My comments on other's blogs

http://sunshinekrs.blogspot.com/2010/10/enviroment.html#comment-form
http://misscomplicatedkiya.blogspot.com/2010/09/improving-our-community-as-african.html#comment-form
http://dsimmonsfreshcomp.blogspot.com/2010/11/awareness-letter.html?showComment=1291241429350_AIe9_BGt8m-hKUJbdTUh6mAsYGzvVZBhZSQ4OZJv9RnaBJUuRGtQfQPiFG_uXD6UlnIyA-43rhKbGppyWMKN8ub-W0ANo41EYlxoy-lHTTMsNmdHTzKxwnYht5A9OfIkhEAHVyt9TmehAlf8BQf5Jk3WtTn0P6DSEc3nZA3buOWM_YkU50pD6ZWDFHBkqs6VFB8u28N40kUFYBYnRD9gOpoY16fLhZHzzvRU6I6dIjWjlukeHt9Ta8tnKo-KztVtdevmSaIPPRaC1ncBYT5hbkvsYOYRwwuQhqGx2sXSe5zVzMF5xkdjptzKEdpKZ7peCz5SJ45HqrEhcJPBINwTEeKuMMCgOmeNAOkFN1w_wLeasvKpfurvXPWnctQCmjKGV3CxrYA1yHiGvqeJ6UXvdkVQt7i-toZhMpOGPxmqoXl8Z9zCC0JrM4eEo-56FstzxBvOVyiQ7BDK-qnXmPr3QJ3dgPbTqKHJTbmRw1C6mJiww1bv-XoeXlbBOOg18tagt9TVp7NrfJ9oigA9UABF7mAlM8WXAIoHOQ#c3567182061126052686
http://hu002.blogspot.com/2010/10/reaction-to-convocation.html?showComment=1291241836569_AIe9_BHzXJO6rmRUwrMdyUR3v6SX6A02CMYLXasKtibMkejqZlwWqqBlnNMsijNr-H5wYePuw_Oi8AP6dARTHCAGv0OamgwnXQEZ5Rfwp33Fq03-XMf-Dx0jkyZl-q9QOx22rV4c1c-lovFpmGzw5bVx_JnXThAdeeiKDfWKEQXDqFr_8YrrwHshCG1gxZ19jCSX-VB6ZuPY2SYjhfXQyVszpm9vG6Ida8i6voMxRFuzNA0sEJEab6-ftttTAKgvckfwT0H0pPgjZ6YirYesV6eFAdfF84D0ogCEQiIG-kcW4dg3LG3Lv-WFzxdI6thG3qu2ysNXRp0M-rK7ygXAWo16uWq5W-A5IyqW5mq22czk8pJLzJbfUs413NoJAiv2d-9vLh84IuU59_JmV1SWgdlN0CAo8a1EngMLMKt6Bc6bEFSeyTbrlneQuLMcSUNASOeqkCVhCZiVi2jANIDexbeJMPifCqPjdMZzyPtDomefFC-4X8RCifk#c1417867479046234150
http://ashleywsays.blogspot.com/2010/11/mexicos-drug-related-violence-cnncom.html#comment-form

#10 Presentation- The New College Scene

This whole college scene was new to me
All these new concepts kept confusing me
They got classes for this, classes for that
Even got classes for the miseducation of African American Blacks
But without a purpose in mind what does it all really mean?
Your grades are nightmares, but you steady tryna follow ur dreams
You steady studying, take notes, sit in front of the class
But still on the edge about whether you're gonna pass
You get you're first tests back, failing grades
You lose motivation, inspiration slowly starts to fade
So You slack, I mean slack for real
Your boy in class ain't seen you, asking what's the deal?
You questions your reasons for even being here
When you applied everything seemed so clear
I'm a musician so I could make it with no degrees
Long as people feel my beats, my rhythms, my melodies
But then you think back to all your friends back home
Still making GarageBand beats for a local artist named Jerome
You got potential, that's what everyone keeps saying to ya
Your professors give u work, they say it'll improve ya
How May classes you ever sat in, not knowing what the hell is goin on
But by your quiz grades, you know something's goin wrong
You try to bring back your style in school and class
It's working to a point, but damn the teacher moving too fast

