Dallas South was told that UIL Athletic Director Charles Breithaupt has sent a letter to South Oak Cliff and others apologizing for his role in the Channel 8 News story accusing the school of playing an ineligible player.  The letter supposedly says that Brett Shipp's report took the UIL boss' comments out of context and makes them appear to refer to SOC when he really wasn't. That was the first thing that I thought when I saw Dr.Breithaupt speaking on the Channel 8 report.  He never addresses South Oak Cliff by name.  It's Brett Shipp who voices accusations then attributes them to Dr. Breithaupt. If I am able to verify or obtain this letter, I will make that known as soon as I can.

Pregnant woman Tasered Thanks to Electronic Village for hipping the AfroSpear to this story. November 29, 2007 TROTWOOD, Ohio -- The FBI is investigating after a Trotwood police officer used a Taser on a pregnant woman. Trotwood Public Safety Director Michael Etter said the incident happened on Nov. 18. He said the woman arrived at the police department asking to give up custody of her 1-year-old son. Etter said an officer spoke with the woman as she held onto the child outside the police department. "(He) attempted to obtain information on both the mother and the child, at which time the mother refused to give any information and became very agitated," Etter said. Surveillance video from the police department shows the woman trying to leave with the child. The officer then grabs her coat in an effort to get her to stop. Etter said the officer was doing what he thought was in the best interest of the boy. The video shows the woman struggling with the officer, who then takes the child from her and gives the boy to another officer. The first officer then forces the woman down on her stomach, and he then uses a Taser on her neck. Etter said ...

On Thursday I opened the Dallas Morning News and flipped through the front of each section.  I started looking at the color images on the front of the main pages.   Then I began to think about my claims, and others, on how African-Americans are portrayed in this paper and media outlets across the country.  I did an informal survey of the Thursday paper, and extended it to Wednesday and Friday to get more data. What's listed below are the images on the Front Page of the major sections of the Dallas Morning News: Front Page, Metro, Sports, Business and Guide Live.  I wouldn't consider HS Gametime major but I did include it from Thursday.  Here are some observations from this rudimentary survey: The images of African-Americans for the three days all had to do with Sports with the exception of Norma Adams Wade - Metro columnist, bank robbers, an accused principal, and homeless veterans.  There are a lot of White columnist writing for the Dallas Morning News Zero images of African-Americans on front of Business section What does this speak to?  Does it speak to the way The News chooses to portray ...

Sad to report that Jackson Police say they found a body they believe is Latasha Norman.   Norman was last seen on the Jackson State University campus, earlier this month.  Her ex-boyfriend told police where they body could be found.  He was arrested an charged with domestic abuse back in October.

Latasha Norman, who is a student at Jackson State University, was last seen Nov. 13 in one of her classes. Her car was left on the campus, and the 20-year-old never returned to her dormitory room.   According to the Associated Press, those who know Latasha Norman describe her as a serious, smart student who was seen around Jackson State with pad and pencil, covering stories for the campus newspaper. Black and Missing but not Forgotten reports that Jackson Police Chief Malcolm McMillin said Norman's disappearance should get "the same kind of concern" as that of Stacy Peterson, 23, a white woman from suburban Chicago who has been missing for three weeks.  "As far as the interest by the national media in the story, I think race probably had an impact," said McMillin, who is white. "It's a small college in the South. It's the daughter of simple people who maybe are not important outside of their circle, and maybe we don't attach the same importance to them that we do for other people." Jackson State's Office of University Communications has sent out a series of press releases since Norman's disappearance.   According to their website, Ms. Norman is an ...

In 2004, Bill Cosby sent shockwaves through the black community after a speech that he made at Washington D.C.'s Constitution Hall.  During his talk, Cosby seemed to lash out at Black America in general, poor black people in particular.   In response to Cosby's speech which was reported on by the Washington Post, Michael Eric Dyson wrote a book titled Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?  Dyson highlights some quotes from Dr. Cosby's speech that made national headlines and angered a certain number of black folks.   From Is Bill Cosby Right? The venerable father figure also lambasted black parents who give their children "names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Muhammad and all that crap.." It (black children) can't speak English.  It doesn't want to speak English.  I can't even talk the way these people talk. (Cosby) Fast forward to the recent release of Come On People:The Path From Victims to Victors by Bill Cosby and Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D.  Dr. Cosby's website refers to book as "a powerful message for families and communities as they lay out their visions for strengthening America, or for that matter the world." It goes on ...

I am not trained in the ways of journalism, but I have a question for Brett Shipp:  When did taking a few pieces of paper from former employees running copies become investigative reporting? I had respect for Brett Shipp's work in the past, but his ambush of Coach James Mays and Donald Moten last week should not be tolerated. Brett Shipp entered South Oak Cliff high school through a back door under false pretenses in order to obtain footage for a smear piece that he did for Channel 8.  When entering the South Oak Cliff campus, visitors are supposed to enter the front door, go through a security screening and then sign in with school personnel.  I know because I witnessed a SOC practice about a week before Shipp and a camera man broke into the school.  I followed the rules. I'm sure Coach Mays was shocked to see the cameras because in the 3 years that SOC has won state championships no one from the station has set foot on the campus.  The basketball team was referred to as a "dynasty" in a later piece.  Well Channel 8 must have just found out because this is ...

New York, N.Y. - November 15, 2007 - Throughout the week of November 26, "NBC News With Brian Williams" will take a look at the issues facing African-American women across our nation in a new series "African-American Women: Where They Stand." The series will cover a wide-range of issues from their role in the '08 Presidential race, to the increased health-risks that they need to be concerned about. Monday's installment will discuss African-American women's progress in the education field. Nearly two-thirds of African-American undergraduates are women. At black colleges, the ratio of women to men is 7 to 1. And that is leading to a disparity in the number of African-American women who go on to own their own businesses. Rehema Ellis will talk to educators, students and businesswomen about why this disparity exists. Tuesday Ellis will look at relationships within the African-American female community. Many agree the gender disparity in education and business among African-Americans is having an effect on relationships that African American women have. Some even say the implications could redefine "Black America's family and social structure." In the past  fifty years, the percentage of African-American women between 25-54 who have never been married has doubled ...

See News media win suit to open Jena 6 case, an article that appeared in Thursday's Chicago Tribune.  Some of the highlights from the Howard Witt article: A judge ruled Wednesday that the public and the news media should have full access to all legal proceedings involving Mychal Bell...whose prosecution had been shrouded in secrecy on orders of the trial judge. ...Rapides Parish District Judge Thomas Yeager ordered that Bell's upcoming criminal trial, as well as any pretrial hearings, must be open to the press and the public. Yeager also ordered that the court record and transcripts of any closed proceedings held so far be made available to the news media, and that attorneys for Bell be released from the trial judge's gag order... It was the second major setback for Mauffray in the Bell case. Last June, Mauffray presided when Bell was convicted as an adult on the battery and conspiracy charges. An appellate court later vacated that conviction, ruling that Jena District Attorney Reed Walters and Mauffray had improperly tried Bell as an adult rather than a juvenile. "It's not discretionary, it's mandatory," Yeager said. "[Mauffray] should open the proceedings ...

The Dallas Observer's Unfair Park reports good news regarding Dallas Boxer Charlie Hatley .  Hatley won the Golden Gloves World Championship in the 152 lb. weight class. See Unfair Park article by clicking here. Hatley trains out of the Oak Cliff Boxing Club.