Marley Movie Tralier (Video)

MARLEY will make its North American premiere at SXSW. Magnolia Pictures will release theatrically and on VOD on Friday, April 20th.

The Real Reason Why Gadaffi Was Killed

Many people have been mourning, not celebrating the death of Moammar Gadhafi. Over the years foreign media agencies have failed to tell the whole story about the often misrepresented Gadhafi. Over the years, the Libyan leader was portrayed as a money and power hungry tyrant for the world's uninformed to believe. They would leave out stories about the good deeds that the former Libyan dictator did for blacks Africans and other people of color across the diaspora. He was one of the last Pan-African leaders left with enough courage to stand up to outside powers. Gadhafi brought millions of black people who were in the shadows under King Idris when he took power to the forefront, afforded them education, and gave them towns and opportunity. His next move of pushing the gold standard and wanting his oil bought in gold would have created a shift in global economic power for years to come. His idea of a universal gold currency in Africa was going to be the catalyst for the unification of Africa and its economies. It called for a dramatic decrease in foreign economic dependency which would of given Africa more leverage in future deals.

The Birth of The Leader of "The Nation"

On this date in 1897 Elijah Muhammad was born Elijah Robert Poole in Sandersville, Georgia. Muhammad would go on to led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. He took over leadership of the NOI and Temple No. 1 from Wallace Fard Muhammad after his sudden disappearance. There are few figures in America's religious history more controversial then Muhammad, but his positive effect on the lives of millions of black Americans is undeniable.

Somalia's Prime Minister Sharmarke Resigns

Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke has been under intense pressure to resign for some months in the country. On going struggles with President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has not helped his cause. Mr Sharmarke said he had decided to step down in the national interest."After seeing that the political turmoil between me and the president has caused security vulnerability, I have decided to resign to save the nation and give a chance to others", is what he told reporters as he left his office for the last time.  Hopefully this will bring an end to the internal turmoil in the government and peace throughout the country between the Islamist militant groups and the military.

You Either Build Or Your Destroy...

Are you building or destroying the past and the future???

Documentary of Fela Kuti: Music Is the Weapon [Video]

This documentary which profiles the life of composer, Afro-beat pioneer, and human rights activist Fela Kuti was shown at The National Museum of African Art this past Saturday. The film is a mixture of footage from Fela performing as well as glimpses of his life and interviews. The piece is a little under a hour and will be well worth your time.

Peace and ENJOY!!!!!

"What's In a Name? That Which We Call a Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet."

On this date in 1964 Casius Clay offically changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam immediately after winning his first heavyweight title with a KO of Sonny Liston in the 7th round. Rumors were that he had already changed his name and was converted by Malcolm X but was asked to delay his announcement about his conversion to Islam until after the fight.

The Death Of The Leader Of A Nation

On this date in 1975 Elijah Muhammad died at the age of 77 in Chicago, Illinois. He was succeeded by his son, Wallace D. Muhammad. Elijah led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until he died in 1975.

Malcolm and Martin Mondays

Black History month is always bitter sweet to me because it always bring back up the death of one of our greatest leaders.

This Vietnam War speech should be played right now. It applies to this war that we still have going on in the middle east. It brings chills to me.

More Christian & Muslim Violence In Nigeria

Read more about whats going on over in Nigeria at either of the links. Link 1/ Link 2

RIP Howard Zinn: The Voice of The Forgotten Man (August 24, 1922 – January 27, 2010)

The great Howard Zinn died yesterday at the age of 87 in Santa Monica, Calif, where he was traveling. The Boston University historian and political activist who wrote "A People's History of the United States," made the young and old rethink the way textbooks had taught us the American experience for year in our school systems. I was personally was introduced to Mr. Zinn in 11th grade by my AP US History teacher. I actually still have my book from that class and often reread it. His way of thinking was not one that you often saw from his generation. Reading his book had a powerful influence on many of the books I read after and how I read the standard textbooks I had to read. Zinn challenged regular history with how he charged Christopher Columbus and other explorers with genocide, picked apart presidents from Andrew Jackson to Franklin D. Roosevelt and celebrated workers, feminists and war resisters.

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek (reflection eternal)- the re:union (mixed by statik selektah)

Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek are back with the RE:Union mixtape, mixed by Statik Selektah. This album was dropped last night just hours before the ball did. This a great mix of new song off their upcoming album (Revolutions Per Minute), and classic ones featuring some of the nicest MC's of our time.

