The Best Audience Ever

Farai Chideya

Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

You guys are the best audience ever. I cannot tell you how much it means to wake up with your e-mails every day and go to sleep knowing that somewhere, someone is listening to News & Notes.

Today is my last day as host of NPR's News & Notes. I will always be a friend to the show and to public radio.

I've worked for magazines, television, and as an Internet consultant. I've freelanced and written books. Sometimes I've had money in the bank; sometimes I've run myself into credit card debt when a check didn't come. In other words, I have seen the ups and downs of the media world from a lot of different vantage points.

This is a tough business ... and it is a business. But for most of us who make a go of it, it's also a calling. We are entrusted with being truth-tellers and bridge builders. Journalism is the connective tissue that holds together our collective public body.

Today, I see how hard audiences are fighting to make sure that there is still community-minded news that brings people together.

Don't give up.

Please keep listening to News & Notes, which will be hosted by the fabulous Tony Cox until the final show on March 20th.

In the meantime, and always, you are powerful. Public radio and public media are here because of you.

With love and appreciation,

Farai

Farai Chideya

4:15 PM ET | 01-16-2009 | permalink

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We Love You! (And, Yes, We Are Cancelled)

The host seat in NPR West's Studio B

Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

We, the News & Notes staff and crew, love you, our listeners and collaborators.

I was just in Miami and met with so many amazing listeners, including some of the artists in the 30 Americans exhibit we featured on air.

We got your love in St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, and beyond.

And we're still here for you ... for a while.

Massive budget shortages have brought NPR to the space between a rock and a hard place ... that is: cancellation time.

Both News & Notes and Day to Day (the two wholly West Coast-based shows) will end production on March 20.

We are still dealing with the news, but we are committed to making sure we give you our best, now and as long as we've got.

Peace and joy,
Farai

Farai Chideya

4:38 PM ET | 12-10-2008 | permalink

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DeBarge Unsung

In my neon-colored-clothes days (that would be junior high school), I loved the sounds of a group called DeBarge. In addition to singing dreamy pop love songs, they were all brothers and sisters ... well, one sister ... and I thought that was crazy cool.

Well, as it turns out, it may have been closer to plain crazy. A new TV One documentary series called "Unsung" tracks the lives of musicians who went down the sad side alleys of life ... into drugs, depression, even suicide.

The episode on DeBarge moved me. Not one or two but virtually all of the family members struggled with abuse and/or drugs. At this point, the ones who are still alive are fighting to rebuild their lives, keep a connection to faith, and in some cases to rebuild their careers.

We spoke to brother and sister Chico and Bunny DeBarge about being survivors ... the roads they've walked and the prices they've paid.

Take a listen. If you remember the days when DeBarge ruled the airwaves, it's hard not to be moved by their struggle.

Farai Chideya

7:03 PM ET | 12- 2-2008 | permalink

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Do You Have GOOD News In Bad Times?

Maybe you got into a business that actually does BETTER during hard times ... like auto repairs.

Maybe someone steered you to the right job, or you got out of school with just the right credentials.

Maybe you were willing to relocate and found a place that needed your skills.

If you're seeing the UPSIDE of the down economy... let us know. We'd love to put you on air.

By the way, here's what we posted asking for people to share their stories about being laid off. You can follow the same process if you want to tell us your good news.

If you're recently unemployed, we want to get some firsthand stories of how you're coping, looking for work, or changing your spending habits and your life.

Leave us a comment below, and we'll reach out to you.

Or, you can go go to the main page of npr.org and click on "Contact Us." Be sure that in the comment box you use the pull-down menu to tell us the comment is for News & Notes.

Thank you!

Because of our post about people who had lost their jobs, we had a moving conversation today with James Smith, who would consider moving out of the country to find work.

Please take a listen. And James, we definitely want to talk to you again as you continue (and hopefully find a happy end to) your search.

Farai Chideya

6:34 PM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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Brazile Looks Ahead To Obama Inauguration Celebration

Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist, is also a political contributor for CNN.

E. Pio Roda/Courtesy of CNN

Our contributor, Donna Brazile, has a moving piece on CNN.com today about why the upcoming inauguration is such a big deal to so many people. I just wanted to share. Here are some excerpts:

Is it just me or has everyone living within a 120-mile radius of the U.S. Capitol Building heard from his or her fifth cousin lately?

Lord knows I have. I even had someone who shares my last name contact me, wondering if we were kin.

Relatives, friends, casual acquaintances and complete strangers are suddenly ablaze with desire to connect with Washington area residents: They are all planning to descend on the nation's capital for the inauguration ceremonies of the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama.

There is one hitch, though. They don't have tickets. And, oh by the way, they hint ever so delicately, there are absolutely no hotel rooms available.

After all, for tens of millions of Americans, the Obama presidency is the most important historic event in our lifetime.

For both those who never knew what it was to live through segregation and those who had to drink at separate water fountains, this is the moment to proclaim freedom and love of country. And every single one of them wants to either participate in it or give witness to its rebirth in 2009.

People aren't just fired up and ready to celebrate Obama's inauguration. In what will be a perfect storm of jubilation and celebration, 2009 is the year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the NAACP, and the 80th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's birth.

A sister of one of my best friends from elementary school e-mailed to tell me that she's bringing three busloads of people from my hometown of New Orleans. Three busloads of folks from my hometown who love the Mardi Gras -- during good and bad times. I told them to come on and we'll see what's cooking on the stove.

Months ago, I thought some new boots would be a nice gift for myself for the holidays, but now all I want for Christmas are gigantic cases of toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water for the sundry assortment of Braziles trying to make reservations to stay with me.

I've even rewritten my letter to Santa, asking him to send a half dozen air mattresses to accommodate what my Capitol Hill home will transform into come the weekend of January 16 -- a dormitory.

-- Donna Brazile

Farai Chideya

12:09 PM ET | 11-20-2008 | permalink

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Did You Just Get Laid Off?

It's now a common, common, wrenching event.

If you're recently unemployed, we want to get some firsthand stories of how you're coping, looking for work, or changing your spending habits and your life.

Leave us a comment below, and we'll reach out to you.

Or, you can go go to the main page of npr.org and click on "Contact Us." Be sure that in the comment box you use the pull-down menu to tell us the comment is for News & Notes.

Thank you!

Farai Chideya

5:27 PM ET | 11-18-2008 | permalink

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Stoning Death In Somalia

Tomorrow, we're going to look at Somalia on Africa Update ...

The nation is dealing with pirates (yes, pirates, who just hijacked a tanker full of $100 million in crude oil), possible links to al Qaeda, and the aftermath of a horrific stoning death.

As an article in the Sunday Herald summed things up:

ASHA had been raped by three men. The 13-year-old girl from the Somali port city of Kismayo was taken to the police station by her aunt to report the crime. Asha was the one who was arrested. After being held for three days and tried in secret by an Islamic court, Asha was sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery.

Kismayo's rulers encouraged people to come to the football stadium to watch the execution. A lorry load of stones was laid out. Asha, dragged kicking and screaming into the stadium, was buried in the ground. With around 1000 people watching, 50 men stepped forward and started hurling the stones at Asha's head. After a few moments, the stoning was stopped.

Two nurses were asked to step forward and check if she was still alive. She was, they said, so the stoning continued. Somalia has witnessed some brutal scenes in recent years. Ethiopian forces have been accused of assassinating civilians, firing indiscriminately at market crowds, and bombing residential areas. Somali government forces have deliberately killed journalists and human rights workers. All of the armed groups in Somalia have blood on their hands. But Asha's killing has served to highlight the growing power of a hardline Islamist group which analysts believe has links - or wants to have links - with al Qaeda.

The infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident happened in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. (Here's a link to multimedia packages including the original, incredible, Philadelphia Inquirer series on the story.)

With that kind of history and rancor, will the U.S. be able to intervene successfully in Somalia even if it wants to? And with this economy, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will Somalia even rank on the list of U.S. priorities?

We'll take a look tomorrow at Somalia from a foreign policy perspective ... and a human rights one as well.

Farai Chideya

4:46 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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Stoning Death In Somalia

Tomorrow, we're going to look at Somalia on Africa Update ...

The nation is dealing with pirates (yes, pirates, who just hijacked a tanker full of $100 million in crude oil), possible links to al Qaeda, and the aftermath of a horrific stoning death.

As an article in the Sunday Herald summed things up:

ASHA had been raped by three men. The 13-year-old girl from the Somali port city of Kismayo was taken to the police station by her aunt to report the crime. Asha was the one who was arrested. After being held for three days and tried in secret by an Islamic court, Asha was sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery.

Kismayo's rulers encouraged people to come to the football stadium to watch the execution. A lorry load of stones was laid out. Asha, dragged kicking and screaming into the stadium, was buried in the ground. With around 1000 people watching, 50 men stepped forward and started hurling the stones at Asha's head. After a few moments, the stoning was stopped.

Two nurses were asked to step forward and check if she was still alive. She was, they said, so the stoning continued. Somalia has witnessed some brutal scenes in recent years. Ethiopian forces have been accused of assassinating civilians, firing indiscriminately at market crowds, and bombing residential areas. Somali government forces have deliberately killed journalists and human rights workers. All of the armed groups in Somalia have blood on their hands. But Asha's killing has served to highlight the growing power of a hardline Islamist group which analysts believe has links - or wants to have links - with al Qaeda.

The infamous "Black Hawk Down" incident happened in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. (Here's a link to multimedia packages including the original, incredible, Philadelphia Inquirer series on the story.)

With that kind of history and rancor, will the U.S. be able to intervene successfully in Somalia even if it wants to? And with this economy, plus the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will Somalia even rank on the list of U.S. priorities?

We'll take a look tomorrow at Somalia from a foreign policy perspective ... and a human rights one as well.

Farai Chideya

4:46 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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Change Sans Black Journos?

The new MSNBC slogan.

The New York Times just published an article on MSNBC and its new slogan, "Experience the power of change."

It read in part:

Watch MSNBC, a new commercial for the cable channel intones, and "experience the power of change.".... Jeremy Gaines, a spokesman for the network, suggested that the message was a temporary one.

"'The Power of Change' is a line we're using in an election week promotion campaign. MSNBC has been and will continue to be 'The Place for Politics,'" he said.

It seemed clear that MSNBC, in tapping into the theme of "change," was seeking to appeal to its liberal constituency just as the Fox News Channel seeks to appeal to conservative viewers. On election night, Fox attracted many more viewers than MSNBC -- until Mr. Obama was pronounced the victor. During the midnight hour, when Mr. Obama spoke in Chicago, MSNBC averaged 5.6 million viewers, compared with Fox's 3.9 million.

What I observed, when I watched the commercial that goes along with this new campaign, is that "change" is personified by five white journalists (one of them a woman, Rachel Maddow) standing shoulder to shoulder.

Does "change" come sans key black journalists?

Yes, there are plenty of black opinion analysts on MSNBC and all the cable outlets (not so many Latinos and virtually no Asian or Native Americans though). But there are many fewer black hosts and reporters on television or radio; or key reporters covering the White House or Congress in print and other forms of media.

So: does it matter that there are so few black reporters and hosts at the heart of the era of "change"? I'm not being cavalier here, I'm asking you a real question. Do you care? Or does it not matter?

(We are also living through a total decimation of media as we know it, particularly print, but no media [including online] is exempt. To get the latest info, I've been scanning Richard Prince, Romnesko, and Gawker.)

Since we'll be doing a conversation on race, media economics and coverage on Thursday, this is your chance to give us your take on the issue ... and we'll get some of your wisdom on the air.

Farai Chideya

12:52 AM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Black/Gay Prop 8 Backlash

Things are getting really ugly in Cali.

Today we spoke with blogger Jasmyne Cannick, who is black and lesbian, about the passage of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. Unlike other states that had anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives, California actually allowed (after many legal battles) gays and lesbians to marry. And many of them did, up until the day of the election.

The ballot initiative has passed, halting new marriages and raising the question of how the gay couples who got married will be treated.

Here's the thing: Seventy percent of black Californians voted for the ban ... compared to 49 percent of white voters and 53 percent of Latino voters? Experts say black and Latino voters also overwhelmingly voted to pass similar measures in Florida and Arizona.

Now there seems to be a "blame the blacks" backlash by gay and lesbian protesters.

This article says that a black gay male couple carrying "no on 8" were harassed by white gays and lesbians during a protest against the newly-passed gay marriage ban. Another person who also supported gay rights was called the N word.

On our show, Cannick pointed out that for all the money poured into "No On 8" initiatives, people organizing around gay rights did not go in and make their case on a grassroots level in black communities. Another factor is that one person I spoke to -- a gay white man -- said, "We worked hard for Obama. We couldn't do everything"... i.e., that many politically active members of the California gay community felt that Prop 8 was a second priority.

So the blame game goes on ... keep an eye on this one. It could rip the Democratic big tent big time.

(For the record, we also spoke with Lou Engle, founder of "The Call," a Christian Ministry focused on young people. "The Call" held several rallies in support of Prop 8 leading up to election day.)

Farai Chideya

4:44 PM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Happy Election Day!!!!!!!!!!!

I voted this morning at 7:30AM in Culver City at a house ... I don't mean some big spacious house ... I mean a regular, modest-sized house where the line wrapped down the block, and a crowd of people of different ages and races -- very much a mirror of this culturally mixed neighborhood -- waited patiently to have their say.

After a night of rain, the skies were bright and clear; the weather cool and pleasant.

I e-mailed my pals all over the country and gave them a shout. No matter what happens, the excitement around voting itself is remarkable.

So: VICTORY! A friend of mine who is in her mid-30s, but has never voted because she simply believed it did not make a difference, walked on into the polls and made it happen. Her only complaint: They'd run out of vote "I voted today" stickers.

Farai Chideya

11:15 AM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 4: Being There

Farai Chideya

Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

As this campaign comes to an end, I've noted a slew of media stories and personal sharing about the people who won't see this election.

For example, a couple of days ago, novelist Susan Straight wrote in the L.A. Times about the passing of her father-in-law, General Roscoe Conklin Sims Jr.

She said:

He had looked forward to this election. "Oh yeah, we need some change," he told me not long ago. Barack Obama, he said, "could be a Sims, with those ears." Then he laughed.

On Nov. 4, the rest of us will vote here in Riverside -- General's children, his children's children. For the first time, my eldest daughter, named for both her white and black grandmothers, will vote -- but in Ohio, where she attends college. And I know I'll cry, walking home from the polling place at the church down the street from my house, walking past the yellow irises given to me 20 years ago by my father-in-law.

There are those lucky enough to literally stand the test of time. If you keep exploring our blog, you'll see the story of a 109-year-old woman -- the daughter of a slave -- who is voting, and God bless her.

Many of us are beginning to think about the folks we wish would stand with us on this historic voting day, and the wisdom they would share.

A couple of years ago, I did a story about putting together audiotapes of my grandmother's life stories. She was dying of cancer, and those moments we spent together were precious for me AND for our family. I made a CD of her stories and our conversations so other members of the family, now including my cousins' young kids, can go back and listen to do describe what SHE was like as a girl ... plus her thoughts on patriotism, civil rights, and service. Thousands of NPR listeners have heard a little bit of Mary Catherine's wisdom, as well.

I imagine the streets filled with shadows of the men and women who waited for this day but couldn't make it. Maybe as we rush busily to work or school, or to vote, we simply are too caught up in our own time and minds to take that leap of imagination. But stay with me for a minute. ... Imagine that on election day, there are otherworldly throngs watching us do our thing.

Add to that ethereal crowd, one smartly-dressed woman, with a wry smile on her face, and a pressed handkerchief embossed with a holiday decoration in her purse. If she were there, she would not be bitter that she missed this moment. Instead, she would know that she, like so many other people, made this moment. Her struggles and sacrifice and love gave us the gift of making political choices from a broader range of choices than we've ever had before.

P.S.: Add Studs Terkel, oral historian extraordinaire, to those watching from afar. He passed away today at the age of 96.

Farai Chideya

2:34 PM ET | 10-31-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 10: Gratitude

Although they do not express it quite this way, many people I know are repeating some version of the same prayer. That prayer could be summed up, simply, as: "Thank You, God, For This Job That I Hate."

People who were thinking of busting loose and doing something entrepreneurial or going back to school are now clinging to jobs they loathe. Through gritted teeth, they give thanks for working unpaid overtime; or shifts that take them into unholy hours and keep them from seeing their families; or any number of other stomach-tightening scenarios. They know other friends of theirs have been cut loose, and hiring is tight.

This newfound grudging gratitude reminds me of what's going on in politics. For example, the New York Times has a piece today on whether white Americans in a crumbling steel-town will vote for the black guy. It starts out:

Voting for the black man does not come easy to Nick Piroli. He is the first to admit that.

To the sound of bowling balls smacking pins, as the bartender in the Fallout Shelter queues up more Buds, this retired steelworker wrestles with this election and his choice. A couple of friends, he says, will not vote for Senator Barack Obama.

"I'm no racist, but I'm not crazy about him either," said Mr. Piroli, 77. "I don't know, maybe 'cause he's black."

He winces at himself. "We was raised and worked with the black, the Serb," he said. "It was a regular league of nations. And the economy now, it's terrible."

"I've got to vote for him," he said finally.

Is that the equivalent of, "Thank You, God, For This Candidate That I Hate"?

Gratitude that you have a political choice -- even one you don't love -- can go a long way. Although votes are often shaped by emotions, a vote in and of itself does not carry its emotional charge past the ballot box. What I mean by that is: the vote of someone who hates the candidate, but has to choose him, is just as valuable as the vote of a true believer.

So in that case, perhaps the corresponding prayer would be from politicians:

"Thank You, God, For the Voters That Hate Me"... the ones that could carry a contestant across the finish line.

Farai Chideya

11:24 PM ET | 10-26-2008 | permalink

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You Can Vote However You Like ...

(Okay, the rhyme's not very good, but it's the thought that counts.)

Farai Chideya

6:51 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 15: Images

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words ... Even If It's Out Of Context

One of the first impressions many voters had of last Wednesday's final debate was of the facial expressions and body language of the candidates. According to political analysts, Senator Obama often looked tense; Senator McCain alternated between signs of exasperation and a fixed smile.

