This is the part of the interview that the whole series revolves around. The first three parts of the Verdie Triplett interview last week focused on the history of the 5 Civilized Tribes and their slaves/freedman. This next part of the interview talks about how the tribes recently conspired to remove black folks from the nations and the fight that is still going on.

Set your DVRs and Tivos for Wednesday and Thursday night as Soledad O' Brien gives a ranging view of what it means to be Black in America. The program starts each night at 8 P.M. Central. I'll have a review of the show up at Dallas South on Wednesday morning. I will say that I enjoyed the presentation very much and on Wednesday I'll let you know why I think everyone should see this special report.

Some of you may remember that the issue of tasers aka stun guns has been a hot topic at Dallas South in the past. Last December, the Dallas Morning News reported the details of a Waxahachie man (African-American) who was tasered by police after calling 911 (in April of '07) for help with a diabetic seizure. Well there have been more cases of taser abuse across the nation as of late, and Howard Witt of the Chicago Tribune details another such instance. In his article Taser death ignites racial tension, Witt chronicles an incident that occurred in a small Louisiana town. At 1:28 p.m. last Jan. 17, Baron "Scooter" Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old man. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead. What happened in the 39 minutes in between--during which Pikes was handcuffed by local police and shocked nine times with a Taser device, while reportedly pleading for mercy--is now spawning fears of a political cover-up in this backwoods Louisiana lumber town infamous for backroom dealings. Even more ominously, because Pikes was black and the officer who repeatedly Tasered him is white, racial tensions over the case are mounting in a place that's just 40 miles from Jena, La. Jena is ...

I'd like to introduce another voice to Dallas South - and its a good one. Please welcome Jazzy, our newest guest blogger who I hope will drop by once a week. Jazzy publishes the blog Because I Said So so make sure you check out her site. Thanks J for agreeing to share your thoughts. By Jazzy Which comes first my womanhood or my blackness? This is a debate that I have had within myself since my sophomore year in college. A debate that I discuss often among my friends. Can you be a woman of color and differing ethnicity and separate these traits from your womanhood or must one take precedent above the other. I remember reading the Invisible Man in college and often felt invisible myself and wondered who if anyone has so eloquently written the story of the invisible black woman. Who do I belong to first? Who am I? Who needs me the most: the black community or women? I have come to the conclusion for me the two are inseparable. I am not one without the other; my womanhood is shaped by my race. I am unable to ...

by Earnest Gates We are beginning to embark upon a series of centennials for Black organizations. If the founders of these organizations could have looked 100 years into the future and see what we see now, they would have closed their doors and accepted second class citizenship. Look where we are today. The goal of the civil rights movement and movements before that one was not integration, it was equal opportunity and equal rights. The goal was not just to be able to go where White people can go and stay where White people can stay. Does integration mean come and join me and shut down what you have? Of course, it doesn't. In many ways "Black America" is worse off now than it was back then. Look at the number of Black men that are incarcerated, on parole or on probation. Look at the Black family today. Sometimes I wonder if there are people who are Black who benefit from Black misery. We can not afford to wait another 100 years. Hell, in 100 years we may not even exist! It is either now or never. There is no waiting until tomorrow.

Washington, D.C. – (July 15, 2008) Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson will hold panel discussions on wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations this Saturday, July 19. The event will consist of two discussion panels, one featuring three Texas exonerees and one featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, state Senator Rodney Ellis, District Attorney Craig Watkins and Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas. The discussions will be moderated by Judge John Creuzot.   Texas has more wrongful convictions proven by DNA evidence than any other state in the country, and of the 32 in the state, 19 were overturned in Dallas County.     A press conference will immediately precede the first discussion.     What: Panel Discussion: Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations   Date: Saturday, July 19     Time: 4:00 – 4:15 PM – Press Conference 4:15 – 5:00 PM – Panel One – Discussion featuring three Dallas exonorees 5:00 – 6:00 PM – Panel Two – Discussion featuring Michigan Congressman John Conyers, State Senator Rodney Ellis, District ...

