‘Selma’ Nominated For Eight NAACP Image Awards

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‘Selma’ Nominated For Eight NAACP Image Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The civil rights drama “Selma” led all films Tuesday when it collected eight nominations for NAACP Image Awards. The movie earned nods for outstanding motion picture; lead actor for David Oyelowo; supporting actor for Andre Holland, Common and Wendell Pierce; supporting actress for Carmen Ejogo and Oprah Winfrey; and director for Ava DuVernay. Other films nominated for outstanding motion picture were “Belle,” ”Beyond the Lights,” ”Dear White People” and “Get On Up.” The 46th annual NAACP Image Awards will be presented during a Feb. 6 ceremony airing live on the TV One channel. The awards honor diversity in the arts. …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The civil rights drama “Selma” led all films Tuesday when it collected eight nominations for NAACP Image Awards.

The movie earned nods for outstanding motion picture; lead actor for David Oyelowo; supporting actor for Andre Holland, Common and Wendell Pierce; supporting actress for Carmen Ejogo and Oprah Winfrey; and director for Ava DuVernay. Other films nominated for outstanding motion picture were “Belle,” ”Beyond the Lights,” ”Dear White People” and “Get On Up.”

The 46th annual NAACP Image Awards will be presented during a Feb. 6 ceremony airing live on the TV One channel. The awards honor diversity in the arts.

Viola Davis was the most nominated performer with three nods for her work in the films “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” and “Get On Up,” and the TV series “How to Get Away with Murder.”

Other nominees included best movie actor contenders Chadwick Boseman for “Get On Up,” Denzel Washington for “The Equalizer,” Idris Elba for “No Good Deed,” and Nate Parker for “Beyond The Lights.”

Outstanding actress nominees were Gugu Mbatha-Raw for “Belle,” Quvenzhane Wallis for “Annie,” Taraji P. Henson for “No Good Deed,” Tessa Thompson for “Dear White People,” and Davis for “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.”

In addition to Holland, Common and Pierce, outstanding supporting actor nods went to Cedric the Entertainer for “Top Five” and Danny Glover for “Beyond The Lights.”

Other nominees for outstanding supporting actress were Jill Scott, Octavia Spencer and Davis for “Get On Up.”

On the television side, nominations for outstanding comedy series went to “black-ish,” ”House of Lies,” ”Key & Peele,” ”Orange is the New Black” and “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

Nods for best TV drama went to “Being Mary Jane,” ”Grey’s Anatomy,” ”House of Cards,” ”How to Get Away with Murder” and “Scandal.”

The nominees for outstanding comedy series actor were Andre Braugher for “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Anthony Anderson for “black-ish,” Don Cheadle for “House of Lies,” Keegan-Michael Key for “Key & Peele” and Kevin Hart for “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”

Outstanding comedy series actress nominees were Mindy Kaling for “The Mindy Project,” Niecy Nash for “The Soul Man,” Tracee Ellis Ross for “black-ish,” Uzo Aduba for “Orange is the New Black,” and Wendy Raquel Robinson for “The Game.”

Nominations for outstanding actor in a drama series went to LL Cool J for “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Omar Epps for “Resurrection,” Omari Hardwick for “Being Mary Jane,” Shemar Moore for “Criminal Minds,” and Taye Diggs for “Murder in the First.”

Nominated for outstanding drama series actress were Gabrielle Union for “Being Mary Jane,” Kerry Washington for “Scandal,” Nicole Beharie for “Sleepy Hollow,” Octavia Spencer for “Red Band Society,” and Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder.”

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Online:

http://www.naacpimageawards.net

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

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‘Selma’ Nominated For Eight NAACP Image Awards

Comprehensive National Policy That Outlaws Racial Profiling Should Cover State, Local Police

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Comprehensive National Policy That Outlaws Racial Profiling Should Cover State, Local Police

Racial profiling continues to plague our nation despite the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law. Likewise, excessive force by police persists despite the Constitution’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures. Whatever else we have learned from the recent tragedies of police violence, it is clear that we need a comprehensive national policy that outlaws racial profiling in order to rein in police violence, harassment and other misconduct. Such profiling undermines public safety by straining police-community trust. When law enforcement officers target community members, or treat them more aggressively, on account of race, they are less effective at fighting crime because they are…

Racial profiling continues to plague our nation despite the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law. Likewise, excessive force by police persists despite the Constitution’s prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures.