The day after the debate, our senior Washington editor, Ron Elving, made the point that the judgments about how the candidates looked do affect voters. He said:

"Part of the problem, of course, is what you see on television is not exactly what's happening on stage. What you see on television is often the result of either a one-shot, where they show you one of the two men without the other, and you don't really have a sense of how close anyone might be to him. And then there is the two shot, the split-screen, when you can actually watch the reactions on the face of the candidate who is not speaking. And that is a fairly interesting and sometimes devastating way to watch a debate.

I think everyone recalls who saw the 2000 debates between George Bush and Al Gore, that if you listened on radio or watched strictly the one-shots, you got one impression.
But if you saw the split-screen, you saw Al Gore rolling his eyes and looking heavenward and making a lot of other gestures that people thought were disrespectful and maybe a little bit bush league. That hurt, in that particular case Al Gore more than it hurt George Bush.

So, in the debate last night, a lot of those two-shots, those split-screens showed John McCain looking angry, showed him looking very irritated, showed him looking upset, and staring over what appeared to be the next head just inches away even though the two were seated at opposite sides of a rather large table."

Now a new photo of Senator McCain from Wednesday's debate -- a photo that became one of the most emailed and most popular on Yahoo News -- is reinvigorating the debate over what the eyes see versus what the ears hear.

Here in our office, we spent quite a bit of time working to verify the photo. Members of our show staff, political staff, and research library staff all tried to see if it was real, or a Photoshopped image.

The reality is intriguing. The image is, in fact, real ... but it is also out of context.

If you go to YouTube and look roughly at 4:30 on the time clock on this clip of the debate, you will see a VERY brief different angle on Senator McCain doing what he did in the photo.

When I say brief, I mean perhaps 3 seconds, and the gesture was clearly a quick sign that he did not know precisely where to go on stage. In the video version, he is not in any way interacting with Senator Obama, and the moment is brief and easy to miss.

(Many thanks to a member of NPR's Reference Library staff, Katie Daugert, for tracking down the moment in the video; and to Day to Day staffer Jolie Meyers for finding the original photo.)

There have also been, of course, unflattering photos of Senator Obama, but none at such a critical moment in the campaign:

So, was the photo fair game for a major news organization to distribute if it shows what was not a representative moment in the debate? That's up to the voters (and perhaps media critics) to decide.

We contacted Reuters to ask them how they made the call to send this (incredibly popular) photo out on the wires. Gary Hershorn of the Reuters photo department and communications rep Alexandra Honeysett replied to my questions by email:

1) Is it real?

Yes, the picture is real. It was taken when U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reacted to almost heading the wrong way off the stage after shaking hands with Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, October 15, 2008. In addition to the photo, we have television film of the event that confirms Senator McCain's reaction.

2) How do you decide what pictures to run, and do questions of whether a photo might appear mocking, Photoshopped, or staged (even if it is NOT) play into your decisions?

When deciding which photos to publish from a debate or any event, we look for images that tell a story. Our photographers have snapped thousands of photos of both candidates along the campaign trail, and we keep balanced photo files. Inevitably, people will interpret the photos we publish according to their own beliefs, but our job is to tell, or in this case show, the story as it played out.

3) Do you find yourselves syndicating more content that is snarky, or otherwise bloggable, because people want to see it? In other words, either through push or pull, has the tone of your shooting and syndication changed?

Accurate and fair reporting standards are the pillar on which our Reuters News file stands, and our campaign coverage clearly reflects these principles. We record what we see and we have clear editorial procedures that determine what goes out on our photo wire.

I followed up with the question, "What story does this picture tell?"

And Honeysett answered:

"We leave that up to you to decide. :)

Celebrities have faced the onslaught of "gotcha" photojournalism. But there were times that the press followed a far different standard ... showing barely an unflattering shot of John F. Kennedy, or even shooting in a way that didn't show President Roosevelt used a wheelchair.

The times, they are a-changing. So, do we get a good laugh and move on; or do moments like these catch our attention ... and even change our opinion?

Farai Chideya

7:42 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 16: Colin Calls It For Obama

A couple of days ago, we blogged about whether former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, would cross party lines and endorse Senator Barack Obama.

Today, on the Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press, he did make that endorsement.

We'll have more on tomorrow's show. Meanwhile, here is a link to the video and part of the transcript.

Gen. Colin Powell on Meet the Press

On NOT Endorsing His Friend Senator McCain; and Endorsing Senator Obama

GEN. POWELL (previous taping vs. new one on Sunday): I'm an American, first and foremost, and I'm very proud--I said, I've said, I've said to my beloved friend and colleague John McCain, a friend of 25 years, "John, I love you, but I'm not just going to vote for you on the basis of our affection or friendship." And I've said to Barack Obama, "I admire you. I'll give you all the advice I can. But I'm not going to vote for you just because you're black." We, we have to move beyond this.

GEN. POWELL (live): Yes, but let me lead into it this way. I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."

And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.

On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.

And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.

On Obama, Islam, Terrorism, and Muslim-American Patriots

Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

MR. BROKAW: Will you be campaigning for him as well?

GEN. POWELL: I don't plan to. Two weeks left, let them go at each other in the finest tradition. But I will be voting for him.

What do you think of Powell endorsing Obama ... and his motivation for doing so?

Farai Chideya

4:25 PM ET | 10-19-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 16: Beige

Novelist and memoirist Danzy Senna contextualizes the narrative of Barack Obama-- a man who is "conveniently black, conveniently not black," as she puts it -- vis a vis her satire essay "The Mulatto Millenium."

She's in conversation with the brilliant-black-Brit-in-America Gary Younge, who says the Obama euphoria among some folks will "create a problem for us."

Meanwhile, enjoy a hunka hunka brooding biraciality, or whatever, Vin Diesel. You can go online and watch his youthful breakthrough short film Multi-Facial. (The vid made me laugh at/pine for the cheezy-fab New York of the early '90s).

Farai Chideya

5:17 PM ET | 10-18-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Day 17: Will They Vote?

So, many people have moved on from watching the polls to watching the people.

On our show yesterday, political scientist Mark Sawyer (talking about overseas voting here; and about displaced domestic voters here) pointed out that American elections can be decided within the margin of error. That is, there is always room for error in ... well, just about everything. The margin of error is a guesstimate of how close you can get and still get something right. Polls have margins of error listed on the bottom, based on how many people they sample and in which way. And so do election counts. (Just think of Bush v. Gore 2000, and all those dimpled and hanging chads, and the recount, and the storming of the recount office....)

Anyway, Sawyer's point was that EVERY vote counts ... you never know if you'll be casting a decisive ballot.

Both campaigns are swinging into high gear to get registered voters to the polls. In some ways, the Obama campaign has more to lose, because although he has registered more new voters, those new voters are harder to track and possibly more unpredictable in their behavior.

As part of our voting series, we'll discuss more about how you get out the vote, and how the parties and other groups are doing it in Election 2008.

Farai Chideya

6:19 PM ET | 10-17-2008 | permalink

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McCain/Obama Ad Spoof: The Black Community

Okay, there are a lot of spoofs this season, but this one is by Ill Doctrine's Jay Smooth, who joins us on our Bloggers' Roundtable.

(There is also this hilarious rant about Russell Simmons ... if you can't take a couple of swear words, don't listen.)

Farai Chideya

9:59 PM ET | 10-13-2008 | permalink

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The Countown: Day 23: "Majority-Minority" America

I don't have the zen to accept every moment of my life for what it is. Right now, I am having a hard time avoiding fear, specifically fear of the racial ugliness bubbling up during this election.

I've interviewed Klanspeople and other white supremacists; dealt with the inevitable slings and arrows of being a black woman in America; even found out at one point that one of my supervisors told a white employee that I took his job because of affirmative action.

It's just part of the game, right?

Well, it still stings. Seeing a guy wave around a Curious George doll at a McCain event is one thing. You can chalk that up to gleeful racist mischief... i.e., mean, but stupid.

Seeing Meet the Press, which actually has a black contributors, pretzel itself this week trying to discuss race without any guests of color was tougher.

It's not that black people (or Asians, Native Americans or Latinos) are the only folks who can talk about race. Far from it. It's just that having an all-white panel during a turning point week in the discussion of race in America is a sign that we in the media still need a little help.

Discovery Channel's Ted Koppel pauses as he listens to moderator Tom Brokaw, during a taping of 'Meet the Press' on October 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

Alex Wong, Getty Images for 'Meet the Press'

The discussion would have been stronger with a good black commentator. (The clip from guest Ted Koppel's documentary "The Last Lynching," which airs tomorrow on the Discovery Channel, was intriguing though.)

It's nice that the term The Bradley Effect has become, once again, a key part of the American political lexicon. But that term has, over time, come to underplay the strong and irrational currents of emotion that exist around race and, dare I use the word, change.

Despite the polls trending in one pro-Obama direction, the outcome of this race is not written yet, nor should it be. I'm not just talking about the change that a black President could bring. I'm talking about the ongoing demographic change that will bring America, by the Census's latest estimates, a nation without a racial majority circa the year 2042.

In some ways, it's that change that undergirds this nation's fears and insecurities. The year that America becomes "majority minority" may be off, but that change of demographics is going to come.

Nearly a decade ago, I wrote a book called The Color of Our Future that charted that change (predicted, back then, to happen in the year 2050). I talked to teens because I find teens refreshingly unguarded compared to older adults when it comes to talking about race, and also because many of them will be alive when this demographic shift occurs. The cultural shift is occurring far ahead of the actual demographic shift ... and that's got some folks in full flip out mode.

I just found out that my book is going to be excerpted, yet again, in a college reader. It's gratifying to know that although the statistics I talked about have changed, the underlying question of how we will react to the idea of a nation where white Americans are no longer a majority is more pressing than ever.

How will we will evolve emotionally and spiritually as we evolve politically and demographically? Are we prepared to open up, or will we devolve into name calling and a blame game about our problems?

The face of America is changing, but are we ready and are we willing to communicate freely and respectfully during this transition? That's a question that won't be answered on November 4th.

Farai Chideya

1:11 PM ET | 10-12-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: Days 27 + 26 : Information Overload

My e-mail box is more popular than a celebrity-owned nightclub. Everyone and their grandmother is hitting me up with articles and exhortations about the election.

Information forwarded by e-mail cannot be tracked in the same way an online article can. You can use counters to say how many people have gone to look at a certain article online, and how long they stayed. But when people cut and paste information into e-mails, it's hard to know how many people have seen what and what was forwarded to whom and how many people cut and pasted the whole thing or just snippets. Whew.

An Emmy-award-winning techie friend of mine, Richard Cardran, introduced me to the concept of a folksonomy. A taxonomy is a clearly regulated and delineated system of hierarchical organization, like genus and species. A folksonomy is when individuals use metatags or other ways of marking Web pages and other content online, and then people follow those trails. (Read more here.) I'm interested in how email trails fit into folksonomy.

Anyway, here, in no particular order, are stories that have been e-mailed to me by news organizations, friends, etc.

(I am making this count for two days because I was information overloaded, of course.)

Biden Calls Latest Attacks On Obama Dangerous

Excerpt:

At an event yesterday in Bethlehem, Pa., McCain's remarks about Obama were peppered with shouts of "socialist"; "terrorist"; and "liar."

"We've all heard what he's said," McCain said of Obama. "But it's less clear what he's done, or what he will do."

"No-bama! No-bama!" the crowd chanted in reply.

We had Earl Ofarai Hutchinson on today to talk about his column, "Why Eight Million (or More) African-Americans Are Unregistered":

According to Census figures there were 28 million African-American adults aged 18 or over in 2006. In the 2004 presidential election they made up 12 percent of the voters, or about 13 million voters. That means an estimated 15 million voting age blacks did not vote. The ban on ex felon voting in 15 states further ramps up the number of ineligible blacks. 40 percent of ex-felons banned from the polls are black males. They make up another three million potential black voters. That means an estimated 12 million African-American adults who are either officially barred from voting or decline to vote.

The reason that so many blacks don't vote is chalked up to apathy, laziness, ignorance and cynicism toward politicians. By not voting, the critics say, they betray the struggle and sacrifice of those who fought and in some cases died for the right of blacks to vote. This guilt laden reprimand is much too simplistic.

And from the "is is sourced enough?" column: the liberal superblog Daily Kos is reverbing a story, which says beggar-bankers Wachovia are hurting for cash, yet lending it to the National Republican Committee.

Wachovia Corp., a once-thriving financial giant now teetering on the brink of collapse, confirmed today that it was extending an $8 million loan to the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee for last-minute activites to support GOP House candidates.

Wachovia's decision to lend money to the NRCC -- itself reeling from a damaging financial scandal earlier this year -- is sure to draw charges of favoritism, as Wachovia denies credit and freezes assets for thousands of other customers.

Allegations of favoritism are especially delicate for Wachovia, given the company's disproportionate support of Republican campaigns and organizations.

We'll see if this one gets more investigation and confirmation.

Farai Chideya

12:03 PM ET | 10- 9-2008 | permalink

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The Countdown: 28: Change

28 days left on the old election ticker.
4 weeks to the day.
Debate day too.

I'm watching the wrap-up of the town hall debate, in which both candidates have managed not to throttle each other in front of the Real People in the audience, but stuck to more measured barbs.

The campaign isn't going so easily. Attack ads. Allegations. Blood on the political floor.

Change is the key. Obama started out using the term, but now both candidates are trying to grab it.

Well, it's going to come ... no matter who wins. Isn't this time amazing? A little terrifying? Nothing is promised, and I believe any number of things could still go badly wrong with the process of the election. (As we're covering in our series this month, there is no uniform voting system across the country, and there are a lot of quirks, loopholes and challenges.)

Plus: life, to put it bluntly, is not fair. Sometimes that makes me sad; sometimes it's just something you have to take into account. We spend so much time here on our show talking about the unexpected ways that race, for example, affects politics. Light bends around the issue of race; there is a black hole that skews polls and twists hearts.

I had so many links I wanted to add about stories we're following, but I'll leave us with a thought instead: what are you going to do about the hole we're in? No matter who wins, we've got some heavy lifting to do as a nation and as a world. So what is your role?

I love this quote from Dr. King: "Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." So, how are you prepared to serve as we face some of the biggest challenges of our time? What are you prepared to ask of yourself ... even if your candidate loses? Or if he wins?

Farai Chideya

10:15 PM ET | 10- 7-2008 | permalink

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Partisan Media?

Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan and I were guests today on KWMU, which is hosting us to do part of NPR's special election coverage. A lot of the callers asked about whether the moderation of the debate would be fair; whether the moderator (Gwen Ifill) would, due to the questioning of her wisdom of doing a book on politics in the age of Obama, over-compensate and give Governor Palin a free ride; and whether the media was fair at all.

Later I was sitting watching former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw give some express straight talk on both the government and the media. He called Congresspeople "almost genetically incapable" of dealing with the nation's problems; and said that he was "staggered" by the pandering and partisanship he sees in journalism.

I was a young star-struck CNN political analyst in '96. During one of the conventions, someone asked me for an autorgraph. I gave it. Bernard Shaw was right by me, and the same people asked him for an autograph. He said no, and then he said (in a pointed aside) that the reason he didn't give autographs was because he was a reporter, not a celebrity.

Bernie was grim faced-on air. He was followed by current CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, who sported a furious smile. Dobbs said that Governor Palin was the victime of "a character assasination attempt by the national liberal media."

We journalists report; the citizens decide. How do you grade the media?

Farai Chideya

6:00 PM ET | 10- 2-2008 | permalink

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Obama Up In The Swing States

Farai Chideya

Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

Okay, on tomorrow's show, we're going to do some Voting 101 chat. Part of that will include how our presidential election system works, including the Electoral College. In short, as we know from recent elections, a person can lose the popular vote and still win the presidency because of the way state ballots are compiled and weighted.

Well, Senator Obama has gotten a significant uptick in three of the swing states that could help sway the election.

As the Associated Press puts it:

The Democrat's support jumped to 50 percent or above in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania in Quinnipiac University surveys taken during the weekend -- after the opening presidential debate and during Monday's dramatic stock market plunge as the House rejected a $700 billion financial bailout plan.

Combined, these states offer 68 of the 270 electoral votes needed for victory on Election Day, Nov. 4.

A Nice Compliment

On today's show, our political commentators Donna Brazile and Robert Traynham gave me the compliment of saying I would be a good moderator of a presidential debate. I loved it!!!

I did actually co-moderate one presidential debate, the first Democratic Primary debate of 2004. There were about twelve million people running for the nomination. Okay, it was "only" nine, including John Kerry, Al Sharpton, Carol Moseley Braun, and Dennis Kucinich.

The lead moderator was Brit Hume; and the questioners were me, former News & Notes host Ed Gordon, and journalist Juan Williams (of NPR and Fox News). Here's the complete transcript of that debate.

It was a really bizarre experience, I have to admit. One of the reasons I like being in radio is because you don't have to dress up, and specifically, you don't have to dress in a blah-business-blah manner. Nonetheless, when I got this gig, I trotted myself out to Macy's and got two suits: one red and one blue. (I wore the red one. It was kinda cute, actually.)

The event was a Congressional Black Caucus/Fox News debate. The pairing was controversial enough to be boycotted in 2008. I spent my time prepping with the other panelists beforehand at MORGAN STATE ... yaaayyyy! Hometown of Baltimore! Beautiful new auditorium!

Anyway, it's a bit of an out-of-body experience to sit in front of that many people in the audience and the world and quiz the candidates. I have done plenty of TV -- hosting, reporting, and doing analysis -- but this was different. Bizarre, but good. I would definitely do it or something else in the moderating world again.

A Sad Note

Pioneering journalist Nancy Maynard has passed away. She was, among many higher accomplishments, my boss. She supervised me when I was a Freedom Forum Fellow and was studying why young Americans don't get their due in this nation's news coverage. She was an elegant woman with a decisive mind and a great sense of both hard news and culture.

You can read more about her on the Web site of the Maynard Institute, which champions diversity in journalism.

The Institute notes:

Maynard's distinguished work for the New York Post, the New York Times, and occasionally the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour preceded and were eventually outshone by her life partnership with her late husband, Robert C. Maynard. The stylish and polished pair left major positions at the New York Times and the Washington Post respectively, struck out on their own and established a highly recognized institute to attract, train and develop minority reporters, editors and media managers.

The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, now based in Oakland, Calif., has prepared thousands of graduates to enter the nation's newsrooms, including at the Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. Nancy Maynard was the institute's first president and served on its board until 2002.

