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Good Morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.

Tom, you’ve heard me talk about issues of media and race before… Very important, given that in our society, unfortunately, image is everything…

And given this visual approach to politics, news and society, it is critical that we have individuals in positions of visibility and power who look like us and come from experiences similar to ours to help us navigate these images.

Let me explain: All of us, at one time or another, have experienced being ‘the only African American in the room…’

…could have been at a new job, at a conference, or in a new neighborhood or school…

And in those unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable situations, many of us have been relieved to spot another black face –be it an employee or neighbor—who sees us, gives us a knowing wink, and then kindly “shows us the ropes…”

Well I bring this up today, Sybil, because you may have seen the CNN interview a few days back with pioneering and now-retired anchor woman, Carole Simpson, on the current lack of black anchors on mainstream news networks…

Simpson did not hold her tongue… She came out firing at the mainstream news organizations – including CNN — about their lack of diversity and the racism she faced years ago and the racism African Americans continue to face in a media industry that continues to be white male-dominated…

Simpson pointed out that, in this day and age, it is absurd that the numbers of black mainstream anchors is declining…

And she had every right to … for no one would know better how broadcast media works than Simpson … When it comes to media, she was that beautiful African American face in a white-dominated society that showed us the ropes each day…

One of the most successful and prominent journalists who ever lived, Simpson was a staple on ABC News for nearly two decades winning three Emmys, covering the most significant world issues, and becoming the first woman and first minority to moderate a presidential debate…

Whether it was the first Persian Gulf War, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings or other major stories, Simpson was always there…

And if you want a brutal example of what she went through to bring us this crucial African American perspective, I got one for ya…

You may recall, Tom, that Simpson was in South Africa in 1990, broadcasting live, the release of Nelson Mandela…

But what many may not remember was that Simpson was beaten across the back by a white South African policeman while covering a demonstration led by Archbishop Desmond TuTu the day before Mandela’s release…

Talk about news from a black perspective… or better yet, black and blue perspective…

But you get the point… Simpson, like other black journalists and anchors, can offer a unique perspective …
Without such voices and representation, our American story lacks both relevance and context…

Now, of course, there are things we can do to try and change this… We can certainly reach out to all the major networks and push them to hear our voices and show our faces…

We can go online to the Federal Communications Commission site at fcc.gov and file a complaint with their Consumer & Governmental Affairs division…

But we can also start our own media outlets which, given the internet and changing technologies, is a realistic step that many in our community are already taking…

And, of course, we can continue to support our own existing black-owned media vehicles, like the excellent platform you provide for us, Tom, thank you very much…

So whatever we do, let’s push to ensure our perspectives, our context and our stories get heard in the vehicles we support and that get their advertising dollars from our viewership…

We shouldn’t support or empower vehicles that don’t support or empower us…

I’ll close with this. A prominent 20th century media executive once said: “All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it… Or we can help lift it to a higher level.”

Until Next Time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.

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Good Morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.

Tom, you’ve often heard me use this weekly platform to talk about issues concerning children…

After all, as parents, a large part of our lives are devoted to the beautiful, challenging, and rewarding art of raising children…

We feed them when they’re hungry, nurse them back to health when they’re sick, hug and protect them when they’re scared or hurt, and tuck them into bed when they’re tired… (even though they somehow end up in our bed by the morning…)

Now, Sybil, because life and relationships certainly have their challenges, parents don’t always see eye to eye, and they may, unfortunately, split up, separate, or even divorce…

And if the parents can’t see through their own emotional issues and pain to recognize that the children simply want, and still deserve both parents in their lives, there’s gonna to be trouble…

That said, let me tell you about a parent, a father by the name of Tewodross Melchishua…also known as ‘Tee”

Tewodross is a talented brother living in the DC area who is an independent film producer, artist, designer, animator, and professor at Bowie State (let’s hear it for the HBCUs)…

He loves all five of his children ranging in age from 3 to 17 including two sets of TWINS from a previous marriage.

In the late 90s, after his first marriage didn’t work out, Tee and his ex-wife shared joint custody of their twins – 2 boys and 2 girls.

One day, in 2000, he went to pick up his then 6 and 7 year old children from their mother for the weekend, as he always did, and they simply weren’t there…

Did you hear what I just said, Tom…? They were GONE… The mother had disappeared… to Egypt!!!!!!

I can’t even begin to imagine, as a mom, how that must have felt…?

For the past ten years –that’s right, I said ten– Tee has done everything in his power to first locate his children and then reunite with them…

He finally got a telephone and email address for his ex-wife . . . before she took the children and relocated again to yet another country!

