N-WORD SHUTS DOWN 'RAGTIME' IN THE PARK: District in Chicago suburb cancels outdoor play fearing passersby wouldn't get context of slur.

Officials in suburban Chicago's Wilmette Park District shut down a planned outdoor staging of the play Ragtime, citing concerns that passersby on the park grounds would take offense to the N-word, which is used several times in the script and score.


"We had grave concerns that people would take the language they heard over the amplified sound system out of context from a performance that was being held in the bowl," Wilmette Park District executive director Tom Grisamore told the Pioneer Press.


The district got the rights to present Ragtime in January, but the content of the show was not examined until recently. Grisamore announced the play's cancellation on June 25.


"This is something we very honestly should have known about and hopefully we could have acted on this sooner, but we did as soon as we found out what was there," said Grisamore.

N-WORD SHUTS DOWN 'RAGTIME' IN THE PARK....

JAY-Z SINGS 'WONDERWALL' AT GLASTONBURY: Rapper mocks his most strident detractor by performing musician's biggest single.

Jay Z had an answer for his toughest critic at the annual Glastonbury Music Festival in Britain Saturday.


The 142,500 fans in attendance cheered as Jigga took the stage with a guitar slung over his shoulder and immediately sang along to "Wonderwall," the 1995 hit single from British band Oasis. [Scroll down to view clip.]


Oasis lead singer, Noel Gallagher, has repeatedly voiced his frustration with Glastonbury organizers for choosing Jay-Z, a hip hop act, to headline a festival that has been traditionally rooted in rock and alternative music.


Judging from fan reaction to Young Hov, and the increased cheers that followed his segue from "Wonder Wall" to his rock-flavored "99 Problems," Gallagher's opinion of hip hop at Glastonbury appeared to be in the minority.

“The world should be all about mixing culture,” Jay-Z said to UK radio personality Tim Westwood. “Hip-hop is music in its art form. It should be accepted and respected. It’s all the same thing, it’s just coming from a different perspective.”


Jay-Z' Performs "Wonderwall" and "99 Problems"



JAY-Z SINGS 'WONDERWALL' AT GLASTONBURY....

Commentary: Ralph Nader’s Fatal Flaw? He Thinks He’s the Only One Capable of Doing the Right Thing

By: Deborah Mathis

Without turning to a biography or sitting at an elder’s knee, readers of a certain age will know what the name Ralph Nader used to mean.

It meant trouble for corporate avarice, corporate chicanery and corporate irresponsibility. When Nader got on the case, the board rooms of America’s major manufacturers and peddlers had a headache on their hands. He not only knew how to raise hell and hang on; he was wildly effective. Nader and his network of young idealists called Nader’s Raiders made a positive difference for the common good.

COMMENTARY....

Report: NAACP Spent More on Internal Jena Six Activities Than on Youths’ Defense Funds

By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart

Mychal Bell went to his prom this spring in Monroe, Louisiana. He’s working a job and practicing with the football team at Carroll High School in the hopes of getting approval from the state’s high school athletic association to play this fall.

And if things go well, he hopes to be released soon from juvenile court supervision, his lawyer said.

For Bell, the only one of six Louisiana teens dubbed the Jena Six to be sentenced following a 2006 fight with a white classmate, some things in life are returning to normal. But challenges still are ahead.

Attorneys for the five remaining Jena youths still are working to have the judge presiding in the matter removed. And on another front, concerns are being circulated in the blogosphere about the efficiency of fundraising to support the defense of the teens as more money is needed to continue the next phase.

On two blogs -- Jack & Jill Politics and the Jena Six Blog -- questions are being raised about a NAACP report that shows it spent more than half the money raised for the Jena youths' defense on internal costs related to the organization's activities there.

Report: NAACP Spent More on Internal Jena Six Activities Than on Youths’ Defense Funds....

Obama, Clinton Pledge a United Front for Campaign

By Kristin Jensen

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Hillary Clinton said she will devote herself to the election of Barack Obama, her former rival for the Democratic nomination, and asked her supporters to join them in the battle to win the White House.

``We may have started on separate paths, but today our paths have merged,'' Clinton told more than 4,000 people gathered at an outdoor rally in Unity, New Hampshire. ``Today we are coming together for the same goal -- to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States.''

The event in the town of 1,700, the first joint campaign appearance by the two candidates since the primaries ended, marked a closing of Democratic ranks behind Obama for the general election campaign against Arizona Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee. Unity has symbolism beyond its name: in the January New Hampshire primary Obama and Clinton each drew 107 votes there.