Whatever else we have learned from the recent tragedies of police violence, it is clear that we need a comprehensive national policy that outlaws racial profiling in order to rein in police violence, harassment and other misconduct.

Such profiling undermines public safety by straining police-community trust. When law enforcement officers target community members, or treat them more aggressively, on account of race, they are less effective at fighting crime because they are targeting innocent people instead of criminal suspects. It’s ineffective and counterproductive.

To root out racial profiling, we need stronger policies at the state and local levels, as well as more effective training and oversight of police officers. State-level policies vary widely. In fact, a recent September 2014 report from the NAACP titled “Born Suspect” found 20 out of the 50 states do not have laws that prohibit racial profiling by law enforcement. Only 17 states require data collection on all police stops and searches, and only 15 require analysis and publication of other racial profiling data. Remedies for racial profiling incidents also vary from state to state.

Back in 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice adopted a policy titled “Guidance Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies,” which was an important first step in training law enforcement agencies to eliminate illegitimate uses of race in policing. That policy, however, had significant limitations and had not been updated despite advocacy by civil rights groups.

In 2012, more than 200 civil rights groups asked Attorney General Eric Holder to update the policy to, among other things, prohibit profiling on the basis of national origin, religion, gender and sexual identity. They also called for elimination of loopholes for national security and border enforcement, the creation of enforceable standards, and for it to apply to all state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funds or work with federal agencies.

Just recently, the attorney general finally did propose new guidelines on racial profiling that bans the practice by federal law enforcement agencies. This is a good first step, but the updated policy should have included the research-based proposals made by civil rights advocates. State and local law enforcement agencies should have also been covered in the proposal because Americans encounter local police in far greater numbers than any federal law enforcement officers. While racial profiling can end in tragic police killings of unarmed individuals, such as with Eric Garner or Michael Brown, profiling more often results in unnecessary stops and searches, harassment and intimidation, and even confiscation of cash or vehicles without due process.

If we have learned anything from the recent tragic deaths of Garner and Brown, as well as the experiences of numerous other African American victims of police violence going back decades — from Rodney King to Abner Louima to Amadou Diallo and Tamir Rice — it is that excessive force and racial profiling are two destructive modes of police misconduct that require concerted, vigilant action to reduce and eliminate.

We have constitutional protections. We have promises from governors and police departments to root out racial profiling from police practices. Nevertheless, we continue to have cases of police racial profiling and excessive force. The time is now for the federal government to make clear that racial profiling is ineffective, harmful and undermines our democratic values, and to set the standards on bias-free policing for all of our nation’s law enforcement agencies.

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Comprehensive National Policy That Outlaws Racial Profiling Should Cover State, Local Police

Alex Wiley’s ‘Top Of The World’ Explores Life’s Dark, Beautiful Duality

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Alex Wiley’s ‘Top Of The World’ Explores Life’s Dark, Beautiful Duality

Alex Wiley caught the attention of the hip-hop world after the summer release of his “Village Party” album, proving himself to be one of Chicago’s most promising artists on the rise. The Huffington Post is pleased to premiere his brand new track, “Top of the World,” which was written and arranged by Wiley, Blev and Carter Lang. “I made this song when I was working on a project called ‘Generous Dubsack,'” Wiley said during his lunch break in the middle of a 12-hour studio session. “[The project] was loosely based on my high school experience, but it was about a kid who’s having a hard time in school, flunking out of high school basically. A lot of shit’s going on in his life, …

Alex Wiley caught the attention of the hip-hop world after the summer release of his “Village Party” album, proving himself to be one of Chicago’s most promising artists on the rise. The Huffington Post is pleased to premiere his brand new track, “Top of the World,” which was written and arranged by Wiley, Blev and Carter Lang.

“I made this song when I was working on a project called ‘Generous Dubsack,'” Wiley said during his lunch break in the middle of a 12-hour studio session. “[The project] was loosely based on my high school experience, but it was about a kid who’s having a hard time in school, flunking out of high school basically. A lot of shit’s going on in his life, he’s really depressed and he’s suicidal. He plans to kill himself every weekend after school, but every Friday he has a ritual that he buys weed and his dealer always gives him more than he pays for. It was going to be about that human connection and I kind of scrapped the project, but I made a few songs for it — including ‘Sexual Dolphin’ and ‘Lil Stoner Boi’ — and this was the main song that made me want to make this project in the first place.”

