Detroit Labor Legend Reflects on Possibly Electing First Black President

Villagers, one of my grandfather's good friends back in the day was Dave Moore. The two of them worked together for many years in politics. My grandfather would have enjoyed seeing the current political possibilities ... David Moore shared his thoughts on Barack Obama's possible election in an interview with the People's Weekly World:

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These days, as millions nationwide work to elect the first African American president, 96-year-old Dave Moore, longtime labor and community leader, wonders if it’s all just a dream.

“I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’ve been Black all my life, and sometimes I don’t know if I’m dreaming,” Moore told the World. He said he was “blown away” at how many white votes Barack Obama won during the primaries and the impressive display of thousands of white voters at Obama rallies across the country.

“When I wake up the next day after the election and Obama wins, then I will know that this country has begun to take a turn for the better,” said Moore.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

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You may not be 96 years old ... but, use the COMMENTS section to share your thoughts on what it will mean to you if Barack Obama wins the presidential election later today.

Early Exit Poll Results -- Babies for Obama!

Priceless! Sarah Palin vs Barack Obama

Woman Jailed for 'Killing' Her Virtual Husband

My name is 'Villager Barbosa' in the virtual game world. I'm a novice. I haven't learned how to dance well in the virtual clubs. I don't have a place to live in the virtual game world.

However, others are much more experienced. Some folks can use their "avatars" that represent themselves, to engage in relationships, social activities and fighting monsters and other obstacles.

Some folks get buck-wild in virtual worlds. Players often abandon their inhibitions, engaging in activity online that they would never do in the real world. For instance, sex with strangers is a common activity.

Drumbeats from Jamal Ali pointed me to the story of a 43-year-old player in a virtual game world who became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona.

The woman, who has been jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his ID and password to log onto the popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in Japan said.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

I've been divorced twice already ... I don't think I'll go that route in the virtual world! But, reach this way if you can teach me some dance moves in Second Life...

'All Black People Should Die' Says White Man as He Plows His Car Into Young Black Woman

UPDATE: Thomas Cosby is the 56-year-old Port Orange man, charged this summer with two hate-crime felonies for running over a Black woman (see below). He has been declared mentally unable to proceed with his court case and is being committed to a state hospital. [SOURCE]

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Villagers, it may take awhile for us to reach some post-racial era in America. There are still some neanderthals out in the world that harbor hatred for us simply because of the color of our skin.

Thomas Cosby is a white guy in Daytona Beach who intentionally ran down Nekedia Cato, a 25-year old woman, with his car last month because she is Black and then yelled "all Black people should die" and other racial slurs at the injured woman.

Cosby admitted to hitting Cato on purpose with his car and then calling her the N-word repeatedly after breaking her leg.

Witnesses said Cosby screamed, "These Black people need to die. Help me kill them. I saw her on the bike and went to take her out."

"I actually saw him coming toward me and I tried to move," Cato said from a hospital bed. "He came straight for me. If he could target me just because the color of my skin he could target anybody else. It could have been anybody else who was just riding or just walking. If I was walking I'd probably be dead right now."

Daytona police reports indicated that Cosby just had a breakup with his girlfriend who was involved in a relationship with a Black man. Police plan to charge Cosby under hate crime statutes as well as aggravated battery and simple battery.

"I don't have hate in my heart," Cato said. "I just wish he didn't hate me."

Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short

Many American families, despite working hard, earn incomes too low to achieve economic security. Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short, a follow-up to a 2004 report, found that an additional 350,000 working families were low-income in 2006 compared to 2002.

Written by the Working Poor Families Project and funded in part by the Casey Foundation, the new report analyzes U.S. Census data and concludes that more than one out of four working families with children is low-income, and a total of 42 million adults and children struggle to get by.

Learn more from the Working Poor Families Project or download the report.

Blog Safari #18

There are truly remarkable bloggers sharing humorous, insightful and meaningful posts with us. I hope that you take a few moments to enjoy this week's 'Blog Safari'. Share some love with these blogs from other parts of the afrosphere.

• BDPA Detroit - 10 Steps Techies Should Take to Keep Their Jobs in a Financial Meltdown


• Black Digerati - Black Americans and the Blogosphere


• Black Political Thought - Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan Gave His Life for a Country In Which Some Discriminate Against Muslims


• Black Politics on the Web - 140 Years Ago, Black Senator Made History


• Dallas South - Consensus on Race Will Take Effort by All

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

Thoughtful Blogger Award

AJ, over at Over Analyze It shared this award with the Electronic Village last year. She said that we "...have made it a point to respond to comments posted on their blogs and are tolerant of those with dissenting positions (most of the time... lol). I think they all rock!"

