BlackAmericans.com

Black Drug Kingpin Will Attempt To Redeem Himself From Past Sins

2008-10-11T12:47:00Z

Infamous 1970s drug kingpin Frank Lucas will attempt to redeem himself from past sins, by enacting a 20-city U.S. tour speaking out against violence. According to the New York Post, an anonymous insider of Lucas’ camp revealed the tour will focus on students and emphasize the importance of education over street life. “Frank Sr. will be talking to students about how they should get grades, not guns, and not follow in his footsteps,” the anonymous source explained. “There will also be gun drops for...(read more)

O.J. Simpson's lawyers request another trial

2008-10-11T10:25:00Z

Lawyers for O.J. Simpson have filed a motion for a new trial, saying he was denied a fair hearing when two African-Americans were dismissed from the potential jury pool. An all white jury found Simpson guilty on October 3 on 12 counts related to a September 13, 2007, robbery involving sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas hotel. The 61-year-old former football star could get life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for December 5 in Las Vegas. Jury members said at the time of his conviction on robbery...(read more)

Hate-fueled campaigning cannot be covered as mere political hardball.

2008-10-11T10:20:00Z

To everything, there is a season. If summer is the time for civil (or close to civil) discourse in presidential politics, fall is the time for blood sport. And if you're a Republican trailing in the polls, it's the season for racist fear mongering. No one should be surprised by the assault John McCain launched this week. His campaign is flailing—dropping out of once-contested states, defending newly insecure ones and, by one adviser's reckoning, "looking forward to turning a page on this financial...(read more)

McCain Changes His Obama Tactics....Did He Suspect Palin Was Going To Be Charged ?

2008-10-11T08:37:00Z

Senator John McCain took a question from a supporter who called Senator Barack Obama an Arab during a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn., yesterday. He took the microphone from her and called his rival ''a decent family man.'' The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is acting to tamp it down. McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he described the Democrat as a "decent person and a person...(read more)

Panel Finds Palin's Actions Unlawful

2008-10-11T08:21:00Z

Stephen Branchflower, who was hired by the Legislative Council to investigate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's dismissal of her public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, sits in a Legislative Council room at the Information Building in Anchorage, Alaska , Friday Oct. 10, 2008. Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled...(read more)

Magic Johnson Rips Radio Talk Show Hosts Who Said He 'Faked AIDS'

2008-10-10T14:58:00Z

Radio talk show hosts are often accused of saying outrageous things, and often by people who didn't even hear them say the supposedly outrageous thing in the first place. But when speaking about a famous athlete who was forced to retire after contracting HIV, and saying that they think he "faked AIDS," I think we can all agree that's going a bit too far. Such is the case with Minneapolis radio hosts Chris Baker and Langdon Perry, who attempted to make this joke at Magic Johnson's expense. Listen...(read more)

Elections officials deny illegally purging voters

2008-10-10T14:22:00Z

Volunteer Bryce Dunn processes voter registrations at the board of elections in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008. The nationwide boom in voter registration that propelled Sen. Barack Obama to his party's presidential nomination has carried over into the general election, resulting in more than 9 million newly registered voters who are overwhelmingly Democrats and creating the potential for an Election Day landslide. A newspaper report Thursday said tens of thousands of eligible voters have...(read more)

Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama speak out

2008-10-09T22:27:00Z

In the new issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, the two women who would be the next first lady offer very different views on whether the presidential campaign is changing racial views, their biggest fears and hopes if their husbands become president, and the most important campaign issues for them. Michelle Obama, in her interview, also bats away the criticism of her must-dissected remark that Barack Obama's electoral success was making her proud of her country for the first time. “It’s a mischaracterization...(read more)

Obama buys half-hour of network primetime

2008-10-09T22:25:00Z

Barack Obama (Getty Images photo) Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of primetime television on CBS and NBC, sources confirm. The Obama campaign is producing a nationwide pitch to voters that will air on at least two broadcast networks. The ad will run Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. -- less than a week before the general election. The direct purchase of such a large block of national airtime right before an election used to be more commonplace before campaigns began to focus their endgame strategies...(read more)

Sharpton convicted in NYC police-shooting protests

2008-10-09T11:46:00Z

The Rev. Al Sharpton arrives at criminal court Monday, Oct. 6 , 2008, in New York. Sharpton is on trial for the traffic-choking protests over the deadly police shooting of an unarmed New York city man. A New York judge has convicted the Rev. Al Sharpton of disorderly conduct during protests over a police shooting and sentenced him to time served. Criminal Court Judge Larry Stephen issued the verdict Wednesday against Sharpton and seven other activists. Sharpton has already served 5 1/2 hours in jail....(read more)

BlackAmericans Offended By McCain's "That One" Comment

2008-10-09T09:46:00Z

It was a moment that stood out in a presidential debate void of many pithy sound bites: "That one," Republican John McCain said contemptuously of Barack Obama, pointing in the general direction of his Democratic rival while discussing energy policies. Those two small words didn't just leave many pundits cringing, but more significantly, they caused some in the African-American community to accuse McCain of racism in his dismissive treatment of the man aiming to be the first black president in U.S....(read more)

HALLE BERRY IS ESQUIRE'S 'SEXIEST WOMAN ALIVE': Photo spread in Nov. issue. Plus, Gabriel says they're working on baby #2.

2008-10-08T09:16:00Z

Esquire magazine has crowned Halle Berry "Sexiest Woman Alive" on the cover of its upcoming November issue, which features a photo spread of the actress in various white tank tops. "I don't know exactly what that title means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it," said the Oscar winner, who gave birth to her daughter Nahla in March with boyfriend Gabriel Aubry. "Sexiness is a state of mind — a comfortable state of being. It's about loving yourself in your most unlovable moments."...(read more)

Obama connected with audience

2008-10-08T09:11:00Z

The format of the second presidential debate was described as that of a town hall meeting, but it was pure TV from the "citizens" seated on risers on a brightly lit stage, to the candidates moving about a stage like performers. In TV terms, body language and modes of address were never more important. John McCain lived up to his reputation for excelling in town hall meetings, quickly establishing a soft-spoken intimate relationship with the audience even as he attacked his opponent - two things experts...(read more)

Why are poor blacks being blamed for the mortgage meltdown?

2008-10-07T15:40:00Z

The offensive new vogue in cable TV talking points goes something like this: Wall Street is melting down because the government forced banks to make loans to poor people—especially poor minorities. They claim that the entire weight of the global financial collapse rests on the shoulders of unqualified poor, minority borrowers who got loans as a form of economic affirmative action. The evil institutions in this talking points scenario are the formerly quasi-government secondary home mortgage-lending...(read more)

HEADMISTRESS SUING OPRAH JUST WANTED APOLOGY: More details surface about defamation lawsuit.

2008-10-07T15:28:00Z

A lawyer for the former headmistress of Oprah Winfrey's South African Leadership Academy for Girls says his client is suing the TV mogul for defamation because Winfrey has yet to apologize. "We were forced to file this lawsuit because we didn't get what we wanted a year ago – a public apology," said Tim McGowan, attorney for Nomvuyo Mzamane, according to People.com. The lawsuit is rooted in a scandal that plagued Oprah's school last year and resulted in one dorm matron, Tiny Makopo, being charged...(read more)