“Top of the World” draws comparisons to the attitude and feeling that can be associated with Kid Cudi’s “Man on the Moon” series, but provides a format that proves tougher on the listener’s stomach. Eschewing any semblance of verse or chorus, Wiley forces listeners to count every beat, pressing replay after each listen to try to memorize its abstract structure. Sticking to his sing-song rhymes, as a helix of synthesizers whirls in and out overtop of a grounding steady four-on-the-floor kick, the song elevates while tapping into the burdens that are a part of everyday life. Searching for the beauty in the parts that aren’t so pretty, Wiley wants to challenge his listeners by creating music that they wouldn’t expect to hear from him.

“I’m trying to make music that’s uncomfortable, but the sound is progressive enough and intriguing enough that it makes you listen to something that you wouldn’t necessarily have before,” Wiley said. “I want it to be more than just something you can put on and nod your head to with your friends in your car, but I don’t want it to be limited to something that you can only listen to by yourself because it’s so sad and introspective that you feel awkward listening to it with other people.

“I’m trying to make dark, beautiful things, essentially, because I want my music to stand beyond now,” Wiley added. “My whole thing now is perspective, like, how am I going to feel about this later? Am I going to be proud of all of this or am I going to be ashamed of the time that I was a young kid-rapper saying reckless shit on the Internet?”

About halfway into his next album, which will be titled “Silent Party,” “Top of the World” functions as a sonic bridge. For fans in Chicago, Wiley will be headlining a free show Wednesday, Dec. 10.

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Alex Wiley’s ‘Top Of The World’ Explores Life’s Dark, Beautiful Duality

4 Things I Learned After Viewing Kinky Boots

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4 Things I Learned After Viewing Kinky Boots

On Dec. 7 I saw Kinky Boots at the SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. Words cannot describe how extraordinary it is. It plays through Dec. 28. Here are 10 things I learned from viewing Kinky Boots: 1. It is based on a true story and a film that came out in 2005. 2. Cyndi Lauper is the first woman to win an individual Tony for writing a score to a musical. 3. The character of Lola was based on Sylvester. 4. Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper have a six-step program of happiness based on a speech that Harvey gave: Pursue the truth. Learn something new. Accept yourself and you’ll accept others. Let love shine. Let pride be your guide. You’ll change the world when you

On Dec. 7 I saw Kinky Boots at the SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. Words cannot describe how extraordinary it is. It plays through Dec. 28. Here are 10 things I learned from viewing Kinky Boots:

1. It is based on a true story and a film that came out in 2005.

2. Cyndi Lauper is the first woman to win an individual Tony for writing a score to a musical.

3. The character of Lola was based on Sylvester.

4. Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper have a six-step program of happiness based on a speech that Harvey gave:

  1. Pursue the truth.
  2. Learn something new.
  3. Accept yourself and you’ll accept others.
  4. Let love shine.
  5. Let pride be your guide.
  6. You’ll change the world when you change your mind.

Peace, love, compassion and blessings.

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4 Things I Learned After Viewing Kinky Boots

The Best Returning TV Shows of 2014

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The Best Returning TV Shows of 2014

There are more than 60 shows on the three end-of-year lists I’ve come up with — Top 10 Shows, Best New Shows and Best Returning Shows. More than five dozen shows rated shout-outs, and I’ve probably forgotten a few. As I said in the introduction to my Top 10 list, TV’s middle is doing great. That vast territory between the very top tier and the sketchier lower levels is thriving, with all sorts of outlets commissioning all sorts of fare. And when it comes to the moving target that is a television show, I don’t demand perfection (as if anyone could ever satisfactorily define what that is), I just demand engagement, entertainment and …

There are more than 60 shows on the three end-of-year lists I’ve come up with — Top 10 Shows, Best New Shows and Best Returning Shows. More than five dozen shows rated shout-outs, and I’ve probably forgotten a few.

As I said in the introduction to my Top 10 list, TV’s middle is doing great. That vast territory between the very top tier and the sketchier lower levels is thriving, with all sorts of outlets commissioning all sorts of fare. And when it comes to the moving target that is a television show, I don’t demand perfection (as if anyone could ever satisfactorily define what that is), I just demand engagement, entertainment and food for thought, and the 40 shows on this list, whatever their stumbles, provided some mixture of that this year.