"I think part of her legacy was being one of the early black women journalists at the Times. Of course, also part of her legacy was being co-publisher of the Tribune. That was groundbreaking," said Dorothy Gilliam, a former Washington Post columnist who was a co-founder of the institute. "Part of her legacy was keeping the institute alive in the early years."

In 1983, the journalistic power couple purchased the financially struggling Oakland Tribune from the Gannett Co. For nearly a decade, during which time Nancy Maynard earned a law degree from Stanford University, the Maynards co-published the daily, where they practiced the diversity in staffing and coverage they had been preaching to white newsroom managers. The paper remains the only major metropolitan daily to have ever been black-owned.

My personal condolences to the Maynard family.

Farai Chideya

3:19 PM ET | 10- 1-2008 | permalink

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Cool Liveblogging Technology

I am not a huge fan of the content, but I do really like the BBC's live blogging interface. For one, it's clean and simple design. Secondly, it automatically refreshes so there is no need to navigate away from the page or hit the refresh button.

The BBC has been doing some really innovative work with how they deliver information ... including delivering it online in a variety of African languages including Zulu and Somali.

NPR is also doing some very nice organization of our political content online, thank you, which you can find right here.

Farai Chideya

9:35 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Debate Starts: Economy First

Yesterday, I used the "train wreck" metaphor about the economy in one of our blog posts.

In the opening debate of the final push of this presidential campaign, Senator McCain used that metaphor. It seems that at this critical night, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama are saying that they saw the train wreck coming, and called for preventative measures.

Senator McCain cited his decision to call for the resignation of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Senator Obama said that he'd sounded the warning whistle two years ago, and contacted the Secretary of the Treasury two years ago.

This was supposed to the foreign policy debate, but predictably, moderator Jim Lehrer started out with the economy. On our show today, on the Reporter's Roundtable, we asked the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page and Marcus Mabry of the New York Times whether the American public at large had an appetite for talking foreign policy at a time when the nation was hit so hard economically. (Answer: almost certainly not.)

But Marcus is an experienced foreign correspondent (South Africa and France), as well as a business expert, and as he's said on our air many times, the U.S. economy is hardly uncoupled from that of the world. For example, China holds at least half a trillion dollars in U.S. debt. China hasn't come up in the debate yet ... nor in a serious means, America's debt ... but how the government handles that debt (and how the holders of that debt handle their stake) will surely shape America as well as any kind of bailout.

An interesting rhetorical note: Lehrer keeps asking these gentlemen to speak to each other. Instead, they address the audience with a third-person about their opponent (i.e., "Senator Obama"; "Senator McCain") instead of a second-person "you." I'm not sure why that is ... perhaps they think it speaks more directly to the audience? Or it's less confrontational?

More soon.

Farai Chideya

9:09 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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The Financial Crisis Is NOT New

I'm sitting in an airport right now, watching Senator Barack Obama talk to Wolf Blitzer on CNN. An older white woman; a young white man; and two men speaking Japanese sidle up to the flat-screen television to try to find out what the hell is going on.

By that I mean: Since the 9/11 attacks, I have never seen so many people of such a wide cross-section of society freak out at once. It's as if people just realized that the financial fairy godmother was not going to come rescue us from our credit card debt, or the larger issues plaguing the country (and the world).

Of course Senators Obama and John McCain had a tense meeting over the economic rescue package at the White House; and as of this moment, no one knows if the debate scheduled for tomorrow will actually come off. On CNN, Sen. Obama says, "Families were having trouble even before this Wall Street Crisis."

Well, that's for sure.

The economic crisis is like a freight train run amok ... but it's been coming for a long time.

Poor and working people heard this freight train coming. People saw their neighbors losing their homes for months now.

But Wall Street missed the sound.

Washington missed the sound.

The people in Lancaster, California; Detroit; Baltimore; and any number of small towns heard the warning whistle but were tied to the tracks.

This economic crisis has been reality for a long time. A lot of folks just hoped if they shut their eyes, the train would pass and everything would be okay.

Farai Chideya

6:25 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Loaning to Minorities ... Is a Disaster

... at least according to Fox News host Neal Cavuto.

The liberal watchdog organization Media Matters posts this on their website:

Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News' Your World, conflated giving home mortgages to minorities with risky lending practices, suggesting that efforts to increase homeownership among minority borrowers contributed to financial problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Discussing the decision by the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to place Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, Cavuto asked Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) on September 18, "[W]hen you and many of your colleagues were pushing for more minority lending and more expanded lending to folks who heretofore couldn't get mortgages, when you were pushing homeownership ... Are you totally without culpability here? Are you totally blameless? Are you totally irresponsible of anything that happened?" Cavuto later said, "I'm just saying, I don't remember a clarion call that said, 'Fannie and Freddie are a disaster. Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.'"

Thanks to the blog, This Black Life, for the link to the story above.

Farai Chideya

6:17 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Money Changes Everything. Or Does It?

Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden stand on stage at the Democratic National Convention.

Farai Chideya, NPR

I was doing my daily dose of Web-surfing today and came across this article on Defamer about Barack (via Barbara)'s $9 Million Dollar Payday. And I quote:

Barack Obama may have California's electoral votes in the bank, but that doesn't mean he won't make a quick trip to the ATM en route to Election Day. In what's expected to be his last rally of Hollywood pals before Nov. 4, Obama will attend a pair of sold-out, back-to-back fundraisers tonight in Beverly Hills. First up: an intimate dinner for 250 at the Greystone Mansion, followed by a trip down the street to the customary Streisand Kiss-of-Death Variety Hour at the Beverly Wilshire. Total miles one-way: Three. Total windfall: Roughly $9 million -- by one estimate, a single-day fundraising record for a presidential candidate. And celeb-culture darling Sarah Palin won't even be there! We break the evening down after the jump.

For all its flak and flubs, the Palin phenomenon has managed to neutralize Obamania since her selection to the GOP ticket on Aug. 29. That much is obvious; the rest, not so much, with a panicked Hollywood dumping out its collective wallet between tonight's $28,500-per-plate Greystone dinner and the $2,500-per-ticket Streisand/DreamWorks fete (with special guest Ben Harper, no extra charge!). Politico's Jeffrey Ressner suggests this is some kind of benchmark, though a one-day record can't be substantiated unless all the checks clear at once. Or something. Just as long as they clear, right?

Sen. Barack Obama accepts his party's nomination before a crowd of thousands.

Farai Chideya, NPR

While polls are flawed and sometimes competing, the McCain/Palin ticket is at least neck and neck with -- and maybe a hair ahead of -- Obama/Biden in the national polls. But it's also worth noting, as many have, that with our Electoral College system there are really state-by-state races, not one national race. And in the Electoral College fight, some polls show Obama/Biden ahead.

Any way you crunch THOSE poll numbers, Team Obama took in a record $66 million last month. But how will the money translate into votes?

No one knows for sure, but it's interesting tracking the numbers.

Farai Chideya

7:29 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Economy: How Are You Buckling Your Seatbelt?

We've been covering the major financial collapses in the investment banking market for two days now, including speaking today to our contributor Robert Traynham and Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to Senator Obama.

When we spoke on Monday to the New York Times' Marcus Mabry, he argued this was "a Wall Street problem; not a Main Street problem." Our regular economics contributor, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, disagreed.

So: what are you doing to buckle your seatbelt for the bumpy economic ride? Are you ACTUALLY cutting back on expenses? (Be honest.) A lot of us (me included) hate cutting back, even or especially when we can spend less as a choice but not a necessity.

What are you doing, or NOT doing, to prepare yourself in case you have extra financial needs or less income?

Farai Chideya

3:11 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Lose Your Home; Lose Your Vote?

Next week, we're going to talk about a new twist on voting access. The question is whether families who've had their homes foreclosed on should be barred from voting in the districts where they lost their homes.

Eartha Jane Melzer of The Michigan Messenger did an investigative report that is making waves. She tracked local Republican Party officials in Michigan and Ohio -- key battleground states -- who plan to challenge voters by cross-hatching their information against the (publicly available) list of foreclosures.

The article reads in part:

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP's effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

State election rules allow parties to assign "election challengers" to polls to monitor the election. In addition to observing the poll workers, these volunteers can challenge the eligibility of any voter provided they "have a good reason to believe" that the person is not eligible to vote. One allowable reason is that the person is not a "true resident of the city or township."

The Michigan Republicans' planned use of foreclosure lists is apparently an attempt to challenge ineligible voters as not being "true residents."

One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.

"You can't challenge people without a factual basis for doing so," said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. "I don't think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance."

The article is also provoking a series of opposing comments on its message board. One reads:

Being in foreclosure does not necessarily mean you have moved out of the house. Challenging voters based on foreclosure will result in illegally disenfranchising voters who have not changed their address. It will also gum up the works on election day and increase the length of the lines, which is a GOP tactic intended to discourage voting by people who work two jobs, etc, and don't have the ability to go to the polls in the middle of the day.

An opposing view comes from another person posting to the message board:

Isnt it amazing, all this outrage over vote suppression and voter inconvenience. Where was all this concern when ACORN was signing up dead people in Illinois. They are also currently under investigation here in Ohio for their "registration" campaigns in the inner city. To some on this blog who claim people shouold be able to vote anywhere as long as they are registered, That is not permitted for two reasons. One, it eliminates (or tries to) people from voting multiple times...another fine Chicago tradition. Two, there are more items on the ballot than the Presidency. How would you like outsiders voting on your school levies, congressmen and local issues? That would also happen if you lose control of the system. Follow the friggin rules, it's not that tough.

The Obama campaign is expected to respond to this debate ... when and how remains to be seen.

We expect to cover this more in the coming days.

Farai Chideya

11:15 PM ET | 09-11-2008 | permalink

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Palin's "Pastor Problems"

In her brief time in the national spotlight, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been questioned about her parenting (more on that tomorrow); and her ethics, regarding whether she unjustly caused the firing of a government employee.

Now, it seems her faith -- and how and whether it affects her governance -- is under scrutiny.

CNN, among other places, is giving Governor Palin's religion deep scrutiny. CNN online writes of her current church, Wasilla Bible Church:

David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God's "judgment" of Jews who haven't embraced Christianity. Brickner said, "Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment -- you can't miss it."

The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin's spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

Video has also been running online and on television of the governor speaking at the church she attended while younger, the Pentacostal church Assembly of God. Here's a portion of the video now online.

She praises the crowd as a bunch of "cool-looking Christians ... Look at you, I think that people are going to be interested in Jesus Christ through you because of the way you look." She talks, more substantively, about her wishes that government troops at war are following the will of God. She also prays over the crowd with a Word (i.e., Bible verse) she tells the crowd was given to her by Pastor Ed Kalnin earlier that day.

Pastor Kalnin's become the nexus of the religion issue. An article on a Christian Web site called Women of Grace simultaneously reiterates and attempts to refute the pastor's most scrutinized statement:

In an effort to present Republican vice-presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin's religious affiliations in the same extreme light as those of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the press is trying to create a "Jeremiah Wright-style" scandal out of Governor Palin's evangelical roots.

The pastor of Wasilla Assembly of God Church in Wasilla, Alaska, where Governor Palin was a member until 2002, Senior Pastor Ed Kalnin was recently quoted in the media as having suggested during the 2004 presidential campaign that anyone who votes for John Kerry is going to hell.

"I'm not going tell you who to vote for, but if you vote for this particular person [Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry], I question your salvation. I'm sorry," Pastor Kalnin is quoted as saying.

Reporters have interpreted this statement as meaning that anyone who voted for Senator Kerry may not get to heaven.

However, evangelicals say this is an incorrect interpretation. Pastor Kalnin was not saying God would send people to hell for voting for Senator Kerry, but was instead questioning whether a person willing to vote for someone with Kerry's convictions was "saved" in the first place.

By federal law, religious institutions have tax-exempt status only when non-partisan. For example, the IRS challenged the status of a liberal California church following the 2004 elections.

We -- our government and as a people -- are constantly reshaping the line between belief and governance. President Bush's creation of federal faith-based funds is still debated -- and supported by Senator Obama. But how can you tell if an official is blending faith and politics? Is it always wrong, never wrong, sometimes wrong?

So: how will Governor Palin's religious views play out in the final days of the campaign? That's one of dozens of cliffhangers in an election you couldn't make up in fiction.

Farai Chideya

8:53 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Mommy Wars: Children vs. Career

iStockphoto.com

Okay, we want your opinion.

We spoke earlier this year with author Rebecca Walker not only about that question, but about her own specific experiences as the daughter of acclaimed writer Alice Walker. It was a frank and controversial discussion.

Now, this political season has put a new twist on the question of whether women can have it all.

Republican Veep nominee Sarah Palin has five children, including a pregnant teenage daughter and a baby son with Down's Syndrome.

Some women (and men) are calling her irresponsible for going out on VP trail at such a critical time for her family.

Others, from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani to former Ms. Foundation head Marie Wilson, say it's absolutely fair and forward-thinking for a mother to lead in this way ... and that a man would never be questioned if it were HIS family instead of HERS.

Is Governor Palin sacrificing children for career?

Are American women who lead giving their families a fair shake?

OR, as some studies suggest, are some high-powered American women dropping out of leadership positions to stay home with families?

It's a big debate, and we tackled it in a special roundtable.

Meanwhile... what do you think? Is Governor Palin a role model, or is she risking her family's health? And how have you yourself dealt with the work/leadership/motherhood tug-of-war?

Farai Chideya

4:08 PM ET | 09- 8-2008 | permalink

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Code Pink vs. Republican Convention

Here's just a quick hit from tonight ... I am watching Senator McCain right now.

A couple of protestors from Code Pink just ripped off conservative-looking jackets to reveal pink shirts with lettered with what I presume were anti-war slogans, though I couldn't see them closely enough. Code Pink is a women's anti-war protest group that brought pink-clad women to the protest marches earlier this week.

Video screens showed that one of the women protestors pushed back against the security guards to try to get more time in the hall, but they quickly hustled her out.

By the way, the Writer's Guild of America East weighed in today on the issue of reporters being corralled, blocked, and occasionally arrested while trying to cover the protests at both conventions. It reads:

We believe that the arrests and harassment of working journalists by the police, local and federal officials at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions go against the nature of our democracy.

Journalists have not only the right, but the duty, to be present at important events and to keep the public informed. Whether they represent independent media or mainstream outlets, they are the eyes and ears of the people. They must be respected and allowed to work wherever a story takes them.

We decry the mass arrests, raids, and questionable tactics that the police have deployed against working journalists at these conventions. We call for the immediate release of all journalists, the dropping of charges against them, and an investigation into allegations of police misconduct.

We encourage you to visit the Free Press website, www.freepress.net, and sign on to their letter demanding that press intimidation be stopped and the charges dropped. The letter will go to St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, St. Paul City Attorney John Choi, and the Host Committee of the Republican National Convention. Make your voice heard.

Farai Chideya

9:59 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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Bitter, Black: Working the RNC Party

Bitter and Black. No, I'm not talking about big-chain coffee. I'm talking about the acrid tinge in the voice of of a man I met last night. He was one of exactly three black people at an Africa-aid group's party at the Republican Convention last night. He was serving food to a crowd of white, often wasted, and usually be-suited or party dressed conventioneers and hangers-on. The other two black people in the room were me and a female food server.

Okay, earlier in the night there was one other black person in the room ... a handsome, middle-aged gentleman who was a guest. He ran for the hills when the mediocre rock band started.

As we've said, the Republican Convention is over 90 percent white. (Being in the hall is kind of like reporting on the New Hampshire Primary or the Iowa Caucus.) The black Republicans in attendance have been making a valiant effort to hold their own events. Last night, I saw an African-American guy walking around the convention handing out flyers to every black person he could find.

I intentionally went to a non-black-specific event. As we said on our show last week, Denver became a mini Chocolate City for the Democratic convention. You didn't have to go to a specifically "black" event to see black people.

The party last night highlighted Africa aid and international relief, so I figured it would be an especially good test of how folks rolled. If you can't find black people at a party focusing on Africa, where will you at the RNC?

The party was at a big club in a party/strip club district in Minneapolis. The streets were filled with drunk people, mainly twenty-somethings, and a zillion-point-five riot police who had just battled it out with protestors.

Outside the door were event staffers, who were white; and local security guards, who were black men. Inside, all the bartenders were white but all the food servers were black or Latino. A acquaintance of mine once told me that one way she judged character was whether people looked their waiters or servers in the eye and treated them as people, instead of looking down at the menu and ordering or snatching food off trays. The crowd at this event was largely grab-n-go ... very little eye contact with the people who were helping to make their night a happy one.

So: I talked to the one black man left in the room, one of the men passing empanadas on a tray. I'd noticed earlier that he was wearing pink sponge earplugs, even though the music wasn't that loud. I struck up a conversation with him, told him a journalist and that I'd just come from Denver.

He looked at me with a mix of admiration and envy. "You witnessed history."

Then he pulled out one of his earplugs. "The only reason I'm wearing these things is so that if anyone tries to talk to me, I will say, "I can't hear you.'" His disdain for the crowd was palpable. Most of the crowd's inability to connect with the people serving them was palpable as well.

As I mentioned to the gentleman serving, the Republican Convention is history too. But obviously some people, including some LOCAL people, feel shut out of that moment.

Farai Chideya

8:16 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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McCain's Cameo

As Senator Obama did during Senator Joe Biden's speech, Senator McCain came out for a brief cameo at the end of Governor Palin's speech.

All he said was, "Don't you think we made the right choice for the next vice president of the United States. And what a beautiful family."

Exit, stage left.

Farai Chideya

11:11 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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Did the GOP Scoop Dems on Gender?

Tonight, as I peer down from the skybox NPR has in the Xcel Center, I see people ... lots of people.

It's been a thin crowd at the Republican Convention the past couple of days, but Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska brought the Republican faithful and visitors out in full force.

This place is not filled to the absolute rafters, but the crowd is three times as large as last night.

While the crowd cheered and gave a standing ovation, Governor Palin began with a series of hellos.

Then, she kicked into high gear with a speech that the crowd went wild for. Some excerpts:

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.

And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening ...

------

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people ...

--------

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

Palin also made the point that "this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity."

She also dug into the energy issue saying:

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more new-clear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources ...

