CHARLOTTE 2012 - This week, history came full circle. The Democratic National Committee, at the direction of the president of the United States, chose Charlotte for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
There are a number of firsts with this momentous announcement:
- the first time since 1988 that the DNC is being held in the South.
- the first time in history that North Carolina hosts a major political convention
- the first time that a major political party will renominate an African-American to run for the presidency of the United States
There is no doubt that there are many more firsts to come with this momentous
event, but this one is ours.
North Carolina was extremely important to Barack Obama in 2008, giving him the clinching delegate victory he needed to win the hard fought Democratic primary against then Sen. Hillary Clinton. The president has shown, with his choice of Charlotte, that North Carolina is indeed key to his re-election strategy.
That means he’ll be pouring money and staff back into the state, not to mention making many visits.
Congratulations to the Queen City and its impressive young Mayor Anthony Foxx, for the big get.
More on this in the weeks and months to come.
“OBAMA IN NC” - Needless to say, the Charlotte DNC news is also great for my film, “Obama in NC: The Path to History.” I’m now able to not only rework the ending of the awardwinning documentary to reflect the Charlotte announcement, thus reinforcing the theme of the film, but now, I can start putting together a sequel, which I can finish by the end of the year.
And since the film has only been seen once in Charlotte (let alone in that part of the state), that means we can book it ‘til our hearts content in the weeks and months leading up to the convention, let alone market the revised DVD.
We’ll keep you updated here and on our Facebook page.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH - Have you noticed that ever since we elected our nation’s first black president, forces have really been coming down hard on black folks. The racist Tea Party demonstrations. Radio commentators saying that “Black parents don’t care as much about education as Asian and white parents,” and one of the nation’s top public school systems moving to racially resegregate before our very eyes.
And now an old new one. A caller into WPTF-AM, Raleigh’s well-established right-wing radio station, saying that “noncaucasians” are the ones most likely to commit voter fraud, thus justifying the move towards voter I.D’.s in the state.
I’m not going to tell you to forget the past, because those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it. But I am going to urge all of us to make no mistake, we are making Black History now, but not the kind you think.
As a community, if we sit back and allow these forces to continue to turn back the clock and the rights and gains that so many blacks and whites fought and died for over a half century ago, make no mistake, we WILL be history.
Things are too tough in the nation, and the world, right now, for anybody to think we can all chill out. None of us can, not even our children. We must all be doing our part to stop the push back on our rights and accomplishments. We must make sure that our children know their history, and understand that without their education, they are at the mercy of those who would hold them back.
And it’s way past time for our community to get its economic act together. Without a solid economic base, we will always be going outside of our community for jobs.
That puts us at the mercy of those who are invested in destroying our community, and doing away with our freedoms.
So, as we celebrate the great accomplishments and achievements of our people during this momentous Black History Month 2011, make no mistake at all, it is required of ALL of us to build on that great legacy and fine tradition, and stand strong to defend and preserve all that our ancestors sacrificed for us to have.
There are those who say they want to “Take [their] country back!”
I saying that, according to the Constitution of these United States, it was never “their” country in the first place, because our rights come from GOD, not man.
SUPER PITTSBURGH - All of you “cheeseheads” out there, I have a lot of respect for you and your team, the Green Bay Packers. Tough team, with the strong offense. Nothing bad to say about them.
However, I have to go with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s power-packed Super Bowl. This is a team that has shown nothing but heart, drive and skill this season. They put it all out on the field. This team has a strong work ethic. They deserve this chance to prove that they are the most dominant team in NFL recent history.
I think they are going to fight until the last man standing on Super Bowl Sunday, and I predict that this will be just about (notice my qualifier there) the most watched Super Bowl ever.
There, I said it, and I’m sticking to it. The Pittsburgh Steelers will win the Super Bowl.
TWO FILMS - Taking some time this weekend to relax from an ultra busy scheduled, I watched two DVDs I purchased recently - “Mandingo” and “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”
When I was a teenager back in New York, the film, “Mandingo,” was released. Because it was rated R at the time, I was too young to see it unless I took my Mommy.
Trust me, my mother, GOD rest her soul, would have run out of the theater, dragging me with her by my ear.
Starring James Mason, Perry King, British actress Susan George (with a bad set of teeth, I might add), and then heavyweight boxing champ Ken Norton as the strongman slave named “Mede.”
Based on the bestselling book, “Mandingo” is a thoroughly brutal story of slavery that had me going, “What the ….” Every ten minutes. The way black people were treated in the film was a horror show. This flick, if it did any soft-soaping, didn’t leave out a whole lot.
So this was one of those, “Hated-what-I-saw-but glad-I-saw-it flicks. The images from this film will stay with me for a lifetime.
Then there was “Wall Street” Money Never Sleeps,” the sequel to 1987’s “Wall Street,” both films directed by Oliver Stone.
Both films also starred Michael Douglas as the power-hungry Wall Street broker Gordon Gekko. Douglas won an Oscar in 1988 for basically immortalizing the phrase, “Greed is good.”
No Oscar for Douglas this time, not even a nomination. But he brings back Gekko and all of his shiftiness in a story that tells us how the 2008 collapse of Wall Street happened. Shia LeBouef costars. The sequel is OK, but the music to is horrible, and the flick ends sappy.
Still, I enjoyed it.
CRISIS IN EGYPT - As I write this Tuesday morning, crowds are gathering in Cairo for a mass demonstration for human rights against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek. The people of Egypt want their longtime leader gone as of yesterday. They want a new government and new vision for the country’s future.
All of that is fine, but it also signals change that the Obama administration may have a hard time believing in. Mubarek has been a good friend to the United States, and a strong ally in keeping the peace with Israel (which is shaking in its shoes right now), and a good partner in fighting terrorism.
Not to mention Egypt manages the Suez Canal, a major shipping channel where American naval and commercial ships go through.
All of that is at risk depending on what happens in Egypt next.
Oh, and did I mention that this has already begun a chain reaction across the Middle East (which, by the way is in Africa, folks). Populations in other countries, like Jordan, are beginning to stand strong for change in their lands.
The upheaval in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East definitely has an impact in the United States. Look for gas prices to spike up another 20 cents or so.
Pay attention to Egypt, folks. Pray for the people over there, and pray that our president can handle what could be an explosive situation just right.
Pray hard!
Make sure you tune in every Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. for my talk radio show, ''Make It Happen'' on Power 750 WAUG-AM, or online at www.Power750.com. And read more about my thoughts and opinions exclusively at my new blog, ‘The Cash Roc” (http://thecashroc.blogspot.com/2011/01/cash-roc-begins.html). I promise it will be interesting.
Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association, by Cash Michaels, honored this year as well by NNPA for Best Feature Story Journalist of 2009.
Until next week, keep a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian your life. Bye, bye.
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