Richard Pryor, The First Black President

Watch this.

Alexander Tureaud

Alexander Tureaud was the first black undergradudate student at LSU; because of the actions of university officials, faculty, students, and others, he did not complete his first semester. LSU recently awarded Tureaud an honorary doctorate.

Black Women Are Less Attractive? A Rebuttal

Read this.

Word Association

I haven't seen this in years: Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.

The Expanding Black-White Life Expectancy Gap

Janell Ross reports.

A Pardon For Jack Johnson?

Senator John McCain and Representative Peter King are pursuing a Congressional resolution seeking a pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

From Gary Younge, writing in The Nation: "Millions of black kids may well aspire to the presidency now that a black man is in the White House. But such a trajectory is less likely for them now than it was under Bush. Herein lies what is at best a paradox and at worst a contradiction within Obama's core base of support. The very group most likely to support him--black Americans--is the same group that is doing worse under him."

Skin Color And Beyonce's New Album Cover

Check this out. What do you think?

Black Women Are Less Attractive Than Other Women?

In a Psychology Today article Satoshi Kanazawa wrote that black women are "far less attractive than white, Asian, and Native American women." While the article has been removed from that site, you can check it out here. Can't make it up.

"What's Going On?"

Marvin Gaye's album "What's Going On?" was released forty years ago.

Fifty Percent

That's the increase in asthma rates among black children in the period 2001-2009.

The "Huxtable Effect"?

Did "The Cosby Show" transform racial attitudes? That question is addressed here.

Ron Paul And The 1964 Civil Rights Act

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has made clear that he would not have voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For more on Paul, check out this May 2010 posting.

Marchella Pierce, R.I.P.

This story is heartbreaking.

"I shot Mr. Lippitt because he was African American"

Read this.

Fifty Three

According to the Pew Research Center, that's the percentage of Americans who say that the Civil War continues to be relevant today.

Affirmative Action In South Africa

This issue is discussed in this NPR piece.

Driving While Black In Houston

According to the Houston Chronicle, a Houston Police Department study reports that in 2010 African Americans (23% of Houston's population) represented 33% of drivers stopped by the HPD.

Sixteen Percent

That's the official jobless rate for African Americans.

On Soul Patrols

First boxer Bernard Hopkins claimed that Washington Redskins (Redskins--that's a whole 'nother story) quarterback Donovan McNabb is not black enough. Now Professor Cornel West opines that "I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men." "All he has known culturally is white." "When he meets an independent black brother, it is frightening." Disappointing.

Check out Professor Melissa Harris-Perry's reaction to West's comments here. A few snippets: Regarding West's "fear of free black men" and culturally white statements, Harris-Perry writes that West "has spent the bulk of his adulthood living in those deeply rooted, culturally rich, historically important black communities of Cambridge, MA and Princeton, NJ." Noting West's critique of President Obama's economic policies, she writes that West "remains silent on his friend Tavis Smiley's relationship with Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, and McDonald's--all corporations whose invasive and predatory actions in poor and black communities have been the target of progresive organizing for decades."

Who's "black enough" is such a tired question and weapon of mass distraction. But check out all of the linked materials.

UPDATE: Check out Paul Devlin's "The Professor and the Bellhop."