------

What exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, earlier in the evening, led the crowd in a chant of "Drill Baby Drill." This is a clear dividing line between the parties ... as is the issue of treatment of "enemy combatants"... like the prisoners in Guantanamo.

BUT, looping back to the title of this post: Former New York Mayor Giuliani said during his speech of Palin, "How dare they question if Governor Palin has enough time to be with her children? ... When did they ever ask a man that question?"

Has the GOP scooped the Dems by selecting a woman on the ticket ... and using the rhetoric that many feminists have used for decades?

We'll find out more tomorrow in our discussion with, among others, Marie Wilson of the White House Project.

Making The Scene

A couple of observations about imaging and media:

SIGNAGE: When New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani set the stage for Governor Palin, the crowd whipped out "handmade" signs, the kind that look like they were lettered by an elementary school kid ... except there are DOZENS of the same identical signs, most reading "Palin Power."

Meanwhile: "I See Black People" (Thank you for the title, Kristal Brent Zook.)

Man oh man, do the cameras love the black folks. As we mentioned on our show, only 1.5 percent of convention delegates are black. But if you watch Fox and MSNBC (and possibly CNN but I can't see their feed from my perch) ... they have shown every black person in the hall twice. I saw Robert George, one of our contributors, and if I was further down they'd probably film me.

If you can't have diversity ... make it happen on screen. Of course, that is on the media's lap, not the Republicans'.

Farai Chideya

10:31 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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A Hero and A (Self-Proclaimed) Democrat

We'll have more on tonight's events tomorrow, but a couple things of note.

Former Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson gave a moving re-telling of Senator John McCain's journey as a Vietnam prisoner of war. It framed his service movingly and compellingly. But/and as Thompson said, "Being a POW doesn't qualify anyone to be president, but it does reveal character."

The closing speech of the night came from a man who just eight years ago was on the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee. Senator Joe Lieberman lost his last Democratic primary; but then came back to win his seat as an Independent. Nonetheless, the McCain supporter repeatedly referred to himself as a Democrat, which is technically not true.

Among Sen. Lieberman's words:

Of Sen. Obama: "Eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times in America." (He then went on to praise Gov. Palin, who others are criticizing for her lack of experience.)

He also made a direct appeal for Democrats and independents to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket.

Farai Chideya

10:54 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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Pepper Spray and Party Dresses: GOP Monday

Here are a few quick hits from Monday's convention and a look forward.

First -- the look forward. The convention appears to be back on track, with President Bush videoconferencing in and Senator Joe Lieberman (ex-Democrat, now McCain-supporting independent) speaking, among others.

I'll also be continuing my service on NPR's nightly election special, as well as reporting for News & Notes.

Okay, the look back ... several stories:

1) The Palin Family

Governor Palin has hired an attorney to represent her against charges that she acted improperly in the firing of a state official. The UPI article reads:

An Alaskan law firm confirms it is representing Gov. Sarah Palin in a probe into the firing of the state's top public safety official.

Walt Monegan was fired in July as Public Safety Commissioner. Palin has said neither she nor anyone in her administration pressured Monegan to fire Trooper Michael Wooten, her ex-bother-in-law. Monegan told The Washington Post Palin repeatedly talked with him about Wooten after Monegan was named commissioner in December 2006.

Monegan said the governor's husband, Todd Palin, gave him information about Wooten, who engaged in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister. Monegan also said Gov. Palin sent him e-mails on the matter.

Rumors still abound (and I will not go into the radically unconfirmed "evidence") that Trig, Governor Palin's youngest son, is actually her daughter's son.

However, quite amusingly, the New York Post was able to access the now-hidden MySpace page of the man reported to be Bristol Palin's baby's father. The article describes his site, saying:

On his MySpace page, Johnston boasts, "I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added.

He also claims to be "in a relationship," but states, "I don't want kids."

Farai Chideya, NPR

2) Protests and Pepper Spray

A large anti-war protest snaked from the Capitol to the streets, and because one of the protestors broke ranks, the police pepper sprayed the crowd. Among the people rubbing their eyes were an NPR employee, plus, according to Salon.com, Donna Brazile.

The Salon opinion piece notes the arrest of broadcaster Amy Goodman of Democracy Now:

The Washington Post has a few more details on the arrest of Goodman and the two Democracy Now producers. In addition to them, a photographer for Associated Press was also arrested today while covering the protests (h/t Edward Champion). An AP spokesman said of the arrest: "covering news is constitutionally protected, and photographers should not be detained for covering breaking news." Democratic strategist and CNN commentator Donna Brazile was hit by pepper spray on her way into the Xcel Center.

Farai Chideya, NPR

I got a couple of photographs from my perch in the Minnesota Public Broadcasting Building.

3) I also got a couple fuzzy shots of the First Lady and Cindy McCain as they addressed a two-thirds empty hall. Their visit was a surprise, since so very few non-delegates showed up. They stayed off politics per se and spoke about disaster relief, giving some Web addresses and phone numbers for donations.

Getty Images

I must rave -- and I know some people will feel this is fluffy -- over Cindy McCain's dress. This picture does not begin to do it justice ... it was the fabric and color that made it zing.

Farai Chideya

1:34 PM ET | 09- 2-2008 | permalink

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What If There Was A Pregnant Obama Teen?

"Governor Palin's daughter is now officially the Jamie-Lynn Spears of politics."

Michael Buckner, Getty Images

NOLA's LEVEES & GUSTAV:
The video is too familiar ... water sloshing/slopping/blowing over the walls of the industrial canal levee in New Orleans. Now, Katrina flooded New Orleans only after the levees actually broke. But to see that water, even smaller amounts of the water, coming into the city ... it's quite dramatic, and depressing.

Hurricane Gustav has turned out to be a lot milder than predicted, but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Most residents have fled; but network and cable reporters have left the convention and flowed into the city.

========

GOP CONVENTION UPDATE:

Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention planners held a phone press briefing for reporters.

Among the news:

-- On Wednesday and Thursday, the GOP plans to assemble emergency relief goods for distribution to those affected ... and do it in Minneapolis. I guess there's a bunch of extra hands, but does it really make sense to assemble care packages in Minneapolis, if you then have to ship them all the way to Louisiana and the Gulf?

-- The convention is running something inside the Xcel Center called the Affected States Information Center so that people from the Gulf states can go inside and get real-time information on how the storm is shaping up and make any requests.

-- Today (Monday), the convention will be scaled back to official business AND a brief visit from First Lady Laura Bush; and also from Cindy McCain, the Senator's wife. Vice presidential nominee Gov. Palin is also in town, while Senator McCain monitors the situation from other states including Missouri and Ohio.

-- Officials say McCain will accept the nomination as planned in St. Paul. But that may be the only thing that remains as planned.

========

PALIN'S BABY'S BABY / WHAT IF ... SHE WERE BLACK???

Some blogs and news orgs were circulating a rumor that Governor Palin's youngest baby was actually her daughter's baby.

Today, the Palin' refuted that: Governor Palin's youngest child could not POSSIBLY be her daughter's child ... because her 17-year-old daughter is just NOW several months pregnant.

An article in the UK's Independent reads:

Bristol Palin, one of Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Governor Palin's daughter is now officially the Jamie-Lynn Spears of politics. Her parents released a statement saying:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.

Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

Also: all the way back in April, some journos were questioning why Governor Palin chose to fly for several hours while she was in labor; and some medical experts asked if it was safe. From an April piece in the Fairbanks, Alaska, paper the NewsMiner:

Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to make the eight-hour flight from Dallas to Anchorage has some people wondering about the possible safety hazards of flying while in the late stages of pregnancy.

The governor, eight months into her pregnancy, noticed amniotic fluid Thursday morning prior to giving a keynote luncheon address at the Republican Governor's Energy Conference in Texas. After wrapping up the speech, Palin and her husband consulted with her physician about possibly flying home on an earlier flight. After being granted permission from her doctor, she and her husband proceeded with the trek home......

The governor did not feel the need to inform the airline of her condition, Leighow said....

Palin's flight landed at 10:30 p.m. Thursday. She and her husband drove to the Mat-Su Valley Regional Medical Center, and she checked in with her doctor an hour later.

Trig Paxson Van Palin was born seven hours later.

The governor's long flight home to have her baby, combined with the fact that she only made her pregnancy public in the third trimester, has fueled the rumors that her fifth child was actually her grandchild. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has said that any staffer who says ANYTHING about these rumors will immediately be fired.

So, a few questions for you: What if Senator Obama's kids were older and one of them got pregnant? How would the nation react? How would the senator react? (After all Obama has been saying about responsible fatherhood, I suspect the teen babydaddy would be locked in the White House basement with a bowl of gruel and water.)

What is your reaction to the Palin news? How do you think the story would play if it were an (older, hypothetically) pregnant Obama child?

Farai Chideya

11:38 AM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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Social Networking Site for NOLA/Gustav

Gustav and New(s) Orleans on Ning: Sent by one of our bloggers' roundtable participants Chris Rabb, of Afronetizen.

Worth checking out. A portal to citizen journalism about the storm, etc.

Farai Chideya

5:12 PM ET | 08-31-2008 | permalink

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McCain Shutters RNC For Monday ... And More?

Arizona Sen. John McCain speaks at a press conference after visiting the command center at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for an update on Hurricane Gustav on Sunday.

Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images

So:

We just finished watching a briefing by Republican nominee Senator John McCain.

He said, in essence, that the convention is postponed for all intents and purposes, and chose to speak from a non-partisan point of view. One casual observer of the speech said, in essence, that McCain's approach to turning this into a rescue event rather than a rally was the most brilliant political move he could make.

But let's back up. This is a time when history meets history. This Republican Convention has now met, literally, the perfect storm.

When Senator McCain spoke, he laid out a plan where the number one priority of the party was to meet this "great national challenge and disaster." He added: "I have every expectation that we will not see the mistakes of Katrina repeated," which could be taken as a backhanded reference to the Bush Administration's response.

Also he said, "This is a time when we have to do away with our party politics and act as Americans."

The RNC chair Mike Duncan expanded on his remarks.

More soon ...

Farai Chideya

4:44 PM ET | 08-31-2008 | permalink

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Confirmed: President Skips GOP Convention

A black-biracial Senator from Illinois runs for President. He's only the second black U.S. Senator since reconstruction. His absent father was African and mother was white American. He gets the Democratic presidential nomination and beating a white woman who is the nation's former First Lady. He then teams up with a longtime Senator whose first wife and baby daughter died in a brutal car accident before he was sworn in for his first Senate term.

This Democratic team is battling a former Vietnam veteran who was brutally tortured by his captors, and then went on to marry a multi-millionare heiress and become a Senator, not in that order. The Senator from Arizona teams up with the Republican party's first female vice presidential nominee, a former beauty queen and former small-town mayor with five children. She is now the Governor of Alaska; her husband is part Eskimo.

You couldn't make this up.

Neither could you make up the tragic fact that New Orleaneans and other members of Gulf states are once again fleeing in the face of a massive storm.

This time the exit from New Orleans is much more orderly and reflects the needs of people with cars. There are plenty of buses exiting the city at the moment, and even places that people can drop off their pets for transport. Some high tech approaches failed, notably a system that would have electronically "tagged" each person so that they could be located by family members. (I don't think that tagging involved crunching a tag into people's ears a la a wildlife show. At least hope not.)

The hurricane right now is heading in somewhere west of New Orleans, but could still move East.

Many of the delegates from the Gulf States are headed home. President Bush and Vice President Cheney are skipping the conventions. President Bush is headed to Texas.

The RNC is going to have a press conference soon about their plans... they may do volunteerism and phone banks to help the Gulf. Wonder if the Dems will follow suit, in terms of volunteerism.

More details when we know them...

Farai Chideya

12:51 PM ET | 08-31-2008 | permalink

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NOLA Evacuates/RepCon Cancelled?

Associated Press

After what some people are calling the most compelling political convention in decades -- and others deriding as the "coronation" of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President -- the Republicans could be canceling their convention. At least that's a possible scenario according to an advanced news report of a Fox News interview with Senator John McCain.

The website Politico.com is running a story that quotes an interview with Senator McCain which taped on Saturday to air on Sunday. The Politico article reads:

"It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster," McCain told Chris Wallace of "Fox News Sunday" in an interview taped for Sunday. "So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers, too."

According to that and other news reports, President Bush and Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal, both scheduled speakers at the convention, may pull out: Jindal for the obvious reason that he is governor of the state about to be hit by the storm; President Bush because, as the Politico article puts it:

The government's botched response to Hurricane Katrina still stings, and Republicans said they doubt the president would come to a political bash if New Orleans were facing a threat.

Now, after that article was written--and after the interview was reportedly taped--Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans ordered a mandatory evacuation of the Crescent City. An Associated Press article reads in part:

Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans on Saturday, directing residents of a city still recovering from the devastation left behind three years ago from Hurricane Katrina to flee from the approaching Hurricane Gustav.

Nagin said an informal evacuation that has taken place for days becomes mandatory at 8 a.m. Sunday on the city's west bank. It becomes mandatory on the east bank at noon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Spooked by predictions that Hurricane Gustav could grow into a Category 5 monster, an estimated 1 million residents fled the Gulf Coast Saturday -- ahead of the official order to get out of the way of a storm taking dead aim at Louisiana.

Residents took to buses, trains, planes and cars -- clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.

Gustav had already killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean, and if current forecasts hold up, it would make landfall Monday afternoon somewhere between the northeast corner of Texas and western Mississippi.

Forecasters warned it was still too soon to say whether New Orleans would take another direct hit, but residents weren't taking any chances judging by the bumper-to-bumper traffic pouring from the city. Gas stations along interstate highways were running out of fuel, and phone circuits were jammed.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said they were surprised at how quickly Gustav gained strength as it slammed into Cuba's tobacco-growing western tip as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane Saturday. It went from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in about 24 hours, and was likely to become a Category 5 -- with sustained winds of 156 mph or more -- by Sunday.

We'll continue to monitor and keep you informed.

Farai Chideya

11:03 PM ET | 08-30-2008 | permalink

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Black vs. Woman / Black + Woman

The selection of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee unquestionably broke new ground. Barring some very unforeseen circumstances, America will either have its first black president or its first female vice president.

I took a plane yesterday directly from Denver, site of the Democratic Convention; to Minneapolis, whose twin city St. Paul is hosting the Republican Convention. Almost everyone on the flight was a working journalist. There were people speaking in half a dozen languages, reporters who'd converged on the American political conventions from all over the world.

They thought they had a big show. Well, now they have a REALLY, REALLY big show.

One question bound to emerge over the coming week is: is this election black vs. woman? ... that is, will people who want a race or gender "first" battle it out (as they arguably did during the Democratic Obama vs. Clinton bout). Or, through a different lens, could this race be black + woman? No matter who wins, there have already been historic firsts during this race, namely the first black Democratic presidential nominee; the first female Republican vice presidential nominee. This is already a double-barreled shot into the heart of politics and the history books. Regardless of the winner, could it be a positive? Could this election re-shape America's attitude towards race, gender, and achievement?

Well, we've got ten weeks until the election, and much more time to figure out how it's molding America. Our debate over race, gender, politics and achievement has been going on for hundreds of years in America. I for one am very curious how this changes the game.

Speaking of the game ... Alaskan Republicans picked Mitt Romney during their caucuses. Second up was Mike Huckabee. As we dig into the Republican convention, we'll see if we can get some black Alaskans to weigh in on their governor as the news unfolds.

Yes, there are black Alaskans. Here's a commentary from a few years ago where I reference a trip to Alaska and the black folks I met there.

Farai Chideya

10:40 PM ET | 08-30-2008 | permalink

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Open Thread: Obama Addresses DNC, Nation

Right now, I am still sitting in the NPR skybox at the Invesco Field, where minutes ago Senator Barack Obama finished his speech to 70-plus thousand people. The stagecraft was amazing, but it was also, and more importantly, a moment of syncretic convergence of the issues of politics and race.

Today is the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s, "I Have a Dream" speech from the March on Washington. That occurred just a year after Barack Obama's birth.

This week, some people have said that the Obama campaign downplayed race. But the coup de grace of Obama's speech referenced the words and intent of so many powerful black speeches and writings.

Here are a few that come to mind ...

*** "On Double Consciousness" by W. E. B. DuBois, excerpted from the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" in his book The Souls of Black Folk:

"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness, -- an American, a Negro; two warring souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, -- this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self."

*** "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

*** "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" -- Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

Farai Chideya

7:14 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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Denver: It's a Riot! (Almost)

Farai Chideya, NPR

Okay, I'm officially in No-Sleep-Til-Brooklyn (or St. Paul) mode. Tomorrow, we head to Minnesota for the Republican Convention. Tonight is the big speech. And yesterday, there was ... a non-riot.

What I mean by that was that a bunch of protesters from a Rage Against the Machine concert/anti-war protest almost clashed with police. Almost.

I was there just inside the security perimeter when more SWAT team-ers than I have ever seen in my life started pushing back the crowds. I expected a riot. But there was none. The protesters turned away.

The security here is unbelievable. ... I expect more at tonight's speech.

Farai Chideya

3:57 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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Mikki O and Madcap Conventioneering

Nicole Beemsterboer, NPR

So: I'm definitely HERE. That is: I am witnessing the convention fever that hit the entire city of Denver (and certainly, with the millions of dollars in hotels etc., enriching Denver's coffers).

We (meaning me and producer Roy Hurst) are working for News & Notes; plus I am helping to chit-chat on NPR's nightly convention specials. (They air from 8-11PM EASTERN, live, every night of the Democratic and Republican conventions. Adjust the clock for your appropriate time zone.)

It's fantastic to get to work for both News & Notes and NPR national. I'll repeat the honors tonight, Wednesday, and Thursday.

So: on today's show, we talked to bloggers about Michelle Obama's speech (avec kid cameo). If you didn't see the Michelle speech, you can see it on... wait for it ... the Obama site!

After the convention night broadcast, I linked with some other journalist friends who were heading to something called the "Party with a Purpose," which highlighted Katrina awareness on this third anniversary of the disaster.

Of course, I didn't get there early enough to hear any speeches about Katrina, but they had food, open bar, and a bunch of black folks. One black Denverite said to me, "I wish it was like this EVERY week." She also happens to be a Denverite who podcasts our show every day.

Anyway, Biz Markie DJ'd and Wyclef Jean did a special live performance in a room that could only hold about a quarter of the people who came to the larger party. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., who gave another lauded speech last night, helped the non-celebrity Chideya posse get right up in the action.