``This was a hard-fought primary campaign,'' Clinton said before Obama took the microphone. ``Today and every day going forward we stand shoulder to shoulder.''

Obama, Clinton Pledge a United Front for Campaign....

Activists: Massive Youth Voter Turnout for Democratic Contests ‘Only Scratched the Surface’

By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart

Voters under the age of 30 turned out in record numbers in the 2008 presidential primaries, more than doubling their participation in previous contests, according to a Washington, D.C.–based non-profit that encourages youth civic engagement.

About 6.5 million young voters cast ballots, according to CIRCLE, which stands for the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

A majority of the young Democrats chose Sen. Barack Obama, CIRCLE officials say. And a recently released Gallup poll suggests that the senator from Illinois is maintaining his popularity among young voters as the showdown with Republican John McCain kicks into high gear.

Activists: Massive Youth Voter Turnout for Democratic Contests ‘Only Scratched the Surface’....

CDC: It’s National HIV Testing Day -- Do You Know Your Status and Your Partner’s Too?

By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its partners are encouraging Americans -- particularly black Americans -- to use Friday, National HIV Testing Day, to schedule an appointment and/or be tested for HIV.

“Knowing your HIV status empowers you to help prevent the spread of the disease,” Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the Centers’ National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, said in a statement. “If you are infected, you can take steps to protect your health and that of your partners as well as seek life-extending medical treatment. People who learn they are not infected can take steps to help ensure they remain uninfected.”

“There are about 250,000 people nationwide who do not know they are HIV-positive, and about half the people living with HIV are African-American,” Fenton told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Organizers around the country for National HIV Testing Day have distributed information about HIV/AIDS, testing sites and have targeted black and Latino populations, which are most at risk of contracting the virus, Fenton said.

CDC: It’s National HIV Testing Day -- Do You Know Your Status and Your Partner’s Too?....

Zimbabwe Confirms Runoff for Friday Despite Calls for Postponement

By VOA News

Zimbabwean officials say Friday's presidential runoff will take place as scheduled, despite the withdrawal of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and international calls for the vote to be postponed.

State media Thursday say the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has decided Mr. Tsvangirai's withdrawal letter, submitted Tuesday, came too late to have legal effect.

In interviews today, Mr. Tsvangirai repeated an offer to negotiate an end to Zimbabwe's political crisis. But he said no talks can take place if the runoff takes place and President Robert Mugabe declares victory.

Zimbabwe Confirms Runoff for Friday Despite Calls for Postponement....

Commentary: Despite Ire Over Imus’ Comments, Many of Us Believe Exactly What We Accuse Him of Saying

By: Gregory Kane, BlackAmericaWeb.com

When I first heard radio shock-jock Don Imus’ comments about NFL defensive back Adam “Pacman” Jones, I just knew Imus couldn’t have meant what I thought he meant.

For those of you not aware, the exchange between Imus and sportscaster Warner Wolf went something like this. Blitzer mentioned that Jones has been arrested six times since the Tennessee Titans drafted him in 2005.

“What color is he?” Imus asked Blitzer.

“He’s African-American,” Wolf answered.

“There you go,” Imus said. “Now we know.”

At first I thought the same thing Imus’ critics are now thinking: That Imus implied that Jones, being black, had a kind of natural proclivity for crime. But I figured that couldn’t possibly be it. Imus may be a shock jock, but the man isn’t stupid. He’s got to know there are plenty of white guys in jails and prisons.

COMMENTARY....

White Racist Groups Increase Membership, Activity in Wake of Potential Obama Presidency

By: Michael H. Cottman

The serious hatin’ on Barack Obama is in full force among racists in cyberspace and has spread to countless computers in homes across America.

Since Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary last month, clinched the Democratic presidential nomination and could become America’s first black president in November, racist groups, white supremacy organizations, neo-nazis and skinheads have all increased their activity on the Internet and stepped up their hateful online denunciations of Obama.

It’s a hate experts say is now reaching a fever pitch.

"I haven't seen this much anger in a long, long time," Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who runs a group called White Revolution in Russellville, Arkansas, told The Washington Post. "Nothing has awakened normally complacent white Americans more than the prospect of America having an overtly non-white president."

White Racist Groups Increase Membership, Activity in Wake of Potential Obama Presidency....

Pacman says he's praying for Imus after 'racist' comment

At least Don Imus can take comfort in knowing that he has Adam (Don't Call Me Pacman -- Or Else) Jones' spiritual support.

Imus, the syndicated radio host who was fired for making racially and sexually insensitive remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team last year, set off another firestorm Monday by asking "What color is he?" after hearing Jones' lengthy rap sheet.

