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Louis Farrakhan Believes Barack Obama Can Bring Us All Together

Louis Farrkhan is frequently misrepresented by the greater media as being racist and anti semitic. Most people listen to only the negative headlines and 20 second sound bites that are purposely taken out of context to misrepresent the facts. Hear for yourself the kind of racial healing and understanding Farrkhan thinks Obama represents. Does this sound like a man who is a raving racist?

High School Drop Outs: 17 of 50 largest cities

50% of Blacks and Hispanics in this country each year drop out of high school.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Seventeen of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50 percent, with the lowest graduation rates reported in Detroit, Indianapolis and Cleveland, according to a report released today. The report, issued by America's Promise Alliance, found that about half of the students served by public school systems in the nation's largest cities receive diplomas. Students in suburban and rural public high schools were more likely to graduate than their counterparts in urban public high schools, the researchers said. Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma and about 1.2 million students drop out annually. "When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it's more than a problem, it's a catastrophe," said former Secretary of State Colin Powell, founding chair of the alliance. His wife, Alma Powell, the chair of the alliance, said students need to graduate with skills that will help them in higher education and beyond. "We must invest in the whole child, and that means finding solutions that involve the family, the school and the community," he said. The Powells' organization was beginning a national campaign to cut high school dropout rates. The group, joining Education Secretary Margaret Spellings at a Tuesday news conference, was announcing plans to hold summits in every state during the next two years on ways to better prepare students for college and the work force. The report found troubling data on the prospects of urban public high school students getting to college. In Detroit's public schools, 24.9 percent of the students graduated from high school, while 30.5 percent graduated in Indianapolis Public Schools and 34.1 percent received diplomas in the Cleveland Municipal City School District. Researchers analyzed school district data from 2003-2004 collected by the U.S. Department of Education. To calculate graduation rates, the report estimated the likelihood that a 9th grader would complete high school on time with a regular diploma. Researchers used school enrollment and diploma data, but did not use data on dropouts as part of its calculation. Many metropolitan areas also showed a considerable gap in the graduation rates between their inner-city schools and the surrounding suburbs. Researchers found, for example, that 81.5 percent of the public school students in Baltimore's suburbs graduate, compared with 34.6 percent in the city schools. In Ohio, nearly 83 percent of public high school students in suburban Columbus graduate while 78.1 percent in suburban Cleveland earn their diplomas, well above their local city schools. Ohio Department of Education spokesman Scott Blake said the state delays its estimates by a few months so it can include summer graduates in its calculations. Based on the state's methodology, he said Columbus graduated 60.6 percent of its students in 2003-2004, rather than the 40.9 percent the study calculated. By Ohio's reckoning, Columbus has improved each year since the 2001-2002 school year, with 72.9 percent of students graduating in 2005-2006, Columbus Public Schools spokesman Jeff Warner said. Warner said the gains were partly because of after-school and weekend tutoring, coordinated literacy programs in the district's elementary schools and bolstered English-as-a-second-language programs. Cleveland's current graduation rates are also higher than the statistics cited in the new report, school district spokesman Ben Holbert said. Spellings has called for requiring states to provide graduation data in a more uniform way under the renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law pending in Congress. Under the 2002 law, schools that miss progress goals face increasing sanctions, including forced use of federal money for private tutoring, easing student transfers, and restructuring of school staff. States calculate their graduation rates using all sorts of methods, many of which critics say are based on unreliable information about school dropouts. Under No Child Left Behind, states may use their own methods of calculating graduation rates and set their own goals for improving them. The research was conducted by Editorial Projects in Education, a Bethesda, Md., nonprofit organization, with support from America's Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The alliance is based on a joint effort of nonprofit groups, corporations, community leaders, charities, faith-based organizations and individuals to improve children's lives. This insiteful report explains how poverty is the root cause:

Collin Powell Fights for High School Drop Outs

America's Promise Alliance Launches National Campaign to Combat Nation's High School Dropout and College-Readiness Crisis

Report Finds  America’s Largest Cities Struggle to Keep Majority of Students in School with Big Disparities Between Urban and Suburban Graduation Rates

America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell Announces Nationwide ‘Dropout Prevention Summits’; General Colin Powell Says Dropout Crisis Affects Economy and National Security

WASHINGTON, DC – A report to be released today finds that only about half of all students served by the main school systems in the nation's 50 largest cities graduate from high school. Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation released today by the America’s Promise Alliance and prepared by Editorial Projects in Education Research Center further reveals that in the metropolitan areas surrounding 35 of the nation’s largest cities, graduation rates in urban schools were lower than those in nearby suburban communities. In several instances, the disparity between urban-suburban graduation rates was more than 35 percentage points.