I’ve singled out some of the Best Returning Shows for a few thoughts (just because I have a few words I’d like to say about them, not because they’re necessarily more worthy than the shows listed at the end of this post):

“Arrow,” CW: Like a lot of fans, I think the start of the third season has been a bit uneven, but Season 2 was extremely strong and this kinetic, intelligent drama is still quite entertaining and easily the finest superhero show on television.

“Banshee,” Cinemax: I’ve singled out “Arrow” and “The 100” for their fine direction, and this neo-noir is also top-notch in that department. Like those other shows, it handles action very well, but the action is always in service to character moments that carry emotional weight, no matter how strange or extreme the circumstances. There are very few shows that reliably know what they are and what they want to do: “Banshee” is one of them, and it fulfills its creative goals with sly humor, wounded emotion and believable fisticuffs.

“Hannibal,” NBC: One of the most disturbing shows on TV is also one of the most sincere, and that dichotomy injects tension and pathos into almost every scene. It’s hard to watch, but “Hannibal” rarely loses sight of Will Graham’s humanity — and Hannibal Lecter’s fascination with the psychological mechanisms that make that humanity possible. I can’t quite believe that this strange, saturated, menacing, sad fantasia airs on network TV, but the mere existence of “Hannibal” — let alone its strangely effective ingredients — are yet more proof that we live in unpredictable times.

“Homeland,” Showtime: “Homeland” isn’t the consistently great show that it was in its first season and two-thirds of its second, which is why the weak start to Season 4 made me wonder if I’d have to give it up. I haven’t given it up, because the drama upped its game — well, a couple of its games. “Homeland” is now a rotating array of shows, some of which work and some of which don’t. “Homeland” simply doesn’t have the skill set to be a good soap opera, which is why, in recent seasons, it has consistently stumbled when it comes to Carrie Mathison’s personal life. It’s on somewhat firmer ground when it decides to be a somewhat meatier version of “24,” as it was Dec. 7 outing, in which the preposterous and pulpy stuff was offset by some nuanced character moments. When the show is working, it can be a gripping, timely meditation on the ugly, pragmatic and questionable decisions made by individuals on the front lines of a war even they don’t fully understand.

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” ABC: It got good, thank goodness. In its second season, this adventure hour got a lot better at action, it injected the proceedings with much more suspense and it brought some fine supporting actors into the fold. What it lacks in depth it makes up for in efficiency and capability, and though its characters aren’t in the Whedonverse hall of fame, they’re much more engaging this season. A welcome improvement all round.

“Masters of Sex,” Showtime: I was hoping this show would make the kind of leap “The Americans” made between its first and second season, but the Showtime drama was consistently inconsistent throughout its second season. It often wandered away from its core strengths and suffered from pacing and characterization issues (almost everything to do with Masters’ wife was a misfire). Still, the show’s earnest warmth and its compassion for its characters made it worth watching, and the work of Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan was typically transfixing, especially in the terrific “Fight.”

“New Girl,” Fox: I laugh out loud at this show, many times, during almost every episode; it is almost always a balm at the end of a long, tough week. Very occasionally, some jokes veers toward being needlessly cruel or thoughtless, which jars because this is one of the most compassion-driven comedies out there. But in general, the show’s messy, dirty goofiness, its effortlessly funny cast and its game exploration of the difficulties of growing up make it a treat to watch.

“Mad Men,” AMC: I’m still not a fan of the decision to split the seasons in two, in part because AMC has given me twice as long to anticipate missing this show. Few shows are as richly stocked with characters, stories, moments and images worth thinking about and analyzing, and yet “Mad Men” is far from being an antiseptic experiment. This drama is at once warm and coolly rational, empathic and dispassionately observational; it’s witty and even fantastically goofy on occasion. I’m already pre-missing it.

“Scandal,” ABC: This spinning top of a show seemed exhausted by the end of its third season; it floundered in various attempts to sustain its usual energy level. So it was a pleasant surprise to watch the start of Season 4: The drama found a more measured pace — well, measured for “Scandal” — and it found fruitful new avenues to explore, and the continuing greatness of Joe Morton’s performance as Eli Pope is a weekly treat.

