Freedom thru Speech

The black vote is important because it represents the behavior of a group of people whose voting power had been denied. However, the black vote is unique because African American voting behavior is intrinsically rooted in the people's history. Since the Reconstruction, the general behavior of blacks is to vote in block, either for one party or the other. Until Roosevelt came into the presidency and began the New Deal, blacks were committed to the Republican party. So what happened? Looking back at the 2008 presidential elections, where black voted overwhelmingly Democrat, the question still remains: Just what went wrong or has changed? Tonight we'll break it down with a robust panel of guests representative of Democrats, Republican, and Independents. Most notably to present the case for the Republican party, will be Claudio Simpkins and Lenny McAllister, both of the Hip Hop Republican. Also joining us would be Kris Broughton of Brown Man Thinking Hard, Joshua Lazards of Uppity Negro Network, and Kriss of The Insanity Report - all notable writers and contributors within the black blogosphere. Central to our discussion is the question: Which party today, best represents the interest of black America? Tonight, our guests will all make their best case for the parties with whom they identify. Do join us, feel free to share your opinions, and you be the judge, on Freedom Thru Speech Radio at 8pm EST/7pm CST.

Do me a favor, please. Go to the mirror and take a good long look at yourself. What do you see? Take a good look at your facial features, your hair, your body type, the lines in your face, the various scars, and tell me what you see. Are you pleased at what you see? How does this affect you interaction with others? How does this influence your attitude and outlook on life? I know that my questions are a lot to hit you with this morning, but my questioning does serve a purpose. Theory posits the human body as a historical narrative, a broad palimpsest—a scroll written on and over innumerable times—that invariably proceeds us. Even before we open our mouths, even before we have the chance to speak for ourselves, to allow others to get to know us, our body and its various adornments are always already presenting its own biography. The question then becomes just how much this body narrative affects us in our day to day lives. Just how much does this narrative coincide with our own self-image? Just how much does this narrative dictate our actions? The African American Body Image is the theme of our discussion tonight over at Freedom thru Speech Radio on BlogTalkRadio. Please join me and my co-hosts RiPPa of The Intersection of Madness and Reality and The Janitor of The Urban Politico. Also sitting in on the panel tonight will be @MelzieC of The Curvy Girl Chronicles, Tondalaya from Club Cushions, and our old friend Nic McClean of My Fabulous Boobies.

Where it concerns the criminal justice system and the minority communities—primarily African American and Hispanic, something has changed. Perhaps my experience is unique, but when I was a child, those families in my community with family members incarcerated were few and far between, at least, as far as we knew because going to prison, or the “pen” as my grandmother called it, was deemed disgraceful, so families often went to great pains to hide the incarceration of a family member. But today there is hardly any family that has not been affected the incarceration of a family member. According to the numbers, in 1980 only 350,000 were incarcerated; by the turn of the century, that number had increased to over 2 million. But let me ask you this question: Why do you believe this is so? Join us at Freedom thru Speech Radio as we discuss this nation’s criminal justice system and seek to answer these questions and more. Tonight we will be introducing our new co-host, The Janitor of the blog Urban Politico. Also, gracing us with their presence is The Prisoner’s Wife of the blog This Side of the Wall and LoveBabz of the blog Lovebabz: A Life in Transition.

At one time, the United States of America boasted of the very best educational system in the world. However, of late that system has declined precipitously; we now rank about 10th worldwide. And consider this statistic: A full seventy-five percent (75%) of African American and Hispanic students attended school in schools or school districts that are considered failing. This means that within an educational system already rapidly careening toward crisis, African American and Hispanic school children are already perhaps there. But how did we get where we are now? What can we or should we reasonably expect from our educational system? What can we do to fix our educational system, or at the very least, make it work for us? Join us as we consider these and many more questions and issues as we discuss "Public Education and the Minority Community."

Let me repeat a question that I’ve posed many times before: What is the Black Agenda? I keep hearing about this “Black Agenda,” but as of yet, no one has been able to articulate a cohesive, coherent Black Agenda for me. And on yesterday Tavis Smiley convened a panel of august African American community leaders, religious leaders, and scholars to discuss just that—The Black Agenda. However, at the end of four hours, I still had not gotten a better grasp of this agenda though one of the panelists did suggest that those in attendance and those looking on could purchase a copy of this agenda in the form of Tavis Smiley’s book, but no real consensus seemed to be reached. But this show is our attempt to make sense of the proceedings of that summit. Did that summit meet your expectations? What do you think was accomplished by that summit? What are you feelings toward the proceedings of that conference? Did that summit inspire you, spur you to act? Come and join our own august panel of guests as we get to the bottom of this Black Agenda.

