Black Enterprise Media Interviews Wayne Bennett (The Field Negro)

I encourage all 'villagers' to take a moment to check out the insights shared by Wayne Bennett, creator of The Field Negro blog as documented by Black Enterprise Media on YouTube. Field explains how he uses his blog to initiate critical thinking and dialogue within the Black community about a wide range of issues relevant to people of color. He also shares the origin of the blog's name!





This is a nice feature by Black Enterprise Media. I look forward to further video vignettes of Black bloggers around the nation.

New AfroSpear Member: The Essentials of Cool

This blog has been a member of The AfroSpear for a couple of years now. There are truly some remarkable bloggers of African descent in The AfroSpear. You can see the full blogroll at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar.

The AfroSpear added a new member recently. Barry Belt is the owner of 'The Essentials Of Cool'. He began the blog in April 2008.

When asked about the purpose of the AfroSpear he wrote, "I see the AfroSpear as a source to receive news on various topics from an informed Black perspective. Basically, I see the AfroSpear as picking up the ball that the mainstream media has dropped. We can't hold our breath for BET to."

Shawn, better known in cyberspace as the Bohemian Hippie Chick, shared her insights on The Essentials of Cool. She has been following Barry's current blog since its inception in 2008 and noted that the blog regularly posts on issues in the Black community such as technology, music, entertainment and politics. She was very complimentary on three specific blog posts:

1. Where Are The Black Tech Bloggers
2. Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story
3. Race & The Last Airbender

Barry and his blog, 'The Essentials of Cool', are a great addition to The AfroSpear. I hope that you will take a moment to share your Village Voice' (or COMMENT) to welcome the young brother to the crew!

Village Interview: Martin Lindsey (MARTYblogs)

It has been almost a year since I've published something new to our Village Interview series.  I enjoy doing these interviews and I encourage you to contact me if you know of a blogger that would like to sit under the baobob tree with me to be part of these series.

Today, we are pleased to invite you for a seat under our baobob tree to read interview with Martin Lindsey -- creater of MartyBLOGs. I hope you enjoy it!

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1. What were you like when you were younger? - As a child I was happy-go-lucky, but kind of introverted too. I wasn’t always comfortable being the first to approach other people to make friends but when I got to know you I was the life of the party. The silliness and jokestering always came out in the end.
   
   That degree of shyness kind of continued into the high school years. I could be a laid back wallflower type some times. I was basically a homebody but I learned to break out of my shell as I got older.
   
   I loved sports and couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be anything other than an athlete when they grew up.
   
   You’d never know from my early years that I’m now a hard core networker and as an adult I go out of my way to meet a new face.
2. Name a famous historical figure, living or deceased, you would like to meet and tell us why. - If he were alive it would be really cool to meet Jacques Cousteau. He was one of my favorite scientists when I was a kid (Marlin Perkins of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom fame was the other) and is a major reason I pursued a technical career. I loved watching Cousteau’s National Geographic specials on PBS (pre-cable T.V era). If there was ever a field of science that seemed exotic and cool it was oceanography the way the captain of the Calypso could portray it. He is the reason scuba diving is #1 for me on your bucket list question.
   
   I always wanted to join the crew of the Calypso and travel all over the world shooting film of sea animals, ship wrecks and ancient buildings fallen into the sea. I’d still like to pat a whale on its side and get a fin ride from a dolphin before I leave this earth.
   
   And who knows? As a digital cinema grad student I may yet get the opportunity to do something cool like that.
3. Name a person in your community who is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, who you believe is significant in some way, and that you would like the rest of the world to know more about. - For me that unsung person would be Mr. William Slayton. I’m not sure if he’s still around now but Mr. Slayton was our block unit president when I was a kid in St. Louis. I think the block unit dealt with safety or neighborhood politics. Maybe both. I’m not sure because while I tagged along with my mother to the meetings, the adults met in the Slayton’s living room and I watched T.V. in their kitchen.
   
   However there was one time in particular when I went to an actual neighborhood political meeting of some sort with Mr. Slayton completely unrelated to the block unit. To this day I have no idea how I wound up hanging out with him but he drove us over to some storefront in the neighborhood and it was packed with a room full of people. The best I can recall is that they were talking about serious issues and that’s only because I remember all of those adults having serious looks on their faces and really getting into the discussion at hand. That was my first exposure to grass roots politics in action.
   
   That’s what made Mr. Slayton a significant person, that he put his concerns for the well being of our neighborhood into action. I couldn’t appreciate it as a kid but I remember those events vividly and I have all the respect in the world for him to this day.
4. What are two items in your 'bucket list' ... things you want to do or accomplish before you kick the bucket? - I want to go scuba diving and see with my own eyes many of the interesting animals and oceanic environments that I watch on National Geographic and Discovery Channel.
   
   I want to travel into outer space on one of the civilian versions of spacecraft that are under development by various corporations. All the NASA missions are the yet another reason I fell in love with science.

5. Describe your first experience on the Internet? - I learned about the Internet in 1995 when it first went public. I was a young engineer who discovered something way more interesting than engineering (LOL). I knew even back then that I wasn’t going to be in that profession the rest of my life.
   
   The most exciting thing about it was finding a web page that taught basic HTML. I learned the basics in an hour and started creating and editing some bare bones pages with sections, colors, radio buttons and all the other now rudimentary features that were new and fascinating back in the old days at the end of the 20th century.
   
