- Better understand what motivates young people — particularly young people of color— to engage in progressive organizations and movements, including the Occupy Movement that spread nationwide in fall 2011;
- Identify what young social and racial justice advocates see as the major barriers to the realization of their societal vision and goals; and
- Gauge the extent to which, and why, young progressives feel that an explicit racial justice lens is essential to social justice struggles
When you download the 35-page report, you’ll find the questions asked in the focus groups, a summary of their findings, and recommendations. One of the things I found pretty interesting was the ranking of issues. Most popular social justice interests were:

1. Racial justice
2. Economic justice/class issues
3. Sexism and gender issues
4. Prisons and crime
5. Environment
6. Immigrant rights
7. Education
8. LGBTQ
9.Healthcare
10.Food justice
11.Worker’s rights
12. Housing

When BET announced it was partnering with Mara Brock-Akil on a new hour-long dramedy about a single, talk show host in Atlanta, I was curious to see who would snag the role. Film vet Gabrielle Union was tapped to star in the series, and although she’s a decent actress, I was a little disappointed BET and the Akils didn’t give a newbie a shot to carry the show. Similarly, when NBC announced it was piloting a nighttime soap opera about a cop who goes undercover in her rich family to solve a murder, they announced Meagan Good, an experience TV and film vet, would be anchoring the show.

While I’m certainly not complaining about seeing more black faces on TV, I wonder why when it comes to actors of color, new folks rarely an opportunity to shine, while their untested white counterparts seem to get a shot at starring roles.

In our bid to see more diversity on screen are is Hollywood doing us a disservice by just showcasing the same group of black actors over and over again and not cultivating fresh, new talent?

Speak on it, Clutchettes! 

I’m not exactly sure why it happens. I can spend a chunk of change on my mama, my son, and lord knows I laced my ex with some wonderful things, but when I’m contemplating buying something for myself I hear Suze Orman yelling in my ear, “You canNOT afford it, girlfriend!” even when I can.

I’ve passed up on some fly earrings, dresses, cute shoes, a new purse, and even delayed buying a car for YEARS, all because I felt guilty about spending the money on myself, the person who earned the money in the first place.

But why?

When it comes to treating myself, why do I have such a hard time laying down the cash, but when it comes to others I can give and give and give?

I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve read countless blogs about putting others first and women who gave their all to everyone else so much that there was nothing left for themselves. And so far, this hasn’t really been my experience. I love my alone time. I have no problem taking a break and doing my thing (so long as it’s free/low cost), but when it comes to buying myself something, I freeze up.

What about you?

Do you have a hard time spending money on yourself? How have you dealt with it?

Forty-nine years ago today the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union, was founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Back then the OAU included 32 countries and continued to expand as countries gained independence until South Africa finally joined in 1994.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon explained the importance of Africa Day:

“Each year, Africa Day provides an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of the peoples and governments of Africa.”

Africa Day is a yearly celebration highlighting the achievements, culture, advancements, and histories of Africa’s countries. Celebrations are held across the continent, the UK, U.S., and the Caribbean. Some events include concerts, business forums, cultural exchanges, and lectures.

Despite what is often broadcast in Western media, Africa is a diverse continent with histories and cultures that stretch back to the beginning of the Earth. While many choose to focus on Africa’s challenges, Africa Day reminds us to celebrate its rich past and promising future.

In honor of Africa Day, check out one of my favorite Nigerian artists, Fela Kuti.

Who are some of your favorite African icons?

The phone rings again. He did cancel on you last Friday. The LCD screen lights up; it wouldn’t take much to just drift over before it darkens and see who’s blowin’ up his cell.

Ten or fifteen years ago, confirming or debunking suspicions about a boyfriend’s possibly roving eye was a lot harder. You had to hope he’d get sloppy. You’d wait to find the slip of paper, where some girl at the club jotted her number, in his pocket. You’d look for the proverbial lipstick on the collar or sniff his clothes for cheap perfume. But now, checking up on a man is a whole lot easier. His social media feeds, status updates, Foursquare account, Instagram pics, phone call log, text messages, tagged photos, and apps are an open book.

It’s awfully tempting to look for clues. Even if you aren’t actively searching–and by actively searching, I mean checkin’ internet history, cached pages, and cookies, if there’s any dirt to find, it won’t be long before you locate it.

If there were any doubt that technology is playing a much bigger role in busting people for infidelity and/or breaking up couples who would’ve been happy, were it not for 24-hour access to their partners’ innermost random musings, a new UK-based study has revealed that Facebook is the third most responsible cause of divorce today. Statuses, messages, and wall postings are being used as admissible evidence in the legal proceedings, in the same way text messages and call logs are.

Have you ever checked a partner’s phone? Do you have his/her social media or email passwords? Does he have yours? Have you ever busted anyone for cheating using technology (or have you been busted yourself)?

Based on his lawyer’s advice and to avoid a possible life sentence, Banks pled no contest to the charges and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. After serving half his term, he was released and got the strangest request: his accuser friended him on Facebook.

