Category: Controversy

Al Sharpton, Controversy, Dr. Cornell West, House Negro, Politics, What he said

Dr. Cornel West Calls Al Sharpton “The Bonafide House Negro Of The Obama Plantation”

The ReadyWriter

cornelal

Dr. Cornell West is apparently pissed off with Al Sharpton’s new position and transformation of image as a Civil Rights Leader.

West likened Al Sharpton to a slave in response to his speech delivery during the 50th Anniversary Ceremony of the historic March on Washington earlier this week.

Public intellectual Cornel West tore into many of this week’s speeches surrounding the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech, accusing everyone from President Obama to Rev. Al Sharpton of “sanitizing” Dr. King’s vision.

“Brother Martin himself, I think, would’ve been turning over in his grave,” West said of the event. “[King would have wanted] people to talk about Wall Street criminality, he wants people to talk about war crimes, or drones dropping bombs on innocent people,” he asserted.

“Instead,” he lamented, “we saw the coronation of the bonafide house negro of the Barack Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton.” West went further declaring that Sharpton’s decline was “supported by [MSNBC analyst] Michael Dyson and others who’ve prostituted themselves in a very ugly and vicious way.”

West and Tavis Smiley both lamented that black leadership has become “so sold-out” so as not to have the courage to be a “bull in the china shop,” break rank, and talk about “racism, poverty, and militarism” at an otherwise “bought-out” event.

It doesn’t get more disrespectful than a black high-profile public figure comparing President Obama’s administration to that of a slave plantation.

Wow!!! I must admit Sharpton being Obama’s bullet proof vest is extremely annoying, always going on the defense for the president against his adversaries. Sharpton has switched positions all in the name of MSNBC and the almighty dollar.

“No Justice ~ No Peace” does Al Sharpton even own it anymore?

Controversy, Drama, Russell Simmons, You Tube Videos

Russell Simmons Apologizes for Harriet Tubman Sex Tape

The ReadyWriter

Yesterday Russell Simmons caused an uproar online after hosting a comedy skit on his YouTube channel called The Harriet Tubman Sex Tapes.

At first Russel thought the tape was funny as he tweeted a link to the video calling it the funniest thing he’d ever seen. However, after an intense dragging Russell was forced to take the video down and apologize. 

In the whole history of Def Comedy Jam, I’ve never taken down a controversial comedian. When my buddies from the NAACP called and asked me to take down the Harriet Tubman video from the All Def Digital YouTube channel and apologize, I agreed.

I’m a very liberal person with thick skin. My first impression of the Harriet Tubman piece was that it was about what one of actors said in the video, that 162 years later, there’s still tremendous injustice. And with Harriet Tubman outwitting the slave master? I thought it was politically correct. Silly me. I can now understand why so many people are upset. I have taken down the video. Lastly, I would never condone violence against women in any form, and for all of those I offended, I am sincerely sorry.

~Russell Simmons

Controversy, Conversations Of A Sistah, The "N" word, Tracy L. Bell

Slang -or- Slurred, the use of the “N” Word…Tonight on “Conversations Of A Sistah”

The ReadyWriter

film-19

Celebrity chef and cook, Paula Deen is in hot water for the use of the “N” word in a derogatory manner and recently Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, Riley Cooper used the “N” word as a racial slur at a country music concert. Both celebrities have been punished for using the word nigger; Deen has been since fired from the Food Network and Riley has been suspended and ordered to seek counseling.  

Yet when “Pookie and Pokey” from around the way refer to their homeys as “their nigga’s” the inception of this word become their terms of endearment.  My question to you: where’s the distinction?

In discussion I’m told, the use of the “N” word heavily depends on the context or perspective with which the word is used. When the majority of individuals feel, the use of the word Nigger was and still is; a word of disrespect.

My uncles use the word, my brothers use the word, some of my male friends use the word and a lot of the comments that I read in the “comments section” of this blog are riddled with the word. 

Join me tonight at 8:00 PM on “Conversations Of A Sistah” via “Conversations Live” as I discuss the “N” word – nigga verses nigger. Is this a hypocritical distinction from the African American race? And is the word still disrespectful?

I will be taking your calls, questions and comments on this subject, so call me on air at 1-347-426-3645 and press “1” to speak to the host.

Access the show by clicking onto any of the “Conversations links” in this post.

Until then, sound off here and I’ll meet you tonight on the air.

Controversy, Prejudice, Racial Slurs, Racist, What he said, What she said

Black So-called Celebrities Come Out in Support of Paula Deen

The ReadyWriter

Paula Deen Signs Copies Of "Paula's Southern Cooking Bible"

Actress Stacey Dash, NFL player Kris Jenkins and civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton are among the black notables who have come forward in support of embattled tv chef Paula Deen.

Deen, 66, was dropped by the Food Network on Friday after Deen readily admitted she used racial slurs and cracked racist jokes about black people in a videotaped deposition.

Two other Deen sponsors, QVC and Smithfield Foods, are quietly shelving the celebrity chef while they await the outcome of a million-dollar sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Deen’s brother, Bubba Hiers, by a former employee.

“A lot of us have in the past said things we have regretted saying years ago,” Sharpton told gossip website TMZ. “You cannot deal with what is fair or not fair until we see an outcome of the present circumstances she is accused of, not something that happened 20 years ago.”

In a tweet sent out from her Twitter account on Monday, Stacey Dash wrote: “God does everything for a reason. “@Paula_Deen Only God can judge your heart BTW my daughter loves your show (only way she can get me to cook)”

And Kris Jenkins, former all-pro defensive tackle for the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, also spoke out in support of Deen.

“The lady was a sweetheart to me; [her] making a mistake I’m not going to be the one to make a big deal of it,” said Jenkins in an interview with Metro New York.

Jenkins continued: “I got to see her heart and for me, I don’t look at the ‘N word’ as a bad word like that in this year—in 2013. The reason is because I think the ‘N word’ is more a test of my inner strength as to how strong am I to even be bothered by the word or not.”

Controversy, Politics, President Obama, What he said

President Obama gets heat for saying Kamala Harris is ‘best looking attorney general’

The ReadyWriter

CA_Attorney General_Obama

The media is all abuzz because President Barack Obama said California Attorney General Kamala Harris was the “best looking attorney general in the country”.

The unexpected comment ruffled the feathers of some observers and caused a  commotion on social media such as Twitter. Obama set up the remark with a heap of more conventional praise for Harris, 48,  who campaigned for him last year. “She is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough,” Obama said.

What came next was a compliment, but what was heard around the world was taken as and considered an uncharacteristic slip by the smooth-talking President Obama. The President’s critics immediately took it to Twitter where some Twitter users blasted his quip as “awkward” and even “sexist.”

I guess just about any and every thing that comes out of President Barack Obama’s mouth is easily misconstrued and twisted, by his “haters and constituents”.

President Obama is a politician is all and he’s learned how to play the game well and that includes schmoozing when he has too.

Do you think the President’s compliments about the attractive CA Attorney General were awkward and inappropriate? Sound off!