   That’s how I entertained myself after work each day, by learning this new technology. It’s interesting seeing its evolution over the years. Some online applications that I imagined have come to fruition and many others that never occurred to me have been transformative in the way business is done and the way we live our daily lives on a personal level.
6. Tell us about your current blogging career and how you got into it. - I got into blogging about four or five years ago. I don’t recall where I first read or heard of blogging but I used it as the subject of two of my early Toastmasters International speeches. It was quite fascinating to me and I knew it would be an eye opening subject for my club. The focus of my research for the speeches was on corporate blogging mostly. Of course as it turns out it’s individuals who have been the most popular and widely read bloggers and not the corporations.
   
   It was around that time that I started my first blog. I have rehashed it in a couple of different incarnations since then as I discovered platforms that seemed easier or more advantageous for one reason or another.
7. Who are the two bloggers you read the most and why? Include their links and tell us why we should subscribe to their feeds. - This one is hard to nail down to two that I read most so I’ll take interviewee’s privilege and reclassify the question as two that I really like and respect.
   
   First I’d recommend a blogger I've discovered on Facebook over the last few months. His name is Mason Jamal and his site, Mason Says, with his irreverent brand of humor is always good for a laugh.
   
   To take his tagline, he writes about "style, substance and sensibilities for men (and sometimes women)". His sarcastic, yet thoughtful observations and analysis of life makes you think while cracking you up. I like his writing style and as a blogger who regular tries to include humor in my writing and public speaking I admire his skill with the craft.
   
   Secondly I’d recommend you oh great attendant of the baobab tree. The Electronic Village is one I can’t miss. Neither should anyone else. I’ve gotten to know you virtually over the last few years as we’ve both worked on improving our blogging skills. Your range of content covering matters social, technical and fun makes for interesting and different reading each day.
   
   I like the way your layout shines the spotlight on other bloggers or people of interest in your side columns. You’ve gone beyond the blog roll with your AfroSpear Voices link featuring individual bloggers of color. And your Village Heroes link gives us a consistent dose of Black History. The other linked sections are cool too but those are my favorites.

8. Where are you taking your blog over the next 2-3 years? - I’m working on expanding the scope of MartyBLOGs over the next couple of years. I’ve begun focusing the subject matter of my posts into a consistent set of categories over the last year. I have been doing more on social networking and music for instance. Sometimes I’ll write about principles to live by and other times I’ll write about my spiritual perspective as a Christian in particular.
   
   I also want to begin learning how to monetize my site. I’ve always had good intentions and made small scale attempts at it but I’ve never focused on it as a feature in order to make it effective.
9. What is your 'killer post' over the past year ... the post you are most proud of? - I don’t have one that qualifies as a killer post in my eyes. The last year has been filled with school work. Classes haven’t allowed me the time to dig as deeply and as consistently as I like to in my writing. So most of my subject matter has been shorter and to the point.
10. What is your 'biggest noise post' over the past year ... the one that you took the most heat over from your readers? - I never hear big noise over any of my posts but I really seem to know how to fire people up when I comment from time to time. So how about a biggest noise comment?
    
    As a person who is seriously conservative when it comes to applying timeless standards of morals and spiritual values to everyday living I get a lot of flack about one subject only, for some reason, and never for anything else that I might take the soap box for.
    
    Everybody seems to want to raise cain with Marty when it comes to discussions of homosexuality. I don’t go for the “rights” excuse that is so popular and that some are trying their best to make mainstream. I’m trying my best to fight against this trend that threatens the social fabric of our society. I believe in the “what is right” line of thinking and living. People can continue to be upset with me, try to justify immoral lifestyles and pass them off as social issues all they like. Doesn’t matter to me because I’m going to continue saying what’s right anyway.

Martin ended his interview by saying, "Thanks for allowing me to participate in your interview series, Villager. This has given me a chance to think on some subjects I haven’t had the opportunity to focus on in a while. I appreciate it."

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Martin was one of the first Black bloggers that I discovered in the afrosphere. I think that the thing I most appreciated about Martin is his action-oriented blogging style. Oddly enough, we have never met face-to-face, however, we have worked together in a variety of online activism efforts and within BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

I enjoy publishing interviews of bloggers. I hope that I can do some more of these over the coming weeks and months. Let me know if you have a blogger you would like us to interview. Also, share some love with Martin for taking time to participate in this Q&A process.

Village Interview: Eddie Griffin (Eddie Griffin, BASG)

This is a continuation of our Village Interview series. Today, we are pleased to invite you for a seat under our baobob tree to read interview with Eddie Griffin, an active blogger in the afrosphere. His blog is known as Eddie G. Griffin (BASG). BASG is acronym for Black Accused Support Group.

Eddie Griffin, ex-Black Panther, ex-convict, Blackosphere advocate for the accused, Christian community organizer, and author of 'Breaking Men's Minds: Behavior Control and Human Experimentation at the Federal Prison in Marion (IL)'. I encourage you to visit his blog to best enjoy his honest, candid and insightful analysis of current events. I hope you enjoy this blogger interview!

Q1. What were you like when you were younger?