African American history has always fascinated and inspired me. The African American history narrative tells the story of a group of people overcoming against all odds. However, if we examine African American history closely, we find it to be comprised of millions upon millions of smaller individual narratives, narratives of people who have overcome various obstacles—to include poverty, severe illness, drug abuse, promiscuity, and a myriad other negatives—to find happiness, to find success, to find wholeness. This show features several individuals with engaging narratives of “how they got over,” of how, when facing seemingly insurmountable odds, they managed to persevere and prevail. Listen in as Nicole McLean of My Fabulous Boobies, Nina Brewton of Be Inspired, and Michael Staff of My II Sense shared their compelling narratives with you and be inspired.

A round table discussion on the relevance “Black Leadership” in the Obama age. Using the recent controversial and very public disagreement between Al Sharpton & Tavis Smiley on national radio, we’ll explore said controversy to expand on the idea of a “Black Agenda.” Or what exactly is a “Black Agenda”. How do we incorporate said agenda in our perceived “post-racial” society? How do we go about communicating said agenda and is said “agenda” a political liability for Barack Obama? Most importantly, we’ll discuss the division within our community caused by said agenda and try to come up with a solution as to just what is best for Black America. We’ll also explore the New York Times’ piece on the CBC, and discuss their relevancy as it relates the Black electorate at large. Are they, like “Black Leadership,” doing enough for Black America?

Who killed Whitley Gilbert? Have all the Boyz left the Hood? The Jacks ain't new anymore, and no one seems to be fighting the power. But we're on the case! This week Max, Rip, and Michele ponder just what happened to all our quality 90's entertainment. Join us to discuss your favorites as we try to get over our Love Jones for quality movies, music, and television, and try to ascertain where it has all gone.

Last January, the world looked on with anticipation at the inauguration of the very first African American president. However, almost one year later, the voices of dissent abound. How do you think President Obama has performed this past year? Not only that, what is his responsibility to the African American community? For this episode, we have special guests Jay Anderson from averagebro.com and Thembi Ford of whatwouldthembido.com sitting in. The only voice that is missing is yours, so tune in, call in, and let your voice be heard.

Years ago, Charles Barkley made the statement, “I'm not a role model...Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids.” Following that statement, intense and pointed debate ensued concerning the actual roles and responsibilities of multi-millionaire athletes and celebrities in regards to the greater community. Now recent events—the fall of Tiger Woods and the curious case of one Mr. Gilbert Arenas readily come to mind—offer an occasion to revisit that debate. Do athletes and celebrities deserve the intense scrutiny that surrounds them? Should they be held more accountable for their actions than other people? Come on over and let us know what you think. The most important voice in this conversation is yours!

With our first show of the new year, we plan to work on a game plan for success for 2010. First, let’s continue our discussion on single women looking for Mr. Right - is it really an epidemic or is it just sexy marketing? Certified life coach and matchmaker Paul Brunson of onedegreefrom.me will be on hand to help us with this hot potato as will always intelligent blogger Tracy Renee Jones from mebeinganonymous.blogspot.com and tracyreneejones.com. It’s 2010, and African Americans excelling in every field, however, the images and representations of our community in the media remain negative. Where to point the finger? Or should we just look in the mirror? We also cannot forget that our co-host Michele Grant just published her first book, Heard It All Before, which hit book stores January 1st. We'll take the time to discuss her new book. Max Reddick and RiPPa are on the mic as well. So all we really need now is you… Tune in and speak up because on Freedom Through Speech Radio… the floor is yours.

If you missed last week's show, don't make that mistake again because this show promises to be red hot and just in time for Christmas. This episode we will be discussing HCR (or the lack thereof), Senator Lieberman, the president's falling poll numbers, and we also take a look forward to the 2010/2012 elections. Also, the Washington Post article "Successful, black, and lonely" has caused quite a stir around the blogosphere this week, and we think it deserves to be discussed in depth. Seattle Slim of happynappyhead.com, tracyreneejones of tracyreneejones.com, and CareyCarey of Carey Me Home will be on hand as guest hosts to lend their unique perspectives. So, log on, listen in, and above all, let your voice be heard because the most important voice in this conversation is your voice.

This week’s topic: Choices. Listen in as Max, Michele and Rip discuss the question of the day – Is it just us or are people making some character-defining choices these days? Tiger Woods’ choice to cheat and cover it up, Barack Obama’s decision to escalate in Afghanistan and the unfortunate series of choices that ended Maurice Clemmons’ life. Call in and share your opinion as we cover this and anything else that comes to mind. Raise your voice and be heard on a show with no rules, all exceptions… Freedom through Speech Radio.

Please tamp down your expectations. This is our pilot episode (second try) just to see how this thing works and get a feel for the blog talk radio medium. But feel free to listen in and please do phone in and become a part of the conversation. We welcome your feedback.