It’s called the Thoughtful Blogger Award, and it was originally created by Christy (Writer’s Reviews). The award is for those

"who answer blog comments, emails, and make their visitors feel at home on their blogs. For the people who take others feelings into consideration before speaking out and who are kind and courteous. Also for all of those bloggers who spend so much of their time helping other bloggers design, improve, and fix their sites. This award is for those generous bloggers who think of others."

It is in that spirit that I share The Thoughtful Blogger Award with:

1. African American Political Pundit - First, this ol' school brother has been a powerful voice for Black people during this long election cycle. However, this award is given to him for his leadership within The AfroSpear. Many of us appreciate his willingness to step up in our time of need.
2. Mrs. Grapevine - This sister did a very thoughtful thing when she co-founded a weekly meme called Ol' School Friday. That meme has brought together an inter-generational crew of bloggers to share some wonderful memories of music with each other and our blog readers.
3. Springer's Journal - Christina is a colleague from The AfroSpear. However, this award is being given to her for her simple mantra, ' Click. Give. Feel Good.' She saw an idea and used her imagination to take it to the next level. My hope is that many villagers will join her cause and participate with Black Bloggers for Education initiative.
4. Urban Scientist - This blogger is dedicated to getting more people of color engaged in issues of science and technology. Urban created a meme to identify Hispanic scientists and pointed out a project that allows us to donate funds to poverty-stricken classrooms around the country ... eventually, this led to creation of Black Bloggers for Education initiative.

I hope that these brothers and sisters accept this award in the spirit of Umoja with which they are given.

Found (Again): Tekenya Wooten (Durham NC)

UPDATE: Tekenya has been found, one day after she was reported as a runaway for a second time in two weeks.

"Laws related to juveniles limit what can be done and said about this case. Tekenya has not committed any criminal act as far as we know," Deputy Police Chief Ron Hodge said.

"We are concerned about her safety and the safety of her unborn child," he said.

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Police are asking for help finding a missing 12-year-old girl who has apparently run away for the second time in a month. Tekenya Wooten was last seen on yesterday Garrett Road wearing a black flight jacket, black shirt, jeans and black Nikes.

She is 5-foot-1, weighs 100 pounds and is eight months pregnant. She is under supervision of the Lenoir County Department of Social Services.

Last week Wooten went missing from a group home at 3529 Manford Drive on Oct. 18. Officers found her unharmed last Friday on Gordon Street.

Durham police refuse to issue an Amber Alert for Tekenya. Police claim that the state's Amber Alert program excludes children thought to have run away.

Obama Effigy Lynched at University of Kentucky

UPDATE: UK senior Joe Fischer and his friend Hunter Bush were arrested for hanging a life-sized likeness of Barack Obama from a tree on the campus.

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America is being poisoned by our own 'strange fruit'. University of Kentucky officials said an effigy of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was found hanging from a tree on campus.

Lee Todd, the university president, said the effigy of the Illinois senator, who could become the nation's first African American president if he is elected, was first noticed by a professor riding his bicycle.

Todd said it is not yet known whether a student was responsible for the effigy and the incident is being investigated by the University Police Department and the Lexington Police Department. He said the Secret Service has been notified.

"It's a very embarrassing situation that has happened on our campus, regardless of who did it," Todd said.

He described hanging the effigy as a "despicable act."

"We certainly believe in political expression, just not in this form," he said.

Villagers, unless you're living in the early 1800s out in the wild west and somebody stole your horse ... there is NEVER a good reason to hang a fellow citizen in a lynching rope. Period. Doesn't matter if it is Sarah Palin or Barack Obama. It is horrific image to promote in our country.

This nonsense must end. I hope that John McCain and Sarah Palin will stop the dog-whistle racism that leads their supporters to do such things. I hope that the UK perps are punished sufficiently when they are found.

Obama Effigy Removed in California

A Redondo Beach resident has removed an effigy of Barack Obama hanging from her balcony with a giant butcher knife through its neck. Lisa Castaneda put up the blood-covered figure with a placard that read "Nobama."

Castaneda, a mother of two who supports John McCain, says she didn't mean to be racist or offensive. But the display drew immediate criticism and she took it down last night at the request of a local McCain campaign representative.

The end of this election cycle can't come to soon...

Obama Effigy Lynched in Indiana

UPDATE: This man's son removed the effigy from the tree.

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Villagers, we have another American citizen who thinks it is good politics to show Barack Obama being lynched from a tree in his front yard.

School children, neighbors and others in Clarksville, Indiana can plainly see the Obama effigy hanging by a noose in the front yard of Kirk Deddo. Deddo called it a Halloween decoration, saying it was the most frightening one he could find.

Deddo said the effigy had nothing to do with race, and he put it up because he doesn't like Obama's stance toward the military.