Youth is like a deep, deep sleep. You wake up and hardly remember what it felt like to be young. I guess you can say I was a romanticist, in love with life and every young woman I could put my hands on. For a brief period, I was Mr. Popular, with a reputation everywhere I went. I was too popular for my own good, so I gained a gangster pimp image, and later a Black, gun-toting revolutionary… seems like to me, on a suicide mission.

Q2. Name a famous historical figure, living or deceased, you would like to meet and tell us why.

I am not a hero worshipper. But I see in myself some of the influence of people who helped shaped my life. I would have loved to meet Angela Davis. Her book 'Soledad Brother' converted me to the revolution. I fell in love with her face on the FBI Most Wanted poster. If a sweet sister like this could be branded as an outlaw, then I realized that I was on the wrong side of the law.

After being exonerated, Angela Davis went to work on behalf of other prisoners, after the death of George Jackson, the original 'Soledad Brother'. She took up the cause of a band of politically conscious prisoners and named them the “Marion Brothers”, of whom I am one of the three set free by President Jimmy Carter.

Without her, I would still be in Leavenworth until the year 2022.

Q3. Name a person in your community who is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, who you believe is significant in some way, and that you would like the rest of the world to know more about.

My protégé, Junichi Lockett, Jr., is an unknown, and has yet to 'make his bones'. But he is a young man full of potential and determination. He was a proven leader among his college peers, serving as the university’s NAACP president and being awarded Man of the Year recognition.

He has finished a manuscript on militaristic determinism as used in goal achievements. I like his thinking and work in the trenches, as an elementary school teacher. He studies my writings for inspiration and insight.

Q4. What are two items in your 'bucket list' ... things you want to do or accomplish before you kick the bucket?

I would love to see the day all my kids and grandkids march across the stage upon high school graduation, ready to move on up to the next level in life.

Q5. Describe your first experience on the Internet?

I started in the telephone dial-up connection system on a 486 computer. Every time the phone range, the Internet crashed, until the age of the Pentium, when I routed my telephone calls through my computer.

Q6. Tell us about your current blogging career and how you got into it.

Before I started blogging, I wrote essays and commentaries and mass emailed them to about 1,000 local and national readers. One of my commentaries about the ordeal of Shaquanda Cotton attracted the attention of Francis Holland, who set up a blogsite for Black Accused Support Group (BASG), which I have operated for two years.

Q7. Who are the two bloggers you read the most and why? Include their links and tell us why we should subscribe to their feeds.

I read Electronic Village because of the diverse range of commentary on various causes. I read Dallas South Blog because Shawn is right next door in Dallas, and he is a go-to source for local issues.

Q8. Where are you taking your blog over the next 2-3 years?

Since the election of Barack Obama, I see the opportunity for a 4-8 years window in which I have a better chance to be heard, as a voice in the Black community. This, for me, is an intense problem-solving period, rather than a period of activist protesting. Having been subjected to the status quo successive regimes in U.S. government for 62 years, I now get a sense of being able to participate in government, rather than casting my vote and going back and sitting down, until the next.

Q9. What is your 'killer post' over the past year ... the post you are most proud of?

I have score some direct hits on my blog: Shaquanda Cotton, Jena 6, and others. But the campaign that stands above all others was the campaign to save the life of Kenneth Foster, six hours from the execution chamber in Texas.

Q10. What is your 'biggest noise post' over the past year ... the one that you took the most heat over from your readers?

The 2008 political campaign generated more traffic and more controversy than anything else. I went with two dark horses: Barack Obama for President and Wendy Davis for Texas State Senate. These were the only two campaigns where I had to pour out all my energies.

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Villagers, I look forward to meeting Eddie Griffin in person. I am blessed to interact with him regularly via email. He is a remarkable man. I collect his Internet quotes. Some of my favorites:

• You can't cram an elephant down a gnat's throat.


• Some of us kill everything that moves. While others, like myself, are sharpshooters, knocking off one target at a time.


• The more you dig, the more you uncover. The more problems you solve, the more problems you discover.


• You build trust by living a transparent life, above reproach and condemnation, with integrity and justice for all.


• Straighten out history and people will get a clear view of how we got here.


• We are lenient with our white folks. We give 'em a little head start. When they get too far out of line, we reign them in.

Please take a moment to share your thoughts on this blogger interview or on Eddie Griffin.

Village Interview: Abdul Kargbo (T'ings 'n Times)

This is a continuation of our Village Interview series. Today, we are pleased to invite you for a seat under our baobob tree to read interview with Abdul Kargbo, an active blogger in the afrosphere. His blog is known as T'ings 'n Times. Bro. Kargbo is part Russian and part Sierra Leonean, part Muslim and part Jewish. He lives in the Washington DC area. He expresses his ecletic viewpoint with photos and radio commentary. However, I encourage you to visit his blog to best enjoy his humor and intelligent analysis of current events. I think you will enjoy this blogger interview!

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Q1. What were you like when you were younger?

Depends on how you define younger. As a child I was cerebral, anxious, and a bibliophile. As an adolescent I was somewhat introverted, still anxious, uncomfortable in most social settings, and I read much less than I did as a child. In my 20s I went through a rebellious phase (I rebelled against systems and philosophies of authority, not against individual people and not in my behavior). I became more extroverted but still felt uncomfortable in social situations. I also drank a lot, which probably helped make me extroverted. Today I'm more comfortable in social situations, still enjoy the odd drink, and am reading again, though not as frequently or consistently as I'd like.

