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  Posted By:
  Saladin at 03/11/2008 2:38:33 PM
  Comment:
  k
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  Posted By:
  lalady at 03/10/2008 12:06:17 AM
  Comment:
  i agree with dr. crooms. a broader view is needed... a 21st century scope is required. i declined to watch the program this year because the petty drama generated by tavis smiley regarding senator obama turned me off. it seems that i didn't miss much.
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  Posted By:
  loris bay at 03/09/2008 1:47:55 PM
  Comment:
  If Hillary gets elected she will be there with Tavis next year. Providing symbolic support to apease African Americans. She will even grease Tavis's palms as thanks for his support of her campaign. But the real question goes to the heart of Obama's message... will anything change?
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  Posted By:
  nyawira at 03/07/2008 11:34:40 PM
  Comment:
  We gets me is that if you are going to fuss about who was there and what they talked about at the State of Black Union then change it. For if you really listened to what was said then you got a lot of information on how to help us as a people here in america and help our people a broad also but most people always want to be critical of what others are doing but aren't doing nothing but running there on mouths also. Tavis can only do so much it takes the whole african american community to charge what's going on in america.
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  Posted By:
  Indigenous at 03/07/2008 3:07:20 AM
  Comment:
  The number one reason why Indigenous-Americans (Black/African-Americans) will never get citizenship with the U.S. is because we are not citizen's of the U.S., we are citizens of North America. Number two, the problem is with black men, the so-called blackman is the biggest sellout in North America, and they have treated their women and children terribly. Slavery is about the Euro-American (whiteman) man' control over the Indigenous Woman and her children (so-called black/african-american women and children). Slavery could not exist without the blackman selling out his family (Indigenous-American women and children) for the whiteman's maintenance and comfort. It is high time that we black men come out of the whiteman's artificial concept of freedom, and start working for real/true freedom., because the only thing a blackman is free to do is make white babies with white women to tear down his race, and make black babies to make the U.S. rich. Every black male leader we have had has let us down. You have Malcolm X's picture in this blog, but how many are ready to do what Malcolm said? He said the price of freedom was death. Not physical death, but material death. How many are ready to quit this materialistic deathstyle we has assimilated into. We are not ready to take care of our own women and children, so how are we to be free?
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  Posted By:
  niyofu at 03/05/2008 5:08:26 PM
  Comment:
  I agree that if our ancestor of justice for culture would be so disappointed but do you do who else Tavis always forget about when he does the State of the Black Union is the African American Veterans, disabled or not. Everyone loves us when we go to war but when we return with injuries, visable or non visable., where is the support.. I do not see one African Ameican "leader" on Capital Hill speaking out for us. Most of us get benefits that is less than an illegal alien in this country. Yea, right on, Mr. Tavis, you slammed Obama but U need to be slammed!
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  Posted By:
  niyofu at 03/05/2008 5:01:11 PM
  Comment:
  I totally agree and U know who else Tavis has, consistantly forgotten, The African American Veterans where the disabled have less benefits than a illegal alien in this country. The Black communty has faiiled us, as a whole, but still rather brag about us when we go to war but when we return with visable and non visable injuries they turn their backs!
  Nik Wms
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  Posted By:
  dadk82 at 03/05/2008 2:48:35 PM
  Comment:
  right on my sister, please keep the faith and don't let the showtime in new orleans dissuade you.
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  Posted By:
  BlackSavvy at 03/05/2008 10:42:25 AM
  Comment:
  Excellent piece! Let's focus black people!
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  Posted By:
  Derekjn at 03/05/2008 1:00:33 AM
  Comment:
  Great piece.
  
  I agree that everyone in the black diaspora could benefit from international unity, socially and economically. Unfortunately, the United Nations and the rest of the international community is impotent in respect to the United States. The U.N. can't get Iran, Israel, Iraq, Korea, Sudan, (shall I go on) to comply with any resolutions, so we know the United States will not recognize anything out of the UN that is against U.S. interests. With the current U.S. hegemony, we would be fooling ourselves to think that any outside pressure on the United States could affect domestic or foreign policy. With that said, I still agree that international coalitions are important, but from the standpoint of Black Americans helping others in the diaspora. Black Americans need to use what ever power we have, political and economical, to help the rest of the international black community. Just as American Jews help Israel.
  
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  Posted By:
  rebeccawalker at 03/04/2008 6:59:01 PM
  Comment:
  excellent piece.
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  Posted By:
  danielleamir at 03/04/2008 3:44:28 PM
  Comment:
  While watching SOTBU on CSPAN, I must admit to feeling extremely frustrated with the content. As a politically astute 20-something, I don't think that old black nationalist framework of endless riffing on a several topics to be relevant anymore...not in the context of the increasingly techology-based, globalized world in which we live. I think it was only the Exec. Director of TransAfrica who even mentioned the black American struggle in a global context. So if blacks around the world weren't involved, nor were many young people (and i don't mean the frequent mention of "at risk youth") why did it even matter that this event took place?
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  Posted By:
  flrdian at 03/04/2008 12:54:40 PM
  Comment:
  Just curious: what would Du Bois, et. al., have to say about that fine lineup of corporate sponsors Smiley lines up for the event? Might they have pressed McDonalds to pay a living wage to its (largely black and brown) workforce? Would they have pressed ExxonMobil to take a leadership role in combating environmental racism? I understand that such an event costs money, but find it disturbing that organizers have become so dependent on corporate sponsors. Reminds me of the time Tavis did a piece on Tom Joyner's show about the need for a living wage that was followed by the line that his commentary was sponsored by Wal-Mart. Are these companies buying silence by sponsoring these events?
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  Posted By:
  philipmerrill at 03/04/2008 11:24:55 AM
  Comment:
  Thank you 1,000 times for this piece.
  PHIL :)
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  Posted By:
  danielleamir at 03/04/2008 8:49:49 AM
  Comment:
  I remember being extremely frustrated watching the discussion on CSPAN...it seemed that for all the endless pontificating there was no one speaking about our current situation in a relevant, global context. I believe the Exec Director of TransAfrica was the only person on the panel (on the day that I watched) to even mention that we, on the North American landmass, are a part of a much larger diaspora who face many of the same problems. This, to me, is the problem with the so called black nationalist framework. It's so insular that it isn't even relevant in 2008.