More returning shows I watched and appreciated in 2014 (and relevant write-ups from the past year are linked): “The Americans” (written up in Top 10 of 2014 list), “Archer,” “The Bletchley Circle” (RIP), “The Bridge” (RIP), “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Call the Midwife,” “The Comeback,” “Community,” “Defiance,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “Girls,” “The Good Wife,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Key & Peele,” “Looking,” “Louie,” “Orange Is the New Black” (written up in Top 10 of 2014 list), “Orphan Black,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Rectify” (written up in Top 10 of 2014 list), “Regular Show,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Suits,” “Supernatural,” “Trophy Wife” (RIP), “Veep,” “Vikings” and “A Young Doctor’s Notebook.”

Ryan McGee and I discussed “Hannibal, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Cosmos” in the most recent Talking TV podcast, which is here, on iTunes and below. On the podcast page, you can find many more discussions of the shows mentioned above.

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The Best Returning TV Shows of 2014

Recent Rash of Exonerations Only the Surface: Many More Remain Wrongfully Imprisoned

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Recent Rash of Exonerations Only the Surface: Many More Remain Wrongfully Imprisoned

Fernando Bermudez. Sami Leka. Jose Morales. Reuben Montalvo. Lazaro Burts. Kareen Bellamy. Anthony Ortiz. Frank Sterling. Roy Brown. Dennis Halstead. John Kogut. Eric Glisson. Jonathan Fleming. Those are the names of 13 men that I personally knew and served time with who were exonerated either during my 16 years in prison or thereafter. Last year there were 91 exonerations. This year there have been 90 thus far. To date there have been 1482 exonerations overall, only 321 of them being DNA related. Since taking office this past January, Brooklyn DA Thompson’s conviction integrity unit has exonerated 11 people. Most experts estimate the percentage of wrongfully convicted prisoners to be 2 to 5% of the inmate population — that is 120,000 people. I…

Fernando Bermudez. Sami Leka. Jose Morales. Reuben Montalvo. Lazaro Burts. Kareen Bellamy. Anthony Ortiz. Frank Sterling. Roy Brown. Dennis Halstead. John Kogut. Eric Glisson. Jonathan Fleming.

Those are the names of 13 men that I personally knew and served time with who were exonerated either during my 16 years in prison or thereafter.

Last year there were 91 exonerations. This year there have been 90 thus far. To date there have been 1482 exonerations overall, only 321 of them being DNA related. Since taking office this past January, Brooklyn DA Thompson’s conviction integrity unit has exonerated 11 people.

Most experts estimate the percentage of wrongfully convicted prisoners to be 2 to 5% of the inmate population — that is 120,000 people. I deem the number to be closer to 15 to 20%.

In either case, what is causing the staggering number of wrongful convictions?

Rogue Law Enforcement. In Brooklyn, disgraced retired detective Scarcella was found to have used the same drug addict as the sole eyewitness in six different murder cases. Various news accounts say as many as 70 homicides he worked on are being reviewed.

Forensic Fraud. In Pennsylvania, forensic scientist, Annie Dhookhan, was sentenced to three to five years in prison and two years of probation after pleading guilty to 27 counts of misleading investigators, filing false reports, and tampering with evidence.

Additionally, forensic scientists are given financial incentives for giving prosecutorial favorable results that lead to conviction in North Carolina, Illinois, Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, New Jersey, Virginia, Arizona, California, Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Prosecutorial Misconduct. Lying to judges and juries about the existence of benefits and in some cases coercion to informants was a regular practice over the span of the 23 year tenure of former Brooklyn DA Hynes, as was withholding of evidence of innocence.

Junk science. For 40 years, FBI experts have testified in court about “bullet lead analysis” a procedure in which bullets found at a crime scene are tested for arsenic, tin, silver, and other contaminants or additives, and the findings were compared to analysis of bullets found in the possession of suspects. These experts claimed to be able to link one bullet to others from the same production run. For at least 20 years, FBI officials knew that there were no scientific underpinnings to this junk science — that in fact, there were no studies shown to determine how significant a “match” was.

Disgraced dog scent expert Preston came into courtrooms in Texas and Florida for over 20 years, stating that he had trained dogs which would bark if, after being given items to smell from a crime, the dog recognized the scent from a suspect’s item. Preston claimed that his dogs could smell human traces years or months after a suspect walked over the ground, on heavily trafficked streets, underwater, and even after hurricanes. He is not the only “expert” in this “field.”

In 2013, it was revealed that in 27 death penalty cases, FBI forensic experts may have exaggerated the scientific conclusions that were drawn from a so-called “match” between hair found at a crime scene and hair from a defendant.