The report was released by Alma J. Powell, chair of the America’s Promise Alliance (Alliance), which is kicking off a national campaign to reduce high school dropout rates and prepare children for college, work and life. The campaign will include a series of ground-breaking, high-level Dropout Prevention summits to be held in every state and 50 communities over the next two years. General Colin Powell, founding chair of the Alliance, joined his wife in making the announcement – citing the dropout crisis as a threat to our economy and national security.

Nationwide, nearly one in three U.S. high school students drops out before graduating. In total, approximately 1.2 million students drop out each year – about 7,000 every school day, or one every 26 seconds.

The lead sponsor for the Dropout Prevention Campaign is the State Farm Insurance Company. State Farm is joined by AT&T, The Boeing Company, Ford Motor Company Fund, Casey Family Programs, ING Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.

In response to today’s report, Alma Powell was joined by Alliance Founding Chair General Powell; U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico); Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina); State Farm Chairman and CEO Edward B. Rust Jr.; National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial and others to launch the campaign. The campaign will bring mayors and governors, business owners, child advocates, school administrators, students and parents together to develop workable solutions and action plans for improving our nation’s alarming graduation rates. Several summits have already been held or are scheduled in Detroit, Tucson, Iowa and Mississippi. An additional 40 cities and states have committed. 

“When more than one million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe. Our economic and national security are at risk when we fail to educate the leaders and the workforce of the future,” said General Powell. “It’s time for a national ‘call to arms,’ because we cannot afford to let nearly one-third of our kids fail.”

Research shows that the more support youth have, both inside and outside of the classroom, the more likely they are to stay in school. Specifically, research demonstrates that the more young people experience five essential wrap-around supports, what the Alliance calls the “Five Promises” – caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others – the greater their chance for future success.

“The number one predictor of a young person’s future success is whether they graduate from high school,” said Alma Powell, chair of America’s Promise Alliance. “But just conferring a diploma is not enough. Students today must graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in college, work and life. We must invest in the whole child, and that means finding solutions that involve the family, the school and the community.”

Experts say that dropping out of high school affects not just students and their families, but the country overall – including businesses, government and communities. The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that high school dropouts from the Class of 2006-07 will cost the U.S. more than $329 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes. Young people of color are most affected, because nearly half of all African-American and Native-American students will not graduate with their class, while less than six in 10 Hispanic students will. Experts say that those who drop out are more likely to be incarcerated, rely on public programs and social services, and go without health insurance than those who graduate from high school.

“Economic success is dependent upon educational opportunities. If we are to compete, it is essential that we address America’s growing dropout crisis,” said Edward B. Rust, Jr., chairman and CEO of State Farm Insurance Company. “I urge other businesses to join us in this campaign to ensure that all young people earn a high school diploma and are ready not only for college, but to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.”

In announcing the summits, the Alliance emphasized that they are designed to both raise awareness and develop actual action plans that will help put local high schools on the road to improved graduation rates with a curriculum that better prepares young people for the workforce. The Alliance also underscored that these state and local efforts would need to be buttressed by strong federal action, including passage of ‘The Graduation Promise Act’ and the ‘Every Student Counts Act.’ Similarly, the Alliance offered its own solutions to the dropout crisis rooted in work the organization already has underway around health care access and insurance, middle-school student civic and vocational engagement and using schools as hubs for the delivery of comprehensive resources to kids.

“The key to increasing graduation rates is to stop working in isolation and to start working together,” said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO, America’s Promise Alliance. “That’s why we are convening these summits. We need curriculum reform, after-school programs, efforts to improve health care and nutrition programs, increased resources and greater accountability. Most of all, we need to recognize that no one entity can solve this crisis alone, but working together, we can make enormous strides to ensure our children succeed.”

Report Findings:
Other findings of the analysis released today include:

Students in suburban (74.9 percent) and rural (73.2 percent) public high schools were more likely to graduate than students in the country’s urban public high schools (60.4 percent).

Seventeen of the nation’s 50 largest cities had a graduation rate lower than 50 percent in the principal (largest) school district serving the city.