NAACP vs. Tea Party

     The NAACP is raising concern about what seems to be the Tea Party's racial injustice. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People argue that Tea Party groups "have given platforms to anti-Semites, racists, and bigots, and have attracted white nationalists looking for recruits." The tea party has attracted white nationalists and consists of angry white middle class citizens who believe their country has been taken from them. Although my question is who took their country? The minorities, illegal immigrants, or Barack Obama? Last time I checked Caucasians were still the majority in this country, minorities may be striving towards fairer treatment, but people of color still aren't considered equals in this country. The Tea Party  rallies Capital punishment is a direct example of the racial injustice and inequality in this country. The Tea party uses racially explicit language and slurs at their rallies. This white nationalism within this political party makes me feel as if our country is moving in a backwards direction. Our country has moved two steps forward with a African American President  and one step back with Tea party.

The Death Penalty

     In numerous recent articles in the New York Times former Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens speaks on how the Death Penalty is wrong and unconstitutional. Justice Stevens once thought that the Death Penalty could be carried out rationally, morally, fairly, and without error but now thinks differently. Former Justice Blackmun stated  “The problem,” he said, “is that the inevitability of factual, legal and moral error gives us a system that we know must wrongly kill some defendants, a system that fails to deliver the fair, consistent and reliable sentences of death required by the Constitution.” A system that takes innocent lives, is a system that needs to be eliminated, but it continues to thrive today. The Death Penalty is a grotesque abomination of racism today. It can be considered as today's new way of lynching. Often times police and prosecuratorial misconduct happens in which evidence of innocence is withheld from the court room. The juries that are assigned to duty are usually those who lean in favor of  conviction. Judges and prosecutors are commonly white males who are often unfair bigots. The defense lawyers that are hired for the convicted defendants are usually incompetent and unqualified. Unless eliminated more innocent lives will be wasted and this reckless, unconstitutional cycle of judgement will continue to taint this country.


Herbert, Bob. "Broken Beyond Repair." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/>.

#9 Letter

Dr. Ribeau

Howard University President

Howard University

2400 Sixth Street

Washington, DC 20059

Dear Dr. Ribeau :

My name is Albert Charles Ellis III. I am a freshman philosophy major at Howard University. It has recently come to my attention that my major and many others are under review for closure, consolidation or restructuring.  Although I understand why it is necessary to review all majors to make sure they are still prevalent, I think you should reconsider some of the majors and degree programs up for closure.  

Howard University is known as one of the best HBCU’S in the country. It is where educated African-Americans go to further their knowledge in a wide array of subjects. By taking away some of these majors you are taking away the uniqueness that this university is known for. When I applied to Howard University I did so because of all the majors this university had to offer.  Because there are so many options, it allows the student to broaden their horizons and learn more. When many students come to Howard they realize how many different subjects they can major in. For instance when applying for college I knew I wanted to become a lawyer but I did not know what major I should take to get me there. I knew that a very popular major was political science but I did not want to major in that. As I was researching I came upon philosophy. I did not know what is was before, but the more I read about the major the more intrigued I became. Philosophy teaches analytical thinking and debating skills. It teaches its students how to form a proper argument and how to execute those arguments into statements. A major like this gives students like me an option other than political science. Many other majors that are up for closure are similar to philosophy. They are outlets for students who do not want to take the conventional classes.

            I understand that it is impossible to keep all the majors but if you eliminate all or most of these majors I am sure you will lose many students to other schools that do offer such courses. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet to suggest alternatives and to keep the high quality of education that Howard or a University offer. Thank you for your consideration and I hope to hear from you soon. I will telephone your office in the next week to discuss a possible place and time for a meeting.

Environmental Injustice

     Environmental injustice/racism  is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards. Ms. Roberts stated that Environmental injustice has nothing to do with the people, but everything to do with policy. Environmental hazards mainly affect  people that live in low-income communities and relates primarily to people of color. The deciding factor in predicting where these  communities are is race. Degradation in these communities is an ever growing issue in America, and is not being addressed by the government or EPA accordingly. Environmental justice demands for freedom from pollution and to have a say on environmental decision making. Asthma, cancer, and ADHD are possible side effects of Environmental degradation in the communities. There was once a study in the 1980's  that said that 1 in 9 people of color lived in toxic polluted neighborhoods. A professor by the name of Dr. Robert Bullard out of Clark, Atlanta University identified this first case of environmental racism and coined the name enviromental injustice. Now fast forward  to the 1990's when Dr. Bullard did the study again the numbers increased to 1 in 4  people of color live in environmentally degraded communities. The community of Mossville, Louisiana that is 5 square miles has 14 industrial facilities that surround the toxic town. Now its not that we don't need to have materialistic items, but cheaper is not always better, styrofoam doesnt break down in land fills, and we must be more conscious in our way of living.