Tire tracks, footprints, and bite marks are also junk science.

I served 16 years in prison, from the ages of 17 to 32, wrongfully convicted of a murder and rape in New York, despite the fact that the DNA never matched. I lost all seven of my appeals, including two of which now US Supreme Court Judge Sotomayor denied on procedural grounds for having been four days late despite my substantive innocence argument. Ultimately I was exonerated because further DNA testing identified the actual perpetrator, who killed another victim 3.5 years later.

Using $1.5 million dollars of compensation I received, I started The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice to exonerate the wrongfully convicted in DNA and non-DNA cases, educate the public, elected officials, and criminal justice professionals on the causes of wrongful conviction and the reforms need to prevent them, and help the exonerated reintegrate. In two years time, we helped exonerate William Lopez, who had served 23.5 years, and helped 4 wrongfully convicted men reintegrate back into society by providing short term housing, which enabled them to pursue further education, and in one case open a business.

This holiday season, while celebrating with friends and family, we hope you’ll take a brief moment to remember all those who remain wrongfully imprisoned.

To learn more about The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice and how you can help, please visit here.

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Recent Rash of Exonerations Only the Surface: Many More Remain Wrongfully Imprisoned

Red, White, and Black: The Story of the Fat Kid in Gym Class

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Coach, I never ran your mile every Monday because I didn’t give a shit. And I didn’t give a shit because I was much too busy dealing with my family and figuring out who I was or wondering why everyone insisted on calling me “Beaver” when I would say how much it hurt me (time and time again), or if I had any real friends. Because I’ve always been on the outside, I’ve had to interpret and analyze life differently than everyone else, so for years I did nothing and allowed all of you to step on me. I would take all of the insults, all of the negativity, all of the …

Coach,

I never ran your mile every Monday because I didn’t give a shit. And I didn’t give a shit because I was much too busy dealing with my family and figuring out who I was or wondering why everyone insisted on calling me “Beaver” when I would say how much it hurt me (time and time again), or if I had any real friends. Because I’ve always been on the outside, I’ve had to interpret and analyze life differently than everyone else, so for years I did nothing and allowed all of you to step on me. I would take all of the insults, all of the negativity, all of the hate that you and my peers would give me and lie awake at night dreaming of the day when everything changed. I would cry myself to sleep most nights, knowing my only comfort was the day I escaped Lancaster’s clutches. That was nine years ago.

I’m 21 now, and I fucking wish that Monday mile was the biggest problem in my life right now, I really do. I wish that I didn’t have to become aware of the blatant racism and classism of our desert community, that white people would stop calling me their “nigga”, that I didn’t have to turn to drugs and alcohol to escape my problems, but most of all I wish my mother didn’t have to resort to prostitution to provide for her family. And I wish she would understand how fucked up I feel about it and that I know she will never admit it. I don’t think I will ever be able to honestly say that I love her, and that crushes me a thousand times more than that fucking mile ever could.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t understand physical fitness sooner and the impact it would have on my life, but I am happy to report that I am now skinny. And not only am I skinny, but athletic, healthy, and damn good-looking. The physical imperfections that plagued me in my early youth have now become my most admirable traits. Those buck teeth everyone loved to point out are now the best set of choppers this side of the Mississippi, and a crucial part to my trademark smile. Every push-up, every squat, every lunge that I ever have done was so that I could reclaim myself from the image and person that I allowed everyone else to create of me. And it worked. I felt healthier, happier, and finally growing into the person I always dreamed of being.

Coach, I wish that our relationship didn’t have to be this way, but like so many other people that have come and gone in my life, I don’t feel remorse for how things ended. Choices were made, and regardless of the reasoning, our lives are now what they are because of it. I wonder what you would have thought if you found out that an endless cycle of incapable and damaging father figures were coming in and out of my life, that I needed literature because it was the one place where I didn’t have to be me, or that I tried to commit suicide only two years later after leaving your class, but then I think back to the days you would look at me and shake your head in contempt at my internal subordination. I could see the disappointment in your eyes behind your stupid sunglasses (that only middle school P.E. teachers wear) and guess that my depression and weakness is just what you would have expected out of me.

