Technology Expresso Cafe Interviews Wayne 'Villager' Hicks

David Blackman and Jacqueline Sanders are the co-founders of Technology Expresso Cafe, a multimedia platform that promotes all aspects of the IT industry with a focus on BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Wayne 'Villager' Hicks

An Internet radio interview was conducted with BDPA Education and Technology Foundation executive director Wayne Hicks, however, due to technical difficulties, the show was never archived. David and Jacqueline were kind enough to post a complete transcript of the interview on their website.

Click here to read Part 1 & 2 of the interview.

Click here to read Part 3 & 4 of the interview.

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.

Morgan Freeman Talks About His Movie, 'Invictus'

Soulclap to Ava DuVernay for inviting the Electronic Village to participate in a press conference with Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman to discuss his upcoming film, Invictus. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood, the movie stars Oscar winner Morgan Freeman as 'Nelson Mandela', along with Oscar winner Matt Damon. The film chronicles Mandela's first term as president after the fall of apartheid as he attempted to unite his countrymen by hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Morgan Freeman was the driving force to bring this movie to the big screen. I didn't realize until today that Freeman is co-founder of Revelations Entertainment. He uses this company to develop films that 'enlighten, express heart, and glorify the human experience'. Revalations Entertainment bought the rights to John Carlin's book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, a few years ago. Freeman had been studying Nelson Mandela since they met over 12 years ago. He has been searching for the right project all that time.

"This was a labor of love," said Freeman. "I wanted to do a story about Mandela for a long time ... this was the right time ... this was meant to be. I'm a big believer in fate. I memorized the poem, Invictus, when I was in the 8th grade!"

Freeman indicates that he wanted Clint Eastwood to direct the film from the very beginning. Villagers may recall that the Eastwood-Freeman team has been magical in the past on such films as Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.

"I sent him (Eastwood) the script. He read it and called me back to say he would like to direct it", said Freeman. "Clint Eastwood is an actor's dream. He is a consummate professional. Quite simply, he is the best."

Mr. Freeman indicated that he was 'not intimidated' by playing a living legend in this movie. He noted with a chuckle that he is a 'professional actor'. However, he did acknowledge that there were some intimidating aspects in playing this role.

"There have been a number of actors, such as Danny Glover and Sidney Poitier, who have played Mandela before. I learned my lines in the script ... his walk ... the way that he talks ... then I add in the other nuances of Mandela. The biggest challenge is to remember to sound like him. If there is going to be an area where I fail in this movie it would be in whether or not my voice sounded enough like that of Mandela."

I was struck by the passion that Mr. Freeman felt for this story and for Mr. Mandela. He talked about filming that took place at the Robben Island ... and how awestruck he and the other actors were as they realized the confined space that held Mr. Mandela for over a quarter-century.

Mr. Freeman indicated that Nelson Mandela has not yet seen the film. However, the staff of the Mandela Foundation did screen the movie recently. They were very pleased with the movie which was important to Freeman as the people closest to Mandela "are likely to be the harshest critics". Mr. Freeman will be in South Africa next week with Mr. Mandela. He is hopeful to have a chance to watch the movie with the former South African president.

Mr. Freeman noted that he doesn't usually watch his own movies.

"I don't watch my movies. I trained as a stage actor. I know whether my performance is good or not from the immediate reaction of the audience."

I asked Mr. Freeman to comment on the current state of affairs for the Black Cinema. Specifically, I was curious to hear what, in his opinion, the public ... villagers like you and me ... could do to improve the state of the Black Cinema.

"Tyler Perry is doing a great deal in this area right now with his studio in Atlanta. He is producing movies and showing others that it is possible to be successful with that formula. I imagine that others interested in advancing the Black Cinema would use Tyler Perry as a role model."

Finally, I noticed that Mr. Freeman's career has him with scores of film roles ... however, I noticed that he only had one credit as a director. He directed the 1993 film, 'Bopha', starring Danny Glover. I wanted to know if Mr. Freeman planned on getting behind the camera again in the future as a director.

"I have no plans to direct. I prefer to be an actor. I like to get in to a character or a role ... finish it ... and move on to the next acting assignment. Directing requires almost a year of commitment with all of the pre-production, production and post-production work. Quite frankly, I'm too lazy to be a director!"

Well, villagers, I must admit that I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Morgan Freeman. He was gracious and seemed to be very comfortable in his own skin. His movie, Invictus comes out next week. I plan to go see it. How about you?

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!

Wordless Wednesday: 20 Questions With Villager

20 Questions With Villager