Q2. Name a famous historical figure, living or deceased, you would like to meet and tell us why.

I would like to have met an African who had been ripped away from their homeland and forced into bonded servitude anywhere in the New World. I would like to have heard first-hand about the consequences of enslavement on the mind, body, and spirit of the African. I would have liked to know how s/he coped with the daily abuse and humiliation, how they felt about the people who controlled every aspect of their lives, and the hope, dreams, and aspirations they had had for themselves and their descendants before they were enslaved and what became of those plans after they found themselves in bondage.

Q3. Name a person in your community who is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, who you believe is significant in some way, and that you would like the rest of the world to know more about.

There's a guy who's been running an English-language school in my neighborhood for about 20 or so years now. Who knows how many immigrants have passed through this school, and how can you measure the impact this school has had on people's lives.

Q4. What are two items in your 'bucket list' ... things you want to do or accomplish before you kick the bucket?

Visit or live in India. Write a memoir.

Q5. Describe your first experience on the Internet?

I remember using computers before there was Windows. Windows were introduced at my college in my freshman year. One day we went from the black screen with the orange text and the cursor that was a blinking underscore. The next day, we had windows, with icons, spinning hourglasses, and arrow-shaped pointers. I used the internet a lot for usenet groups, which had all sorts of information.

Q6. Tell us about your current blogging career and how you got into it.

A friend of mine suggested I create a blog, because I was always ranting and raving about politics, social commentary, etc., basically stuff that bothered the hell out of me. I would also forward newspaper articles with my two cents attached, or respond to articles other people sent out with a running commentary. The blog was great for me: I was a natural. I wrote about everything: politics, race, social criticism, responses to current events, whatever. It was cathartic too, to get all that stuff out of my head.

Q7. Who are the two bloggers you read the most and why? Include their links and tell us why we should subscribe to their feeds.

Despite being a blog writer, I'm not a dedicated blog reader. I guess I'm just not big on commitment. I read news and opinion articles online and the odd blog, but I'm not a dedicated reader of any one site. One of my favorite sites, however, is Unique Muslimah, written by a young Muslim woman. She's a great writer, very insightful, spiritual, and soulful. Her posts are intimate yet pure. As a modern, Westernized male, I find her perspective enlightening and her writing uplifting. Another favorite blog is Racialicious, a blog collective run by an Asian woman. Racialilcious, as the name implies, examines at contemporary race relations, including the way race and racialized images are portrayed in the dominant culture.

Q8. Where are you taking your blog over the next 2-3 years?

I'm in a bit of flux right now as I'm finding my interests going in different directions. I'm torn between keeping my blog general or "specializing" in something like race/racism or religion. But my interests are too broad and I do enjoy voicing my thoughts on a variety of topics. In the end, I'll probably stay general. Most importantly, I'll be happy simply to continue writing. I'm afraid that I'm burning out...

Q9. What is your 'killer post' over the past year ... the post you are most proud of?

Man, this is like asking a parent which of his kids he loves the most. As I said already, I've written on a lot of topics so some posts are great in the context of what they cover, but other posts might be better because of how they're written. I have to confess that I often return to reread some of my older posts. I also have to confess that I think I've gotten better as a writer so I like most my more recent posts more than some of my previous ones. So I'm going to have to pass on that one ... I'm proud of all my posts.

Q10. What is your 'biggest noise post' over the past year ... the one that you took the most heat over from your readers?

Every post I've ever written on race/racism and hate crimes draws a lot of heat, mostly from overt racists and other ignorant people. I wrote a series of posts in response to Dr. Watson's thinly veiled reference to Black/African people's intelligence deficiency, and that brought a LOT of bigots out of the woodworks. The same thing happened in response to a series of posts I wrote in response to the beating death of Luis Ramirez, a Mexican migrant in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. But by far the most controversial post that had NOTHING to do with race or hate crimes was one I wrote about foodies.

For some reason, this one really rubbed people the wrong way. I basically argued that people who can afford to treat food and eating as a hobby—i.e., foodies—are over-privileged and out of touch with the reality that most of the world's population does not have the luxury of choosing when, let alone what, they will eat. It seemed people were upset that I would refer to foodies—who self-identify as such—as an affluent clique. After all, most of my detractors argued, foodies are simply people who enjoy food. All types of food. To which I say, everyone enjoys food. Some people just don't have the luxury to make a hobby out of it.

The lesson I learned is that affluent, over-privileged people don't like to be accused of being affluent, over-privileged, and out of touch.

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I hope that this interview points more keyboards towards Abdul Kargbo, a remarkable blogging talent! Don't let this brother burn out...

Village Interview: Jose Vilson (The Jose Vilson)

We decided to take a moment to sit quietly under the village's baobob tree to learn more about some of the powerful bloggers of African descent out in the afrosphere.

Our guest today is Jose Vilson. Jose was born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York, and his style represents that amalgamation of raw introspection and smooth delivery. While he's been writing poetry on and off since the age of 6, he says his style was born when he first met Sonia Sanchez. Upon hearing that he wrote poetry, she told him to forget the poems of old and write new words. Ever since, his style changed to something more natural, strong, and exciting.