Analysis and Reflection

     This fifth blog entry is a reflection of my past work. I have written about racial issues that pertain to the United States. My re-occuring themes seem to be the importance of education for African Americans so we may be able to overcome the influence that slavery  has psychologically had over our people. I would say that the nature of my posts has remained the same, but the depth and thoroughness has increased in the past weeks. The reason being that at first I saw writing blogs as a mere annoyance and waste of time. Although after a while I soon found a certain jubilance in writing down my thoughts and researching on racial topics that piqued my interest. The thing that truly suprises me when I re-read work is that I've had the same or similar theme in every blog. The Idea worth re-visiting would be Barack Obama's speech, "A More Perfect Union". Since this was the first topic i blogged about, I feel as if I didn't have any idea on how to blog and did not write an adequate blog. The aspects that I value most in the blogging is the research and in the way I am free to display my thoughts openly.
     My strengths are research and critically reading/analysis. The weaknesses I've noticed in myself are in-class essays, and outlines. I have learned greatly in the area of critically reading, in contrast to expository writing. In addition I am a lot more comfortable with technology because of this class, and Howard University. Although I must be honest, when I write I usually do not take a global perspective into consideration. When I write, I try and write about issues that interest me, which are mainly issues that pertain to African Americans.

Convocation Speech

           Dr. Ben Carson spoke on the purpose of a University. He said that a university's purpose is for us to expand our minds, and not to be put in a container. So he asked how we can have progress if we are taught not to say what we think, and not to think a certain way. Next he spoke about how fortunate he was to have a mother that supported him academically. His mother was illiterate, but forced him to read two books a week while in elementary school. Dr. Carson hated it at first, but over time he began to realize that he could go anywhere through the pages of the books he read. Then after a while he figured out that he could control his own future, and he went from the bottom of the class to the top of the class in the span of a year. In addition, he said that a requirement of success is to take self-responsibility. Afterward when Dr. Carson got into med school his advisor told him that he wasn't cut out for medicine. So Dr. Carson thought about his situation and looked at his own strengths and weaknesses. Then saw that he excelled in classes that required more reading and less listening to boring lectures. So instead of going to the boring lectures, he would study and read. Med school after that went great for Dr. Carson. He implored that us young people must learn to be encouragers, and to come up with new way of thinking. In conclusion Dr. carson asked a very important question. "If we only do what has been done before, how can we progress?" So our generation must take a step forward from the last and create a new ay of doing things. Dr. Carson's  convocation speech was a true testimony to self responsibility of education.