• Those with the lowest graduation rates included Detroit City School District (24.9 percent), Indianapolis Public Schools (30.5 percent), Cleveland Municipal City School District (34.1 percent), Baltimore City Public School System (34.6 percent) and Columbus Public Schools (40.9 percent).

Thirty-five of the urban districts in the areas including and surrounding the nation’s 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates below the national average of 70 percent.

• Those in which the smallest percentages of students graduate included Baltimore, Md. (34.6 percent); Columbus, Ohio (40.9 percent); Cleveland, Ohio (42.2 percent); Atlanta, Ga. (46.1 percent) and Denver, Colo. (46.8). In each, more than five in 10 students do not graduate with their class.
• Those areas in which the highest percentage of students graduate included Colorado Springs, Colo. (83.7 percent); San Jose, Calif. (80.9 percent); Nashville, Tenn. (77.0 percent); San Francisco/Oakland, Calif. (73.2 percent); Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz. (70.5 percent); and San Diego, Calif. (70.4 percent).

Seventeen of the metropolitan areas surrounding the nation’s 50 largest cities had a greater than 20 percentage-point gap between their urban and suburban graduation rates. Within 28 of those metropolitan areas, the urban-suburban graduation rate disparity was 10 percentage points or greater.

• Those with the greatest variances were Baltimore, Md. (47.0 points); Columbus, Ohio (42.0 points); Cleveland, Ohio (35.9 points), New York, N.Y. (35.5 points); and Denver, Colo. (34.1 points).

The report analyzes school district data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (2003-04). The country’s 50 largest cities are determined based on 2006 population reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.

# # #

About the America’s Promise Alliance
America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest partnership alliance comprised of corporations, nonprofit organizations, foundations, policymakers, advocacy and faith groups committed to ensuring that children receive the fundamental resources – the Five Promises – they need to lead successful, healthy and productive lives and build a stronger society. Building on the legacy of our founder General Colin Powell, the Alliance believes a child’s success is grounded in experiencing the Five Promises – caring adults; safe place; a healthy start; an effective education; and opportunities to help others – at home, in school and in the community. For more information visit: www.americaspromise.org.

Graduation Rates for the Main School Systems in the Nation’s 50 Largest Cities

City	Principal School District	Graduation Rate (2003-04)
Mesa, Ariz	Mesa Unified District	77.1%
San Jose, Calif.	San Jose Unified	77.0%
Nashville, Tenn.	Nashville-Davidson Co. School District	77.0%
Colorado Springs, Colo.	Colorado Springs School District	76.0%
San Francisco, Calif.	San Francisco Unified	73.1%
Tucson, Ariz.	Tucson Unified District	71.7%
Seattle, Wash.	Seattle School District	67.6%
Virginia Beach, Va.	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	67.4%
Sacramento, Calif.	Sacramento City Unified	66.7%
Honolulu, Hawaii	Hawaii Department of Education	64.1%
Louisville, Ky.	Jefferson County School District	63.7%
Long Beach, Calif.	Long Beach Unified	63.5%
Arlington, Texas	Arlington ISD	62.7%
Memphis, Tenn.	Memphis City School District	61.7%
San Diego, Calif.	San Diego Unified	61.6%
Albuquerque, N.M.	Albuquerque Public Schools	60.8%
El Paso, Texas	El Paso ISD	60.5%
Charlotte, N.C.	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	59.8%
Wichita, Kan.	Wichita Public Schools	59.6%
Phoenix, Ariz.	Phoenix Union High School District	58.3%
Austin, Texas	Austin ISD	58.2%
Washington, D.C.	District of Columbia Public Schools	58.2%
Fresno, Calif.	Fresno Unified	57.4%
Boston, Mass.	Boston Public Schools	57.0%
Fort Worth, Texas	Fort Worth ISD	55.5%
Omaha, Neb.	Omaha Public Schools	55.1%
Houston, Texas	Houston ISD	54.6%
Portland, Ore.	Portland School District	53.6%
Las Vegas, Nev.	Clark County School District	53.1%
San Antonio, Texas	San Antonio ISD	51.9%
Chicago, Ill.	City of Chicago School District	51.5%
Tulsa, Okla.	Tulsa Public Schools	50.6%
Jacksonville, Fla.	Duval County School District	50.2%
Philadelphia, Pa.	Philadelphia City School District	49.6%
Miami, Fla.	Dade County School District	49.0%
Oklahoma City, Okla.	Oklahoma City Public Schools	47.5%
Denver, Colo.	Denver County School District	46.3%
Milwaukee, Wis.	Milwaukee Public Schools	46.1%
Atlanta, Ga.	Atlanta City School District	46.0%
Kansas City, Mo.	Kansas City School District	45.7%
Oakland, Calif.	Oakland Unified	45.6%
Los Angeles, Calif.	Los Angeles Unified	45.3%
New York, N.Y.	New York City Public Schools	45.2%
Dallas, Texas	Dallas ISD	44.4%
Minneapolis, Minn.	Minneapolis Public Schools	43.7%
Columbus, Ohio	Columbus Public Schools	40.9%
Baltimore, Md.	Baltimore City Public School System	34.6%
Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Municipal City School District	34.1%
Indianapolis, Ind.	Indianapolis Public Schools	30.5%
Detroit, Mich.	Detroit City School District	24.9%
50-City Average		51.8%

