investigates the root causes of this calamity as well as what can be done and is being done to reverse this. Behind every catch phrase and every statistic is a young person whose future will be lost if something is not done immediately to change this reality.

The fifth episode of TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS,titled"Too Important to Fail," premieres on Tuesday, September 13 at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central on PBS.

In many states less than 50% of young black males graduate from high school. Low graduation rates combined with high rates of placement in special education classes and disproportionate use of suspension and expulsion, add up to a crisis point for young black males on the brink of adulthood.

"As we saw recently in the UK, an entire society suffers when one part of a population is ignored," Smiley said. "A new focus on our black boys is a renewed focus on America."

Many experts point to generational poverty, the pressure on single parent households, continued unemployment, the lack of positive male role models in schools, crime, drugs, gangs and the condition of many urban schools that aid in this alarming dropout rate. Research also supports that in too many traditional classrooms, particularly where teachers are asked to handle large classes, active boys are seen as disciplinary problems and are treated accordingly. And teacher expectations are often lower for boys who seem less focused. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that boys will fail when teachers expect them to do so.

In TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS:"Too Important to Fail," Smiley will travel across the country, speaking to education experts as well as to the boys themselves about the challenges they face and how education can be redirected to address their needs.He will profile individuals who are making a difference in the lives of young black males and look at the schools that are best serving them. 

For example, Smiley talks with Dr. Alfred Tatum who heads up a literacy program in Chicago and is one of many educators grappling with how to reverse the alarming dropout rate.Smiley also sits down with noted author and educational consultant Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu who shares how the country's response would be more immediate had this been a crisis involving white boys.

"…if 53% was the dropout for white males, it would be unacceptable; if 41% of their children were being placed in special education that would be a major crisis," says Dr. Kunjufu."If only 20% of their boys were proficient in reading in eighth grade, that would be a crisis. If only 2.5% of white males ever earned a college degree, that would be a major crisis in America."

"Too Important to Fail" is also a national education initiative that includes parent summits, a reading mobile truck tour and an interactive Website, www.tooimportanttofail.com, which invites thousands of Americans to share ideas that reflect the critical role of teachers, parents, community and government developed in partnership with Microsoft and Open Society.

TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS, a series of primetime specials first debuted in January 2010 with "One on One with Hillary Clinton." Next "MLK: A Call to Conscience" premiered on March 31, and the series continued when Smiley teamed up with Academy Award®-winning director Jonathan Demme to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in "New Orleans: Been in the Storm too Long" on July 21.The fourth episode premiered December 29 with an inside look into music programs for schools and a one-on-one conversation with L.A. Philharmonic's music director Gustavo Dudamel.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/tsr/ for Web-exclusive content and to view past episodes.

TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS is produced by PBS by The Smiley Group, Inc. / TS Media, Inc.Executive producer is Jacoba Atlas.Funding is provided by The California Endowment, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the National Education Association (NEA).

ABOUT TAVIS SMILEY

Tavis Smiley is host of the nightly talk show TAVIS SMILEY on PBS and the host of The Tavis Smiley Show and co-host Smiley & West from Public Radio International (PRI).Smiley launched America I AM: The African American Imprint, a world-class traveling exhibition celebrating the extraordinary impact of African American contributions to our nation and the world.The exhibit is on a four-year, 10-city tour and is currently on display in St. Louis, MO.Smiley is also the author/editor of 15 books, including TheNew York Times best sellersCovenant with Black America and What I Know for Sure: My Story of Growing Up in America. His most recent book is FAIL UP: 20 Lessons on Building Success from Failure.In 2009, TIME magazine named him one of the World's Most Influential People. For more information, visitwww.tavistalks.com.

BU identifies contributors to high incidence of breast cancer in African-American women

(Boston) - Investigators from the Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center have reported findings that may shed light on why African American women have a disproportionately higher risk of developing more aggressive and difficult-to-treat breast cancers, specifically estrogen and progesterone receptor negative (ER-/PR-) cancers.

The study, which appears online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that high parity (giving birth to two or more children) was associated with an increased risk of ER-/PR- cancer, but only among women who had not breastfed.

The findings were based on the ongoing Black Women's Health Study, which has followed 59,000 African American women by biennial questionnaire since 1995.

In 14 years of follow-up, 318 women developed breast cancers negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER-/PR-), while 457 developed breast cancers with estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER+/PR+). Giving birth to two or more children was associated with a 50 percent increase in the incidence of ER-/PR- breast cancer, but the association was not present among women who had breastfed.

According to the researchers, the results for ER+/PR+ breast cancer, which is more common among white women, were strikingly different. High parity was associated with a decreased risk, and breast feeding had no influence on that association.

"The higher incidence of ER-/PR- breast cancer in African American women may be explained in part by their higher parity and lower prevalence of breastfeeding relative to white women," explained lead author Julie Palmer, ScD, MPH, a senior epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center and a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health.

"Our results, taken together with recent results from studies of triple negative and basal-like breast cancer, suggest that breastfeeding can reduce risk of developing the aggressive, difficult-to-treat breast cancers that disproportionately affect African American women," she said.

###

This study was supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.