Told that the Cowboys cornerback is African American, Imus said: "Well, there you go. Now we know."

Jones responded to the Dallas Morning News on Monday night: "I'm truly upset about the comments. Obviously, Mr. Imus has problems with African Americans. I'm upset, and I hope the station he works for handles it accordingly. I will pray for him."

Pacman says he's praying for Imus after 'racist' comment....

Obama shares fundraisers with Clinton

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama is sharing one his most valuable assets — his top fundraisers — with former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton to help her pay off her debt, the latest effort to heal the wounds of a bruising primary campaign.

Obama on Tuesday asked his finance team to help Clinton pay back at least $10 million from her failed presidential campaign, setting the stage for joint appearances by the two former rivals later in the week.

In a teleconference with his top fundraisers, Obama asked them to do what they could to help Clinton, according to two Democrats familiar with the call. A campaign spokesman confirmed that Obama had asked them to help the former first lady.

"Some of our donors have asked and Barack said if they have the ability to raise or give money to help on debt, we encourage them to do so," spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Obama shares fundraisers with Clinton....

T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys and Usher Rock BET Awards; West Among Night’s Winners

By: Sandy Cohen, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES - (AP) T-Pain transformed the BET Awards into a circus Tuesday with a multi-artist medley that showed the rapper and singer's wide-ranging influence on urban music, while best-selling rapper Lil Wayne and songstress Alicia Keys gave rousing performances of their own.

Wearing a spangled top hat, T-Pain -- nominated for a leading five BET Awards -- shared the stage with fellow nominees Flo Rida, Rick Ross, Ludacris and Big Boi, along with a bevy of big-top freaks, including fire eaters and acrobats.

"This industry is my circus," said T-Pain. "Ride with the ringleader."

Then T-Pain -- whose nominations came not for his own hits but for his collaborations with others, and whose vocoder-assisted voice is among the most ubiquitous in urban music -- gave a sample of his musical assists over the past year.

T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys and Usher Rock BET Awards; West Among Night’s Winners.

Commentary: Black Girls Get Pregnant and Get Scorned; Why Do the Gloucester Girls Get Tea and Sympathy?

By: Tonyaa Weathersbee

By now, another racial stereotype ought to be biting some big-time dust.

It seems that in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a fishing town described as white, Catholic and blue collar, students who walk the halls of the local high school this fall may find themselves bumping into classmates who will be returning with their own bump. Seventeen girls at Gloucester High School are pregnant -- more than four times the number of pregnancies that the school of 1,200 has had in a year.

Time magazine recently reported that the pregnancies may have been part of a pact that the girls entered into to give birth to and raise their children together. But the principal of the school, Joseph Sullivan, has been silent since making that assertion -- possibly to quench the media firestorm ignited by that sordid tale. The mayor of the town, Carolyn Kirk, is vigorously denying that there was any pregnancy pact -- saying that Sullivan now claims his memory of the details is foggy.

COMMENTARY....

The Hutchinson Report: Shock Jock Don Imus Should Apologize to Blacks for His Latest Racial Insult

By: Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Reprieved radio shock jock Don Imus has done it again. On his nationally syndicated WABC morning talk show on Citadel Broadcasting Corporation, Imus, in response to a statement from another WABC programmer about Dallas Cowboys defensive back Adam “Pacman” Jones' legal difficulties, asked "What color is he?" When the programmer responded he’s African-American, Imus responded, "Well, there you go. Now we know.”

The response reinforces the worst racial stereotypes of crime and violence about African-Americans. White football players and other sports notables have run afoul of the law, but there is no known Imus statement linking their misdeeds to their race. But he did it with Jones.

COMMENTARY....

While Obama Braces for Race-Baiting Election Ads, His Campaign Hones its Rapid Response

By: Charles Babington, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - (AP) A presidential candidate who's named Hussein and wears a turban? A building that's called the White House but run by a black guy?

Those political images and ideas already have found their way onto TV airwaves and campaign buttons, possible harbingers of racially tinged messages in a general election involving the first black candidate to head a major party's ticket.

Though the election is more than four months away, the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are shaping their strategies for dealing with such appeals.

The Obama campaign vows to fight back fiercely and fast, not repeating John Kerry's mistake of waiting to respond to the 2004 "Swift Boat" ads that Democrats saw as a smear of his military record. McCain's camp is alert for attacks on its man, too.

While Obama Braces for Race-Baiting Election Ads, His Campaign Hones its Rapid Response....

Commentary: Can Obama's money buy him love?

