the way i see it, the Bill Cosby that created the Fat Albert series is long gone. we don't even have the same Cosby that starred in the memorable Himself stand-up comedy flick. and while Heathcliff Huxtable remains a father's father, we don't have him either. instead, we're stuck with Old Coot Cosby, the guy who's on the nationwide tour telling young people to pull their pants up and turn off that "filth-flarn-filth" and letting everyone know within earshot that poor black folk will be our downfall. and it seems as if all of the Jello pudding pops in the world won't make him change his mind.

i'm only 32, and Lord knows that i'm as bitter as hell, but i hope i don't become as conservative as Cos when i get older. at any rate, check out this Washington Post article where Michael Eric Dyson continues to challenge Cosby's rhetoric...

from NPR:

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, May 29, 2006 .

The alleged rape of an African-American exotic dancer by white Duke University lacrosse players has raised questions about how the news media is portraying the woman in the case. Guests: Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of African-American studies at Duke University; Karrine Steffans, a former video dancer and author of Confessions of A Video Vixen; and Shaheem Reed, hip-hop editor at MTV News.

Listen here.

considering that writer and scholar Mark Anthony Neal currently serves as the Associate Professor of African-American Studies at Duke University, i was wondering what he had to say regarding the rape case involving the Duke lacrosse team. Dr. Neal's opinion is one that i hold in high regard, and once again he comes through with a perspective that the media won't touch. click here to check out the article.

as of this time, two members of the team turned themselves in. both have already posted bail.

been holding on to these for a while. first off, check this book review on a tome that will certainly make black power heads shudder...or maybe not. seriously, you can play this game on a number of different levels...white distribution, black recording artists, white coaches, black basketball players, et cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

...and then there's this little gem. this is a great example of how necessary it is for people of different walks of life and experiences to talk with one another...

i used to see the "stop snitching" t-shirts every now and again, but never knew what that was all about. so serious thanks go out to Marc Lamont Hill for breaking down the science (and then some) in this article. as with all things Marc Lamont Hill, some stuff i agree with, some i don't.

i'll keep it brief: a number of articles this month worth checking out...

Michael Eric Dyson turned in something special this month in tribute to MLK. be on the lookout for what sounds like an eye-opening documentary on hip-hop. it's a perspective that needs to be told. the fact that a brother's taking the lead this time shows hope for the hip-hop masses yet.

can't believe we've lost three great men of soul: two of them singers, another a songwriter. finally, inspired by the latest rolling stone magazine cover, sister rosa clemente penned an article in regards to Jesus, hip-hop, and kanye west. sigh...i get the point, but i'm more than skeptical (as evidenced by my response to the article found in the comments section).

six days into the New Year and already we lose a great one...my main man Lou Rawls...to cancer.

my wife's gonna be devastated.

maybe it's the day that i'm having. maybe it's some sort of chemical imbalance. i imagine there's a part of me that just doesn't want to deal with the fact that he's gone. but the day that Richard Pryor died, i felt like i lost a surrogate father. i still do. that feeling won't go away any time soon. despite his contradictions, despite all the inner demons he wrestled with, i will always adore and look up to this man.

Dr. Neal gets deep on us with this article, one that i'm sure will spark discussion and debate between those of the Civil Rights generation and post-Civil Rights/hip-hop brethren and beyond.

i'm having a rough one today, but i think i'd still be emotional even if i wasn't. this article almost had me in tears.

the opening statement from an article i read a day before Stanley "Tookie" Williams was killed said it best: "Asking a man who has been dubbed "The Terminator" for clemency from a death sentence is like inviting Bin Laden over for lunch to eat pork chops during Ramadan -- it's not likely to happen." my sentiments exactly.

honestly, if you thought that this situation was going to turn out any other way, you're either have an extrememly positive outlook on life or you take a certain amount of pleasure in kidding yourself. hopefully, the youth who rallied for Tookie, such as those within this article, won't become completely and totally disillusioned with their own efforts to make a change. for their sakes, i hope they hang in there...

been a while since i posted some articles, so i wanted to do play catch-up regarding some pieces i read and/or heard last month:

first off, here's a great August Wilson article. a great playwright, a brilliant mind, losing August in October really got to me.

the death of Rosa Parks was also a sobering moment for me in October. i encourage you to check out this article from William Jelani Cobb, which reminds that the life of Rosa Parks was about much more than a galvanizing event on December 1, 1955. in fact, it wasn't the first time that blacks had disobeyed segregation laws, including Mother Rosa.

and then there's Project 21, a black conservative think tank. words fail me regarding these comments: you'll just have to see them for yourself and make up your own mind. still, i'm left wondering who's really more of a danger to black folks: the neocons or the negrocons?