Angela Davis speaks on Anti-Racism, Feminism, and Abolition Democracy

Angela Davis, radical black activist and philosopher, was arrested as a suspected conspirator in the abortive attempt to free George Jackson from a courtroom in Marin County, California, August 7, 1970.

On March 5, 2008, Towson University’s Center for Student Diversity sponsored a lecture that drew a large crowd to its Student Union’s Potomac Lounge. Guest speaker, Dr. Angela Y. Davis, former member of the Black Panther Party, spoke on the topics of anti-racism, feminism, and abolition democracy.

Angela Davis is the author of Prison Industrial Complex and professor of the History of Consciousness program at the University of California. During the late 1960’s, Davis was placed on the FBI’s Top 20 Most Wanted list for her anti-govenment activism. Today, she is internationally known for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression in the U.S.

Davis explored the “obsolete prison system” in relation to the three topics of discussion. She also mentioned the recent inauguration of America’s first president of African descent and her hopes for him in office. “If Barak Obama supports freedom fighters, he will support anti-government activism,” Davis said.

Often referring to her allotted time and staying on task, Davis quickly mentioned other issues that were loosely related to her three major topics. The topic of Proposition 8 (the legalization of gay marriage) in the state of California and its relation to racism and discrimination was briefly mentioned. “We should allow gay couples to marry, who are we to say that they can’t?” Davis said.

While the event lasted a total of three hours, Davis was able to engage the audience through with her humor and personality. Her lecture was intertwined with statistical facts, research related information, occasional jokes, and a concluding prayer.

Y-Love the Black Jew, Lays Down the Hip Hop Game

Y-Love is a Black Jew who raps and is successfully building a name for himself in Brooklyn. Originally from Baltimore, Y-Love ventured to Brooklyn to deepen his understanding of Judaism and to escape his life of crime in Baltimore City.

Y-Love recalls a time when he and a pair of friends were planning to rob a building. As his friends crawled inside, Y-Love waiting outside had a religious epiphany. “It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and instead of celebrating in the synagogue I was helping to break a commandment,” he shamefully admits.” Today, Y-Love hopes to use his music to promote the Jewish faith and to improve the lives of Americans.

Although extremely soft spoken, Y-Love brings an incredible presence to the stage while rapping in English, Hebrew, Aramaic and Yiddish, the languages of the Talmud. He is also studying Greek, Latin and Arabic, which he has already began to incorporate into his faith-based lyrics.

There have been other Jewish Hip-Hop rappers but Y-Love brings a certain flavor to the stage, that others before him did not possess. For example, Hip Hop lovers were introduced to Matisyahu in 2006. Since his album first debuted, Matisyahu has become the most prominent Jewish rapper in the United States.

Now, it is time for Y-Love, the black Jew, to take center stage. If Y-Love is granted an equal amount of publicity as his predecessor, than he will surely rise to the top and overshadow any slight remembrance of Matisyahu.

The Jay-Z of Jewish Hip Hop has arrived.

Oprah is 200lbs and she’s fine with that!

Weight gain is not easy for women to swallow especially, for those who are continuously subjected to public haunt. Oprah Winfrey, world renowned talk show host and journalist, has battled with her weight since September 1986, when her show first debuted. It is no secret that Hollywood encourages entertainers to be thin. Everyone knows that Oprah has battled with her weight but she is not alone.

Tyra Banks and Nicole Richie have both been criticized for their failure to satisfy Hollywood’s standards. “Kiss my big black ass,” Tyra belted on her show, September 11th nearly coming to tears. Other stars such as, Janet Jackson, Kirstie Alley, and the late Anna Nicole Smith all had difficulties sustaining a healthy weight. Similarly, all of these stars are women and have been graced with the physical demands of Hollywood’s success.

Yes, obesity is at an all time high but I think that high school antics of “Bullying the Fat Kids” are not very becoming of Hollywood. Being “just right” is becoming harder and harder to achieve. Now, with 2009 steadily approaching, Oprah has decided to accept responsibility for her recent weight gain.

Oprah rocks! She rocks because unlike other stars who have allowed the media to point out their flaws and cause them unnecessary emotional stress, she is acknowledging her weight gain and is willing to embrace it. The media will not have the pleasure of pushing this talk show diva into a corner of shame.