When they decided to meet, Wanetta Gibson, 15 at the time of the alleged attack, admitted that she’d made up the whole story. Banks did not kidnap or rape her, and she agreed to help him try to clear his name, but with one condition: she didn’t want to testify in court.

Gibson’s family received a $1.5 million settlement from a civil lawsuit they field against the Long Beach schools and she feared that if she went to court she’d have to pay the money back.

ESPN reports:

Banks had tried to win release while he was in prison, but Brooks, a law professor and head of the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law in San Diego, said he could not have been exonerated without the woman coming forward and recanting her story.

Brooks said it was the first case he had ever taken in which the defendant had already served his time and had been free for a number of years.

Banks remained on probation, however, and was still wearing his electronic monitoring bracelet at Thursday’s hearing. His lawyer said the first thing the two planned to do was report to probation officials and have it removed.

“The charges are dismissed now,” Brooks said. “It’s as if it didn’t happen. … It was the shortest, greatest proceeding I’ve ever been part of.”

Banks had been arrested after Gibson said he met her in a school hallway and urged her to come into an elevator with him. The two had been friends since middle school and were in the habit of making out in a school stairwell, according to court papers.

There were contradictions in Gibson’s story, as she told some people the rape happened in the elevator and others that it happened in the stairwell.

A kidnapping enhancement was added to the case because of the allegation Banks had taken her to the stairwell. That enhancement also was thrown out Thursday.

Outside court, Banks donned a sweat shirt that read “Innocent,” as several friends and family members wept. His parents were jubilant, and Banks thanked them for standing by him.

“I know the trauma, the stress that I’ve been through, but I can’t imagine what it’s like to have your child torn from you,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done without my parents.”

Now that he’s cleared his name, Gibson hopes to still make it to the NFL and his attorney has asked several pro teams to give the 26-year-old a shot. And while the odds are certainly stacked against him, I won’t count him out just yet.

Of her decision to move her father, with whom her adult relationship has been fractured, into her home, she had this to say:

“Well, I am a child of God,” she said. “I believe in God, and I also believe in the quote ‘honor thy mother and thy father.’ No matter what, I’m always going to be there for my family,” she said.

This begs the questions: is honor subjective? Should it be contingent on how your parents treated you growing up and/or how they treat you now? What are its limitations, if any? What all does it entail?

It’s a popular running joke that adult kids “threaten” to put their parents in a home, if they disagree with them or feel like they aren’t respecting their maturity. But what about in cases where there’s a legitimate estrangement, there was childhood abuse, or the parent was chronically or permanently absent? Should “honoring” them extend to taking on the responsibility of in-home care?

In interviews, Li’l Kim is downplaying the rockiness of her relationship with her dad, but at age 15, she famously stabbed him with a pair of scissors during a physical altercation, which led to her being kicked out of the house. Now that he can no longer care for himself, it’s admirable that she’s stepping in to assist in his daily care.

Under similar circumstances, would you?

Previous studies have indicated that personality arises from underlying genetic mechanisms that may directly affect health. The present study of 243 of the centenarians (average age 97.6 years, 75 percent women) was aimed at detecting genetically-based personality characteristics by developing a brief measure (the Personality Outlook Profile Scale, or POPS) of personality in centenarians.

“When I started working with centenarians, I thought we’d find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery,” said Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research, director of Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research and co-corresponding author of the study. “But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life. Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing. They considered laughter an important part of life and had a large social network. They expressed emotions openly rather than bottling them up.”

What tips do you have for staying optimistic and choosing happiness?

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Summertime

Lighter Shade of Brown – On A Sunday Afternoon

The Dove Shack – Summertime in the LBC

Arrested Development – Everyday People

Lauryn Hill – Doo-Wop (That Thing)

What are your favorite summer jams?

“Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.”-Mary Lou Retton

What turns you on? Not just in that way, but in every way? What are you passionate about? What do you loooove more than anything in the world?

Having a hard time thinking of something? It’s time to light your fire.

I used to go through life on autopilot. My temper very even, my demeanor extremely laid back, and my passion for things hovering right around a low simmer. I chalked it up to being from California, we are  a bit more relaxed, but something else was going on: I was living a lackluster life.

Instead of having really memorable experiences, my reactions were always dulled, my responses to most things was always controlled because I felt I need to present a certain image: cool, calm, collected at all times. Never mind that wasn’t how I really was at every single moment, I was living my life in such a way that never really ignited my fire. I worked a job that was draining all of my energy, I responded to my son in less than enthusiastic ways, and my relationship wasn’t giving me the spark (or anything) I needed.

But when I finally decided to stop simply sleep-walking through life, amazing things began happen. I switched jobs, met some awesome people, and put a few stamps in my passport. I started actually living and what I’ve noticed is that being on fire is 1000 times better than just getting by.

As we move into a long weekend, consider trying things that feed your passion. Do you love the water? Get on a jet ski! Want to write a novel? Start one! Love cooking? Make your family a delicious meal! Whatever it is…just do it. And soon you’ll see you’ll be craving more opportunities to live a more passionate life.

Have a good weekend, Clutchettes. Happy Friday!