By Leslie Sanchez
CNN Contributor

(CNN) -- As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama has proven he's "better, stronger, faster" than any other Democrat in the race. He's the Six-Hundred Million Dollar Man.

Last week, he opted out of the national campaign finance regime and is banking on his fundraising track record to build a war chest unlike any this country has seen since Richard Nixon's in 1972.

As the late Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen once said, "A billion here, a billion there -- pretty soon you're talking real money." But what can Obama and the Democrats do with all the money they expect to raise?

The post-Watergate campaign rules, one national consultant reminded me, tried to keep both candidates in the general election to the same general level of spending. These rules, written largely by Democrats, were supposed to keep the playing field level by keeping the competition about ideas and issues, not who had the most money.

Is Obama trying to buy the election? He threatens to outspend McCain by six -- perhaps eight --- to one. Now, rather than engage in a "Great Debate" about America's future, Obama is trying to win through tactics.

COMMENTARY....

A new Imus controversy?

On “Imus in the Morning” Monday, the controversial radio host Don Imus — who was fired last year for making racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team — made a racially freighted comment about another African-American athlete.

During the show, conversation turned to a story about how suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones now wants to drop his well-known nickname. In the course of the segment, Imus is told that Jones has “been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.”

Imus asks: “What color is he?”

A new Imus controversy?....

Are You Experienced?

By Alan Ehrenhalt

We are in the opening days of a presidential campaign that pits youth against age, the virtues of experience against the freshness and riskiness of the new arrival.

I'm not here to refute all of that: John McCain is 25 years older than Barack Obama, and he always will be. But here's something I bet you didn't know: If Obama becomes president, he will have spent more time serving as a state legislator (eight years) than anyone who has occupied the White House since Abraham Lincoln.

You're thinking that's kind of irrelevant. John McCain has been a member of the U.S. Senate since 1986; do I really mean to suggest that Obama's eight years in the Illinois Senate (not the most august deliberative body, as anyone who has seen it will attest) provide the same preparation for the presidency? Well, not exactly. But looking back on quite a few years covering Congress, and an almost equal number of years following legislatures, I'm drawn to some slightly curmudgeonly comments about what it is that U.S. senators do, and what it is that state legislators do.

Twenty-first century U.S. senators are, virtually by the nature of the job, gadflies. They flit from one issue to another, generally developing little expertise on any of them; devote a large portion of their day to press conferences and other publicity opportunities; follow a daily schedule printed on a 3x5 card that a member of their staff has prepared; depend even more heavily on staff for detailed and time-consuming legislative negotiation that they are too busy to attend; and develop few close relationships with colleagues, nearly all of whom are as busy as they are. There are exceptions, of course—senators who beat the odds and develop an encyclopedic knowledge of topics that interest them—but they are the minority. I don't doubt McCain's instinct for global strategy, but a few months ago, when he had to be corrected on his statement that Iran was training Al Qaeda operatives, I wasn't surprised at all. I'm surprised this doesn't happen to senators more often.

Are You Experienced?....

Decades After Dying, a Pioneer Gets Degree

By: Associated Press

TEXARKANA, Ark. - (AP) Sixty years after becoming the first black to study law at a public university in the South, the late Silas Hunt got his degree from the University of Arkansas.

Hunt died of tuberculosis before earning his law degree, but the Fayetteville campus has granted him the honor posthumously, the Texarkana Gazette reported Saturday.

Decades After Dying, a Pioneer Gets Degree....

MLK Memorial Foundation Only $5.2 Million Short of the $100 Million Needed for Project

By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The U.S Commission of Fine Arts is moving toward approval of a revised concept for the Martin Luther King Jr. national memorial and an official construction date is within sight, according to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation.

Additionally, a dinner in Atlanta last week has brought the foundation’s fundraising total to $94.8 million, closing in on the $100 million needed to build the memorial.

The foundation said it plans to set a construction date soon, and the memorial will be completed in about 20 months following the start of construction. Site prep work is expected to start later this year.

In May, news reports said the Fine Arts Commission had attacked the statue portion of the already approved memorial after the commission’s secretary said in a letter that the way King was portrayed in a model of the sculpture was “confrontational.”

MLK Memorial Foundation Only $5.2 Million Short of the $100 Million Needed for Project....

Could Pride in Obama, Desire to Make History Lure Black Republicans to Vote Democratic?

By: Michael H. Cottman

Black conservatives are facing an unprecedented decision heading into November's presidential election: Support Sen. John McCain, the Republican presumptive nominee, or pass on a historic opportunity to help elect Barack Obama, a Democrat who could become America’s first black president.

