What issues are Black voters talking about the most right now?Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy illustrates the importance of talk radio among black Americans. To help predict how this medium may influence the upcoming presidential elections, the Center for Media and Public Affairs examined the political content of black talk radio shows during the 2006 national elections.
Throughout the final week of the 2006 election campaign, CMPA analyzed 62 hours of programming from four shows that address politics and public policy issues for a national audience: The Bev Smith Show, Al Sharpton Show, Lincoln Ware Show, and The Black Eagle, hosted by Joe Madison.
MAJOR FINDINGS:
- Minority Focus: Fewer than half of all issue discussions (46 percent) focused on their relevance for African Americans. The majority dealt with the issues without reference to the black community. The top five issues were:
1. The economy (44 discussions); 2. Iraq War (27); 3. Affirmative action (29); 4. Crime and drugs (15); 5. Education (13).
Bashing Both Parties: The two major political parties were evaluated over 700 times by hosts, callers, and guests. Four out of five comments (81 percent) were critical of Republicans. But so were three out of five comments (60 percent) about Democrats. In addition, two out of three discussions (68 percent) concluded that Democrats take black voters for granted.
- Bashing Black Voters: Every evaluation of the black community (100 percent) was negative. African Americans were criticized for not participating in elections, for blindly accepting the views of black clergy, and for making bad choices at the polls.
- The Host Factor: Program hosts criticized Democrats nearly as much as Republicans (69 percent v. 73 percent negative evaluations.) However, this mainly reflected Lincoln Ware's support for Ken Blackwell, the Republican candidate for governor of Ohio. The other three hosts combined for almost unanimous criticism of Republicans - 98 percent negative comments, compared to 66 percent negative comments about Democrats.
I encourage more Kossacks to read or do more research like this. I believe there is a large disconnect between what the larger American pundit class think Blacks care about, and what they really do!
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POLITICS
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I am quite active in GOTV drives. It's hard work, canvasing, making phone calls, ect. So what if I told you there was an easier way to get voters who vote 9:1 Democratic to vote on more local races? What if I told you they were already at the polls? Based on this article this alone cost Democrats on seat in the US House of Reps (Larry Kissel in NC) African-American Voters More Prone to Ballot Non-Completion, Voter roll-off (voting for the more important offices near the top of a ballot, while not voting for lesser offices or ballot propositions) is a common, but rarely studied feature of voter behavior.
Research suggests that African-Americans are more likely to roll-off than white voters. In a new study published in Politics & Policy, Douglas G. Feig of Mississippi State University examines voter data from three southern states with sizeable black populations: Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina, to provide new insight into race and roll-off voting.
"Considering the magnitude of roll-off, its immediate connection to voting-the foundational act of participation in modern democratic societies-and its apparent dependence on the voter's racial and social status background, it is a subject deserving of more attention from political scientists," says Feig.
The study confirms earlier evidence that African-American voters are more likely to roll-off than white voters, both on lesser offices and, especially, on ballot propositions. Both black and white voters are less likely to roll-off on ballot propositions dealing with race than on other issues, but African-American roll-off remains markedly higher even on race-related ballots, including issues dealing with constitutional bans on interracial marriage.
Getting candidates, especially down tickets candidates to spend more time on voter education in Black precinks would yield more votes. I see more campaign literature, and signs saying "Blank popular public figure endorses candidate X", instead of just candiate X name, in Black precinks, would help get more votes we are leaving literally at the ballot box!
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INTERNATIONAL
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China has been moving in on Africa for a number of years many people are just starting to notice. China, Filling a Void, Drills for Riches in Chad
Chad is as geographically isolated as places come in Africa. It is also among the continent’s poorest and least stable countries, the scene of recurrent civil wars and foreign invasions since it gained independence from France in 1960.
None of that has put off the Chinese, though. In January, they bought the rights to a vast exploration zone that surrounds this rural village, making the baked wilderness here, without roads, electricity or telephones, the latest frontier for their thirsty oil industry and increasingly global ambitions.
The same is happening in one African country after another. In large oil-exporting countries like Angola and Nigeria, China is building or fixing railroads, and landing giant exploration contracts in Congo and Guinea.
In mineral-rich countries that had been all but abandoned by foreign investors because of unrest and corruption, Chinese companies are reviving output of cobalt and bauxite. China has even become the new mover and shaker in agricultural countries like Ivory Coast, once the crown jewel in France’s postcolonial African empire, where Chinese companies are building a new capital, in Yamoussoukro, paid for by Chinese loans.
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All I can say is "Big up" to these young men. Imagine that! Jamaican students atop IT world
OUR YOUNG men, guided by their nearly-as-young tutor, made it to the finals of this year's software innovation competition, run internationally by Microsoft. Competing against much larger countries, some of them with much stronger information technology (IT) systems, these students of Northern Caribbean University (NCU) placed third in the Imagine Cup competition.