His blog is The Jose Vilson (BBR #125). I met Jose through our membership in the AfroSpear. He has been a calming influence through some of the volcanic eruptions in our group. Here is what he had to say...

Q1. What were you like when you were younger?

I was one of the geeks. Definitely. I was insecure, imaginative, and intelligent. It was an interesting mix, really.

Q2. Name a famous historical figure, living or deceased, you would like to meet and tell us why.

Living, Muhammad Ali. For a good year and change, I did so much intense research on that man. He lived life with such passion and fervor, and had an insatiable drive. Dead, Arturo Schomberg. I'd probably ask him some of the questions you're asking me now.

Q3. Name a person in your community who is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, who you believe is significant in some way, and that you would like the rest of the world to know more about.

I'd say Fr. Jack Podsiadlo. Fr. Jack Podsiadlo is a Jesuit priest whose life's work consists of helping underprivileged Black and Latino youth become great men. Personally, I can say he was a father figure for me at a time when I needed that uplift as a youth. He also served as president of the Nativity Network, a collection of schools based on Nativity Mission Center, a small Catholic middle school on the Lower East Side. He didn't found the center, but his efforts to spread the message about that model have translated into hundreds and thousands of young men and women getting the opportunity of a lifetime.

Q4. What are two items in your 'bucket list' ... things you want to do or accomplish before you kick the bucket?

I'd like to travel across the world, and I'd like to write a really good book. Simple, yes, but not easy.

Q5. Describe your first experience on the Internet?

I want to say my first experience on the Internet was through my public school. We were writing an e-mail on the computer. As a matter of fact, I think it was on a Mac. I remember getting weirded out by this scraping and beeping noise in the background when my teacher told me, "Oh that's just the sound of a connection being made." Ah, the bad old days.

Q6. Tell us about your current blogging career and how you got into it.

I started out in Xanga in 2003 under ComoSeLlama. I first used it as a journal of sorts, jotting down parts of my life that I found interesting. As I started to build an audience, I started ranting on whatever happened for that day. I found myself particularly vested in blogging when I was unemployed and searching for another venue to entertain myself. But as I got a little older (and got a job), I too had to grow, and so I bought up my own domain and started blogging under my own name from 2007.

Q7. Who are the two bloggers you read the most and why? Include their links and tell us why we should subscribe to their feeds.

-checks my Google Reader- I can without a doubt say my two most read blogs are NYC Educator and Electronic Village. NYC Educator has always been my blogging hero, and with his trusty sidekick, Reality-Based Educator, they give you the realest coverage of education topics and financial / politics news you'll read on the web now. Electronic Village has a way of posting the news without sounding too much like they're preaching at me. It's informative, but not over-bearing. That's important.

Q8. Where are you taking your blog over the next 2-3 years?

I'm taking it wherever life takes me. I'm working on a few projects, one of which we'll see the release of in 2010, a book on the future of teaching. Another book, one I'm working on by myself, is hopefully coming out 2011. The blog itself will probably chronicle my life as it changes not just as an educator, but also as a writer. I've always been the writer who tries to fill in the gaps, and that seems to work well for my readers.

Q9. What is your 'killer post' over the past year ... the post you are most proud of?

Oh wow. My proudest post over the last year (counts 365 days back) has to be my post "Howl If You Hear Me," my uber-dedication to Allen Ginsberg in which I asked various bloggers to contribute one line to the first stanza of my remake of his poem. I'm sure to some I made that post look easy, but I probably worked on it all day. Obviously it was also successful in its own right, but it also elucidates the power of collaboration amongst creative individuals.

Q10. What is your 'biggest noise post' over the past year ... the one that you took the most heat over from your readers?

I can never get enough of this "controversial post" business. I have a few of them actually, but if I had to pick just one, I'd pick the "My Ballot or My Bullet" post. In it, I played Devil's Advocate in response to the fandom for Barack Obama. I understood the excitement that Barack generated, but when I looked at the lessons of Malcolm X (who always stirs up some controversy even posthumously), I wondered how much people really thought about what he was saying in response to elected officials. Some people wouldn't even speak to me for a good couple of months. Then again, I generate one of those "I can't even talk to you right now" posts at least once a month.

You can reach Jose on Facebook, LinkedIn Network or Twitter. I hope that you enjoyed this Q&A session with Jose. Share any of your thoughts or remembrances of Jose or his blog if you have time or incination!

Village Interview: LaTonya (Color Online)

We decided to take a moment to sit quietly under the village's baobob tree to learn more about some of the powerful bloggers of African descent out in the afrosphere.

Our first guest is LaTonya. She is the creative genius behind Color Online (BBR #1350). I met LaTonya through our membership in the AfroSpear. Her blog provides a platform for young women to express themselves creatively and to expose them to literature and other art forms that reflect their experiences and aspirations. Here is what she had to say...

Q1. What were you like when you were younger?

I would say I was a strange child. At nine, I wanted to be Dr. King. I wanted to make history. I realize this might come off as arrogant, but I was a sensitive child who could not understand injustice and mistreatment of anybody. While I couldn’t articulate it, very early on I knew I wanted to be involved in civil rights, human rights. When I say I wanted to make history, it wasn’t about personal fame but a desire to make a difference. When the “I have a Dream” speech played each year, I was awestruck every time. I wanted to help realize the dream. I wanted to a lawyer, teacher, writer or activist- any vocation that would allow me to serve others. I have been interested in social justice, diversity, multiculturalism and the arts my entire life.