So, me and my friends/colleagues were right by the stage as Wyclef took over. Clef did this amazing remix/remake of Wu Tang's "C.R.E.A.M." (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) as a rock song. I cannot even explain how he did it, but it took me a while to recognize the hip hop epic. He also did Bob Marley ("Exodus"; "Redemption Song"), Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner" (including playing the guitar with his teeth), plus African high-life and soca. By the end of the night, the whole crowd was busting moves on the stage and on the floor, and Wyclef was climbing up the speakers to preach from the heights, then he bodysurfed. Then it ended. Some people went to other parties. I went to bed.

Entertainment reporters come just to cover the party scene... and some conventioneers come just to party. That's a point that Charles Robinson of Charles Black Politics Blog made on today's roundtable. He wrote a post called Denver Is Chocolate City that gives you a pretty good picture of what things are like.

I also got lost in the Pepsi Center and stumbled across a celebrity/VIP entrance. It was a steady stream of actors from Giancarlo Esposito to Hugh Jackman. (Jackman is teeny! Pocket sized! Not quite Tom Cruise's extra teeny but ... teeny.)

I'm hitting a couple of parties not just because they're fun, but because part of my job is to give you some behind-the-scenes flavor of what these conventions are. That said, this Sister needs sleep and so tonight and tomorrow night I will be drinking hot milk ... or decaf tea ... and snuggling quite quickly into bed.

Farai Chideya

2:20 PM ET | 08-26-2008 | permalink

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We Are On The Hustle ...

Farai Chideya

We are on the hustle, so I just want to say I will give you details about what we're up to on the ground ... Lots of interviews!

Meanwhile, enjoy three snaps: A picture of me from our fab broadcast booth (top); a picture of the convention floor setup (middle); and actress Lynn Whitfield at a swanky Sunday Creative Coalition event thrown by Spike Lee and Alfre Woodard.

More soon!

Farai Chideya

5:25 PM ET | 08-25-2008 | permalink

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Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones Has Died (Updated)

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones makes a statement at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C.

Alex Wong, Getty Images

UPDATE: Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 58, Dies

Stephanie Tubbs Jones made history as the the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She died today at the age of 58.

A report from the Associated Press describes what happened as she was driving yesterday:

The congresswoman had been driving erratically and her vehicle crossed from the northbound lanes across the southbound lanes, according to a statement from police. An officer pulled a cruiser across the roadway to warn oncoming traffic. The officer reached her vehicle and found Tubbs Jones in medical distress, the statement said.

The apparent cause: a ruptured aneurysm, or a hyperextended blood vessel, in her brain.

We have been lucky enough to speak with the congresswoman several times, and we will remember her on tomorrow's show.

Among our conversations: Tubbs Jones and I spoke last year about what was, at the time, her new role as head of the House Ethics Committee. It was part of our series on the movers and shakers in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Farai Chideya

2:48 PM ET | 08-20-2008 | permalink

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Politics: The Pace Picks Up

We're in the middle of it now.

Remember when the primaries started early; and then there were what seemed like dozens of debates; plus the occasional kerfuffle over a campaign advisor making a high profile mistake?

Well, those days are over. Somehow we have managed, as a nation, to survive months of active campaigning and still have an appetite for more.

With the Democratic National Convention next week; and the Republican Convention the week after that; and then just six weeks until the election, we'll see an intensification of the campaigning process. If either candidate is going to go negative, he'll probably do it after the conventions. If anyone's going to have a last-minute scandal, ditto. I don't see any scandals looming on the horizon, but as the story of Sen. John Edwards indicates, you never know.

We'll be there for you, on the ground at both conventions; and then on the final steps of the march to the White House. I can't wait to send some stories from the road ... and there will be many. We start our political journey by heading to Denver for the Democratic Convention this weekend; heading straight after that to the Republican Convention in St. Paul, Minn.; and then our show is also going to do a week in Washington, D.C.

More soon!

Farai Chideya

1:08 PM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

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Are You Going To Be At The Conventions?

Hey Peeps:

Just a shout out to see who is going to be at the Democratic Convention in Denver or the Republican one in St. Paul. In addition to work and many other events, I may have a let's-meet-for-coffee (outside the conventions, of course) for any listeners or visitors in each location.

If you're interested, post here. We won't publish your comment, but I will keep your information!

And of course, if you have any good story ideas, we want to hear from you.

Thanks!

Farai Chideya

5:31 PM ET | 08-13-2008 | permalink

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Anti-Muslim Bias in Presidential Race?

iStockphoto.com

One of the great things about doing this show is getting to do topics that bounce off the headlines, but go a bit deeper into social issues. Today we tackled politics and Islam.

Today we asked the question: why so many Americans think -- wrongly -- that Senator Barack Obama is Muslim ... and why do they find that idea disturbing? Have the senator and his staff themselves shown an uneasiness with Islam? And what about Senator McCain?

A Pew Center poll recently found that one in ten Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim. The poll numbers we don't have are whether people who think he's a Muslim would vote for him. Last month, two Muslim women in headscarves were barred from sitting behind Obama's podium at a Detroit rally. The campaign apologized.

So, does Senator Obama's refrain that he is a "proud Christian" show uneasiness with being painted as a Muslim? What about Senator McCain, who last year said in an interview that a grounding in the Christian faith is key to the leadership in the White House. "This nation was founded primarily on Christian principles," Senator McCain said, adding that when it comes to electing someone to the White House, "I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith."

To help us explore presidential politics, culture, and Islam, we spoke with Imam Zaid Shakir, a resident scholar at the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, California. He converted to Islam while he was in the military. We also talked to Julia Shearson, the director of the Cleveland, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Imam Shakir argued that the international threat of terrorism has been unfairly expanded so that all Muslims are seen as suspect. He said:

"With Muslims being identified generally speaking with terrorism ... then Muslims become painted with this broad brush and a lot of stereotypes are generated, and with the incidents of September 11, 2001, I think that trend was accelerated."

Julia Shearson made the case for religious pluralism being a part of politics, saying:

"Muslims are part of the fabric of American life. We all know that there's no religious test for higher office. We know that America was established purposely this way by our founders. We know that there have been Muslims in the Americas since 1320. There were Muslims coming on the ships with Christopher Columbus in 1492. ... Our voice, and our insights, our opinions should be taken into account, particularly at a time when the United States has difficulty understanding the Muslim world."

Now, that may be true, but I have seen (and plan to report on) tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims on the grassroots neighborhood level. In some cases, I'm talking about American-born black folks -- some Muslim, some Christian -- who share a neighborhood, and a race, but religion seems to be a wedge.

Would love to hear from people who live in neighborhoods where this is an issue, and of course, get everyone's views on how they see the issue of Islam and the election playing out.

Farai Chideya

6:16 PM ET | 07-29-2008 | permalink

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Article on Black Womanhood Goes Big

A friend of mine sent me a link recently to a Washington Post article called "Black. Female. Accomplished. Attacked." by Sophia Nelson. It's gotten over 1,300 comments on the Washington Post blog. It reads in part:

Recently, a friend who's a married professional mother of three girls wrote to me: "I think one of the most interesting things about Michelle Obama is that what she and her husband are doing is pretty revolutionary these days -- and I don't mean running for president. For a black man and woman in the U.S. to be happily married, with children, and working as partners to build a life -- let alone a life of service to others -- all while rearing their children together is downright revolutionary.

That's a bittersweet assertion ... I personally don't think black love is as endangered as headlines make things out to be. But I was at a birthday dinner this weekend with four great single black women in their thirties and I thought: Hmm, someone needs to start a new old-fashioned matchmaking service ... not the snooty kind ... not the anonymous kind. It would make a ton of money.

But how would you approach bridging the gap between smart black folks, who have seen a little too much disappointment, to form partnerships without a struggle?

Farai Chideya

7:58 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink

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Cartoonist Speaks His Mind on Obama Cover

The response to the New Yorker's cover, depicting as gleeful terrorist fist-bump-ers Senator and Mrs. Obama (or should that be Mrs. Obama, Esq., since she is a lawyer?) has been pretty unbelievable, here on our blog and, well, everywhere else.

Today we spoke on-air with Art Spiegelman, who has both been a critic of The New Yorker and one of their most famous and controversial cover artists.

"The Kiss" was another of Spiegelman's controversial covers

The New Yorker

His 1993 cover called, "The Kiss," showed a Hassidic Jewish man and a black woman kissing. It came after tensions between the two groups spurred intense riots in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. We asked why he chose that image. Here's his response.

Art Spiegelman: "Huh. Well, lets see. Back then the wounds for that particular set of race riots were very raw still, and I felt as I was just entering The New Yorker with a mandate to see how my underground comic sensibility and The New Yorker's rarefied sensibility might meet. I offered this up as a Valentine's Day cover, because there's this thing called irony. You know if you show people who are murdering each other kissing, it makes one think about why they might have been killing each other. It opens some subjects up to discussion that otherwise were just taken as givens. And I think this cover managed to unite that community like nothing else, which they both hated me for."

I also asked if he thought The New Yorker's Obama cover crossed the line of propriety.

Art Spiegelman: "Of propriety? Perhaps, but I think it did so for an urgent and good cause, which is to blow this stupid calumny about Obama away once and for all. It travels as the subtext through all this polite conversation. I just um, as I was looking around today, saw some NBC report that was quoting a Newsweek poll, saying 50 percent of Americans believe that Obama is or was a Muslim and was sworn in on the Koran to a Senate seat and so on. Madness. And it seems to me that showing the fevered image directly will be a possible way of looking at and dissipating that image. I think, as a result, it's a fairly brave thing to do in which The New Yorker is fulfilling its function at its best which is to make people think and talk."

Finally, he had some thoughts on how the blogosphere is manifesting during this controversy.

Art Spiegelman: "You know, I think that what I've been seeing on the blogs which is kind of an impressive thing since there weren't blogs back in 1993 when "The Kiss" cover was there. All I got to see were sheets of angry letters of one kind or another. Here the letters are there before the ink is dry on the printing press, and there's relatively little reflection so one is sorting through this as it is sorting itself out, but what is happening is there is a discussion about something that need to be talked about, and The New Yorker helped that discussion happen. And it's one of the times when I feel 'hats off New Yorker,' they got it right, you know? This is not something that goes away by saying, 'but it's not seemly.'"

Do you agree with his overall assessment of the artistic and social purpose of The New Yorker cover? Do you think that this cover crossed a line the magazine would not have crossed with a white candidate? And why do you think this hit such a nerve?

Farai Chideya

4:50 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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NAACP's New President in Limbo?

Today, we brought you coverage from the NAACP Convention ongoing in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sen. Barack Obama spoke on Monday (which you can see on our blog). NPR's Audie Cornish was there and gave us a debrief on his speech and the crowd's reaction.

Meanwhile, we reported our way into some interesting news. Ben Jealous, who is scheduled to take over as the NAACP's president in September, has been pretty scarce these days, media-wise. We wanted to speak to him. We learned he had not been officially confirmed by an additional vote that was needed. (He'd already gotten the majority, but not unanimous, support of the presidential selection committee.)

And this weekend, the NAACP's spokesman mentioned to us that incoming President Jealous had not signed his contract. He also said that the decision not to be more available was Jealous' choice, as he wrapped up some pending projects.

We spoke on air today with NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, a civil rights icon who has extended his work in many venues, including with this organization. He also sparred with the NAACP's last president, Bruce Gordon, who quit the post over a year ago.

So you have a 99-year-old civil rights organization that has named its youngest ever president (Jealous). They've chosen not to utilize him during their enormous, election-year convention... which features BOTH major party presidential candidates. I asked Chairman Bond if that meant the entire installation of the next president was in jeopardy, and if he, the powerful board chair, was prepared for the organization to have a strong president.

Bond responded:

I'm ready for Ben Jealous to come on board. I think we've only had 17 people in this job [i.e., NAACP president] in the 99 years we've been in existence.... I'm looking forward to Ben Jealous. I think he'll be among the strongest [presidents] we've ever had, and may be the strongest we've ever had.

He also explained some of the votes and contract issues needed to firm up the appointment of Jealous, adding:

I'll be telling you more internal NAACP organizational matters than anyone needs to know. ... The executive committee needs to approve his contract ... and when that's done, it's done.

If you're an NAACP member, what do you make of this? Any further info? And hey, if you're not a member, tell us what you think, too.

Farai Chideya

4:50 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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Reverend Jackson Called Absentee Dad

Relentlessly self-promoting ... I mean hard-working activist Najee Ali has handed the Rev. Jesse Jackson his fatherhood on a platter. Like revenge, it's a dish served cold.

Here's an excerpt of an open letter he released:

Living in Los Angeles I have watched your ten year old daughter Ashley Laverne Jackson grow up. Over the years I have had the pleasure to spend several holidays with your daughter including Christmas, her birthday parties and other milestones in her life. I will never turn my back on Ashley her mom and their family. It's about providing friendship, support and love to them while you have been missing in action.

Your daughter has never traveled or taken a trip with you, you have an annual birthday party in Beverly Hills every year where your entire family is welcome but your youngest child has only attended it once. She has had very little contact with her siblings and has never even met her big brother Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, who apparently doesn't want anything to do with her. And allegedly (I believe it to be true), he was the one to leak the scandal to the media concerning your affair. Now don't get me wrong, Oba ma is not above reproach. He is a politician and is fair game to be fairly criticized by you or anyone else. But to personally attack Obama is crossing the line. Obama is not talking down to Black people; he wants you and other dead beat dads to spend time and care for your children properly. The destruction of the Black family and absentee fathers is a major problem in our community.

It's a problem that King spoke out and fought against. 40 years after King's murder I can see why King didn't trust you. If you can't and won't sincerely help Obama in this historic run then at least stop attacking him. Listen to Obama's message of being a responsible father and start taking care of your daughter Ashley.

Rev. Jackson's ten-year-old daughter is the result of an affair he had with an aide. Read the rest of the letter here.

So: do you think Najee Ali was over the line, or is this fair game?

Farai Chideya

7:21 PM ET | 07-11-2008 | permalink

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Black Conservatives Split the Vote

Today we had a great segment on how black conservatives would vote in the pesidential election. Recognizing they're a diverse group, we asked two conservatives and the author of a book on black conservatives to parse the vote.

Some will choose the man who could become America's first black president.

Some will vote for McCain, a Republican candidate who may have more in common with their ideological positions.

In fact, our guest Kevin Ross said he'd vote for Obama. He hosts the Kevin Ross Show on BlogTalkRadio.com and blogs at 3 Brothers and A Sister.

On the other hand, blogger Michael D. Cobb Bowen (who graciously jumped back into the fray after being in today's roundtable) made the case for McCain.

We also spoke with Christopher Bracey, law professor at George Washington University, who wrote the book Saviors or Sellouts: The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism, from Booker T. Washington to Condoleezza Rice.

If you're a black Republican or conservative, who speaks to you?

Farai Chideya

6:42 PM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink

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The 'Negro National Anthem' Flap

A singer named Rene Marie was given the chance to sing the National Anthem at Denver's State of the City address. And she did, just not the U.S. National Anthem.

Instead, she sang James Weldon Johnson's "Negro National Anthem," also known in these modern days as "The Black National Anthem." I sang it many a time as a child, and continue to at functions as an adult.

Here's a clip of singer Kim Weston singing the anthem at the Wattstax concert in Watts, California, in 1972. It has a little too much of a "hey, it's the 1970s" flavor in the arrangement for me, but the visuals are great and so is her voice:

Here are a few lyrics:

Lift Every Voice and sing till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of liberty
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea

Sing a song, full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song, full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sum of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won

The local KUSA TV web site posts this about the event:

Governor Bill Ritter (D-Colorado) discussed the incident on The Mike Rosen Show on 850 KOA on Wednesday morning, calling it "inappropriate."

"I don't think it's fair artistic expression," said Ritter.

Ritter went on to say he felt Marie's actions were "wrong" and "outside the bounds."

What do you think?

Farai Chideya

2:39 PM ET | 07- 2-2008 | permalink

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Why Barack Obama Is Like God (to Rappers)

No, this isn't some crazy opinion piece coming from a journalist. I am referring to the barrage of Obama-praise at the BET Awards.

Our show covered one of the red carpets (for the CEO's private party) and then went to the awards for yet more entertainment reporting fun.

Comedian Kym Whitley poses, dressed in an 'Obama '08' blouse at the 2008 BET Awards.

Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

One of my favorite articles from the satirical newspaper, The Onion, was about God giving shout-outs to his homies ... to all the rappers who had shouted HIM out at awards shows like the Source Awards and the BET Awards.

Well, this week, there were plenty of artists who thanked God at the BET Awards. But even MORE shouted out Barack Obama.

It was SO noticeable that EUR (one of my favorite tipsheets) just did an article on it that you can read here. They wrote in part, "Diddy took his moment at the podium to chant 'Obama or Die' -- a play on his neutral 'Vote or Die' motto from the 2004 presidential election."

Of course, does Diddy have an actual ORGANIZATION to back up his words? Is he even registered to vote? I'll look into it.

Meanwhile, prepare for more Obama shout-outs from the land of hip hop.

Farai Chideya

12:31 PM ET | 06-26-2008 | permalink

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America's FIRST First Black President

Some say Warren G. Harding, the 29th U.S. President, had black roots.

Courtesy of the National Archives/Newsmakers

Andrew Jackson
Thomas Jefferson
Warren Harding
Dwight Eisenhower
Calvin Coolidge
Abraham Lincoln

What do they have in common?

Well, if you said they were all U.S. Presidents, you are RIGHT ... but not exactly thinking out of the box.

They are all subjects to claims that they are black, or at least have black ancestors. Throughout much of American history, the "one drop rule" said that if ANY of your ancestors were black, no matter how distant, so were you.

Afrocentric historians have written their piece on why they think there have been several black Presidents. Two books leapt immediately to our mind: J.A. Rogers' The Five Negro Presidents; and Auset Bhakufu's "Six Black Presidents: Black Blood: White Masks.

Recently Yale University professor Beverly Gage tackled the issue in an article for the New York Times Magazine, focusing specifically on the case of President Warren Harding.

There's an often repeated, but not verified story, that a friend asked President Harding whether he was part black. President Harding said, "How do I know, Jim? One of my ancestors may have jumped the fence."