The Effects of Willie Lynch

     Our blogs are supposed to be on current events, but I want to speak on Willie Lynch because  there are evidence that the effects of Willie Lynch are still around. Willie Lynch implemented a plan to make sure that slaves would be dependent upon their slave masters for at least 300 years in his speech addressing the American slave masters. It is 2010 and  Willie Lynch is still around. Willie Lynch plan was to take  the differences of the slaves and make them bigger until the differences became self perpetuating. His three essential ideals for controlling the slaves were fear, envy, and distrust. Willie Lynch said that he first divided the slaves by age. He  took the old slave and young slave, and put them against each other (distrust). Secondly he divided the slaves by color (envy). All slaves were originally dark skinned, so the slave masters introduced the white gene into the black woman  until they got a baby that was brown. Then they put the white into the brown until you attained a lighter brown, and then again until you had a slave that could almost pass as being white, but not enough to be accepted as white. He did this in order to put the dark skinned slave against the light skinned slave. The shade of the skin may have led to self racial hatred. Thirdly the slaves were divided on whether they have coarse hair or fine hair (envy). Fourthly they were divided them on if they live in the north, south, East, or west (distrust). Could this be an influence on gang violence? Fifthly Divide them again on status on the plantation, the house negro or the field negro. Lastly he said to divide them on the size of the plantation of one master to the size of another plantation. Consequently enough, this was not enough to create a slave. Willie Lynch believed you needed to break a negro in order to create a slave. Willie Lynch said, " Both horses and niggers are no good to the economy in their natural or wild state. Both must be broken and tied together for orderly production." This is where the fear factor comes in, in the breaking of the Negro Woman. The slave master paid attention to the woman and her offspring because they were the future of the slave generations. Now he said, "Take the meanest and most restless nigger, strip him of his clothes in front of the remaining male niggers, female, and the infant nigger, tar and feather him, tie each leg to a different horse faced in opposite directions, set him afire and beat both horses to pull him apart in front of the remaining niggers." The Slave masters now have made the negro's woman and infant watch this ordeal, and the woman will be frozen psychologically and she will no longer look to him, but look to the slave master for dependency. Although now when she produces a female child, she will make them just like herself. Independent of the male, but dependent of the master. Then the woman will break her male offspring out of her natural protective instinct herself, and they will grow up with a strong body but a weak mind. She will be out front and the man will be behind her and frightened. Now is this why the ratio of black women to men is so large in college? Lastly Willie Lynch said, "Being a fool is one of the basic ingredients of any incidents to the maintenance of the slavery system." Thus, we were kept down as a people through ignorance and lack of education. The slave masters wanted to control language and knowledge, or sooner or later the slaves would be in the house of the slave master talking to them "man to man", thus the end of their economic system. Then in order for us to rise as a people is directly related to what were oppressed by and we must take it back for ourselves.

"Willie Lynch Letter: The Making of a Slave." Final Call. Web.  1 Oct. 2010. <http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/perspectives_1/Willie_Lynch_letter_The_Making_of_a_Slave.shtml>.

What we Fought so Hard Against

     On Dec.3, at a South Philadelphia High school an angry mob of mostly African American students walked through the halls and even entered classrooms to inflict pain upon Asian students. The mob of about 70 students stormed the cafeteria to find more Asian students, where several were beaten. The violence seems to have been fueled by jealousy and racial hatred of the Asian immigrants. The Asian immigrant students have the second floor of the school dedicated to language programs to help them and to provide a more welcoming environment. The black youth in the community feel a sense of unimportance and lack of respect in a neighborhood of primarily Irish and Italian immigrants. The African American students look at their own situation and believe as if they aren’t cared about and they certainly hold an unconscious resentment towards the Asian Immigrants when they witness them studying on their “special” second floor. Mix these negative feelings with a small group of troublemakers that live by a “Gangsta” mentality and only want to take advantage of others who have less than themselves and you begin to have violent hate crimes. After Dec.3, a dozen students were expelled and the Asian students also began their own boycott from the school. Although the boycotters were skeptical at first, the boycott changed attitudes and allowed voices to be heard. The district placed 126 security cameras at the school and introduced a “50-50”, in which Asian and black students go out on group outings to improve their relationships with each other. In conclusion, Otis Hackney was also hired as the new principal for this year and said something very essential, “As African Americans, we can’t forget our own struggle to the point that we become what we fought so hard against.” 

Washington, Jesse. "Racial Violence Changes Student _ and School." Washingtonpost.com - Nation, World, Technology and Washington Area News and Headlines. 05 Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010. .

Trapped In The Past

     "The past is not dead and buried. In fact is not even the past." (Faulkner) President Obama quoted William Faulkner in the speech "A More Perfect Union" to strengthen his call of the perfection. He also made the American people aware that we are still negatively connected to our past through the oppression of slavery and Jim Crow laws. He issued challenges to Americans to cut internal division and to move on from the past. If we are to cut internal division we must realize we are all here to make something of ourselves in this country and  must focus on the similarities that we share  common dreams, values, and hopes. To move forward from the past African Americans cannot allow themselves to hold any resentment towards Caucasian Americans as a result of slavery and Jim Crow. As African Americans we must take the challenge issued to us to unite all people of this nation. If we refuse to answer our challenge than the past will indeed not be dead and buried. In fact it will not even be the past.

Obama,Barack "A More Perfect Union" National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 18, 2008, Speech