Q2. Name a famous historical figure, living or deceased, you would like to meet and tell us why.

I am, was, and always will be a catalyst for change. ~Shirley Chisholm

Well, I think I just made it pretty clear who was one of the earliest influences on me. Others would include Shirley Chisholm, Barbara Jordan and Benazir Bhutto. Each of these political figures dared to speak and act on their convictions. I quote Chisholm a lot because her actions and ideas resonate with how I try to live. When I was in eighth grade, my social studies teacher gave me a biography of Barbara Jordan. Ms. Jordan was a force to be reckoned with. She spoke her mind and a Black woman out of Texas? Do I need to say more? Bhutto believed so much in her country and its right to be a free democracy she was willing to die for it. She remained politically active knowing it could cost her life and it did. That is courage and conviction.

Q3. Name a person in your community who is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, who you believe is significant in some way, and that you would like the rest of the world to know more about.

The foot soldiers of grassroots of organizations are folks you can’t google even if I shared their names. I will name an organization that matters to me, and that is Alternatives For Girls. It’s where I run the library. The work AFG does is important and we need all the support we can get. The agency provides outreach services, prevention services and houses a shelter for at risk girls in the city of Detroit.

Q4. What are two items in your 'bucket list' ... things you want to do or accomplish before you kick the bucket?

Establish and run my own literary arts for youth nonprofit. Establish a legacy fund for young people.

Q5. Describe your first experience on the Internet?

I’ve been online more than a decade. I’ve witnessed the evolution of communities from listserves to message boards to IM messaging, websites to blogs. I dug my roots online with a black poetry site out of Chicago and a diversity forum based out of Florida. I became a permanent fixture in both communities. You’re not a member unless you are truly active in a community.

Q6. Tell us about your current blogging career and how you got into it.

I started blogging in order to teach Color Online members how to use technology to express their art and views, to inform potential supporters about our efforts and to inform readers about writers that they might not otherwise ever learn about or read.

Q7. Who are the two bloggers you read the most and why? Include their links and tell us why we should subscribe to their feeds.

We are a literary community, so the blogs I read most are literature focused. Color Online is also about community service and activism so I read blogs that promote empowerment and activism. Limiting it to two is really difficult. I check in on average fifteen to twenty blogs daily but if you insist, I recommend Fledgling (BBR #1599)written by Zetta Elliot, a Black feminist, writer and educator. I also read The Bottom of Heaven (BBR #1626) written by Claudia and Frieda, two articulate Black women who focus on Black culture.

Q8. Where are you taking your blog over the next 2-3 years?

I’d like to see readership increase, but I’m not interested in being popular as much as my goal is to make an impact. I want to impact young people. I want to spread the message about the importance of literacy. It is beyond me why there isn’t a real focus on getting our kids to read and write. We have all kinds of youth programs and too many of them of missing the mark by failing to stress literacy, and literacy in the broader sense means having cultural awareness. Knowing how to read and write is not what it means to be a literate individual. It is the awareness of the world around you, an ability to communicate your ideas and views effectively. It is a desire to be connected with others. I want Color Online to inspire young people to become active in their communities. I want Color Online to be a literary portal, a place where readers, educators, writers and activists engage one another, share information and support projects and works that empower women of color, which in turn means empowering communities.

Q9. What is your 'killer post' over the past year ... the post you are most proud of?

I don’t think I have a killer post because my aim isn’t a single shot but a cohesive, consistent flow of information that provides readers and educators with works that are relevant to their populations. I think it is important to share with readers that Color Online is a tool I use to promote literacy. In addition to publishing the blog, I run our physical library at a local nonprofit, which means book acquisition, operating the library, soliciting donations, hosting events and workshops and mentoring young women. I also run our online discussion forum. The feature I am most proud of is our Potpourri quiz. It is a fun, easy way for me to provide information about women of color writers and other women who have made important contributions to society.

Q10. What is your 'biggest noise post' over the past year ... the one that you took the most heat over from your readers?

Our blog is still in its infancy stage. While our group was formed in 2005, the blog was created the end of 2007, and we’re just now really getting a solid footing. I’d say I have stirred the pot more on a few occasions as a participant on other blogs. Most recently I expressed an unpopular opinion during a discussion about a book about rape. I criticized the tone and direction of the discussion, which I felt was dismissive and counterproductive. I knew saying so wasn’t going to be well received (there was a barrage of complaints) but that didn’t matter. I felt it was important to speak up. And for me, it isn’t about being right or convincing others of my point of view, it is about speaking up. Audre Lorde wrote our silence does not save us so it’s best we speak our truth. The goal isn’t to convince others to agree with me and I don’t want others’ approval. The goal is dialogue, the exchange of ideas and considering other perspectives. As long as we’re challenging the message and not attacking the messenger, there shouldn’t be any censorship.

Our thanks to LaTonya for taking time to share her thoughts with us. I encourage villagers to participate in online contest by Color Online to promote Zetta Elliot's recent book!

I hope that villagers enjoy this new feature!

New AfroSpear Member: The Loop

We are proud to introduce you to the newest member of the AfroSpear ... Crystal Smith. Crystal is a member of a blogging team that created The Loop (BBR #1020) on August 25, 2008.