For months I've championed Mozilla's Firefox as my internet browser of choice. So you can imagine how excited I was when I read an article in USA Today touting Window Snyder's role in the release of Mozilla's Firefox 3 Web Browser. Read "Geek" girl helps keep Mozilla safe in scary times Snyder serves as Chief of Security for Mozilla, though her official title is chief security something-or-other which is displayed on her business card. Here are some highlights from the USA Today article: In setting out to elevate Firefox's basic security, Snyder is also compelling Microsoft and Apple, maker of the Safari browser, to follow her lead — or get out of the way. "The fun is in deconstructing where the security holes are," Snyder, 32, says with a wry smile and knowing laugh. But don't let her youthful facade fool you. Snyder's career path includes co-founding a security company and consultant work at At Stake, which was sold to Symantec for $49 million in 2004. Dave Goldsmith, who as president of Matasano Security has worked with Snyder in various capacities, calls her an "online security rock star." Adds Eva Chen, CEO and co-founder of security company Trend Micro: "It's gratifying to see other women ...

The problem with satire is that most of the time people don't think it's funny.  Usually it's the very people the creator is trying to raise awareness about or advocate for.  The New Yorker, a so called liberal publication, isn't helping matters with this latest addition to media misx. Take one of my favorite movies, Spike Lee's Bamboozled from 2000.  I haven't met anyone besides myself who cares to much for it, or even lists it with Spike Lee's other joints.  When my wife and I saw it nearly a decade ago, people were walking out of the theater.  I got it, but I understand those who were not as amused as I was. In this instance, satire is unnessary.  We get it, folks think Obama's Muslim, blah, blah, blah.  The folks who came up with the Michelle Obama lynching picture used the same excuse as the New Yorker.  They're all pretty tired.  We get it.

Gina McCauley from What About Our Daughters is calling for action in the case of PFC Lavena Johnson. By all accounts PFC Johnson was murdered by her colleagues. Here's a recap of the story by WAOD & Jezebel: (Johnson) enlisted in the Army right out of high school in 2003 and was sent to Iraq, where she died. When the Army returned her mutilated body to her grieving parents as a suicide, her dad, Dr. John Johnson, said to himself and the Army coroner, "Somebody murdered my daughter and you picked the wrong person to fuck with." When LaVena's father finally brought himself to look at his daughter's corpse in 2005, sent home from Iraq with a report that she'd committed suicide by shooting herself in the left side of her head with an M-16 — which, by the way, is not a handgun but a relatively long rifle, he thought there was something wrong. Private LaVena Johnson's nose was broken, teeth were loose, one eye was concave and there were abrasions over her body. The supposed M-16 hole to the head was far too small for the revolver-sized exit wound, and was on the wrong side of her skull for ...

Thursday evening, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau launched a new web portal targeting African-Americans. The event was hosted at the African-American Museum in Fair Park. See the new web portal at www.visitblackdallas.com DCVB President and CEO Phillip Jones said that he considers the site part of the new face of Dallas. That face showcases Dallas' diverse citizens all working together. Mr. Jones said that he has targeted three African-American conventions that he hopes lure to Dallas now that the convention center hotel is coming on line: Bishop T.D. Jakes Mega Fest (South Africa '08) NAACP Annual Convention (Cincinnati '08) National Urban League Annual Conference (Orlando '08) Also having words at the event were State Senator Royce West, and Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce President Reginald Gates. Fitzgerald Dodd, Executive Chef at One Arts Plaza's newly opened SCREENDOOR Restaurant ,prepared hors d'oeuvrs for the evenings proceedings. Sederrick Raphiel and the design factory are responsible for much of the visual presentation involved in the project. They produced an excellent booklet, much of which is also present on the website. What I like most about how they presented African-Americans in Dallas is that all shades and colors are represented in the marketing pieces. The ...