On Friday, Dr. Jeremiah Wright gave an insightful interview with Bill Moyers that I thought helped to better explain the basis for some of the "controversial" comments that he made which had been taken out of context. Sunday night, CNN gave Dr. Wright a forum to express himself uncut and unedited as he spoke at an NAACP banquet. And then on Monday, all hell broke loose. To step back for a moment, Sunday morning at my church, I could hear the hurt and betrayal Dr. Wright felt for all of the entities who canceled his speaking engagements after the Fox News ambush. Dr. Wright listed the Urban League as well as a number of black colleges who had uninvited him. It must hurt to see those you've spent a career advocating for turn their back on you due to nothing that you have done. But now we are at a new place and playing by a new set of rules. It is my belief that the media laid a trap for Dr. Wright on Monday. A trap which he sprung very much to their liking. I heard Dr. Wright answer questions posed to him ...

Earlier this month I got in a dust up with readers over a Vogue magazine cover featuring LeBron James. People tried to get me to believe that Vogue had no clue that the cover would bring thoughts of King Kong and Fay Wray. I guess those same people will try to get me to believe that this photo of Miley Cyrus in Vanity Fair was made with the best of intentions. Yes it's Billy Ray's job to protect Hannah Montana from sexual predators like Vanity Fair. It's hard to believe he would participate by posing for a photo like this one of he and Miley. But there is something larger at work here. Back to the broader point, these photographers and magazines know exactly what they are doing. How do I know this? Because Annie Leibovitz shot the Lebron James cover and the photos of Miley Cyrus. The popular media is trying to do everything that they can to shock us. And it pays real good. The news that we're being fed is not meant for our benefit. Whether it's LeBron Kong, a backless Hannah Cyrus, sound bites followed by an overdose of Jeremiah Wright, ...

A Brief for Whitey - HumanEvents.com   By Patrick Buchanan Posted: 03/21/2008   How would he pull it off? I wondered. How would Barack explain to his press groupies why he sat silent in a pew for 20 years as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright delivered racist rants against white America for our maligning of Fidel and Gadhafi, and inventing AIDS to infect and kill black people? How would he justify not walking out as Wright spewed his venom about "the U.S. of K.K.K. America," and howled, "God damn America!" My hunch was right. Barack would turn the tables. Yes, Barack agreed, Wright's statements were "controversial," and "divisive," and "racially charged," reflecting a "distorted view of America." But we must understand the man in full and the black experience out of which the Rev. Wright came: 350 years of slavery and segregation. Barack then listed black grievances and informed us what white America must do to close the racial divide and heal the country. The "white community," said Barack, must start "acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination -- and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past -- are real and must be ...

I guess it's because I have seen Dr. Jeremiah Wright preach so eloquently for so long, I just don't totally see the need for the media circus that took place today. As a member of Friendship-West Baptist Church the last ten years, I've heard my fair share of what some may deem as "socially charged" messages from my own pastor. But I am willing to take a step back and try to understand why others may have views that differ from my own regarding Dr. Wright's preaching. Dr. Wright closed out a month long celebration of the 25th Pastoral Anniversary of Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III by preaching at both the 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. services. At the first service Dr. Wright preached from John 5:1-13 with the subject When the Lord Stars in Your Story. In the second service Dr. Wright chose as his text Judges 19:22-30 and used as a subject "When the Church Fails its Women." It was a timely sermon regarding domestic abuse of African-American women. Sam Hodges, Bud Gillett, The Associated Press, Debbie Denmon, and I'm sure many other media types came out on Sunday to see what Dr. Wright would ...