If you could only see me now; I’ve partied with basketball stars, mingled with celebrities, and had experiences I never thought possible. I have you to thank partly, because the memories I have of you are a constant reminder for me to never quit on my personal mission in life and what I have to do for me. All because of you… and everyone else that wrote me off. There’s a reason why the nerd becomes successful, why the weirdos become innovators… we internalize everything to prove people like you wrong. And I’m gonna keep fucking doing that until some balding coroner with two kids and a fucked up pension checks off “Deceased” and drives back to the home he will never pay off.

Is everything perfect? No, the stakes in my life have never been higher. The weight of my decisions is physical. My failures are historical, but I am now prepared for them. I’m ready for what the world wants to throw at me because I’ve seen it at its worst, and I kept going. I survived. Nothing can stop me anymore. You laughed at my fruitless physical efforts, they laughed when I said I wanted to become a rapper, but no one is laughing anymore except me.

Sincerely,
The Fat Kid in Gym Class

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Red, White, and Black: The Story of the Fat Kid in Gym Class

5 Of Bill Cosby’s Accusers Speak Out On CNN

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5 Of Bill Cosby’s Accusers Speak Out On CNN

The allegations against Bill Cosby have recently snowballed. More than 20 women have come forward in the past six months accusing the 77-year-old comedian of sexual assaults that occurred over the last four decades. Five of these women spoke to CNN’s Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota on Dec. 8 to discuss their experiences with Cosby and what they think should happen next.

In the hour-long special “The Cosby Show: A Legend Under Fire” CNN anchors Lemon and Camerota spoke with Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Kristina Ruehli, Victoria Valentino and P.J. Masten to address the ongoing allegations against Cosby. Each woman talked about the negative affects their alleged experiences with Cosby have had on their lives, even 30 or 40 years after the incidences occurred.

“We’ve suffered hundreds of years — collectively hundreds of years — of horrible intestinal, emotional strife because of what this man put all of us through, and the hundreds that haven’t come forward yet,” Masten told Lemon in the clip above. “I want him to suffer, suffer like we’ve all suffered, all these years.”

The women appeared in agreement that there are more women who have been assaulted by Cosby who have yet to come forward. When Camerota asked the group of women why they think there are more women out there who have been assaulted by Cosby, Masten — a former Playboy Bunny — responded, “Because I personally know former Bunnies that are frightened, shamed and scared to come forward.”

Valentino, another former Playboy Bunny, added that after she came forward with her allegations, many women (including Masten) reached out to her to tell similar stories of sexual assault by Cosby. Watch the entire exchange below.

In another clip Ruehli describes Cosby’s alleged “MO,” where he supposedly identifies a vulnerable young woman, gets her alone, drugs her, sexually assaults her and then leaves. “He’s a coward, he’s a despicable coward,” Masten added.

During the interview, Camerota asked who out of the women had allegedly been drugged by Cosby and all five women raised their hands. Three said they remembered being drugged. Watch the video below to hear Tarshis’ account of a time Cosby allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her.

Valentino described the effects her alleged experience with Cosby has had on her life. While she doesn’t think about it every day, she said, “It’s like this subliminal soundtrack… It’s always there, just under the surface.” The other four women nodded in agreement.

Below is the list of women who have come forward with allegations about Cosby, dated to the time that the allegations were made public.

Source: 

5 Of Bill Cosby’s Accusers Speak Out On CNN

Cornel West Reflects On The ‘Artistic Genius’ Of John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’

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Cornel West Reflects On The ‘Artistic Genius’ Of John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’

Fifty years ago, John Coltrane’s quartet entered the Van Gelder studio and created what many call his greatest work of all time. The four-part suite, which sold 500,000 copies, paid homage to black spirituality and marked a critical juncture in the artist’s struggle with substance abuse. Author Cornel West, Grammy-nominated saxophonist Archie Shepp, poet Stanley Crouch and many more joined HuffPost Live to discuss “A Love Supreme” and how Coltrane hit the undeniable crescendo of his career.

West discussed how Coltrane represented a true “moment” in the black tradition and imagined how the composer would respond to the progression of that tradition today. While West said Coltrane would “turn over in his gave” at the popularity of current “mediocre” music, there one thing the author is sure he would appreciate.

“If you really look at the deep expressions of humanity that [are] being expressed in [the album], Coltrane is a culminating moment,” West said. “He smiles when he looks at Ferguson from the grave. He’d say, ‘Aw, the young people are awakening.’ That’s what he says on the album: ‘This is an expression of my spiritual awakening.'”