Crystal wrote, "The Loop is a daily news analysis site written from a Black or minority perspective. We cover economics, politics, social and cultural issues and race.

We also have a citizen journalism component called Speak Out in which people can post their opinions and comments about the issues and news in our world today.

We think the goal of The AfroSpear is to engage people around topics that are important to us all - Black progress, race, politics and our history. The group would serve as a platform as well as an information source for news. The Loop would contribute by engaging in conversation and updating everyone on the issues we are writing and talking about. We have special reports in which we write a series of content on a particular issue impacting the Black community. We are all about Black opinion and conversation."

I encourage villagers to take a moment to truly explore The Loop. It has more content than most blogs you will find in the afrosphere. I look forward to future collaboration with Crystal and her partners over at The Loop.

Welcome to the AfroSpear young sista!

New AfroSpear Member: A Word For My Sista's

Villagers, please join me in welcoming a strong nubian woman to the ranks of The AfroSpear! Onetta Bellamy is the creator of blog named, A Word For My Sistas.

Onetta understands that "The purpose of the AfroSpear is to get a voice to inform, inspire, and uplift." She feels that she can support our purpose because her blog "was designed to inform, inspire, and uplift women of color."

Her blog is currently ranked #1222 on the Black Blog Rankings. I anticipate that it will continue to rise in the rankings as more of us are made aware of her voice. Join her this week as she discusses the importance of Michelle Obama to the image of Black woman nationwide.

New AfroSpear Member: The Intersection of Madness and Reality

Patrick 'RiPPa' Phillips created his blog, Intersection of Madness and Reality (BBR #552), back in April 2008. You could easily determine that this brother was bringing it strong when you saw that the title of his very first blog post was 'What If Hillary Was Black?'.

As such, it should come as no surprise to villagers that The AfroSpear recently welcome RiPPa as a new member. I look forward to the continuing evolution of this Memphis-based blog over the coming weeks and months.

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Patrick shared his thoughts about the AfroSpear:

"I believe the goal of AfroSpear is to be an online representation of Black bloggers ... especially since Black bloggers have been recently under-represented at the Democratic National Conference. I think ultimately one of the goals of this group is to build a significant representation of progressive black bloggers."

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Have any of you visited this blog in the past? If so, please take a moment to share your village voice with RiPPa and his blog reaaders that might find their way to this post.

Also, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts about The AfroSpear in our COMMENTS option below.

New AfroSpear Member: Notes of This Native Son

Cedric Shine created his progressive Black-owned & operated blog, Notes of This Native Son (BBR #591) in March 2008. Less than a month later he sought membership into The AfroSpear. However, AfroSpear guidelines call for a blog to exist for at least six months before we can consider it for membership.

Bro. Shine kept moving forward with his blog ... the six months passed ... and we're proud to welcome him as one of the newest members of The AfroSpear

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Cedric wrote, "I think the purpose of the Afrospear is to network bloggers of color together to support a collective dialogue on issues that affect people of color. I also see it as way to cultivate leadership and ideas through online conversations about the state of our people. I feel that I will do that by not only contributing to my blog but being the voice that I have been on other blogs within the AfroSpear. I will continue to encourage our people to think objectively about our impact on society.

I blog every day and post several posts a day dealing with spirituality, music, politics and literary pieces that speak to the struggle and victories of people of color. I look forward to being a part of the AfroSpear."

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Please take a moment to share your village voice with Cedric Shine. What are your thoughts about his blog ... or about the AfroSpear?

New AfroSpear Member: Black Women, Blow The Trumpet

The AfroSpear is finding more and more voices from powerful women of color. Recently, Lisa Vasquez, owner of the 'Black Women, Blow the Trumpet' blog (BBR #107) joined the AfroSpear. Lisa's vision is to create more than a blog ... she wants an online think tank that serves as a cyber-roundtable where Black women identify, organize and strategize solutions for societal issues that impact the empowerment of Black women.

Lisa began blogging in March 2008. When seeking admission to the AfroSpear, Lisa wrote, "I think the purpose of AfroSpear is to support and encourage the literary work of bloggers of the African disapora. I would contribute to the purpose by making valued contributions to fostering community and supporting the literary work of my brothers and sisters."

It is difficult to describe the wealth of information, role models, spiritual praise and other dialogue that uplifts the souls of Black women to be found on this blog. Frankly, I'm honored that this sister applied for membership into the AfroSpear.

Share your thoughts on this new AfroSpear blogger. Have you checked out her blog yet?

New AfroSpear Member: Womanist Musings

I was pleased to see that one of the most powerful Black female bloggers, Renee Martin, added her top-ranked blog, Womanist Musings (BBR #16) recently joined the AfroSpear. Sis. Martin began her blogging career in April 2008 with the issuance of her 'Womanist Manifesto'.

This blog is dedicated to critiquing current events and pop culture from a womanist perspective. Its sole purpose is to give voice to those that have historically been marginalized and silenced.

When asked why she wants to join the AfroSpear, Renee wrote, "I think the purpose and the goal of AfroSpear is to help build a Black community online. Even though we speak with different voices, it is important to hear a Black perspective on daily life. The AfroSpear brings attention to Black issues and the work of Black bloggers.