NOTE: Graduation rates are calculated using the Cumulative Promotion Index method with data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data. Rankings are based on non-rounded statistics.

SOURCE: EPE Research Center, 2008

Graduation Rates in the Metropolitan Areas of the Nation’s 50 Largest Cities

City	Urban Graduation Rate	Suburban Graduation Rate	Urban-Suburban Gap (% points)
Baltimore, Md.	34.6%	81.5%	47.0
Columbus, Ohio	40.9%	82.9%	42.0
Cleveland, Ohio	42.2%	78.1%	35.9
New York, N.Y.	47.4%	82.9%	35.5
Denver, Colo.	46.8%	80.9%	34.1
Philadelphia, Pa.	49.2%	82.4%	33.3
Indianapolis, Ind.	49.7%	80.5%	30.9
Chicago, Ill.	55.7%	84.1%	28.4
Oklahoma City, Okla.	52.9%	81.2%	28.3
Milwaukee, Wis.	54.5%	82.5%	28.1
Detroit, Mich.	47.9%	75.0%	27.1
Tulsa, Okla.	50.6%	76.0%	25.4
Boston, Mass.	58.1%	83.0%	24.9
Omaha, Neb.	65.0%	87.3%	22.4
Jacksonville, Fla.	50.2%	71.5%	21.3
Wichita, Kan.	59.6%	80.8%	21.2
Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif.	57.1%	77.9%	20.7
Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, Texas	55.8%	74.7%	18.9
Minneapolis, Minn.	63.5%	80.7%	17.2
Fresno, Calif.	60.3%	76.2%	15.9
Atlanta, Ga.	46.1%	61.8%	15.7
Virginia Beach, Va.	59.2%	73.9%	14.6
Washington, D.C.	63.9%	78.2%	14.2
Sacramento, Calif.	65.7%	79.7%	14.0
Kansas City, Mo.	68.4%	82.2%	13.8
Portland, Ore.	62.1%	75.4%	13.3
Austin, Texas	64.7%	77.5%	12.9
Charlotte, N.C.	59.8%	70.5%	10.7
Seattle, Wash.	57.6%	67.4%	9.8
Houston, Texas	61.6%	71.0%	9.3
San Francisco/Oakland, Calif.	73.2%	81.2%	7.9
San Antonio, Texas	62.9%	70.2%	7.2
Nashville, Tenn.	77.0%	82.8%	5.8
San Jose, Calif.	80.9%	84.1%	3.2
El Paso, Texas	66.0%	68.0%	2.1
San Diego, Calif.	70.4%	71.3%	0.9
Phoenix/Mesa, Ariz.	70.5%	70.4%	-0.1
Tucson, Ariz.	66.0%	65.6%	-0.4
Albuquerque, N.M.	60.8%	55.9%	-5.0
Memphis, Tenn.	61.7%	55.5%	-6.2
Colorado Springs, Colo.	83.7%	73.5%	-10.2
Louisville/Jefferson Co., Tenn. *	—	69.4%	—
Las Vegas, Nev. ©	—	53.1%	—
Miami, Fla. **	—	53.6%	—
Honolulu, Hawaii ©©	—	64.1%	—
50-Metro Area Average	58.0%	75.4%	17.4

* The Louisville-Davidson County metropolitan area is served by a combination of suburban and rural school districts.

