A Black Philanthropy Kwanzaa Retrospective

by Jackie Copeland-Carson
Huffington Post

Giving is more than generosity. It's a unifying part of our African roots, binding the history and future of black peoples worldwide. This was a remarkable year of firsts in the Pan-African community's history of giving. KwanzaaUjima, Swahili for collective work and responsibility, reminds us of the power of our self-help and giving.

Multiple reports and books documented the undeniable fact that Pan-African people give. The World Bank reported that worldwide African immigrants gave an astounding $40 billion to their home countries with an estimated $11 billion coming from America alone. This combined with the $12 billion that African-Americans gave meant that Pan-African people gave at least $23 billion to charitable causes in 2011.

Read the rest of the Huffington Post article.

Two Georgia Cops Fired for Taser Abuse of Janice Wells [VIDEO]

Me, Myself and I pointed us to this Huffington Post blog entry:

Two police officers have lost their jobs after repeatedly tasering a woman who called them fearing a burglar was outside her house.

Janice Wells told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview, "All of it's just unreal to me. I was scared to death. He kept tasing me and tasing me. My fingernails are still burned. My leg, back and my butt had a long scar on it for days."

This blog usually reports on taser incidents that result in death. However, this case of taser abuse is unusual because it results in police officers losing their jobs.

What are you thoughts about the video and the story? What say u?

Pam Spaulding is an Ultimate Game Changer in Politics

HuffPost's Game Changers celebrates 100 innovators, visionaries, and leaders in 10 categories who are harnessing the power of new media to reshape their fields and change the world. Huffington Post is the top-ranked blog in the world. As such, it is truly an honor to be selected by them for these categories.

Our village is very happy to announce that one of our AfroSpear kinfolk, Pam Spaulding (Pam's House Blend) has been selected as one of the 10 people who are changing the game in Politics.



Villagers are encouraged to take a moment to cast an online vote for Pam as the Ultimate Politics Game Changer. HuffPost will reveal the Ultimate 10 in November.

Blog Safari #19

Join us on this week's 'Blog Safari'. We are traveling deep into the jungle to find some of the interesting blog posts from other village in the afrosphere. Share some love with these talented bloggers when you visit them!

• AllAfrica.com: Kenya - 'Why Barack Obama is His Father's Son'


• Black Looks - 'Nigerian Blogger Arrested'


• BlackPerspective.net - 'AfroSpear Book Author: Dazjae Zoem'


• Huffington Post - 'Middle Americans Are Not Just White, Christian, Middle-Class Folks'


• onPhilanthropy - 'How Twitter is Driving Action and Growing Up. 140 Characters at a Time.'

Let us know if you come across any remarkable posts that should be shared in our next Blog Safari!

Palin's eBay Story: What Actually Happened

"That luxury jet that came with the office... I put it on eBay!"

It's one of Sarah Palin's favorite lines on the campaign trail, repeated with such frequency that it has already become a catchphrase of the general election. As Governor of Alaska, she rid the state of an unnecessary jet using a creative and cost-effective online measure.

What is left unmentioned is that Palin didn't come up with the idea to sell the plane using eBay in the first place. Moreover, because of the unique purchasing terms of the aircraft -- which required the state to make payments amounting to $20,000 per month even if the jet wasn't in use -- the decision not to hire a broker to help sell the property appears in hindsight to have been a costly mistake.

You can see the full media story here.

Palin's Daughter is Pregnant

Drumbeats from Huffington's Post tell us that John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin said Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant, an announcement aimed at rebutting Internet rumors that Palin's youngest son, born in April, was actually her daughter's.

A statement released by the campaign said that Bristol Palin will keep her baby and marry the child's father. Bristol Palin is five months pregnant, and the baby is due in late December.

Can you hear the air going out of the Sarah Palin balloon?

Barack Obama: On My Faith and My Church

Barack Obama responded to the recent videos of Rev. Wright in The Huffington Post. He wrote as follows:

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The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.

Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.

Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.

As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.

Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.

Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country.

With Rev. Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States.

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Did Barack Obama answer the questions you had about this issue?