Though my blog is new I am dedicated to raising awareness. I post almost daily. My blog is entitled womanist-musings because I focus on issues that are important to Black women. I also offer a womanist analysis of current events. I think that my blog is important because Black women are often disregarded by mainstream news."

I encourage all villagers to share their thoughts on this new AfroSpear member ... and visit her blog as well!

New AfroSpear Member: daddyBstrong

We are pleased to let you know that Mac 'MacDaddy' Walton is a new member of The AfroSpear. His blog, daddyBstrong (BBR #1402), came online in April 2008. MacDaddy said, "I think I would contribute by bringing to the Black blogosphere a clear Black perspective and progressive viewpoint with respect politics and what we call race."

Walton continued, "I've been blogging, not only on current issues, but also issues that connect us to our history. I want to be a part of the AfroSpear because I don't just want to write on my own. I want to be a part of a network or alliance that welcomes my work ... I don't want to be a person who goes to other bloggers to argue or complain. I want to be supportive ... or just to say a few words just to let them know I'm reading them and they're not alone."

I encourage folks to check out daddyBstrong and welcome him to the AfroSpear!

New AfroSpear Member: Tariq Nelson

We are proud to introduce you to the newest member of The AfroSpear! Tariq Nelson is the owner of a self-named blog (BBR #125) that began operations in March 2006. Bro. Nelson was born in Mississippi, but currently lives in the DC area.

He discusses a lot of taboo subjects on his blog. Ordinarily, you can count on Bro. Nelson to look at things from an angle that others will not.

Tariq feels that the AfroSpear is supposed to "Create critical mass of discussion around Black issues to work toward solving problems." He feels that he can serve that mission by "sharing my experiences working in the Black community with others as well as learn from others' experiences."

Please join me in welcoming Tariq to The AfroSpear ... the vanguard of the afrosphere!

New AfroSpear Member: Ask This Black Woman

I am very pleased to see Kym Platt, another powerful Black female blogger, joining The AfroSpear. Kym created her blog, Ask This Black Woman (BBR #560), in August 2006.

When asked about the purpose of The AfroSpear, she wrote, "To create a community of Black bloggers." When asked how her blog would contribute to that mission, she wrote, "By being an engaged, active, and conscientious Black blogger."

Kym posts often about politics and bi-racial identity issues. Her recent post on the 'Happy Mulatto' combined both interests and is a recommended read for all villagers.

New AfroSpear Member: The "D" Spot

Many villagers know that I lived in Detroit back in the day. In fact, my maternal grandparents made a home in Detroit for most of their lives. As such, I have a soft spot in my heart for the city. The recent negative press coming down on Detroit is gut-wrenching.

So, I'm very glad to welcome Keith Owens into the AfroSpear with his blog, The "D" Spot (BBR #515).

The “D” Spot is all about Detroit as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of a brother, born and raised in Denver, Colorado, who came to Detroit 14 years ago on a cold January morning to work as an editorial writer/columnist for The Detroit Free Press. Keith offers his observations and experiences as his own personal and heartfelt contribution toward the revitalization of a great city through balanced commentary and public reflection designed to a light on the “strange beautiful” that is Detroit. Keith hopes that this light will help to clear away at least a portion of the encrusted debris that has for so long been mistaken for the truth trapped beneath.

Keith feels that the Afrospear was created "To harness the collective intellectual and creative energy of black bloggers from all corners."

Top Ten Black Blogger Interview * Gina McCauley

One of the fastest-growing blogs in the afrosphere is What About Our Daughters created by Gina McCauley. Gina's blog moved from 19th place in our Sep 2007 Black Blog Rankings (BBR) to BBR #10 in Jan 2008. It helped that a major national magazine named Gina as one of the 25 most influential African Americans in the country. Gina shares some insights into herself and her blog in an interview recently shared on Mirror On America (BBR #57).

Take a moment to read the blog interview with Gina McCauley. Then come back and share your village voice on what you found most enlightening about Gina's answers.

The Segregated Blogosphere

I'm brand new to the blogosphere. I never realized how many blogs are created on a daily basis. I'm many years into being a person of color. I am always reminded of the reality of being a person of color in America. The two issues ... race and blogs ... were discussed quite candidly in a ColorLines article written by Celina De Leon. ColorLines is a national newsmagazine of race and politics.

Methinks that many Villagers will find this article of interest.

Chris Rabb's life as a blogger started with an e-mail. For four years, he sent out an e-newsletter to thousands of names in his address book. The newsletter eventually became his blog, Afro-Netizen, which provided Rabb's commentaries on politics and news, with a focus on Black communities. Since then, Rabb has become one of the most outspoken voices on the racial divide in the blogosphere.

"As bloggers of color, we are such a smaller number of people than our white counterparts. That makes reaching the volume of traffic much harder, and the lack of social and financial capital also makes this harder," Rabb said.

People of color make up 40 percent of bloggers, but only 26 percent of Internet users. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's "Blogger" report, which was based on findings from their February through April 2006 tracking surveys, 11 percent of bloggers are Black, 19 percent are English-speaking Hispanic and 10 percent are some other race or ethnicity.

3/17/07 Update - Our posting motivated Theo Johnson to create a feature on his blog that he calls "Black Bloggers Unite".

Click here to see the rest of the article ... Then come back and share your COMMENTS with us!