© The Las Vegas metropolitan area coincides with Clark County, Nev., which is served by a single school district classified as suburban by the U.S. Department of Education.

** The Miami metropolitan area is served by three countywide school districts, all classified as suburban by the U.S. Department of Education.

©© Honolulu’s metropolitan area includes all of Hawaii and is served by a single statewide school district, classified as suburban by the U.S. Department of Education.

NOTE: Graduation rates (2003-04) are calculated using the Cumulative Promotion Index method with data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data.

SOURCE: EPE Research Center, 2008

Black Racism or White Fear? Fear Of Messing Up May Undermine Interracial Contact

ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Democratic consultant Donna Brazile brought home America's reluctance to talk openly about race in a New York Times article that preceded the Barack Obama speech that now has the whole nation buzzing. In essence, she said in her quote, any serious discussion about race has the effect of clearing a room.

Brazile's remark and the presidential hopeful's groundbreaking speech about a subject that politicians generally tiptoe around in public hint at the complexities of race relations in America today. As we approach the second decade of the 21st century, research shows that many Americans feel anxious during interracial interactions whether or not race is even mentioned. Now a provocative new study from Northwestern University suggests that whites who are particularly worried about appearing racist seem to suffer from anxiety that instinctively may cause them to avoid interaction with blacks in the first place.

Brazile's remark and the presidential hopeful's groundbreaking speech about a subject that politicians generally tiptoe around in public hint at the complexities of race relations in America today. As we approach the second decade of the 21st century, research shows that many Americans feel anxious during interracial interactions whether or not race is even mentioned.

Now a provocative new study from Northwestern University suggests that whites who are particularly worried about appearing racist seem to suffer from anxiety that instinctively may cause them to avoid interaction with blacks in the first place.

"The Threat of Appearing Prejudiced and Race-based Attentional Biases," by Jennifer A. Richeson, associate professor of psychology and African-American studies and faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at Northwestern, and Sophie Trawalter, post-doctoral fellow, IPR, recently appeared in the journal Psychological Science.

Study participants indicated that they worry about inadvertently getting in trouble for somehow seeming biased. As a result, the study suggests, they behaved in a way that research shows people respond when faced with stimuli that cause them to feel threatened or anxious: they instinctively look at what is making them feel nervous and then ignore it.

In this case, study participants, 15 white college students, indicated that they were motivated to respond in non-prejudiced ways toward blacks primarily for appearance's sake because of concern about social disapproval -- rather than because of their internal values.

They then took a standard psychological test that measures attention patterns related to anxiety provoking or threatening stimuli. The white students initially focused on images of black faces with neutral expressions, relative to white faces with similar expressions, and then quickly disengaged and paid greater attention to the white faces.

Participants who were selected for the study first had to complete a Motivation to Respond Without Prejudice Scale. Those who were selected had scores that indicated that they were externally, rather than internally, motivated to not appear racially biased. On a one-to-nine scale, they rated their agreement with statements that included: "Because of today's politically correct standards, I try to appear non-prejudiced toward black people."

They then participated in a computer test that featured in all the trials a black face and a white face, with either similar neutral expressions or similar happy expressions. Theoretically, they shouldn't have paid attention to either of the two faces, one black and one white, appearing on either side of the computer screen, because they were told to keep their attention fixated on a cross in the middle of the screen. But, as expected, they inevitably turned their attention to the faces. Because everything happened so fast, however, they weren't aware that they had paid different amounts of attention to black faces, compared to the white faces.

When a dot appeared on the computer screen where one of the faces had previously appeared, they had to quickly say whether it appeared on the right or the left side of the fixation point. Finding the dot the fastest was an indication that attention had been directed to the face that had just disappeared from the position where the dot was displayed.

For the shorter trials (30 milliseconds) with the neutral faces, study participants tended to find the dot quickly when it was located behind the black face, which tended to be the initial focus of attention.

During the slightly longer trials (450 milliseconds), however, the dot-probe test indicated that they tended to quickly turn their attention away from the neutral black face to the white face with the same expression.

"Think of it as initially turning your attention to something that poses a threat or causes anxiety and then ignoring it because you don't want to deal with it," said Richeson. "These low-level psychological processes happen dynamically, and our tests indicate that people probably avoided the neutral black faces because they provoke anxiety, not necessarily because of racial animus."

Patterns of attentional biases were eliminated when the faces were smiling. Well-established clinical and cognitive psychology research shows that people process expressions of emotion quickly, and presumably black male faces with smiling expressions did not seem threatening or provoke anxiety.

