Misunderstood or afraid to speak her mind?

Alicia Keys has been in the news for the past few days all because of a few quotes in a story written by one of my brethren in entertainment media. A statement has been issued to say that she doesn't really believe what the story conveys and of course, the publication is standing by its reporter.
I wonder if she was misunderstood or if that's how she feels and doesn't want anyone to know. I'm not exactly sure but she deemed it necessary to call the Tom Joyner Morning Show yesterday to sort of clarify this whole mess.
Long story short, Keys was quoted in a story in Blender magazine saying "`Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. `Gangsta rap' didn't exist." Of course, she and her label, J Records, have issued a statement to do some damage control so that this doesn't take on a life of its own.
The whole flap is about whether or not she's a conspiracy theorist. Granted what she says makes a lot of sense but Dick Gregory, she is not! Honestly, I don't think she's saying that the music is to blame for us killing each other but she made a very valid point that the music is full of hatred for each other and the white-controlled establishment that is the record business is doing nothing to rectify.
At the same time, speaking as somewhat of an old-school hip hop head, the music is not to blame for everything. At some point we have to accept the responsibility for ourselves and our children.
Now, speaking as a reporter, sometimes you go to your editor with what you think is a solid story and by the time you leave your editor, it has taken on a whole new life and meaning.
What I would be willing to bet my rent check on is she probably did say that, along with a bunch of other stuff, and the editor and reporter conspired, OK, they got together and decided to make the whole story about 30 seconds of the interview.
The bottom line is she needs to be conscious of what she's saying. After you get so big and so famous, everything you do becomes a source of scrutiny and let's face it, no matter how nice or philanthropic your efforts, somebody is gonna hate on you. Miss Keys has some haters and this whole episode is their work.
So as a public announcement to her and her famous counterparts, if you don't say it, we can't quote it. If you don't say it and we quote it anyway, it becomes libel or slander and the best way around that is to run your own tape recorder and/or have someone present during the interview to be a witness.
To accurately quote Miss Keys, "...stayed tuned 'cause there's more to see ..."

Everybody talkin' 'bout Tavis ...

... about how he's a punk and his loyalties lie with the wrong candidate and how he needs to grow up. OK, some of it I'll agree to, but some of it is just wrong and I'll tell you why.
For those of you who don't know, Smiley, a 12-year political commentator for the Tom Joyner Morning Show, has decided to leave the job at the end of June saying that he simply has too much on his plate. If he were anyone else, I might agree, but Smiley has been wearing an 'S' on his chest since "BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley." So I don't buy the whole, "I've got too much stuff on my plate," nonsense.
While I don't agree with his political choice and I feel like his leaving the TJMS is a cop out, but that brotha has been responsible for jump starting the dialogue on a lot of issues that we need to address.
Over the years I have the good fortune of having seen Smiley speak on two or three occasions and he talks a great game. He has a way of presenting some of these issues that speaks across generational lines.
Of course there's a draw back to this. The jacked up part is in all this dialogue, the brotha offers no solution whatsoever of how to do better. Maybe it's just me but I feel like he shouldn't be talking about it unless he has a solution to do better. Hell, he can even get help.
What he needs to do is form some sort of task force in major metro areas to assess what needs to be done to better those communities and let it spread throughout the region. I'm sure there are several people in every community who are willing to put forth the work if they have someone willing to help.
Honestly, I think he's done a lot of good and he shouldn't be ridiculed the way he has been. Granted some of his past actions border on the juvenile and dare I say, petty, but you have to give credit where it is due. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
In this morning's commentary he said that he's working on three different documentaries and publishing books by several visionaries like the great Cornel West and the inspirational Iyanla Vanzant and he needs time to pursue those "passion projects."
I understand that, but what's wrong with taking a leave of absence? He could very well have taken a leave of absence from the show and they could have let Jesse Jackson Jr., or even Kevin Powell take over for a while.
The thing that surprises me is he is leaving so soon. I know the end of June is a long way off but I kind of hoped he'd stick around at least until the 2008 Election wasn't such a hot button issue.
Regardless of his reasons or excuses for leaving, I wish him the best and I hope the TJMS crew finds a replacement worthy of filling his shoes.