Check out the HuffPost Live conversation about Coltrane’s classic album “A Love Supreme” above.

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Cornel West Reflects On The ‘Artistic Genius’ Of John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’

If We’re Having a Real Conversation About Race, Let’s Make Sure It’s the Right One

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Just over a week after thousands took to the streets in protest and outrage following a Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager, we are faced with the reality that a New York grand jury — tasked with determining whether to hold a white police officer accountable for placing an illegal chokehold on an unarmed black man — reached the same decision: no indictment.

We are faced with the reality of a recent study of federally collected data that found that our young black males are at 21 times greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts.

We are faced with the reality of our criminalization of poverty, severely anemic political participation, geographically segregated neighborhoods, unprecedented levels of economic and wealth inequality, and a heavily militarized police force entrusted with public safety over communities who are met with not only brutality, but with a justice system that is indifferent, neglectful and even hostile in bringing justice for abuses suffered.

While these realities have forced much of this country into a conversation about race, is the conversation sufficient?

If we having a real conversation then we must have one that examines the deep racial anxiety in this country, an anxiety not only stoked by strategic political manipulation, but by fear of rapidly changing demographics, and a rapidly changing world.

It’s important to note that this fear is highly racial in nature. Numerous studies have shown how racial bias — both implicit and explicit — can have deep and lasting effects on black individuals, especially within the spheres of law enforcement and criminal justice. One study by my friend Jennifer Eberhardt – who was just awarded a Macarthur “genius” grant to continue her groundbreaking work — found that black defendants who have what are considered “stereotypically black” features serve up to eight months longer and receive more death sentences than their white counterparts.

As a recent book by Doug McAdam and Karina Kloos cohesively examines, our “deeply divided” country is facing political and economic divisions that threaten to reverse any advancements made during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s.

More than 50 years after the Kerner Commission issued its report, a serious, bi-partisan effort that examined the underlying issues that gave birth to the movement and unrest of that era, we are still living in a deeply unequal society. No leader today has suggested anything as comprehensive as the Kerner Commission and in today’s polarized political environment, it is extremely unlikely that there will be a politically-led constructive look at the current state of our society.

Brown and Garner are but two names in a long list of black men and women who have perished at the hands of police. These are not personal issues or isolated incidents: they are tragic reflections of a deeply broken system.

But as some have suggested, is the system actually broken? Or is it working just as it is designed? Whether intentional or not, as currently structured, our systems are dehumanizing and containing the racial Other. The long list of people killed at the hands of police were not just failed by individual police officers, they were failed, as I wrote last week, by a systemic failure at all levels.

We must demand that communities have a voice in their own safety and protection. All communities care about safety, including black and brown ones. But we must structure a society where their protection is the priority of local police departments. This is not a radical idea, but part of the bedrock of a truly democratic system. Communities should have agency in terms of reviewing and evaluating the systems that are put in place to protect them. Police should be part of this conversation, too, but they should not dominate the conversation.

While I am supportive of President Obama’s plan to authorize millions for communities to purchase body cameras for police, it’s important to remember that this is only an intervention. After all, Eric Garners’ death was videotaped. So was the brutal beating of Rodney King. Even with visible proof, too many in our society are hesitant to see people of color as deserving of full human concern. And it is not enough to follow the law if the laws do not respect all lives. In fact, laws like Stand Your Ground and Stop and Frisk are deeply problematic.

Although victim-blaming has a storied tradition, parsing apart the differences between the cases of Eric Garner and Michael Brown and trying to determine which victim is more “deserving” of our collective outcry is a detraction from the real questions we should be asking ourselves.

We need to go deeper. I believe we are in the midst of a major transformation, with much of it centered on who we are individually and who we are collectively. Nothing has shaped the convulsive developments of the past six years so much as America’s ongoing struggle with race and the by now familiar tug-of-war between movements, parties, and governmental institutions.

It is important to understand that the continued debasement and dehumanization of all those who are “othered” is not just to the detriment of individual communities, it is unhealthy for the health and well-being of our entire society at large.

What we are witnessing today calls for more than a conversation. It demands a deep transformational movement. Change will happen. We can build and support this movement in one direction over another. Let’s move beyond a conversation into real action.

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If We’re Having a Real Conversation About Race, Let’s Make Sure It’s the Right One

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