The article cites a similar study that tested how children with chronic pain responded to pain-relevant words. In short trials, they tended to look at the pain-relevant words, and in the longer trials they avoided them.

Richeson's study draws from a body of such clinical psychology research on threat and attention. Basically, that research shows that people who have anxiety about various stimuli in everyday life tend to ignore what is stressing them out, unlike people with clinical anxiety, who tend to fixate on what triggers their anxiety.

Richeson stresses in every class she teaches on stereotyping and prejudice that a solution to a problem often presents another problem. Ironically, her study suggests, standards to create a diverse yet harmonious society may unwittingly be encouraging anxious responses toward blacks.

"Norms and standards to achieve diversity are a great solution to undermining racial bias," Richeson said. "Our research suggests that we now also need to start thinking about creating opportunities to undermine anxieties about living up to those standards, to let people know they are going to be okay if they engage in interracial relationships."

Adapted from materials provided by Northwestern University.

Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination- 45th Anniversary

Like Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King Jr. Gave His Life To Free All Of God's People.

MLK Virtual Tour
by BuildTheDream

Freedom Is Not Free! Donate Today

MLK Day Of Service

Update January 19, 2013

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'" Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities.

To order this powerful image click here.

In 1994 Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the King Holiday as a national day of volunteer service. Instead of a day off from work or school, Congress asked Americans of all backgrounds and ages to celebrate Dr. King's legacy by turning community concerns into citizen action. The King Day of Service brings together people who might not ordinarily meet, breaks down barriers that have divided us in the past, leads to better understanding and ongoing relationships, and is an opportunity to recruit new volunteers for your ongoing work.

Participation in the King Day of Service has grown steadily over the past decade, with hundreds of thousands of Americans each year engaging in projects such as tutoring and mentoring children, painting schools and senior centers, delivering meals, building homes, and reflecting on Dr. King's life and teachings. Many of the projects started on King Day continue to engage volunteers beyond the holiday and impact the community year-round.

Although the scope of the event grows every year, many people still are not aware of the service component of the holiday. By encouraging the participation of as many organizations as possible, we hope to make next year's King Day of Service the biggest and best ever, engaging more people in service that honors Dr. King's life and teachings.

John McCain Biography Facts On MLK Holiday

When he was a Congressman in 1983, McCain voted against creating a federal Martin Luther King Holiday and his home state rescinded recognition of the holiday in 1987. While he has claimed his position has ‘evolved’ and that his original vote was ‘wrong’ his record of support for racist individuals, and his consistent votes against civil rights legislation belie that claim. And he has employed controversial individuals on his own campaign whose own nasty comments about Martin Luther King undermine McCain’s claims of inclusivity and evolution. 

For more info on McCain's record, read this factsheet:

http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts

A Paler Shade Of Black

Nesrine Malik

March 5, 2008 3:00 PM

The word 'abd - Arabic for "slave" - was often used in our household when I was a child. In fact, it was so common that I had no awareness of its negative connotations until well into my teenage years. My father's family, a proud northern Sudanese clan, used it to refer to anyone who had darker skin than themselves - from southern Sudanese house servants to migrants from Darfur. Sometimes there was a clear intent to demean, but at other times it was used almost affectionately - for example, when addressing a particularly dark-skinned or thick-lipped child.

This was a kind of racism that no one ever challenged or addressed, and it was, through a child's eyes, very straightforward: on a scale of colour, lighter was good, darker was bad. The word 'abd, although strictly meaning "slave" or "servant", became synonymous with negritude. Even my Islamic heritage reinforced this with quotes from the Prophet Muhammad such as "You should listen to and obey your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian [ie black] slave whose head looks like a raisin" (Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 89, Number 256).

When we moved to post-colonial East Africa in the 1980s, 'abd was seamlessly transferred to the locals with whom we interacted only in their capacity as domestic staff or grounds-keepers at international schools. While I myself was "black" of North African descent, my family believed its Arab roots were somehow genetically dominant, giving us smaller features and a marginally lighter skin tone - thus deeming ourselves to be an entirely a different race from the "pure" Africans.