Black In America

I know what it's like, the majority of you do as well, OK, all of ya'll, but for whatever reason, CNN has decided to "explore" it and create an entire series that will air in July.
Since this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Martin L. King Jr., assassination, CNN opted to do a special report that goes into detail about the events that led up to King's death. Producers and one of my favorite folks on the network, Soledad O'Brien, went back to Memphis and spent some time walking through what is now the National Civil Rights Museum. It used to be the Lorraine Motel and the building where the shot was fired that killed King.
She spent time talking to people who were present that day to get their personal accounts of what happened. Those folks interviewed include Jesse Jackson, Billy Kyles, several police officers and Jerry Ray, the brother of James Earl Ray, the man who served time for King's murder.
It was kind of strange to watch because I have been to that museum and it felt just as eerie to watch it on TV as it did to walk through there. For those of you who haven't been, please go. If you have been anywhere near Memphis, shame on you, that should have been your first stop.
Anyway, this documentary is the first of this series and I'm not sure how to feel about it yet. Since Barack Obama and his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright have made news, there's national talk about race more now than there has been since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
For the longest time, black folks having been saying that white folks just don't understand, or they don't care about us anyway. I'm not saying I disagree with that, but let's be honest, we don't care about them either until it starts to affect our bottom line.
I think CNN is opening up a can o' worms with this one. Eventually, they're going to have to do something about being Hispanic in America or being Asian in America or Middle Eastern or Native American. I'm not saying that I don't think they should do it, I am saying that they need to be fair.
Anybody who's not white has gotten an unfair deal in America and we all need to know about it. I applaud CNN's effort but I have a hard believing that they'll be able to capture the true essence of what it is to be black over one week.
If I had to guess, I would say that there won't be much diversity in the people they talk to and that sucks because black folks are as diverse as the rest of the world. I shouldn't assume, but I've been working in mainstream media for five years and that is long enough to know that the gatekeepers who matter can not make heads or tails of people who don't look like them.
In mainstream media, all minorities must fit into their respective boxes so that they can be properly glazed over and categorized for their comfort. It's hard to take but to quote one of the best bands of all time, Earth, Wind & Fire, "that's the way of the world."
What I really hope is that this series will start to break through some of these stereotypes and negative connotations of black people that the rest of America has. The primary goal for any sort of groundbreaking series like this is to incite some sort of change. While I'm not so naive that I believe that everyone who sees this will change their minds about how they feel about black people for the better, I do hope that this will at least make people think twice about where their negative feelings are coming from.
What do ya'll think? Do you have high hopes for the series?

Do we all look alike?

I didn't think so, but apparently, we do. Today, a lady and her daughter stopped by my office to give me some information and her daughter, out of the blue said, "You look just like Macy Gray," and she was excited about it.
"Oh, that's a compliment," she said.
Don't get me wrong, I've been told that I have 'one of those faces' where I always look like somebody they know. When I lived in Tennessee, some lady even stopped me in Kroger and just started talking. Asked me where I'd been hiding and how my mama was doing. Ya'll know me, I didn't correct her until the end of the conversation and she felt so stupid.
This one was a little different though, I couldn't figure out why I must look like Macy Gray to her. I mean, I do have the natural hair going for me, Macy is sporting a short, relaxed look these days. We're both around the deep brown color of the negro spectrum and we both have these full lips, but I think that about as far as it goes.
So far, the only celebrity I've been told that I remind people of is Queen Latifah. And hey, I'll take that. I can see how my life can sort of parallel her character Kadijah's on Living Single. I can see how my laugh might sound like hers. I can even see how I don't let people into my inner circle so easily.
I can even see how I compare to Cleo on Set It Off. While I'm no lesbian, I am a tomboy to the heart, I love sports and some people think "I'm hard" so I could be precieved as intimidating. I will go to the end of the earth to make sure my peeps are OK and let's face it, I can be petty after a fight. Hence the line, "I don't wanna give that ho no ride."
Shoot, I can even identify a couple of similarities between me and the Queen's character in The Last Holiday. Like Georgia, it would take a near death experience for me to throw all caution to the wind and live the life that I want. And hey, who doesn't find L.L. sexy as all get out?!
But Macy Gray? Of all people, Macy Gray? When I hear the name Macy Gray, I think one of three things:
"Lemme see the warrant!"
"I try to say goodbye and I choke, I try to walk away and I stumble ..."
And last but certainly not least, how she was walking around in the movie Lackawanna Blues with half of her hair pressed and the other half in an Afro.
I ask you again, does any of that remind you of me?
Obviously, I'm not going to look at myself and see where I favor someone other than my dad and sometimes my brother, so what do you guys think?
So I look like Macy Gray?