On Friday evening Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III was honored with a reception in celebration of his 25th Anniversary as Senior Pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church.  There were tributes, gifts, music, and an overall festive atmosphere at the event held in the Friendship-West Narthex. Among the many well wishers present was Dr. Haynes' mentor and friend Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr.  When Dr. Wright was introduced to the five hundred plus that were gathered, he was greeted with enthusiastic applause.  It was good to see Dr. Wright with a smile on his face, and in an environment with people who  love and appreciate him. Also there to wish Dr. Haynes and Sister Debra Peek-Haynes well were Rep. Maxine Waters, State Senator Royce West, Pastor Curtis Wallace of Pilgrim's Rest in Dallas, Dr. Haynes' mother Lynetta Haynes-Oliver, and a host of other ministers, relatives and friends.  Pastor James Fitzgerald served as emcee for the evening and the event was organized by Mrs. Brenda Kirk who lead a reception committee. Dr. Haynes thanked those in attendance and invited everyone to come up so he could show his appreciation to them.  "I just love to shake hands with ya'll," Dr. Haynes said.  And he did just that, ...

The theme for Old School Friday is "Men With Perms." Mike had a curl then, but a perm now. This one goes out to Michael Jackson in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Thriller. This is a trip down memory land for many of us. Make sure to check out these other great Old School Friday posts: Electronic Village - Chatting Over Cocktails - Ms Grapevine - Quick - Marcus LANGFORD - Cassandra - Danielle-Lisa C -Chocl8t - DP - Kreative Talk -MarvalusOne ...

Is anyone surprised? As reported by the New York Times, "Three detectives were found not guilty Friday morning on all charges in the shooting death of Sean Bell, who died in a hail of 50 police bullets outside a club in Jamaica, Queens." Hours before his wedding this young life was taken. And apparently it was nobody's fault.

Everyone is pulling at the racial heart strings of America, except for the black candidate. Obama can't bring up race -because his race is a negative in the eyes of American voters- but Hillary Clinton is now playing to females, because it's a positive. Positive because females make up 54% of the population and 55% of registered voters. McCain made an odd trip to Selma last week, but his stroll down the streets of the lower 9th ward in New Orleans brings his strategy into focus. McCain called the government's response to Hurricane Katrina "a perfect storm" of mismanagement at the federal, state and local levels. "Never again, never again, will a disaster of this nature be handled in the disgraceful way it was handled," McCain said.  McCain is after black voters. While Hillary Clinton and her campaign continue to demonize Jeremiah Wright, Fmr. President Clinton stokes the racial flames in his own right. "No. I think that they (the Obama campaign) played the race card on me. And we now know, from memos from the campaign and everything, that they planned to do it all along," Clinton told a Philadelphia radio station. I think black ...

We've had a great new addition to Southern Dallas in recent weeks. Back in March, the first tenant of Wheatland Crossing (Target) opened their doors for business. Wheatland Crossing is a retail development just north or Interstate 20 and just west of Hampton Road. But as I drive around the "Red Bird" area, and especially Camp Wisdom Road, I wonder is Wheatland Crossing masking a significant net loss of businesses in the area. A number of tenants at Wheatland Crossing are simply packing up and moving down the street. The blame does not lie with the companies who are moving. The shopping experience at Target has been greatly enhanced since leaving the store that for years has been located at Cockrell Hill. But one has to wonder what will happen to the strip center that the store anchored - which is already only half to 2/3 occupied. The recruitment of new businesses to the area is key, but let's look at those who had invested in the area and are continuing that investment. Moving Over I remember a couple of years back when Chili's at Camp Wisdom and Highway 67 was open one day and closed ...

Land Development, Homeownership, Juvenile Justice System, Substance Abuse and the Return of New Orleanians on Summit Platform Dallas, TX – April 18, 2008 – Faith Formula Human Services is poised to keep the focus on poverty conditions in America. To this end, United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III, Senior Pastor of the Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas will join forces again to host the 3rd Annual Faith Summit on Poverty, April 25th and 26th , 2008 at the Friendship-West Worship and Conference Center, 2020 W. Wheatland Road; Dallas. The central theme and goal is to engage, enlighten and equip citizens to mobilize their city, state, county and federal elected officials, and community stakeholders to promote positive public policies geared to fight the War on Poverty! Opening political forum and workshops set a three fold agenda: (1) to take a microscopic look at America’s “Cradle to Prison Pipeline”; (2) to discuss openly and directly the causes of substance abuse and lack of treatment and recovery centers in the southern sector; and (3) to investigate the realities of land development in distressed communities. On Friday, a community job fair with over thirty-five employers ...