Jamaican young men often appear in the news for less laudable reasons. We congratulate Imran Allie, Ayson Baxter, Damion Mitchell and Conroy Smith, who have done themselves, their institution and their country proud.
Microsoft, itself built on innovations by young people in the IT sector, since 2002 has been running the Imagine Cup competition to encourage IT students to develop software solutions to social problems, solutions which can make the world a betterplace. This year's theme was 'Imagine a world where technology enables a better education for all'. The NCU team did, and designed Computer-Aided Distance Instruction (CADI) software, which, among other things, can perform real time translations in the top 12 languages of the world. The sponsoring company for the competition, Microsoft, says the software is set to revolutionise distance learning globally.
Competing against some 100,000 students from over 100 countries, the Jamaican team won in the Latin American and Caribbean regional competition and went on to the world competition in Seoul, South Korea, to take third place in the world.
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CULTURE
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This is an issue that is often overlooked. Foster Care Population: Minority Kids In Majority
When child advocates in Connecticut look at the faces of children in foster care, they can't help but notice that most of them are black or Hispanic.
Statewide, African American children make up nearly 36 percent of those in foster care, even though they make up only 11 percent of the state's overall child population, according to the Department of Children and Families.
It is similar for Hispanics: They make up about a quarter of the foster care population, but only 13 percent of the general population.
And, ultimately, the percentage of minority children who enter foster care is higher than the percentage of minority children in society.
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I just thought this was an uplifting story. It shows the power of progressives with faith. Hip-Hop's Pastor, Rev. Moss Reaches Inner-City Youths and a Senator at Chicago's Trinity UCC
The Rev. Otis Moss III is striking in a raw way. Broad-faced, boyish and slender, the 36-year-old preacher looks more like a man who is consumed with fashion than the fate of sinners.
But when he steps into the large pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ -- the South Side church that presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) calls home -- and begins to preach, all eyes are drawn to him.
"JE-sus is the one who puts the devil in his p-la-ce," Moss says, stretching "place" into three syllables. The choir standing behind him, more than 100 strong, seems to fade away. Moss holds a microphone in one hand and moves his free hand to the beat of his sermon. He seems incapable of uttering a dead sentence.
For the next hour, Moss rolls Scripture and hip-hop lyrics around in the same thoughts as he criticizes the mind-set of young black males who'd rather play basketball than learn physics. He goes after Bush administration policies, the war in Iraq and the United States' free-market economy.
Such talk in any of the white churches across town would make the congregation squirm. Not so at Trinity, where the words are met with exuberant clapping, standing ovations and loud exclamations of "Yes, pastor!"
Named one of the "Twenty to Watch" ministers under 40 by the African American Pulpit magazine and one of the most influential African American religious leaders by the Web site Beliefnet.com, Moss was handpicked by Trinity's senior pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., to succeed him in 2008 because of Moss's growing reputation in reaching inner-city youths.
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As always we should remember those who have come before us. Pioneering black women to honor Gibson
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Aretha Franklin, Carol Moseley Braun and other pioneering black women will come together on the U.S. Open’s opening night to celebrate the legacy of late tennis star Althea Gibson.
The USTA is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Gibson’s historic title at the U.S. National Championships. In 1957, she became the first black tennis player, male or female, to win the tournament, which became the Open.
"Tennis has its own Jackie Robinson, and we want to tell the world the story," said Arlen Kantarian, the USTA’s chief executive of pro tennis.
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LAW
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I thought I knew everything about this issue, but this article opened my eyes. The system is more unfair then I thought in many states. I am all for Law and Order, but I also believe in fairness, why are Rich and poor people being treated differently, shouldn't the punishment be in line with a person assets? Washington State's system for restoring voter rights unfair, unwieldy
Consider two people who are convicted of felonies. Both go to prison and serve their time. But one is able to vote upon release from custody, while the other will not be able to vote for many years after release, perhaps ever.
What makes the difference — seriousness of the offense? Length of sentence? Personal history?
In Washington, the answer is "none of the above." The person with more money is far more likely to regain the right to vote. This is because of a state law — recently upheld by the Washington Supreme Court — under which the right to vote will be restored only after payment of all court costs and other related financial obligations. And that includes interest, which accrues at 12 percent per year.
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This is a follow up to last weeks stop story.
Black Pillar Dissolves in Debt and Unrest
A federal judge’s order to liquidate the assets of Your Black Muslim Bakery will shutter one of this city’s black nationalist institutions, a step called long overdue by many members of the clergy and community activists.