Someone should tell Deddo that he can VOTE to express his opinion. Lynching an image of an American citizen ... whether it is Sarah Palin or Barack Obama ... is wrong. Period. Doesn't anyone remember how horrific it was in America when lynching was a regular form of torture, intimidation and murder in this country?

'Wassup' Video for Barack Obama

Villagers, do you remember the 'Wassup' craze that swept the nation back in the day. Those boys that were selling beer by saying 'Wassup' to each other? Well, they are back ... this time with the 'Wassup' perspective on 2008 presidential politics. Check it out!




By the way, over in the left-hand sidebar you will see us flip the script on John McCain's denigrating 'That One' statement from the debates. Click on the 'That One 2008' image whenever you visit. We plan to update it regularly for the rest of the calendar year.

Female Voters Respond to John McCain

NAACP Leaders Talk with Black Bloggers

NAACP President Ben Jealous has been engaged in the Vote Hard Bus Tour going through four states down south. However, he took time yesterday to continue his dialogue with Black bloggers. Garlin Gilchrest II, Chris Rabb and I were the bloggers on this month's conference call. You can see summary of last month's call here.

NAACP leaders introduced to us by President Jealous included Rev. William Barber (North Carolina), Chris Smitherman (Cincinnati) and Angela Ciccolo (NAACP General Counsel).

Here are the highlights from the call:

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Rev. William Barber (NAACP North Carolina Conference) - He shared history of the 'early voting' initiative that began two years ago in North Carolina. This year the state has 15 sites open for Sunday voting. Over 1.2 million NC residents have voted already ... 400,000 of them are African American. Over 6,500 Charlotte citizens voted this past Sunday. Two voter suppression challenges that NAACP NC Conference dealt with recently involved (a) out-of-state college students registered to vote in NC and (b) ex-felon voting rights. Finally, Rev. Barber encouraged everyone to check out the Million Voting March information in print and video.

Chris Smitherman (NAACP Cincinnati Branch) -President Smitherman highlighted the importance of early voting by spending the night in order to be the first person to cast a vote in Hamilton County. Over 15,600 citizens followed his lead as of yesterday. The goal is to have over 25,000 early voters in Hamilton County. He noted that Hamilton County went to Pres. Bush in the 2004 election cycle by only 27,000 votes. NAACP worked with a number of strategic partners including the Greater Cincinnati Urban League, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), SEIU and others in a variety of early voting efforts. CPS provided two busses to help get 18-year old high school seniors to voting booths! NAACP Cincinnati Branch wants citizens to 'own the ballot'. As such, the branch is actively promoting support for local ballot initiatives.

Angela Ciccola (NAACP Headquarters) - She acknowledged the powerful work being done by local branch and state leaders such as Barber and Smitherman. She pointed out that the NAACP is aggressively fighting voter suppression and voter intimidation situations in places like Lake County (IN), Indianapolis (IN) and Virginia.

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NAACP has a number of election 'watch parties' taking place next Tuesday night. I imagine that most NAACP members and supporters will be watching the election results next Tuesday all over the country.

I understand that the issue of the NAACP Youth Entrepreneurship Institute will be on the agenda for our call next month. NAACP would like to see more bloggers of African descent on these monthly conference calls. Let me know if you're interested and I'll forward your information on to them so you will be notified.

Wordless Wednesday: Haunted Houses

November 5th Etiquette Tips for Obama Supporters

Villagers, I've been watching crowds of over 100,000 supporters coming out to Obama campaign rallys in Portland, St. Louis and Denver. I noticed that Obama and Biden swept all four debates with their opponents. I see that the early voting enthusiasm and the polls are suggesting that Obama may win this election on November 4.

Barack Obama might win the election on November 4!

If he wins there will be a lot of people (some of our co-workers included) who will be afraid that an Obama presidency will usher in the end of days. They'll be watching us on November 5th (the day after the election) for signs of the end times.

To keep the peace and keep a lot of folks from getting nervous, we should develop a list of celebrations and behaviors we should probably avoid on November 5th:

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1. No crying, hugging or shouting "Thank you Lord" - at least not in public.


2. No high-fives - at least not unless the area is clear and there are no witnesses


3. No laughing at the McCain-Palin supporters


4. No calling in sick on November 5th. They'll get nervous if too many of us don't show up.


5. We're allowed to give each other knowing winks or nods in passing. Just try to keep from grinning too hard.


6. No singing loudly, "We've Come This Far By Faith" (it will be acceptable to hum softly)


7. No bringing of barbeque ribs or fried chicken for lunch in the company
   lunchroom for at least a week (no chittlings at all ... this may make us seem too ethnic).


8. No leaving Kool-Aid packages at the water fountain (this might be a sign that poor folks might be getting too uppity).


