Inside from the Inside » Tom Worth

Tom Joyner, Still Doing It the Right Way

Tom Worth — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:21:36 +0000

Riding around in Tommy B.’s car in the summer in Dallas, back in high school from ’85-’88, Tom Joyner’s weekday morning show on KKDA would invariably be in the background. He had the “black” songs that other stations wouldn’t play until they made it to cross-over status. Sure, you’d eventually get your Run DMC, a [...]

Can’t We All Be Cool As Connick?

Tom Worth — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:53 +0000

Harry Connick handled the situation perfectly, without the luxury of thinking about the “right” thing to do or say. While taping a tv show in Australia, he was taken aback and visibly disturbed by a performing group doing a Jackson Five routine in “blackface”. Apparently, this is not offensive in Australia – but I wonder [...]

Giving Up On Your Own People

Tom Worth — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:40:16 +0000

Veronica had at least two tribes of which she considered her and her family members: black, and poor. Her dad made the decision to abandon one (the black group) in favor of joining another poor group, this one predominantly white. I’m sure if he could have chosen to desert the poor group and join a [...]

Chicago Black

Tom Worth — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:51:46 +0000

The world will learn of the location of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in a few hours. Chicago, Illinois has officially been eliminated, along with Tokyo, as of right now. I’ve seen 3 pictures on the internet of individuals making pitches in Copenhagen, Denmark on behalf of Chicago: Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and President Barack [...]

How Much is $11.6 Trillion, Really?

Tom Worth — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:49:23 +0000

Barry Ritholtz, one of the nation’s top economics bloggers, tracks the true expected costs of the banking system bailout. His figure of $14 trillion has now dropped to a paltry $11.6 trillion, and knowing how important it is to put that into perspective for the rest of humanity, he offers this: To put $11.6 trillion [...]

Hope Don’t Beat Outrage

Tom Worth — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:37:04 +0000

Nobody reads feel-good stories. Why is that? Is it because we don’t believe good things actually can and do happen, or if they do, then it’s a fluke? I mean, we all know bad things happen; the question there is just a matter of how often or how bad. And face it: doesn’t it make [...]

You Want Ideas? Here’s An Idea!

Tom Worth — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:40:49 +0000

You cannot remove the racist from the person. There, I said it. But you CAN do things to immunize people on the wrong side of the institutional racism equation, many of whom have their demographics under-represented in the halls of academia and the ranks of the college degree-requiring professions, from some of the effects of [...]

Could It Be 90 Years Before Another Black President Is Elected?

Tom Worth — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:44:46 +0000

During the 18 years following the conclusion of the Civil War, the state of Texas elected 3 African-Americans to the State Senate. There were also 32 African-Americans elected to the State House of Representatives during that time. 1883 was the year that the Texas State Senate saw its last African-American member leave office for quite [...]

Fighting Against Ghosts

Tom Worth — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:04:52 +0000

The problem is that there is nothing real, tangible, flesh and blood, or for that matter, ink on paper, to fight against. A battle against an attitude, or a state of mind, or a personally held belief, would not seem to be a winnable battle, any more than would be a battle against an army [...]

Does “Mainstream America” = “White America?”

Tom Worth — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:53:44 +0000

Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star does his best to get through to incoming NBA rookies. This year, he was partnered with Dr. Harry Edwards, sociology professor, to drive home some messages that the players need to receive so that they have a better chance to make the most of their off-court and on-court [...]