The Black Vote: Taken for granted, ignored, or necessary

The black vote is important because it represents the behavior of a group of people whose voting power had been denied for many years, both by political mandate and by threat of physical violence. However, the black vote is unique because African American voting behavior is intrinsically rooted in the people's history.

Since the Reconstruction, the general behavior of blacks is to vote in block, either for one party or the other. Until Roosevelt came into the presidency and began the New Deal, blacks were committed to the Republican Party.

So what happened? Looking back at the 2008 presidential elections, where blacks voted overwhelmingly Democrat, the question still remains: Just what went wrong or has changed? 

Tonight we'll break it down with a robust panel of guests representative of Democrats, Republican, and Independents. Most notably to present the case for the Republican party, will be Lenny McAllister, the Hip Hop Republican. Central to our discussion is the question: Which party today, best represents the interest of black America? Tonight, our guests will all make their best case for the parties with whom they identify. 

Do join us, feel free to share your opinions, and you be the judge, on Freedom Thru Speech Radio at 8pm EST/7pm CST.  You can listen through the show's platform by clicking here, or you can dial in on our special dial-in number at 914-803-8441.

Blog Talk Radio: The African American Body Image Episode: When We Look in the Mirror, Just What Do We See?

Do me a favor, please.  Go to the mirror and take a good long look at yourself.  What do you see?  Take a good look at your facial features, your hair, your body type, the lines in your face, the various scars, and tell me what you see.  Are you pleased at what you see?  How does this affect you interaction with others?  How does this influence your attitude and outlook on life?

I know that my questions are a lot to hit you with this morning, but my questioning does serve a purpose.  Theory posits the human body as a historical narrative, a broad palimpsest—a scroll written on and over innumerable times—that invariably proceeds us.  Even before we open our mouths, even before we have the chance to speak for ourselves, to allow others to get to know us, our body with its various adornments and embellishments is always already presenting its own biography.

The question then becomes just how much this body narrative affects us in our day to day lives.  Just how much does this narrative coincide with our own self-image?  Just how much does this narrative dictate our actions? 

The African American Body Image is the theme of our discussion tonight over at Freedom thru Speech Radio on BlogTalkRadio.  Please join me and my co-hosts RiPPa of The Intersection of Madness and Reality and The Janitor of The Urban Politico.  Also sitting in on the panel tonight will be @MelzieC of The Curvy Girl Chronicles, Tondalaya from Club Cushions, and our old friend Nic McClean of My Fabulous Boobies.

The show starts at 8 PM EST.  You can listen to the show by accessing our BlogTalkRadio platform by clicking here, or you can listen or comment by dialing in through our dial-in number, 914-803-4881. 

Don’t miss out because this promises to be an informative, entertaining show, and don’t listen alone;  please run tell your friends.  And, as usual, the most important voice missing from this conversation is invariably your own.

Why Can’t Raheem Read? Public Education and the Minority Community on Freedom thru Speech Radio

At one time, the United States of America boasted of the very best educational system in the world. However, of late that system has declined precipitously; we now rank about 10th worldwide. And consider this statistic: A full seventy-five percent (75%) of African American and Hispanic students attend school in schools or school districts that are considered failing.

This means that within an educational system already rapidly careening toward crisis, African American and Hispanic school children are already perhaps there. But how did we get where we are now? What can we, or should we, reasonably expect from our educational system?

What can we do to fix our educational system, or at the very least, make it work for us? Join us as we consider these and many more questions and issues as we discuss "Public Education and the Minority Community."

This week RiPPa and I will be joined tonight on Freedom thru Speech Radio by Professor Venus Evans-Winter of The Freire Project, Symphony of the blog Essential Presence, and national teacher trainer and teacher union official Cynthia Reddick.

You can join the conversation by going to the show’s platform by clicking here, or you can call into the show through our call-in number at 914-803-4881.