He found her again and ultimately convinced the mother to allow the teenage sets of twins to travel to the United States alone to visit their father…

So Sybil, believe it or not, we’re still hoping for a relatively happy ending here …

But this is just one father’s story. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children estimates that over 1000 family abductions occur in the United States every day…

And international family abductions – where a parent or relative kidnaps a child and takes them to a different country—occur, on average, a reported 16,000 times a year and often leave the “Chasing Parent” with huge emotional and financial burden…

The main problem is that many of these countries simply REFUSE to return these American children back to the United States.

Sometimes, as in Tee’s case there is a difference of religion; sometimes as in the recent high-profile cases in Brazil and Japan, no reason is given.  Amazingly, this is also the case even where the country is a friend or ally of the United States, and even where the country has signed the Hague Convention, the international treaty designed to protect children from these abductions.

You can get more information on parental abductions at missingkids.com.

You know Tom, I’ve occasionally heard people without children wonder why anyone would want to bring a child into this sometimes cruel and unpredictable world…

Maybe this saying from the late writer & blogger, Liz Armbruster, offers the answer: “I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child could bring.”

Until Next Time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.

admin Abuse, Children

Good Morning Tom, Sybil, and Jay.

Tom, as you may remember, a couple weeks ago, I did a commentary on the Johannes Mehserle case –the cop who killed an unarmed Oscar Grant in Oakland in 2009 – just days before his controversial verdict of “involuntary manslaughter” was announced …

I also wrote a piece this weekend for NewsOne called, “How Much is One Black Man Worth?”

The article juxtaposed the Mehserle verdict with the almost simultaneous announcement of LeBron James move to Miami, and shades of that were, of course, echoed by Jeff on Tuesday…

…except I didn’t go after Rev. Jackson… That part is between Jeff and Jesse, and I love them both…

My article discussed the irony of how our American society had pretty much determined that one young man’s life –that of Grant– was apparently worth very little, while another young brother who dribbles an orange ball up and down a court –‘King James’– was apparently worth about 100 million…

The article became the most popular piece and went viral on the site not long after I wrote it and generated a whole lot of discussion . . .

I think it struck a chord because folks were troubled by the verdict and the ironic timing of the announcements…

…also because, as a community, we are sick and tired of seeing unarmed black men being killed or brutalized at the hands of those who are supposed “to protect and serve…”

It raises the question: How much is one black man (one black man’s life) actually worth…?

I bring this up again today, Sybil, because of the recent report on Black America Web about another unfortunate young brother –an 18 year-old from Stafford County, VA who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism affecting his ability to communicate and interact.  That young man, Reginald Latson was incarcerated after an incident in which police approached him while walking down the street to a friend’s house.

Reginald was waiting for a local library to open when he decided to take a walk to visit a friend… Police say someone called in to report a quote-unquote “suspicious man” in the area who “was possibly carrying a gun…”

Police approached the autistic teenager, who possessed no weapon, and, according to police, a confrontation ensued in which the teen attacked an officer for no reason…

Reginald reported that the officers came at him with abusive language and racial slurs…

Now, Jay, I obviously wasn’t there and I don’t know what actually went down…

That said, there are still some very troubling things about this case …

First, it’s hard to figure out the “possibly carrying a gun” thing… That’s pretty vague… and “convenient”

And while Reginald was initially placed in a hospital for evaluation after the incident, the judge in the case –who could have granted an extension after the thirty days– recently decided to instead send Reginald to jail where the autistic teen is in an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous environment…

It’s reported that Reginald had made great strides in dealing with his condition, holding a job at a car wash and attending school…

He’s not used to being away from his mother and he’s terrified in jail.  In fact, doctors had recommended to the court that because of his condition, Reginald be allowed to stay at the hospital until his July 30th preliminary hearing.

But let me be clear: I can’t say if law enforcement did anything wrong in this case, but I can say that jailing this young man who obviously needs support for his condition may destroy his life…

Tom, maybe somehow we can help this living black man before his life is destroyed because of his unfortunate encounter with law enforcement…

And while we await the results of the recently-opened federal probe into the Grant shooting, and the sentencing of Johannes Mehserle, let’s use our energies to ensure our young men are being valued and not dying or languishing needlessly at the hands of our less-than-blind system of justice…

You can go to the “Justice for Reginald Latson” page on Facebook for updates and to see what can be done…

I leave you with this quote from an ancient philosopher that still holds true today: “Justice will not come until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are.”

Until Next Time, this is Stephanie in Love and Hope.

admin Black Men, Reginald Latson