Today we spoke to Professor Gage and award-winning author Edward Ball (who wrote the bestseller Slaves in the Family) about whether or not there could have been a black president already, and just as importantly, what the conversation says about our collective history.

You can take a listen to our conversation here.

Take a listen and tell us what you think about the possibility that America has already had its big racial "first."

Farai Chideya

3:54 PM ET | 06-24-2008 | permalink

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The Good of Journalism, Judged

Michele Norris (left) and Gwen Ifill (right) shared their memories of Tim Russert on today's show.

Today, we got some special rememberances of uber-political-journalist Tim Russert from NPR's own Michelle Norris, and Gwen Ifill, host of PBS's Washington Week. They are two of the best hosts in journalism. They are also black women.

I didn't know until he had passed that Russert had mentored not only Ifill, but also CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, among others. Gwen, Michelle and I spoke, among other things, about why Russert mentored younger journalists; and what kind of perspective he got from AND offered the black women he mentored.

The short answer (and Gwen and Michelle's answers are so much more evocative, so please listen) is that he wasn't afraid of different perspectives.

And while his landmark show Meet the Press offered different perspectives, it was also criticized by some for being too reliant on power, and not willing enough to challenge it.

Gwen and Michelle give us their take.

Meanwhile, this is the interchange that most often gets referenced when talking about how tough an interviewer Russert could be.

((Taped in the Oval Office of the White House on February 7, 2004; and aired on Sunday February 8, 2004)))

Russert: How do you respond to critics who say that you brought the nation to war under false pretenses?

President Bush: Yes. First of all, I expected to find the weapons. Sitting behind this desk making a very difficult decision of war and peace, and I based my decision on the best intelligence possible, intelligence that had been gathered over the years, intelligence that not only our analysts thought was valid but analysts from other countries thought were valid.

And ...

Russert: Mr. President, the Director of the CIA said that his briefings had qualifiers and caveats, but when you spoke to the country, you said "there is no doubt." When Vice President Cheney spoke to the country, he said "there is no doubt." Secretary Powell, "no doubt." Secretary Rumsfeld, "no doubt, we know where the weapons are." You said, quote, "The Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency." "Saddam Hussein is a threat that we must deal with as quickly as possible."

You gave the clear sense that this was an immediate threat that must be dealt with.

President Bush: I think, if I might remind you that in my language I called it a grave and gathering threat, but I don't want to get into word contests. But what I do want to share with you is my sentiment at the time. There was no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was a danger to America. No doubt.

You can read the full transcript of the exchange here.

Journalism like this can change the flow of information in Washington and beyond, having a huge ripple effect.

I did not know Russert, but I will go out on not-so-narrow a limb and assume he knew that some people would look at his interviews and see bias. It's a kind of judgment every working journalist faces. And you have to make peace with it in order to do your job.

Tim Russert, journalists will miss you... especially in Election '08.

Farai Chideya

6:28 PM ET | 06-16-2008 | permalink

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'Cause I'm White, Y'all (Supposedly)

So, I had a VERY interesting conversation yesterday with a good friend of mine. She works in the hip hop industry and was telling me how Burning Man (which I have been to many times) was about to "cross over" with the hip hop community. Apparently a bunch of prominent rappers are interested in going out to the annual festival.

And then we got on the broader question of what was hot, who we were listening to, etc. And she said, "You're my white black friend" -- meaning that I listen to rock as well as rap; and that I circulate among folks of many hues.

So I lit that phrase on fire. "Black people invented rock 'n roll," I said. "And being diverse is part of the black tradition. Think of all the black internationalists from W.E.B. DuBois on."

After a while she started laughing, saying, "I knew that would get a rise out of you."

And ... the kicker is ... her father is black; her mother is white. She's had to tote the bale of other peoples' cultural expectations of her. She loves rock. She used to be a COUNTRY DJ, for God's sake!

But still, although she was kinda/sorta joking, she clings to a bit of the idea that idea that being broad minded is "acting white"... feh, I say. Feh!

But, what is white anyway? Tomorrow we're going to tackle the topic of how kids learn about race.

And we came across an interesting, entirely unscientific survey that asks people to mark whether people from certain countries are white. The most interesting thing, to me, is looking at other peoples' responses.

Meanwhile, while I am stamping my black card for the millionth time, this is one of my favorite comedy scenes of all time, from the movie CB4.

Farai Chideya

2:35 PM ET | 06-11-2008 | permalink

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Politics: The View from the Air

In a couple of days, I'm going to do an event with some NPR colleagues about the election. The other people are reporters, who literally follow the candidates from city to city. I used to be on the campaign trail in previous jobs during past elections. But now I get "the view from the air"... that is, the airwaves.

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about the shift in my role. I think there's nothing like really being there to let you get a sense of the candidates, the crowd, and the messaging. But in our media-saturated world, sometimes the view from the air is a view from the ground. Since an unprecedented amount of Election 2008 has played out on YouTube, through e-mail, and through social networking, we get to keep a constant monitor on it from our perch.

It's been pretty amazing to see the blogsophere (black and otherwise) unfurl its wings. Blogging was a buzzword in 2004. In 2008, it's big media.

Today on our roundtable we picked up on a conversation about the Latino vote we'd had earlier in the show. One of our bloggers, Sharon Toomer, has black American and Dominican branches of her family ... and she was able to help us unpack some of the issues that unite and divide black and Latino voters.

I have to say ... since we are "the black show" ... with a mostly-white audience ... it's going to be interesting to me to see how we craft our approach to the election. If I do say so myself, we're doing some incredible booking.

Tomorrow's show will feature Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, James Rucker of The Color of Change, and Charlie Steele of the SCLC talking about passing the torch on black leadership. That's a dream show.

What I want next (and everyone else) is another chat with Obama and a first go-round with McCain ...

Farai Chideya

4:53 PM ET | 06- 9-2008 | permalink

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Obama Takes the News

The Freedom Forum and their Newseum have a feature where you can see the day's newspaper headlines from around the world.

Take a look.

You can check this one from Senator Obama's hometown of Chicago (left) ... and this one from Brazil (right).

Farai Chideya

12:21 PM ET | 06- 4-2008 | permalink

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Hil on Nil?: Report Hints Campaign's End

A new article by Associated Press writers Jum Kuhnhenn and Beth Fouhy (who's graced our air) says: it ain't over but ... all these staffers seem to be gathering for ... a big announcement ... and shopping resumes.

Maybe the Clinton campaign will end tomorrow, when she is expected to make a major address. Maybe the Clinton campaign is effectively over.

From the article:

...there were abundant signs that her historic run for the presidency was closing out.

"I want to say also that this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind," former President Clinton said.

In a rare departure from the campaign trail, the New York senator and former first lady planned to hold an end-of-primary rally in New York Tuesday night, inviting donors and offering to fly field staffers from around the country to attend. She had no other events scheduled for Tuesday and aides said she planned to be on the telephone calling superdelegates in a last-ditch effort to undercut Obama's lead.

Aides stressed she had no plans to withdraw from the race Tuesday night.

But Clinton field hands who worked in key battlegrounds for her said they were told to stand down, without pay, and await instructions. Speaking not for attribution because they didn't want to jeopardize their jobs searches, many said they were peddling resumes, returning to their hometowns or seeking out former employers.

We spoke to contributor Donna Brazile today about her critical role on the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committe. That's the Democratic Party arm that decided who got what delegates from Michigan and Florida.

And we'll talk to Donna again on Wednesday. She's promised to announce her superdelegate pledge, so we'll have a lot of big news to talk about.

Farai Chideya

7:50 PM ET | 06- 2-2008 | permalink

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Whose Blogosphere is Five Years Old?

Pioneering blogger Chris Rabb founded his site in 1999.

ChrisRabb.com

I was intrigued by a recent Washington Post article about grumblings -- LOUD ones -- by black bloggers who say they weren't given enough credentials as "official bloggers" for the Democratic Convention.

The Post's Jose Antonio Vargas writes:

"OK, folks, black bloggers to the back of the bus," read one post on the African American Political Pundit, one of the more prominent national black blogs. A posting on Georgia Politics Unfiltered, a state blog, read: "Jim Crow raises his ugly head . . . at the Democratic Convention."

But the article also says:

In the growing political Web, many of the most popular liberal blogs -- save for DailyKos, created by Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zuniga, whose heritage is part Latino -- are run by white men, as was evident at last year's YearlyKos blogapalooza, the gathering of the who's who of the netroots crowd. It's not because the blogosphere is racist, bloggers say, but because, at about five years old, it is still evolving.

It's a great article and while the blogosphere is still evolving, I argue that it is far more than five years old. There have been blogs for far over a decade; what has changed is both the volume of blogs and -- particularly critical in my opinion -- the volume of "meta-blogging," with bloggers blogging about, well, other bloggers.

There have also been blacks in the blogosphere for many years, well before it had a "business model" and could help pay your rent.

Chris Rabb founded Afro Netizen in 1999. He was one of the 40 credential bloggers at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

Longtime blogger Steven Gilliard was the first blogger memorialized in the New York Times Obituary Page. He ran The News Blog (now, sadly, archive only) and played a critical role in The Daily Kos.

I personally started the blog PopandPolitics.com in 1995. It's still alive; now in its 12th year; run and written by students at the University of Southern California. It's been nice to pass the torch.

Not everyone who started blogs keeps running them. Some people, like me, pass the torch. Others go from doing one blog to the next. And yet others, of course, shut down their blogs. (It is SO much work ... often for no money.)

I'm curious, though, how many old school black bloggers are still out there ... people who started blogging five years ago ... and what you think of the changes in the blogosphere. Search engine technology has completely changed the game; but the game can be gamed by things like sneaky cheater-ly search engine optimization.

In any case, you know we LOVE the people on our Bloggers' Roundtable here at News & Notes ... and I also have to find out if any of our folks are going to be credentialed at the elections.

You can see some of the sites our Roundtable bloggers produce if you scroll down the right hand side of this blog.

Farai Chideya

2:34 PM ET | 06- 2-2008 | permalink

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Holla if You Hear Me, Los Angeles!

I went to a class yesterday and met a wonderful, avid fan of News & Notes. It's happened many times ... which is wonderful because although we broadcast out of L.A., we don't air in L.A. We have no way of knowing how many people who podcast us are from L.A., either.

So ... hey ... if you live here in the City of Angels, we want to hear from you. Give us a shout. I personally would love to do a get-together for the show sometime...

Farai Chideya

2:30 PM ET | 06- 2-2008 | permalink

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Sean Bell Officers to Be Disciplined?

The officers involved in the shooting death of unarmed New Yorker Sean Bell were acquitted of manslaughter.

The acquittal resulted in a major protest in New York.

Now, the New York City Police Department has moved to discipline the officers in the case. In addition to the three officers directly involved in the shooting, five others were cited, including the lieutenant supervising the undercover operation in which the officers were involved.

We'll bring you more on this in the coming days.

ALSO: During a conversation about whether New York police officers racially profiled people during stop-and-frisk searches, we talked briefly about the case of a freelance reporter for the New York Post who was stopped by police and subsequently filed a profiling lawsuit against the NYPD. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is shepherding the suit.

Now, an update: the Post has severed their relationship with the reporter, Leonardo Blair.

The NYCLU (part of the ACLU) also produced a video specifically about the case.

Be assured there will be more news to come on both these fronts.

Farai Chideya

6:10 PM ET | 05-20-2008 | permalink

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Simone and ... Simone: The Great Nina and Daughter

Nina Simone

File

Last week, we spoke with singer Simone (whose legal name is Lisa Simone Kelly) about her first album, Simone on Simone.

Her mother is the inimitable Nina Simone, a woman who traveled from the segregated South to concert halls and stages around the world, and finally left the United States in disgust over what she saw as naked racism.

Her daughter, Simone, said she was fierce "from the rooter to the tooter" -- a woman who never marched to anyone else's beat.

Simone's new album is a tribute to her mother, the legendary singer Nina Simone.

Koch Record

But her beat lives on. Her work is now remixed by hip electronica DJs and sampled by hip hop artists including Talib Kweli ("Sinnerman") and Common featuring Kanye West ("Misunderstood").

And you'll still hear the originals of plenty of her songs, from "Young Gifted and Black" to "My Baby Just Cares for Me" (which was part of a famous, languidly sensual, Chanel No. 5 advertisement).

And Nina Simone also sang a very different kind of song... "Mississippi Goddam," which she wrote to protest the tragedies of the civil rights era, including the murder of four girls in the church bombing in Birmingham.

Simone told us a bit about her mother's journey in singing "Missippi Goddamn," a portion of the interview we could not include on air. Take a listen by clicking the link above.

Of course, in addition to to Nina Simone, her daughter Simone is a talent in her own right ... as her new album reveals.

Farai Chideya

4:02 PM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink

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Fabulous Series on Detention of Immigrants

Every now and then, you have to give your props to other journalists who are doing great work.

In this case, I want to highlight a series on the detention of immigrants fighting deportation. Some get asylum. Some get deported. And some, the articles argue, die from poor medical care.

As America fights over the issue of undocumented/illegal immigration, detention remains a less known area ... and the Washington Post has done quite a job of investigative reporting. I expect this to be nominated for a Pulitzer next go round ...

Farai Chideya

3:57 PM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink

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Southern African Music Friday

Thanks to YouTube, enjoy some good audio (and bad, but fascinating, classic video) of South Africa's Miriam Makeba:

Plus, a political photo montage set to the music of Thomas Mapfumo of Zimbabwe:

Farai Chideya

6:18 PM ET | 05- 9-2008 | permalink

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Batman vs. The Penguin on Elections

Continuing the YouTubeification of political commentary and satire, the cartoonist who goes by the name Tom Tomorrow posted this snippet on whether politics is flash-n-dazzle or issues-based.

What do you think?

Farai Chideya

2:45 PM ET | 05- 9-2008 | permalink

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Is Obama "Back"?

Barack Obama stands with his wife, Michelle, during a primary results rally in Raleigh, N.C.

Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images

As I listened to the television and radio pundits last night, as the results were being called from Indiana and North Carolina, I heard a set of phrases over and over. Obama was "back"; he looked "fresh" and "rested."

While the campaign did have a bruising couple of weeks, there seems to be a constant effort not only to judge the substance of his and Senator Clinton's campaigns; or their rhetoric; but whether or not they seem dispirited AND whether or not the fatigue from a series of 18- hour days is starting to show on their faces.

That aside, both candidates gave speeches with capital B capital T Big Themes.

Senator Obama seemed to hint that the primary was all but over, and attacked Senator McCain:

Somewhere along the line, between all the bickering and the influence-peddling and the game-playing of the last few decades, Washington and Wall Street have lost touch with these core values, these American values.

And while I honor John McCain's service to his country, his ideas for America are out of touch with these core values. His plans for the future, of continuing a war that has not made us safer, of continuing George Bush's economic policies that he claims have made great progress, these are nothing more than the failed policies of the past.

(More excerpts of Obama's speech are here.)

Senator Clinton gave the rallying cry to march on:

Not too long ago, my opponent made a prediction. He said I would probably win Pennsylvania, he would win North Carolina, and Indiana would be the tiebreaker. Well, tonight we've come from behind, we've broken the tie, and, thanks to you, it's full speed onto the White House.

(Excerpts of Clinton's speech are here.)

Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet?

For the voters in the back of the presidential minivan, the answer is: not hardly.

Farai Chideya

12:03 PM ET | 05- 7-2008 | permalink

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Eighth Grader Upbraids Detroit Councilwoman

Some eighth graders -- NOT all or even most -- are disrespectful, drunk on hormones, and caught between childhood and adulthood.

But this tape from Detroit (below) shows one young lady who speaks a load of common sense to a woman who is probably three times her age.

That woman is Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers, who happens to be the wife of Congressman John Conyers. During a council meeting, she got into a neck-rolling battle with the city council president, and called him "Shrek."

For those of you who don't have film- and DVD-addicted children in your life, Shrek is an animated character: a stocky bald green troll. The insult was something even a five-year-old could understand.

So maybe it make sense that an eighth grader would be the one to show maturity, decorum, and manners ... and put her elder in check.

The additional irony is that this city council hearing was about the hijinks of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. As the rest of the country gets a good laugh out of this video, I wonder if Detroit folks are fed up to the point of exhaustion with their leaders.

Farai Chideya

12:05 PM ET | 05- 2-2008 | permalink

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How Did You Learn to Deal With the Police?

On Friday, we're going to have a conversation about what you need to know -- both about your legal rights and generally how to act when approached by the police. It's an issue that can be critical for many African Americans, and has increasingly become part of the instructions that black children get from parents and mentors.

Now, my mother is the kind of woman who gave my sister and me some very specific instructions on how to live our lives -- dress, comportment, learning, and more. But I don't ever remember getting any specifics on how to deal with the police. I think that's because we were girls. One of the profound differences within the African-American experience can be the way the legal system treats boys vs. girls, men vs. women. It's not that girls and women don't ever get profiled, but the preponderance of scrutiny is targeted at black boys and men.

So: how did you learn to deal with the police? Who taught you? And WHAT did you learn? We'd love to know. And we'll share wisdom from experts including a black police officer on Friday.

Farai Chideya

7:53 PM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink

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Happy Weekend ... and Music

It's been a great week for us musically. For upcoming shows, we taped interviews with Malian artist Habib Koite and R&B-with-a-twist-er Lyfe Jennings. Stay tuned for those.

There's been plenty of hard news for us to cover this week, including the verdict in the Sean Bell case. But I also ALWAYS enjoy our tour through pop culture with Allison Samuels. We talked about "BeyonceJay"'s wedding, Star Jones' divorce, and more.

But it's about that time to r-e-l-a-x.

So, do that ... and enjoy the video of Youssou N'Dour playing at World Malaria Day at the UN.

Farai Chideya

8:06 PM ET | 04-25-2008 | permalink

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Scientists Under Fire for Sewage Sludge Study

Scientists, conducting federally funded research, spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on the lawns of poor, black Baltimore families.

The researchers say the fertilizer was harmless. But the story still raises questions about informed consent -- whether people really understood what they were getting into -- and how to work within the context of communities that may be suspicious of the motives of scientists.

Today, we got two sides of the story from Associated Press reporter John Heilprin, who recently co-authored a major article on the sludge study. We spoke with Dr. Michael Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, which was one of the organizations affiliated with the sludge study.

