The Legacy Lives On...

On June 16, 1971, Afeni Shakur gave birth to her "Black Prince," whom she said would save the black nation. 39 years later, and almost 14 years after his death, his controversial lyrics and legendary music continues to live on.

He was born, Lesane Parish Crooks, in the Bronx, New York; his name was later changed to Tupac Amaru Shakur. His mother was a member of the Black Panther Party, and his father, for much of his life, went unknown. He grew up in a number of places, all of which played a part in turning him into the man that he was. He was an actor,a poet, a lyricist, an activist and a revolutionary. His creativity gave birth to six solo albums in life, and many more in death. He starred in 6 films and after his death, a book of his poetry along with two poetry Cd's were released. His music shed light on the problems that faced the community and many would say that he was way ahead of his time. On September 13, 1996, Tupac died from fatal gunshot wounds after he was gunned down in Las Vegas, Nevada; his murder has never been solved.

Tupac can undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest of all time. While hip-hop today is plagued with garbage lyrics from the likes of Soulja Boy & Gucci Mane, Tupac's music still helped lay the foundation for hip-hop that some artists still follow. His name and style can never be copied but it lives on through artists and fans that still represent his ideology.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAC!

Discrimination Is World Wide...

It's no secret that countries, states, and cities want a picture perfect image when they may be the home to some popular events like the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and the World Cup. In 1996, the city of Atlanta initiated the removal of 15,000 public housing residents in order to make room for Centennial Park (www.ryanvande.com). More recently, the City of Detroit initiated a city wide "clean up" for the homeless, placing them in shelters, prior to Super Bowl XL in 2008. Now, the government of South Africa has displaced thousands of the impoverished people from Cape Town in order to create a postcard image for those tuning in to see the World Cup.

According to an article printed in The Washington Post, thousands of people found themselves being forced to relocate into an area of Delft, Cape Town, nicknamed Blikkiesdorp, which in Afrikaans means "tin-can town." Blikkiesdorp is a temporary relocation camp made up of over 1,000 one room, iron corrugated, shacks, that are about 193 square feet in size. Typically, one shack houses five or more people and four units share one bathroom.

Blikkiesdorp has a high crime rate, the living conditions are below poverty level, and the living environment extreme; many of the residents use duct tape to hold their roof and walls together during high winds and/or rain. Conditions like these are breeding grounds for diseases but the site is so far away from the city itself that it makes finding transportation to medical clinics extremely difficult. The children rarely go to school because of transportation and the security on the site is ridiculous; guards patrol frequently with K9 dogs and the entire site is surrounded by barbed wire.

South Africa's government had $450 million to spend on a new stadium but can't seem to find the funds to provide these people, whom they have uprooted from their own living quarters, with adequate living space. This is not a situation that should be "swept under the rug." There is no such thing as a "picture perfect" anything; everything has a dark side and Blikkiesdorp exploits the underlying issues that still remain 16 years after the end of apartheid; this time its a segregation of class more than it is race. They have been placed in what may as well be a concentration camp and left there; but left there until when? The South African government says that the money it has put into constructing the new stadiums and new businesses in the Cape Town area will provide more jobs, raise living standards, and open up more opportunities. It sounds like a bunch of empty promises made to pacify the situation. The truth is that the government placed its image over its people and that is something that will never change any where. The lower class will never matter to the upper class in any country unless we all come together and demand change. Sounds like we're in need of a revolution. What do you think?


For the complete story and more images, please visit www.washingtonpost.com

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Call me ignorant...

I have had a few people send me an email asking me for my thoughts on the oil spill situation in the Gulf of Mexico and so far I have an opinion BUT it is not one of value. I have no substance or education behind my response and every place I seem to look for more information is inconsistent with the place I looked before that. So please forgive me for my lack of response thus far. I am still trying to educate myself so that I can offer an educated response as well as offer feasible solutions to a much larger problem. I will have a response for you as soon as I feel that what I am saying shows that I know what I am talking about.

In the meantime, stay tuned because I will have other topics to blog on.

Single Mother Stereotype...

Yesterday morning I got a call from a good friend of mine who just wanted to vent about a frustrating situation she has encountered while being pregnant. Our conversation inspired this entry and will focus more on my opinion than it does on facts but it is something I had to share because I found the situation to be one I can't quite wrap my mind around.
While on the way to work she was approached by a guy , whom she had never met before, at the bus stop who asked her if her baby was his (he clearly knew it wasn't his child). This young man then proceeded to tell her that no one would do for her and the baby like he would so she should just let him take care of her. Keep in mind that she is married and wears her ring EVERYDAY so it's not like he couldn't read the signs. She said that this is not the first time that it has happened to her and she was finally at a point where she was ready to snap. She is not the first of my friends that has faced this kind of problem when they were pregnant which leads me to my biggest issue. Why do so many people look a a pregnant woman or a woman with children and automatically assume that she is or will be a single mother?

The U.S. Census Bureau statistics from November of 2009 show that there are 13.7 million single parents that are raising approximately 21.8 million children; which accounts for 26% of children under the age of 21 in the United States. I do understand that being a single parent is unfortunately a common occurance but when does it become acceptable to assume that all women with children are single mothers? Another problem I have is that if so many men show so much concern for women and children that aren't theirs, then why are there so many single mothers out here today? How many of those men offering to take care of someone else's child have children of their own that they don't take care of? Come on people!

It is time to push aside the stereotypes and stop assuming that all women with children are single mothers. Pay attention to the signs people and stop being so disrespectful.