9. No Cupid Shuffle during breaks (this could indicate a little too much excitement.)


10. Please no "Moving On Up" music (we are going to try to remain humble.


11. No doing your private "Happy Dance" (unless you're in your office with the door closed)


12. Please try not to yell --- BOOOO YAH!


13. Just in case you're wondering, doing the 'Running Man', 'Cabbage Patch'
    or a backhand spring on the highway is 100% okay.

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Feel free to add to the list. We just want to make sure villagers all on the same page when Obama brings this thing home on November 5th.

Now go get your early vote on and let's make this thing happen!!!

Am I Not Human? America's Prison System

We proudly participate in the monthly 'Am I Not Human?' blogging campaign on the 27th of each month. Our hope is to shine a light on human rights abuses. I'm shining my light this morning on the junkie-like appetite of America to putting our citizens behind bars.

There are more than 2.2 million persons in US prisons and jails, an increase of 500 percent from 30 years ago. A June 2007 report by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) found that the incarcerated population continued to grow in 2006, experiencing its largest one-year increase in six years. The United States now has both the largest incarcerated population and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world, with a rate five times that of England and Wales, seven times that of Canada, and more than 10 times that of Japan.

The sheer numbers alone should be cause for concern. These 2.2 million felons weren't born criminals. What is it about our criminal justice system that results in such large numbers?

Many of us think that racism is one reason for these horrendous numbers.

The burden of incarceration falls disproportionately on members of racial and ethnic minorities. Black men are incarcerated at 6.5 times the rate of white men, and 11.7 percent of all Black males age 25 to 29 are in prison or jail. The US government failed to explain or address these rates in its 2007 report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

As the prison population grows, so does the challenge of providing adequate medical and mental health care. A September 2006 BJS report found that more than half of all prisoners—and nearly three-quarters of all female prisoners—suffer from a mental health problem such as major depression or a psychotic disorder.

In California a federal judge found that medical care in the state’s prisons violated the US Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In 2006 the judge appointed a receiver to oversee prison medical care, stripping that function from the state government. In September 2007 the receiver issued a report finding that 15 percent of California prisoner deaths were either preventable or possibly preventable. New ideas for reducing prison population floated in California earlier this year.

Enacted by the US Congress in 1996, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) creates a variety of obstacles for prisoners seeking to challenge their conditions of confinement or otherwise vindicate their rights in court. In January 2007 the US Supreme Court issued a decision overturning some particularly restrictive interpretations of the PLRA by lower federal courts.

Often we think of places like Darfur, Haiti or Tibet whenever we discuss 'human rights abuses'. However, these abuses can take place in America ... and the men and women in our US Prison System are human beings ... not animals.

Any thoughts on ways to improve the system of incarceration in America? Are mandatory sentences helping or hurting? Wouldn't it make sense to decriminalize drug use? Put a druggie in prison if they rob or steal ... put them in a hospital if they are addicted. Couldn't we cut our prison population in half if we stopped putting people in jail for being high on drugs?

What say u?

Manic Monday: Ghosts (Day of Prayer and Fasting)

The theme for this week's Manic Monday meme is 'Ghosts'. It made me wonder what our American ghosts are thinkg about as we move towards next week's elections.

Americans have the ghosts of Medgar Evers, John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and Emmett Till watching down on this election. These great Americans paid the ultimate price for their dream of a country that lived up to its ideals.

Each of those ghosts died before their dream was realized.

Now we sit with 9 days to go until our next national elections. This election cycle has been long and rough. However, the chance exists for the dream of our American ghosts to be realized.

We are 9 days away from the possibility of a Black man being elected as President of the United States. Robert Kennedy predicted the possibility 40 years ago. MLK wanted America to judge a man by the content of his character. 14-year old Emmett Till died before America was willing to overcome its racism.

Our American ghosts are looking down with interest in the election next week.

As such, it is fitting that a Day of Prayer & Fasting for Barack Obama has now been called for November 3rd, the day before our national elections.

I encourage all villagers to join me and others throughout the world in prayer and fasting for Senator Barack Obama. If you are so inclined, I'm also asking that you help spread the word.

When: November 3, 2008
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Instead of eating, let us all "join hands in prayer" and give up one meal that day for:

1. The Hand of God to move in a mighty way over this election.


2. The election to be handled in a fair and honest manner and in a way that pleases God.


3. The protection of Barack Obama and his family.


4. The results of the election will not result in any activity or events that will further divide the citizenry of this Nation.

Think about our American ghosts during that lunch hour of prayer and fasting. Amen!

Israelis for Obama

My blog focuses on issues from an afrocentric point of view. As such, I don't have much commentary from 'villagers' on issues related to Israel. Therefore I watched the following video with interest.



What is your take from the message coming out of this video?