Across the country, some black Republicans are grappling with a political dilemma few ever thought possible. Many are excited about the possibility of a black president but torn because Obama doesn't agree with them ideologically.

Retired Gen. Colin Powell, who became the country's first black secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said he will not necessarily vote for the Republican. Powell's views echo many other prominent black conservatives, who are thinking about supporting Obama.

Could Pride in Obama, Desire to Make History Lure Black Republicans to Vote Democratic?....

Commentary: America’s Got to Start Addressing a Sickening Prospect -- Our Pending Shortage of Doctors

By: Judge Greg Mathis

Most students graduating from medical school are faced with hundred of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Mandatory post-graduate residencies, lasting about three years, pay around $45,000 per year, hardly enough to pay off the large student loans they had to take out to pay for their education. While in training, doctors can defer these loans, but interest accumulates, and the debt grows.

For these very reasons, many newly minted doctors are choosing not to become primary care or pediatric physicians. While they are the heart of the medical profession, these two specialties are two of the lowest paid. Not an attractive option for a young doctor with nearly $300,000 in debt to repay. Instead, the docs choose to enter higher paying specialty practices, creating a shortage in critical areas of health care. Congress must act now to alleviate some of the debt that doctors choosing to enter into family or pediatric care face before the impending shortage threatens the nation’s already shaky healthcare system.

Commentary....

‘Insidious’ Depictions of Barack Obama as a Monkey Draw More Attention – and Anger

By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb.com

You saw it coming: The suggestions of not enough brain power, the rumors about the “angry” spouse, the cartoons, the T-shirts.

The steady drumbeat racializing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has gotten increasingly louder.

There have been T-shirts featuring cartoon monkey Curious George eating a banana with the words “Obama ’08,” as well as a Japanese commercial for a mobile phone featuring a rally with people in the crowd holding signs calling for “Change” and a monkey in a suit, holding up the phone -- clearly meant to represent Obama.

Then there is the SockObama monkey sock puppet. Its creators said they didn’t mean to offend anyone -- and they question why people are upset by Obama’s portrayal as a monkey, but not when President George W. Bush is portrayed as a chimpanzee.

‘Insidious’ Depictions of Barack Obama as a Monkey Draw More Attention – and Anger..

Midwest Flooding Impacts African-American Museum in Iowa, but Many Black Areas Spared

By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com

The African-American Museum of Iowa sits on a hill above the Cedar River in Des Moines, but higher ground wasn’t enough to shield it from raging floods.

The executive director and staff haven’t been allowed inside the museum since water began sweeping through the facility and much of downtown Des Moines last week.

“We know we took a significant hit,” Executive Director Tom Moore told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “We hope to get in by the end of this week just to take a look. We probably will be displaced at least six months while the facility is restored.”

Since the floods began in Iowa, other states along the Mississippi River have been hit as hard record rains cause waterways to swell and levees breach.

Storms and flooding across six states this month have killed 24 people, injured 148 and caused more than $1.5 billion in estimated damage in Iowa alone -- a figure that's likely to increase as river levels climb in Missouri and Illinois.

Midwest Flooding Impacts African-American Museum in Iowa, but Many Black Areas Spared

Texas GOP Disses Vendor with Racist Buttons

By: April Castro, Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - (AP) The Texas Republican Party is distancing itself from a vendor who sold campaign buttons at last weekend's state convention that asked, "If Obama is president ... will we still call it The White House?"

The state GOP party said Wednesday that it will donate the $1,500 rent it collected from the vendor, Republicanmarket.com, to Midwestern flood victims.

State GOP spokesman Hans Klingler said the party does not vet the merchandise being sold, but officials plan to discuss doing so in the future. The button sales at the convention in Houston were first reported in The Dallas Morning News.

Texas GOP Disses Vendor with Racist Buttons....

Obama Forgoes Public Funds in First for Major Candidate

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY

WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he would not participate in the public financing system for presidential campaigns. He argued that the system had collapsed, and would put him at a disadvantage running against Senator John McCain, his likely Republican opponent.

With his decision, Mr. Obama became the first candidate of a major party to decline public financing — and the spending limits that go with it — since the system was created in 1976, after the Watergate scandals.

Mr. Obama made his announcement in a video message sent to supporters and posted on the Internet. While it was not a surprise — his aides have been hinting that he would take this step for two months — it represented a turnabout from his strong earlier suggestion that he would join the system. Mr. McCain has been a champion of public financing of campaign throughout his career.

Obama Forgoes Public Funds in First for Major Candidate....