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.

Thanks -as always- to Farai Chideya, Devin Robins, and all the folks at NPR's News and Notes for allowing me to participate on today's bloggers roundtable. I was on with Shay Riley of Booker Rising, and Arlene Fenton of Black Women Vote. We discussed the "fairness doctrine", Ralph Nader, and increased traffic at white supremacist websites.   Click on the picture above to listen to our segment.

This was a pretty big deal for me.  CNN contacting me about running  a post about the MLK special and  I asked for an email interview with Soledad O'Brien.  Simple enough, but then they asked  if I'd like to do the interview live.  Uh...yeah.  Interviewing Ms. O'Brien was one of the coolest things I've done with this blog to date. Here's something I wrote in the comments section of the post. I had talked to some folks who mentioned how the sound in the interview cuts out a little towards the end, thinking that the call was dropping or something. To pull the curtain back a little, I was conducting the interview sitting in my car over the phone. Well when you hear some noise around minute 7 or 8, it had actually started raining outside. I prayed that it wouldn’t last, and it was only a sprinkle, but that’s what you’re hearing - Rain hitting the top of the car. Thanks again to Soledad and CNN. April 3rd, 2008 · 14 Comments Dallas South is excited to share with you an interview I conducted with CNN Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien. We talked about tonight’s special airing at 8 p.m. Central on CNN titled ...

Dallas South is excited to share with you an interview I conducted with CNN Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien. We talked about tonight's special airing at 8 p.m. Central on CNN titled The King Assassination:Witness to Murder. You can click on the sound tab below to hear the entire 10 minute interview. [audio:Soledad Interview MP3.mp3] I started the interview by asking how the CNN Special came about. Here's her response: The project really came about more than a year ago because of our bosses at CNN, who thought more than a year ago that it was time to (take) a look at the opportunities and obstacles that African-Americans have had in this country. And the timing would work out well if you looked down a year and you saw it was the 40th Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King. So it begs the question...what has happened since his assassination? I then asked her if she saw any differences in the way the media covered African-Americans since the Jena 6 rally. If there has been a change, i don't think it's bee a seismic change. I think what's made a big change, actually, is the election. Because ...

George Cook of the website Let's Talk Honestly did a special report in which he interviewed myself and other bloggers.  The interviews revolved around Black Bloggers' reaction towards Michael Baisden and comments he made by towards the organization Color of Change . Click here to listen to the interviews. Other Bloggers who were interviewed include: Dwight Hunter Exodus Mentality Yobachi Boswell blackperspective.net Garlin Gilchrist II thesuperspade.com Gina McCauley What About Our Daughters 

Dallas City Councilwoman Angela Hunt scored a major political victory when she and TrinityVote secured over 80,000 signatures to force a referendum to alter the tollroad portion of the Trinity River project.  Dallas City Secretary Deborah Watkins certified the signatures, and a November vote will allow Dallas voters decide the fate of road.  Angela Hunt granted Dallas South an interview regarding the latest developments regarding the Trinity. Dallas South Blog:  First off congratulations on successfully gathering over 80,000 signatures to force a referendum on the Trinity River Toll Road.  How do you feel about what you and TrinityVote were able to accomplish? Angela Hunt:  Thank you.  It's been really amazing.  The fact that more people signed our petition than passed the original Trinity River proposition or voted for our current mayor, that's incredible.  We've also had broad support and volunteers from across the city.  I think it really speaks to the fact that the people of Dallas want the Trinity Park they were promised and they don't want a huge toll road to ruin it. Visit TrinityVote by clicking here. DSB:  What is the best possible outcome, regarding a Trinity toll road, for the citizens of Dallas? ...

Keite Young's name has been swirling around various R&B circles througout the year.  I happened to stumble upon one of Keite's tracks on the Black Music Month 2007 CD, where his single If We Were Alone (with N;Dambi) is featured with the likes for Tank, Kirk Franklin, Mya, and Sunshine Anderson.  The Ft. Worth native was kind enough to send me an advanced copy of his forthcoming CD The Rise and Fall of Keite Young, as well as grant me an interview regarding its release. Dallas South Blog: Keite how would you describe your debut CD with Hidden Beach Recordings: The Rise and Fall of Keite Young?   Keite Young: The Rise & Fall of Keite Young represents a journey inward. I want to share my perspective on the Human Experience based on personal yet common situations and circumstances. Some may be more positive while others more tragic, but those are the "ups and downs" (in effect, The Rise & Fall) that we all experience...  DSB:  Who have been the biggest influences on your music and on your career.  K.Y.: well, there's Little Richard, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sly Stone, Al Green, Sam Cooke, Jimi Hendrix, Led ...

DSB: Have there been any noticeable changes in the mood of the city since Paris, Texas gained nationwide attention? BC: OhhhYes. It has made a lot of those in the African-American community hopeful. It has angered many in the white community and some people are on the attack.  There is an ever increasing siege mentality, fostered by the newspaper and those few radio stations in town. They have shifted the responsibility, avoided and denied complicity in their being the cause of the problem in the first place. The victim ShaQuanda and her mother has, instead, become the perpetrator of a greater “crime” of degrading of the city and its people, by not shutting up. So the misinformation and lies surrounding her conviction are now being multiplied and justified with more new lies and slander about her and her mother. And these are accepted as being ‘true’ without one question ever being raised. They should have just accepted the injustice and moved on with their lives or so goes the popular thinking. And now, because others did not come forth and tell their story, other families are now coming under attack in the same way, but with ...

Dallas South Blog: What is the purpose of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality? Brenda Cherry:   We formed CCFRE in 2003 after we filed complaints regarding PISD staff calling black children names such as stupid and lazy. We also noticed that on a daily basis, approx 90% of the students sitting in detention and OCS were African-American. We asked one of the assistant principals why Afican-American children were punished at such a higher percentage than white children. He said it was because black parents are not able to be proper parents because black parents come from a lower socio-economic status and have single parents households. He stated that his family “was poor when he was a child but his family was clean”. When the school board disregarded our complaints, we asked the Paris NAACP to look into it. Robert High was Vice-President of the NAACP as well as an assistant to the PISD superintendent. His response was “I’m not going to sit here and let you talk bad about my school”. The chief of police also blew off any complaints we filed. The same for complaints regarding housing. That lead us to form CCFRE, because we realized that there ...

When I flipped to the GuideLive section of Wednesday's Dallas Morning News, I noticed a familiar grouping of colors and shapes.  It was the work of my childhood friend Trenton Doyle Hancock.  That particular piece is seen above, and called Good Vegan Progression #2. It is part of exhibit "Fast Forward:Contemporary Collections for the Dallas Museum of Art."  I contacted my friend and asked him for an interview about 'Good Vegan' as well has some other things he has going.   Trenton was born in Oklahoma City but grew up in Paris, Texas.  Our mothers were both church musicians and good friends, so we spent a lot of time playing together growing up.  He always seemed to be drawing something, and took a keen interest in toys.  After graduation, our lives took different paths.  Trenton first attended Paris Junior College (where he's recognized as a Distinguished Alumni) then went on to received his Bachelor's of Fine Arts from Texas A&M-Commerce.  He shared a studio there with John Spriggins. I kept up with Trent through my mom, but the next time I actually saw him was in the Dallas Morning News for a show he was doing at the Ft. Worth ...