1. Intro
2. Revolutions Per Minute
3. In This World ##
4. Hip-Hop (Unreleased)
5. Back Again ##
6. Wishing On A Black Star
7. Just Begun ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole, & Mos Def ##
8. Come Around ft. Termanology & Royce da 5'9 (produced by Statik Selektah)
9. Internet Connection
10. Let It Go ft. Dion
11. Testify ft. Styles P
12. Time
13. The Thrill Is Gone ft. Styles P (produced by Statik Selektah)
14. Can We Go Back
The Reflection Eternal Classics:
15. Fortified Live ft. Mos Def & Mr Man
16. Chaos ft Bahamadia
17. The Express
18. Respiration ft. Common & Mos Def
19. Definition ft. Mos Def
20. RE:Defininition ft. Mos Def
21. Move Something
22. Ghetto Afterlife ft Kool G Rap
23. The Blast RMX ft. Erykah Badu
24. Good To You (produced by Kanye West)
25. Get By REMIX ft. Jay-Z, Mos Def, Kanye West, & Busta Rhymes (produced by Kanye west)
26. Back Up Offa Me
27. Piano (Hi Tek ft. Ghostface)
28. Music is Life (Hi Tek ft. Nas)
29. Hang Ups (NEW Reflection Eternal not on album)
30. Outro

Listen/Download: Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek (reflection eternal)- the re:union (mixed by statik selektah)

The Black Candle Featured on CBS Early Show on 11.11.09 (Video)

Today In Black History - Halie Selassie

On this date in 1930 Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia upon the death of the Ethiopian Empress Zawditu.

Tavis Smiley's STAND the Movie Is Now Available On DVD

Tavis Smiley's documentary STAND which premiered earlier this year on May 24th on TV One, is now available on DVD. The film reflects on black men who "stood" for something in the past and what it means as black men today to "stand" for something. The cast of the 90 minute piece includes Tavis Smiley, Dick Gregory, Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Cliff West, Eddie Glaude, BeBe Winans, and more. Find out more about the movie at STAND the Movie.

Today In Black History.

On this date in 1887 Marcus Garvey, the father of the black nationalist and pan african movements was born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamiaca.

CNN's Black In America 2 trailer

CNN's Black In America is back again this summer with a part two. I hope they do a better job this year with this special. I was a bit disappointed with last years piece. The two part special with air July 22 and 23 at 8pm et.

Thursday Throwback Movie: Wattstax

The 1973 documentary was based around the 1972 Wattstax music festival and the black community of Watts in Los Angeles, California. The concert was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 20, 1972, and organized by Memphis, Tennessee Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots. Wattstax was seen by some as "the Afro-American answer to Woodstock. To enable as many members of the black community in L.A. to attend as possible, tickets were sold for only $1.00 each. The Reverend Jesse Jackson gave the invocation, which included his "I Am - Somebody" poem.

A Different World...

Being the YEB that I am, most of my DVDs and Tapes are of my favorite black movies and TV shows. Name it and I got it either retail or bootleg. Since I can remember, I have always been a gigantic fan of A Different World. Even though I hated the 1st season, I bought the DVD set in anticipation of getting Seasons 2-6. Where the hell is season 2??????? I have gone as far as YouTube and searching every torrent you can think of to get this set.

Season One Intro(which was the wackest one)

Viacom, who bought Ventura after it bought Urbanworks, will not release Season 2 or any after. Their excuse was that the poor sales of the Season One DVD set was evidence that the show doesn't have a fan base. What the hell are they talking about???? Who are they questioning???? Have they seen season one, that was the worst of all the seasons. Umm, A Different World was a Top 5 show for five of the six years it was on the air from 1987-1993. Many HBCU's even credit this show along with Spike Lee's "School Daze" with increasing enrollments at HBCU's by 25% during the 90's. I know I wanted to go to a HBCU because of the show.



Everyone knows that it wasn’t until the seasons went on that the show got better and picked up. It actually began to have the flavor of an HBCU campus. Debbie Allen was not only drawing from her experiences at Howard University, she had the writing staff take an annual trip to Spelman College and talked to students, faculty and administrators about the issues they dealt with.



The claim that there aren't enough A Different World fans to justify releasing seasons 2-6 of the show on DVD is some BS. It's funny how Seinfeld and Roseanne, Top 10 shows that were on during the same time span as A Different World have been fully released on DVD, but a quality black show that tackled some interesting topics back in the day such as teen pregnancy, date rape, homelessness, divesting from South Africa, Black history, interracial dating, HIV/AIDS, the Gulf War, and life after College isn't?

Tracy McGrady in Darfur...

In 2007 T-Mac took a trip to the Darfur to learn more about the genocide that is going on in this region of the world.