...::Ebony, Jet Under Siege; Headquarters Under Lien

Shocking news on the media front: Ebony and Jet magazines are in financial trouble. In the midst of the nation's financial crisis, advertising and circulation have fallen mightily. It is the worst downturn for their owner, Johnson Publishing Co., in its 67-year history.

Contractors have slapped liens on the Black-owned JPC, which has mortgaged its headquarters building in Chicago to the white company that does its printing, R.R.Donnelley. The nation's largest Black-owned media company is said to owe Donnelley $12.7 million.

There is so much to like and dislike about these two publications, but let's hope they can survive, change and thrive. JPC chief Linda Johnson Rice will have to call on much financial and community expertise-- and on the spirit of her father, John H. Johnson, who founded the company and also weathered many, many storms. He transitioned on 08.Aug.2005.

Ms. Rice, your father has not left-- he just went to sit over there with the other ancestors. He can help you through!

[thanks to, and see more at Richard Prince's "Journal-isms"]

...::Mr. President, Watch Your Back-- Part 3

New York Times, Thu.25.Jun.2009-- Pastor [pictured above] Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church

Excerpt--
"When Mr. Obama was elected in November, federal instant background checks, the best indicator of gun sales, jumped 42 percent over the previous November. Every month since then, the number of checks has been higher than the year before...

The National Rifle Association says its membership is up 30 percent since November."

For related items, click this word-- assassination

...::This Man, A Leading Minister, Has Called For The Death of Obama

The threats to Obama continue to pile up. But watch how the media plays down the threat from this prominent, white preacher.

The assassination angle-- Individuals like this minister may not pick up the gun or plant the bomb, but they are poisoning the atmosphere for others who may, or will, do so.

The media angle-- Compare the coverage that this man, Rev. Wiley Drake, gets to the coverage that Rev. Jeremiah Wright gets.

[thanks to Kenyatta Bush]

...::Into The Dungeons

Though pretty on the outside, this Danish slave dungeon in West Afrika, built in 1784, hid deep and horrific secrets of white inhumanity. I have visited it, and I have heard the chains clank and the walls moan. In this 3-minute clip, a small group of Blacks from the U.S. also visits. The little girl at the end will touch you.



[thanks to Egbe Obinrin]

...::Jive-Talking Colored Robots In New "Transformers" Film

And you thought Jar Jar Binks was dead

...::Black Man In The Black Land

President Obama in Afrika at the Great Pyramid on Thu.04.Jun.2009. The structure was built around 2500 BC in what is now Egypt. At 481 feet high, it is about as tall as a 50-story building. It was the world's tallest human-made structure for more than 3,800 years. It reveals the most advanced use of construction, mathematics, geometry and astronomy in the world. More than 3,000 years later, a British scientific group wrote: "Now all of these measures, angles and levels are accurate, not as an ordinary surveyor or builder could make them, but to such a degree as requires the best modern instruments and all the refinements of geodetical science to discover any error at all."

...::Saving The Continent-- Through Stories...

A funny, frightening, profound short talk by a Nigerian brother about how language and literature can help sustain our humanity...



and see below--

...::And Through Science

A profile of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, which seeks to train African men-- and women!-- in scientific fields in Africa--

...::Mr. President, Watch Your Back; Even Fox News Is Scared For You

A right-wing Fox News anchor is getting so much hate mail threatening harm to Barack Obama, that he goes on-air to warn about it--



And conservative writer Camille Paglia warns: "... when the tone darkens toward a rhetoric of purgation and annihilation, there is reason for alarm... Talk radio has been seething with such intensity since Barack Obama's first week in office... There is something dangerous afoot -- an alienation that can easily morph into extremism."

Want to get close to the President? Look how easy it is to buy law enforcement uniforms and badges.

Mr. President, watch your back.

...::From A Father To All Sons

"Son" by Alfred Crawford. A father warns all sons about the dangers of the streets. Very powerful spoken word piece. From the Apollo stage.

...::Where Do We Fit In? Are We Ready For The Revolution?

Technology is changing everything faster than you think. The future is not coming. It is already here. Are our leaders taking these ideas into consideration? Are you taking these ideas into consideration?

...::And You Thought Hip-Hop Was Our Only Global Music

Hip-hop is a world phenomenon. Now it's gospel's turn. Just watch this Korean choir, singing in the Korean language, in their capital, Seoul. These folks have been sitting at the feet of Kirk Franklin. If you know his gospel hit "My Desire," you will see it-- and feel it-- here.



[Thanks to the Media Assassin]

...::Johnathan McCoy, Age 10, Fights The N-word

...::When I Saw This, I Lost Count Of My Tears

This brief spoken word piece is called "Lost Count." It is part of the youth slam festival known as Brave New Voices. It is a love story, by young men, about how we are losing our young men. You will be moved...



Catch other videos of Brave New Voices here and on YouTube.