"They had veered far, far away from the basic tenets of the Muslim faith," said Amos C. Brown, senior pastor at the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco. "They had become agents and perpetrators of terror and vigilantism."
The bankruptcy ruling late Thursday to pay off some $900,000 in debt and back taxes came a week after the killing of a local journalist, Chauncey W. Bailey Jr., a case in which a handyman employed by the bakery is a prime suspect.
Mr. Bailey, who had been investigating the bakery’s finances for a newspaper story, was shot at close range in daylight in downtown Oakland on Aug. 2.
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Money
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This is a story that could be written about a number of areas, it's on the decline and slow rebirth of a neighborhood. The Triangle: A neighborhood tries to overcome its past
These days, life for the residents of the tiny, scarred neighborhood wedged between 151st Street and Northwest 22nd and 17th avenues in the city of Opa-locka is governed by two simple questions: How does a neighborhood sour, and can it be made fresh again?
To the approximately 1,400 people who live in the often deadly zone officially called Magnolia North, but commonly known as The Triangle for its shape and the steel guardrails that hem it in, the answers could shape their future.
To document hopes and reality facing this neighborhood, a Miami Herald reporter spent recent weeks in The Triangle, talking day and night with everyday people who believe that this is not an isolated island without a future, that it can overcome its recent past and once again become a place to raise families.
What The Miami Herald found was that after decades of rampant drug dealing, crumbling housing stock, frequent shootings and the sewing of a seemingly tear-proof veil of fear by gang members, The Triangle is at a rare tipping point.
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This is a nice move on their part. Viacom pledges $1.5 million for MLK memorial
Media conglomerate Viacom Inc., which owns BET and MTV, announced a donation Tuesday valued at $1.5 million to help build a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. on the National Mall.
Viacom pledged $1 million in cash plus promotions for the memorial that will include public service announcements across the company’s networks and its billboards in New York’s Times Square, Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman said.
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This is an interesting study. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, or what point it's trying to make though. Anyone?
A new study shows that minorities are making equal or even better economic gains than whites when moving to new neighborhoods, but adds that white children still populate the most advantaged neighborhoods in the nation.
Timberlake analyzed data from the 1990 to 1995 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative survey of about 5,000 which families, merged with data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Censuses. He says that the most striking finding from the research was that despite lower average incomes in minority families, residential mobility appears to lessen neighborhood socioeconomic inequality for African-American and Latino children.
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I'm going to keep an eye on this issue. Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the Defense and Treasury secretaries late Monday, calling on them to award more advertising contracts to small, disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses.
"The Defense and Treasury Departments are woefully behind the curve," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who joined Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev. and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in signing the letter. Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick, D-Mich., also signed. The letter asks Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to provide details as to what action the departments are taking to increase the amount of advertising contracts they give to minority-owned businesses.
The letter came in response to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday showing that the two departments lag behind others in fulfilling Executive Order 13170. The order, signed in October 2000 by then President Bill Clinton, calls for agencies to "aggressively" market contracts, including advertising ones, to minority-owned firms.
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HEALTH
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If your a Black woman this is an important study to read. If your not you should pass it on. New Clues In Breast Cancer Racial Gap Racial Gap In Death Rate May Be Worst In Cancer's Later Stages
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OBITUARY
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RIP to a forgotten hero...
Dr. King's Candidate. The man whose candidacy King supported was Richmond McDavid Flowers, one of the first "Deep South" politicians to embrace the promise of the civil rights movement. Flowers died last Thursday at age 88.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. did not make many political endorsements. As the most recognized leader of a civil rights movement that enjoyed support from both Democrats and Republicans at the national level, and as a key player in the often life-and-death struggle to end American apartheid, he tended to stand above the political fray.
But in the spring of 1966, King traveled to Alabama with the explicit purpose of making an endorsement in the Democratic primary for governor. The man whose candidacy King supported was Richmond McDavid Flowers, one of the first "Deep South" politicians to embrace the promise of the civil rights movement.
Flowers died last Thursday at age 88. At the time of his passing, Flowers was an all-but-forgotten figure.
While others who lacked his courage or his prescience are now regarded as elder statesmen of the South, Flowers lived his last years in the obscurity reserved for those white southerners who came "too quickly" to the conclusion that Jim Crow had to go.
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Diaries of Note on Daily Kos
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I almost never lead with one of my own diaries but I think it's important.
Unproductive talking about race by progressives and solutions to it
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This was a diary that generated a lot of heated (but good) discussions. All Us Blogging White Men by diarist misslaura
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Obama nails the Blackness question by PROfess PROgress
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Racism: Not Just A 'Black' Thing Anymore: White People Are Freaking Out, Too by diarist gennifer6
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Brown vs. Board and Seattle Case: Historic View by diarist myhistorycanbeatupyourpolitics