Was it good science or bad policy?
Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Farai Chideya

7:31 PM ET | 04-24-2008 | permalink

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Fighting Violence, Promoting Political Engagement

Jamira Burley, a 19-year-old freshman in the Fox School of Business, works to end violence in Philadelphia.

Photo by Kelly & Massa

Today, as part of our conversation about the primary in Pennsylvania, we got a chance to talk to Jamira Burley.

She almost didn't agree to come on the show because she was concerned she'd be late for class. And while some other students might LOVE an excuse to get out of class, Jamira isn't just any student.

Jamira is one of her parents' 17 children.She's also the first person in her family to finish high school, and the first to go to college.

Her brother was shot to death during her sophomore year. She co-founded a group called Panther Peace Core which trains Philly high school students in conflict resolution. She even got a $50,000 grant from the state to expand the program.

Jamira is 19, and this is the first election in which she's eligible to vote. Not only is she planning to vote, she's also gotten some of her older siblings who've NEVER voted -- and who thought voting was meaningless -- to sign up and get on board.

Farai Chideya

6:51 PM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink

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Live, from Atlanta, It's News & Notes!

So we had our first ever, live town-hall style show today. We focused in on the youth vote and hip-hop politics. Our guests included the President of the Atlanta City Council, the head of Spelman's chapter of the NAACP, and DJ Drama (who we interviewed last year about the legalities of mixtapes).

All of our guests were thoughtful and sometimes surprising. Check it out.

I want to give major props to our crew here ... both the folks we brought from LA and DC and the staff from WCLK, Clark Atlanta University, and Georgia Public Broadcasting.

We are doing one more live show from Atlanta, this time on Friday. I am not sure how many spaces we have left in the audience. We're serving lunch at noon and then do the show at 1PM. If you'd like to go, you can go to gpb.org, click on News and Notes and RSVP.

It's been great meeting some of the wonderful friends and fans we have out here. Thanks for the hospitality! Check out some of our photos from the road.

Farai Chideya

9:29 PM ET | 04-16-2008 | permalink

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Politicians: When Do Reporters Cross the Line?

In one of my previous lives ... okay, jobs ... I remember sitting in a swank New York hotel bar fighting with Gary Hart. I don't mean hair-pulling, punch-throwing fight, but the verbal equivalent. A friend of mine had invited me to drinks with the two-time presidential candidate. If you're my age or older, you may remember Hart all but daring reporters in 1988 to find out whether he was having an affair. To quote him directly, he said:

"Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'll be very bored."

Well, the political reporters took him at his word. Eventually, pictures of him frolicking on the deck of a boat called the Monkey Business with Model Donna Rice (NOT his wife) hit the covers of national papers. He ended up going from being a frontrunner to dropping out of the race.

So flash forward roughly a decade. I'm at this bar with a group of political reporters and consultants ... and Hart. Hart started railing against the media. And I basically told him: look, you DARED people to find out if you were cheating. And you were. So why are you mad they did their job?

Thus, a very, uh ... lively ... conversation ensued. Hart -- and I won't use the exact words because I don't want to get them wrong (but they were highbrow, not profane) -- basically said I had the mindset of a Neanderthal.

Anyway ... why am I talking about Gary Hart? Well, today we kicked off our broadcasts from Atlanta with an interview with Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta. She was named one of the best mayors in the country by Time magazine; is ably dealing with a fiscal shortfall facing the city of Atlanta ... and the drought ... and the real estate market. And she is also the mother of children including Kai Franklin. Recently, Kai Franklinreceived probation for a financial transaction linked to her husband's drug deals.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin speaks with Farai Chideya.

Geoffrey Bennett, NPR

Now, as we did the research on Mayor Franklin, we debated whether or not to ask her about her daughter. We did, and the Mayor's response was blunt, direct, and refreshing -- in essence, that she will not run for another term as mayor at least in part because she does not want her children and grandchildren to have to deal with the media's glare.

And I certainly want everyone who listens to this interview to listen closely to Mayor Franklin's astute strategy on issues like the drought and the economic downturn facing the city. But I also would like to know what you think about asking personal questions. Is it fair game, or too much?

Mayor Franklin noted that this prosecution was not about her personally (unlike the situation involving, say New York's Elliot Spitzer or Detroit's Kwame Kilpatrick) but about her adult child. What I was hoping to get at, and what I asked, was how she dealt as both a mayor and a mother with the issue of drugs. Again, she answered ably. And I personally think our exchange was useful -- if difficult -- journalism.

So: what do you think? What is fair game, and what is off limits? How do you react when you hear a reporter ask a question of a personal nature?

Meanwhile, tomorrow we have our first-ever live town hall format show from the campus of Clark Atlanta University. We certainly hope you'll tune in.

Farai Chideya

8:41 PM ET | 04-15-2008 | permalink

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Live from Cold-Lanta

Hey folks:

As Geoff mentioned in the previous post we're here on the ground in Hotlanta, which TOTALLY is not living up to its name today. Its 44 degrees! I mean, my blood has thinned since I moved from New York to California four years ago, but it's not just that I'm cold ... it's that I'm cold in Atlanta.

Okay, enough whining. I love being out in the field. There is nothing that compares with seeing how people live where they live. This is such an amazing and diverse country and I wish more of us would get out and see it. My guesstimate is that I've been to forty-five of the fifty states in the course of my twenty years of reporting. I definitely have not been to the Dakotas or to Wyoming.

As far as cities go, Atlanta is a great place to report on and from. The city's dealing with the real estate market; a drought; and a budget shortfall. On the positive side it has some of Americas best historically black colleges (HBCUs), a strong black business and arts community, and a great news culture (the Pulitzer-winning Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CNN just to name a few).

We'll keep feeding you tidbits from the road ... and if you're in the ATL and have ideas for us to cover OR want to attend one of our live shows on Wednesday or Friday, please let us know.

Farai Chideya

6:13 PM ET | 04-14-2008 | permalink

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How's Journalism Doing?

Lots of us in the business are asking that question ... for selfish AND altruistic reasons.

Last week, Newsweek announced it was buying out over a hundred key employees.

I started my career as a Newsweek summer intern in 1989, and went on to work there full time for four years. I learned so so much there, although the racial environment was ... complicated. (It always is.)

So many of the people who took the buyout taught me how to be a journalist: how to get your calls out early; how to deal with hostile sources; even to be brave and sure of myself when traveling alone. I got to do so many amazing things, including going as a press pool reporter on Air Force One.

Now, a recent article in the New York Times (which we discussed on air) noted how few outlets are even sending press reporters on the presidential campaign trail. It costs too much. It costs too much to have feet-on-the-street journalism, I suppose.

I could give you a whole dissertation on media economics, but this is the short form: everything has gone digital; the big companies don't know how to shift their revenue models; some media companies (or their parent companies) are expecting a 25 percent return instead of the single digit returns they used to expect; so they are faced with adding digital infrastructure AND declining revenues from traditional models AND desperation AND ... that means people are getting fired. En masse.

While we are having the most important political election of our times; the housing market is collapsing; and the war rages. While we have SO MUCH NEED for good journalism, some of the people who actually have the best skills are leaving or being forced out of the business.

That's the bad part.

The good part is that there are also bright spots of innovation and success, including blogs that do original reporting; the smarter news-entertainment hybrid shows (Iike The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher); student journalism; and the many traditional news organizations and reporters that are still trying to build a community of informed listeners/readers/viewers ... and (via blogs and other media) user-participants.

Also, the announcement this week of the Pulitzer Prizes spurred this article by Washington Post bloggerJoel Achenbach, which read in part.

The [Washington] Post has just won six Pulitzer Prizes, which looks like a typo. It was a newsroom-wide triumph -- Metro, National, Investigative, Foreign, Financial, Magazine. Within that Variety Pack of journalism, there's a common ingredient -- something we too seldom discuss when we cogitate about how to reinvent the business model: Reporting.

Original reporting still matters. It's probably our best gimmick. It's what we do (imperfectly to be sure) better than anyone else in the news business. It also can't be easily replaced on the cheap by some other information-delivery system.

Our role at News & Notes is a hybrid. Although we do some original reporting, we also rely on a lot of guests who spend weeks, months, even years generating investigative reports and books.

I love hitting the road -- as we will when we go to Atlanta next week. But I also love the idea that we can do something to highlight the great work that's being done by so many reporters at such a critical time.

Farai Chideya

5:03 PM ET | 04- 8-2008 | permalink

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A Beautiful Remembrance of Dr. King

I have to give major props to News & Notes producer Roy Hurst, who put together today's audio montage about Dr. King's death.

We featured top King aid Ambassador Andrew Young, former Assistant Attorney General Roger Wilkins, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile, poet and educator Haki Madhubuti and author Michael Eric Dyson telling us exactly where they were and how they felt when Rev. King was killed.

We don't do a lot of stories in this format, and I hope you are as captured with its power as I was.

Peace on this day.

Farai Chideya

6:28 PM ET | 04- 4-2008 | permalink

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Two Great Storytellers

One of the fantastic things about doing a show like this is that you get to talk to some great storytellers ... people who've led amazing lives, whether they're famous or not.

Today we had two of them on, both named Clarence.

Clarence Garrett dropped out of college to take care of his family. Nearly 50 years later he went back to college ... and graduated at the age of 87.

And Clarence B. Jones got a personal visit from Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early Sixties. Rev. King asked Clarence -- a successful Los Angeles lawyer -- to help with the movement. Clarence said ... no. But Rev. King won him over with a bit of rhetorical persuasion. Check out how Jones went on to become one of King's closest advisors ... and enjoy both of these men's stories.

Farai Chideya

7:28 PM ET | 04- 2-2008 | permalink

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Human-Cow Embryos

This is completely off-topic, except to say: WHAT???????? For REAL? Not science fiction?

Apparently not.

Read for yourself.

Farai Chideya

7:24 PM ET | 04- 2-2008 | permalink

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Mumia: Political Prisoner or Cop Killer?

Last week, an appeals court ruled that former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal -- who has been on death row for 26 years -- should get a new penalty hearing. That means he could be let off death row, but not freed from jail.

I talked to Jeff Mackler, director of The Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Unfortunately the lines were down at the studio we booked him in, so he was on cell phone, and the audio is a little choppy.)

He raises questions of whether too many potential black jurors were removed from the jury pool. Then I spoke with Maureen Faulkner, widow of the Philadelphia police officer Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering. She says she believes that Abu-Jamal specifically wanted to kill a police officer, but that the case may not directly be about race.

Take a listen to what they had to say.

If you've been tracking this case: what do you think should happen? A new trial on the evidence? This new hearing on the penalty? Or should he remain on death row? ... and of course, we want to know why you believe what you do.

Farai Chideya

7:31 PM ET | 04- 1-2008 | permalink

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Going After Hillary on Bosnia

The political satirists have sharpened their knives after Senator Clinton backpedaled on her statements about coming under sniper fire in Bosnia. (We covered that inthis week's politics segment.)

Check out this video:

And this "fan-fiction" style parody.

What strikes me is that:
1) For the video, computer graphics have become so accessible to people outside of the big studio system that it adds and entirely different flavor to a parody. It's no Lord of the Rings, but it's certainly got some technical chops.
2) Fan fiction is a specialized genre for the political satire.
3) All of this is getting much more sophisticated and diverse ... political humor, that is.

But is it turning you off? Do you like it, or does it make you cynical?

Farai Chideya

3:08 PM ET | 03-28-2008 | permalink

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Did Your Vote Count?

Today we spoke with a reporter and a Harlem resident about whether votes in New York's primary were not counted, specifically Obama votes.

In some Harlem and Brooklyn voting districts, initial polls showed Obama didn't get ANY votes in some of the precincts. What happened next? Check out our story.

Also: are you a Democratic voter from Florida or Michigan? What do you want the party to do since it doesn't look like there will be a "do-over" primary? Do you feel disenfranchised?

Also in political news: the New York Times did an interesting article on how the news organizations are cutting back on their on-the-ground political reporting.

Farai Chideya

6:43 PM ET | 03-27-2008 | permalink

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When Is a Sex Scandal NOT a Sex Scandal?

Today we led with the indictment of Detroit's "Hip Hop Mayor," Kwame Kilpatrick. He faces multiple counts on charges including obstruction of justice.

But the charges are about obstruction of justice -- or a cover-up -- not about sex itself.

Still, it seems like headline writers get a lot more mileage out of the idea of a sex scandal than an investigation into whether the Mayor lied to the court. Some of the headlines running on the wires and in the papers today include:

Detroit Mayor Faces Charges in Sex Scandal

Detroit Mayor Charged in Text-Message Sex Scandal

Another U.S. Democrat Involved In Sex Scandal

(That last one is from Radio Netherlands.)

The Kilpatrick case seems, to me, Nixonian. (Of Watergate, the former president said, "It's not the crime that kills you, it's the cover-up.")

Nixon fought to stay in office, but eventually resigned.

Kilpatrick's been indicted, and he's still fighting ...
Do you think he will resign or hang on until he's forced to go?

Farai Chideya

6:43 PM ET | 03-24-2008 | permalink

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Will Barack Obama Lose Because of Racial Battles?

I'm going to keep this one really simple.

Polls aren't everything ... some people think they're a menace.

That said, USA Today published new Gallup poll results today. The paper wrote:

Sen. Barack Obama is now 2 points behind Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Gallup's daily "tracking poll" of Democratic voters.

She leads 47%-45% -- less than the poll's +/- 3 percentage point margin of error. Gallup says it surveyed 1,227 Democrats and voters who "lean" Democratic from Tuesday through Thursday.

Over the past two days, Clinton's advantage has narrowed from 7 points to 5 points and now to 2.

Gallup writes that:

Clinton moved 7 percentage points ahead of Obama in Gallup's March 19 report and sustained a significant 5-point lead on March 20. Her gains were coincident with the controversy over Obama's former pastor and "spiritual mentor," Rev. Jeremiah Wright. However, the surge in Democrats' preference for Clinton that Gallup detected earlier in the week has started to move out of the three-day rolling average, and the race is back to a near tie. It is possible that Obama's aggressive efforts to diffuse the Wright story, including a major speech ... have been effective.

Wednesday, Clinton strategist Mark Penn said her 7-point lead at that time was a sign of "buyer's remorse" among some Obama supporters.

So: the according to these numbers, Senator Hillary Clinton has a statistically insignificant lead. But some friends of mine (black friends, I'll add) think that some swing voters won't let these issues go ... and that Obama will lose either the primary or the general election.

It's all armchair quarterbacking ... and it's absorbed the nation.

What do you think? Do folks have sharp knives and long memories, or is this week's controversy over and done? Have you changed your mind about which candidate you are voting for? And if you are a McCain voter, how do you think he fared this week?

Farai Chideya

7:44 PM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink

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Post-Post-Black is The New Black

So, Barack Obama gave his big speech on race today, which we have amply covered online and on the air.

He broke new ground, according to some of our on-air analysts (and many others on many networks), in speaking of his ties and loyalty to black America, while trying to fend off the idea that he absolutely had to disavow the critique of America as racially destructive offered by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Although it's been building for some time, today officially marked the end of Obama's campaign as a non-racial or post-racial candidate.

But, are we surprised?

What I mean by that is, are we surprised that the (presidential) race cycled back to ... race?

Think of the terms bandied about early in the campaign:
Color-blind.
Non-racial.
Post-racial.
And (my favorite) "Post-Black."

Those are all ways that people have looked at the evolution of race in America.

But as l'affair Wright shows, it's awfully difficult to escape race. It's sticky. It follows you, no matter whether you are Minister Farrakhan or Clarence Thomas.

So, can you really be "Post-Black?"

I don't think so.

Instead, I reckon we're in the era of Post-Post-Blackness, the time when many of us who have thought (however fleetingly) that race could or should be erased realize it is with us indefinitely.

And maybe that is not a bad thing. After all, race could be (but too rarely is) value-neutral. We could live in a country or a world where race was a cultural signifier but not steeped in inequality and blame games. In that case, there wouldn't be a need to be post-racial.

Is it race we are trying to escape, or bias? That's the question that remains after this phase of the presidential election; and how voters interpret that question could profoundly shape the outcome of the race.

Farai Chideya

6:28 PM ET | 03-18-2008 | permalink

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NPR's Star Trek Fanbase

Farai Chideya (left) gets her 'Star Trek' fix.

I was at the NABJ (black journalists') convention this summer in Vegas and Phyllis Fletcher of Seattle's KUOW and I decided to take a detour and hit the Star Trek Experience.

If you are a fan of the show, it is like a huge sugar rush ... just way too many exhibits (in a good way), rides ... and the chance to take your own photo on the classic Enterprise bridge. (The gent in the center, Ivan, is also a NPR person.)

What is hilarious to me is that when we had our big fancy convention dinner, SO MANY of us turned out to be big Star Trek geeks. (Allison, you know we're talking about you!)

Leonard Nimoy (left) and Farai Chideya

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch

So, today, when Leonard Nimoy came into the office, I had to hit him up for a picture.

I think I've already blogged about the way that science fiction has been a space for people to play with concepts about race and gender right here on earth right in the present day.

But it's also plain fun ... enjoy ... and holler if you're a fan.

Farai Chideya

6:30 PM ET | 03-13-2008 | permalink

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Political Satire Gone Viral

The YouTubeification of politics has been an insane boon to political satirists. Check this new spoof of the will.i.am Obama ad.

So, what else have you seen online that's worth checking out?

Farai Chideya

4:50 PM ET | 03-12-2008 | permalink

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Check the Aesthetic

Can it trigger epileptic fits?

How much does it remind me of the Optic Nerve exhibit?

Farai Chideya

5:45 PM ET | 03- 7-2008 | permalink

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Is Obama Black Enough ... For Hil?

Okay, folks are aflutter over a campaign ad for Hillary Clinton that, arguably, darkens Barack Obama's skin. Judge for yourself.

Meanwhile, as one of our bloggers' roundtable participants, Baratunde Thurston, pointed out -- this hearkens back to Time magazine's infamous (and quickly pulled) cover, which darkened OJ Simpson's skin after his murder conviction.

Here are an altered/darkened cover and a non-altered one, archived on a Website called Instant History:

The roundtable was off the chain today, by the way. Blogger Arlene Fenton of Black Women Vote said that as a darker-skinned woman, she is turned off by the whole debate here because it smacks of "colorism" -- the idea that darker skin means "lesser than" (or, perhaps, "more dangerous than"). In other words, why would it be bad if Obama were darker?