Our next move was to Saudi Arabia, where the Arab ethnicity with which I identified so strongly was suddenly cast into doubt: now it was my turn to be the "slave". My belief that I was an Arab, racially superior to non-Arab Africans, became laughable in the heartland of Arabia - a place where "Arabness" was not only determined by skin colour but by whether you could uninterruptedly trace your lineage back to the founding father of your clan. In fact, ancestry is so important in Saudi Arabia that courts have the power to annul a marriage if gaps are later discovered in a person's lineage, opening up the possibility of blood line pollution.

Beneath the unforgiving scrutiny of such standards, my proud North African Arabic identity crumbled. Somehow, however, it still made some sense and fell into place in a racial spectrum where, at least, I was not on the bottom rung. I could scarcely complain, since among Saudi women themselves there was a brutal selection process where lighter-skinned women were preferred as wives, who in turn were trumped by the blonde blue-eyed babes from Lebanon who dominated satellite TV and the second-wife market.

Eventually, back in Sudan, I was introduced to another logic that negated all that had gone before. In some inverse double bluff, a new word was added to our lexicon: halabi, a pejorative term for Sudanese who are much lighter-skinned than the rest. Halabi actually means a person from Halab (Aleppo) in northern Syria but for some curious reason it was applied to the descendants of Egyptians or Arabian Bedouins who had settled in Sudan.

Apparently, the halabis were just as contemptible as "slaves" and the categorisation of individuals as such seemed even more arbitrary. A marriage suitor would be dismissed if he came from a tribe of slaves, regardless of the colour of his skin, but would equally be frowned upon if he were of Levantine or Egyptian origin. The former was due to his race (irrespective of its physical manifestations) and the latter to his dubious ancestry. There seemed to be such a limited optimal colour/race/culture combination, all underscored by some vague definition of honour (which, naturally, everybody else lacked) and rooted in an even more intangible notion of "origin" (asl), the dubiousness of which implied a lack of breeding. Never mind bemoaning the lack of a common Arab identity, there seemed to be categorisations ad infinitum and constantly moving goalposts. The prejudices cannot even be explained away as reflecting different cultural perceptions of beauty. Throughout Sudan, halabi girls are universally regarded more attractive than their darker counterparts; it is the whiff of a questionable origin - a visceral suspicion of difference - that condemns them, somehow, as less than honourable.

All this plays out against a backdrop of political and media messaging within the Arab world asserting that the Muslim Arab man, in human terms, is far superior to the occidental man. Bilal ibn Rabah, a black disciple of the Prophet Muhammad and first muezzin (caller to prayer) of Islam, is often held up by religious clerics as a symbol of the inclusiveness of Islam, while much is made of the perceived plight of African-Americans in the US.

Egyptian and Syrian soap operas set in colonial times paint the western colonisers as one-dimensional pillagers while western media and films are accused of depicting Arabs in a poor light. Historically, the lack of a modern institutionalised slavery system in the Arab world in addition to the absence of laws enshrining racial segregation (like those that existed in the US until the 20th century) enhances this sense of superiority in comparison to what is perceived to be the "modern" occident.

This sentiment in turn precipitates its own racial stereotype: that of a white man who is fundamentally racist ... polite and patronising ... but ultimately arrogant and fastidious in his belief that all other races are inferior.

Even if that were the case, it is a welcome relief to know where one stands.

Black Liberation Theology- Is it Anti White?

    At issue is not whether Reverend Wright is racist or patriotic or not. For those who say that they are Christian and have a close relationship with Jesus, I pose this question? Now that you finally know the truth about who Jesus was and what he really looked like , will you still deny the truth in the face of  overwhelming biblical and scientific facts? The media would have you believe that Black Liberation Theology is anti white. When at its core , it is pro equality, pro fairness , pro justice ,  pro Christianity and pro Truth. If anyone calls themselves a true Chritian and a believer in Christ, then shouldn't they support these same beliefs? I think the real question that many white christians and their ministers should be asking themselves is "If we call ourselves true believers and followers of Christ, why do we continue to deny the truth?"  And what does this denial have to do with our justifying , overlooking and accepting the racist behavior and attitudes of some fellow Christians. Listen to NPR's story on Black Liberation Theology. Click the back link to come back to this site and post your intelligent comments.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88512189

Reverend Jeremiah Wright further explains what is at the core of Black Liberation Theology.

Smokey Robinson Black Lyrics -Nigger Jokes Apply To All Races

Smokey Robinson explains why he's " A Proud Black American."  Find out why he says all the earth's people are Black whether they like it or not.