We've talked on the show about the "Light Skinned Libras" nightclub party and other versions of folks being color-struck. So was this just an example of taking creative license (something the illustrator of the OJ cover said), or is it dirty tricks? Or ... neither?

Farai Chideya

6:20 PM ET | 03- 5-2008 | permalink

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Faking the Gang Life

What do Margaret Seltzer and Coolio have in common? Not much.

Getty Images

The literary world is all abuzz over a woman who wrote a newly-released, highly-acclaimed memoir about growing up in foster care and joining the Bloods gang as a teen...

The only problem is that it was a total lie.

The New York Times' Motoko Rich broke the story. She wrote:

Margaret B. Jones is a pseudonym for Margaret Seltzer, who is all white and grew up in the well-to-do Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley, with her biological family. She graduated from the Campbell Hall School, a private Episcopal day school in the North Hollywood neighborhood. She has never lived with a foster family, nor did she run drugs for any gang members.

Margaret actually gave an interview to Rich, and she said a whole buncha stuff, including my favorite:

Seltzer added that she wrote the book "sitting at the Starbucks" in South-Central, where "I would talk to kids who were Black Panthers and kids who were gang members and kids who were not."

Um, I guess being in visual range of black people means that you can appropriate the ghetto experience. (Please put air quotes around that phrase ... it's meant to be ironic).

All of a sudden the song "Gangster's Paradise" is going through my head, and I'm seeing a montage of all the films, books, and conversations with people trying to put on the mantle of urban struggle.

Anyway, I'm curious what people think about why books like this are slurped up by publishers AND readers.

Speaking of which ... the big memoir scandal previous to this was James Frey, whose book Oprah pushed. (She later gave him the verbal beat-down for lying about his so-called-addict-life.)

And then there's the mysterious case of the super-mysterious (boy prostitute turned novelist turned celeb pal turned hoax) JT Leroy, who turned out to be a figment of the imagination of a woman named Laura Albert.

A lot of these fake memoirs -- and there have been quite a few -- are about the authors taking on the pain of groups they are NOT a part of: gang bangers, desperate addicts, prostitutes. What is it about (some of) us that makes us think that our day to day struggles are not enough? Or are these the case of people who are hucksters and just want money? Or people who are disturbed?

Why couldn't they just write fiction?

Anyway, we'll tackle some of these issues in Friday's show ... the story is still unfolding.

Farai Chideya

3:55 PM ET | 03- 4-2008 | permalink

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Elections: Who Built This?

Being as it's an election year of high excitement, lots of people are paying close attention to how the American electoral system actually works. A friend of mine said yesterday, shaking her head, "I had no idea."

That is: she had no idea how complicated the system could be, particularly what is being called the "Texas Two-Step." Republican voters are part of a straightforward primary. But as an article in the Houston Chronicle puts it:

Most other states have a primary or a caucus. Texas Democrats use both. The "Texas two-step" is a cute metaphor for this electoral hybrid, but it could make for a long and potentially confusing day on Tuesday.

Primary polls will run for 12 hours. Then Democratic voters can return for their precinct's caucus. Roughly two-thirds of Texas' Democratic delegates come from the primaries, and one-third from the caucus process that night.

The Texas caucuses normally are ignored by everyone but die-hard party activists. But this year, they could tip the delegate balance toward Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton. The process is so complicated that one candidate could win more popular votes statewide, but still end up with fewer delegates.

"I think it's an odd way to run an election," said David Harms, 57, a retired steelworker from North Shore. "It would seem more fair if the popular vote determined the number of the delegates."

"It seems like a pain," said Tiffany Parnell, 27, after attending a caucus training event run by Obama supporters Thursday night. "But if it's what we have to do, we'll do it."

So how does it work? Obama volunteer Sumita Prasad boiled it down like this: "In that precinct room, you want more of us and less of them. You don't need to know math or formulas."

The caucus -- officially dubbed a "precinct convention" -- begins at 7:15 p.m. or when the polls close, whichever is later.

Caucus-goers arrive and put their names and presidential preference on the "sign-in sheet." Ideally, they should show proof of having voted in the Democratic primary, but it is not absolutely necessary, according to the Harris County Democratic Party.

The group first elects a chair and secretary. Those two then take a count, noting the total number of people and how many are for Obama or Clinton. Delegates then are distributed proportionally.

For example, say 100 people show up at a given precinct on Tuesday night. If 75 of them support Clinton, and 25 support Obama, then she gets 75 percent of the delegates and he gets 25 percent. If the precinct has 20 delegates to allot, Clinton gets 15, Obama 5.

On Tuesday night, each precinct will have a preset number of delegates to send up to the next level. The number is determined by how many Democrats from the precinct voted for Chris Bell in the 2006 gubernatorial race.

"It's a whole lot harder to explain than do," said Ella Tyler, a Clinton supporter and member of the state Democratic Executive Committee. What really matters is the number of "warm bodies who are there at the sign-in," she said.

Okay, you got that?

Have Texans?

We'll see by tomorrow night.

Farai Chideya

7:40 PM ET | 03- 3-2008 | permalink

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'Gang Leader for a Day'

Sudhir Venkatesh

Courtesy Penguin Press HC

Today we spoke with Sudhir Venkatesh. As a sociology student in Chicago, he went to the projects with a questionnaire that said, among other things, how does it feel to be black and poor?

The men he met laughed at him ... and detained him in a hallway while they cut drug deals. Out of that inauspicious start came the riveting book about his years studying (and befriending) dealers, Gang Leader for a Day.

The book has caused a lot of controversy. A blog called Marginal Revolution gave the book a thumbs down because they felt Venkatesh was encouraging or at least condoning the drug dealing.

The author of the bestseller Freakonomics wrote a rave review of the book.

Take a listen to our interview. Do you think Venkatesh was condoning dealing, doing good research ... or a little bit of both?

Farai Chideya

4:43 PM ET | 02-27-2008 | permalink

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Black and Ethnic

I gave a speech the other day in Iowa. One topic that came up was pride: ethnic pride, among black folks ... and whether that pride can actually be divisive.

A Haitian-American freshman said that Haitians were better than black Americans because they had kicked the French out of their homeland. (Read more about the fascinating rebellion led by Toussaint L'Overture. Danny Glover -- whose film company is called L'Overture Films -- is working on a film version of the revolution.)

I asked her friend, a black American woman, how she felt about the first woman's comment. The second student said she was hurt in some ways, but she understood. "Our pride gets in the way," she said. "Black people are proud people; and Haitians are proud people. And we should be proud of each other, but sometimes our pride gets in the way."

Inter-ethnic issues are increasingly big in the black community ... Take a gander at an article by one of our contributors, Meri Danquah. Recently, someone went off on her about Barack Obama not being black enough and then how haughty Africans are. She writes:

"I bit my lip and listened to his diatribe against African immigrants. Surely, I thought, he's forgotten who he's talking to. That didn't come as much of a surprise. I find that a lot of people forget I'm an immigrant; more precisely, an African immigrant."

I was raised to take pride in everyone else's pride. My mother took us to dance at the Greek festival and go to the Irish festival. Everyone's joy was our joy.

But too often the opposite happens. You see street fights breaking out between people of different ethnic groups on the edges of festivals, and any spark can light a fire ... not just something as big as Rodney King, but smaller misunderstandings.

Which brings me back to the big picture. What we're seeing now is the rise of the black ethnic ... you know how, in some circles, Irish, Italians, Armenians and other folks are considered "ethnic" whites.

Now we're seeing the rise of black ethnics: Haitian-Americans, Jamaican-Americans, Nigerian-Americans, and so on and so on.

If you're black American or ANOTHER ethnicity and black, what do you make of how we do (or don't) get along? Are we even the same?

It's a question that's come up a lot in this presidential race. Will it transform America?

Farai Chideya

4:15 PM ET | 02-27-2008 | permalink

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Why Journalists Hate Multimedia ...

Over the course of the coming months you'll notice us experimenting with multimedia ... and I do say "experimenting." I'll leave you in suspense about what's coming up (in part because we here at Team N&N are in suspense ... we're still planning it).

But I thought I'd share this funny blog post about why some journalists are miffed that they have to do this newfangled multimedia thing ... or that their bosses don't support it.

It is funny, but as blogger Mark Luckie notes, some of the language is NSFW (Not Safe for Work) because we salty journalists tend to curse a bit. Some of us. If that doesn't turn you off, enjoy.

Farai Chideya

12:52 AM ET | 02-25-2008 | permalink

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Big Ol' Ball of Accusations

What's in a word? Well, that's the key to this whole election row over whether Barack Obama stole Deval Patrick's words ... and now, whether Hillary Clinton has taken some liberties of her own.

Let's go to the tape. This is part of Thursday's debate:

Here's a previous story on Obama:

And a new vid about Hil:

As a friend of mine who forwarded me one of the videos said, "It's going to get nasty from here out." That's politics. We'll see how heavy the attacks and counterattacks fly.

Farai Chideya

4:16 PM ET | 02-22-2008 | permalink

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Political Lists ... and Celeb-Pol Journalism

The cover of the inaugural issue of George (Oct/Nov 1995), featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington.

George Magazine

It's time when everybody is sending out political lists. How useful are they? Depends on what you want to know.

I typed "political lists" into -- what else -- Google, and I got this in the top hits:

The Book of Political Lists... by George magazine.

Does anyone (besides me?) remember George? It was this snarky / hip / political / celeb magazine that may have been ahead of its time. After all, it could do well in the age of the Will.i.am viral video.

If you're under the age of 30 or simply didn't buy into the George hype, here's a refresher.

Meanwhile, enjoy this list that Mom sent me....

Youngest U.S. Presidents
(By age upon taking office)

Rank -- President -- Years -- Days
1. Theodore Roosevelt -- 42 -- 322
2. John F. Kennedy -- 43 -- 236
3. Bill Clinton -- 46 -- 154
4. Ulysses S. Grant -- 46 -- 236
5. Grover Cleveland -- 47 -- 351
6. Franklin Pierce -- 48 -- 101
7. James Garfield -- 49 -- 105
8. James K. Polk -- 49 -- 122
9. Millard Fillmore -- 50 -- 184
10. Chester A. Arthur -- 50 -- 350

Note: Roosevelt was sworn in after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, making Kennedy the youngest president actually voted to the office. At 69, Ronald Reagan was the oldest president to take office.

Farai Chideya

7:45 PM ET | 02-20-2008 | permalink

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Mystery Meat: A Real Horror Story

If you're watching the news today, you've probably seen videos of sore- and scab-covered cows, that can't even walk, being forklifted into the slaughterhouse. The video was shot by The Humane Society.

In response, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 143 million pounds of beef.

The catch: most of it has already been eaten.

Here's a MSNBC video on the story, by the way.

No one knows if these sick animals produced tainted beef. (There's the irony: the animals we kill have to be healthy enough ... to kill.)

Before the Cattlemen's Association starts sending me e-mails: I just went out for bul go ki this weekend in Koreatown. I personally eat meat. My sister and several friends are vegetarians. We all make our own moral choices as adults.

But not everyone has equal choices, particularly if you're a kid ... a kid on the school lunch program.

Much of this suspect beef was used in school lunches. According to an article on the unfolding recall, "Grand Rapids [Michigan] Public Schools must throw out 10 tons of hamburger, while the Ann Arbor Public Schools has about 200 pounds of quarantined beef." Plenty of school kids have already eaten the mystery meat.

And school lunch programs haven't had a great track record of serving top-quality food. An article in the environmental magazine Grist calls the school lunch situation "grim."

The Federal Government's own accountability arm, the GAO, has a different critique: whether the nutritional value of school lunches encourages obesity.

(You can pull up the GAO report here. It downloads as a PDF file.)

Kids on free and reduced lunches are going to bear the brunt of federal decision-making about keeping food healthy and safe. In the school we visited as part of our piece on South Carolina's "Corridor of Shame," more than 90 percent of kids qualified for free or reduced lunches.

The kids of poor people and working poor people are much less likely to get the option to eat free range organic. And in the stratification of American society, perhaps there's a new group: the food-choice-poor, people whose incomes or locations (in neighborhoods without grocery stores, for example) make it much more likely that they'll eat whatever is served up in the school cafeteria or sold at the local bodega.

As the story of the suspect beef unfolds, hopefully we'll take a deeper look at what kids are being served ... and whether the government is serving them well.

Farai Chideya

7:22 PM ET | 02-18-2008 | permalink

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It's Hard Out Here for a Superdelegate

Rep. James Clyburn delivers remarks to the Building and Construction Trade Department, AFL-CIO, during its 2007 Legislative Conference.

Mannie Garcia, AFP/Getty Images

I'm only being a bit tongue in cheek.

Democratic-party superdelgates make up a fifth of the votes needed to decide whether Senator Obama or Senator Clinton gets the top seat on the Democratic ticket. As we spoke about earlier this week with Donna Brazile, that is turning off even some superdelegates.

Plus, our political booker pulled up this example of someone who might be having a little TOO much trouble choosing. Here's part of an article today from the Associated Press:

Sarah Swisher, a superdelegate and member of the SEIU from Iowa City, had committed to Edwards. After he quit the race, she switched to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, but she changed her mind again after her union endorsed Obama. "That will be kind of cool," Swisher said. "I will have supported all three."

Today we spoke with Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina, the House Majority Whip.

He told us that he's willing to vote against his constituents -- that is, to use his vote as a superdelegate for Hillary Clinton. He is STILL making up his mind though, and we asked him if people were calling for his vote (YES) and what they were saying. Here's what he said:

Oh, they remind me of what the voters did in my congressional district and wanting to know whether or not I'm ready to reflect the will of my congressional district to further Obama's interests, and there's some people who want to know that to see whether or not I've got enough guts to vote the other way. And I can tell you, I do have enough guts to vote the other way if I thought that was in the necessary... that was in the interest of nationalizing our party. And I think that's what my voters would want me to do.

You know, a lot of things can change after the primary. I don't know why people keep dealing with that. Next week, something might jump out that's serious and even that will cause some of the people to rethink how they cast their votes on February the 5th. We already have people who are superdelegates who are now rethinking their commitments that they made two and three months ago because the circumstances have changed.

Rep. Clyburn also said, "This is a very, very unusual election year. And nobody could have anticipated any of what has happened."

... including the idea that BLACK elected representatives would be torn between backing a black man and a white woman in the race for the White House.

Farai Chideya

4:39 PM ET | 02-15-2008 | permalink

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Behind the Scenes of the Film Industry

Yesterday we had on three black filmmakers who are making power moves in Hollywood: Rob Hardy, founder of Rainforest Films, a film production and distribution company based in Atlanta; D'Angela Proctor Steed, co-founder of Momentum Entertainment, a distributor that also owns Strange Fruit Films; and Jeff Clanagan, CEO of Code Black Entertainment.

Today we bring you two of the jazz greats ... both men who have reshaped the movie score. New Orleans' Terrence Blanchard has used everything from jazz horns to bagpipes to Arabic percussion in painting landscapes for a series of Spike Lee movies. And Stanley Clarke has worked with director John Singleton, among others.

Blanchard says that Spike Lee uses music as "another character" in his films. In other words, the sounds are not just window dressing; they are integral to the storytelling.

If you have a favorite score (music composed directly for the film) or soundtrack (songs included IN a film), holla!

Farai Chideya

3:47 PM ET | 02-14-2008 | permalink

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The Potomac Primaries ... And Voting as Committment

Today, Democratic voters in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. -- which hog the mid-Atlantic coastline -- go to the polls.

With Senators Obama and Clinton in a near tie, what happens today will probably leave them ... in a near tie. Tomorrow, Senator Obama might be a hair up. (Today, Senator Clinton is.)

My mother and much of my family lives in Maryland, and my mother is driving her neighbor to the polls. I can't remember a time when my family didn't vote. It doesn't mean they were always happy about the choices at hand, but they always showed up to state their preference.

One of the biggest choices that citizens face is whether or not to go vote at all. Some people feel politically disenfranchised because no politician reflects their views. Other folks are cynical about whether or not politicians live up to their promises. If this election is like past ones, a hundred million people could simply watch as other folks choose their president.

The highly-watched, highly-contested race could actually push some of these armchair citizens to get out and vote. We'll see in nine months.

Farai Chideya

12:45 PM ET | 02-12-2008 | permalink

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Blog Bloggity Blog (On the Road)

iStockphoto.com

So I'm sitting here in the Portland, Maine, airport after having given a speech at Bowdoin College on "new media" (which is really just media, or maybe the OLD new media) -- specifically the way social networking changes how we live, work and love.

We discussed everything from the erosion of privacy (and why that isn't always a tragic thing) to how we make decisions between having a lot of "friends" in the social networking world or having a few in the tangible world. (I have stopped calling it the "real world" because isn't the online world real if you interact with it emotionally and intellectually?)

I used a live media connection and big screen and had one of the students (with his wireless-enabled computer) "Friend" me live on Facebook. That's how we started, and I zipped through a mix of my-life-in-technology and intellectual discussion and outright provocation through sites ranging from BurningMan.com (ask -- or don't ask -- my co-workers about how I've threatened to bring a fire spinner to a company retreat) to CreativeCommons.org.

Oh, by the way, Chelsea Clinton is coming to stump on campus later for her mom. If I had known I would have stayed longer. But apparently it all gelled in the last 24 hours, well after I'd booked my flight.

We are going to have a great blogger's roundtable on Monday ... I will leave you in suspense.

One of the folks has come on our roundtable in the past is Rob Fields of the blog Bold as Love, which is about black rock.

So, he did an article this week on the musician Stew (formerly of the band The Negro Problem) and how his coming-of-age-black-bohemian rock opera, Passing Strange, is going to Broadway.

We covered Passing Strange on News & Notes when it was off-Broadway ... it was silly, relaxed, deep and fun.

That's my kind of on-the-job fun.

Farai Chideya

6:09 PM ET | 02- 8-2008 | permalink

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The Presidential Race Begins Today

In one sense, with Mitt Romney dropping out of the Republican race, the real presidential race begins today.

Before, the candidates didn't know whether to criticize the other people in their party or the folks in the other party.

But today, as Sen. John McCain made a key (self-satisfied?) speech to both supporters and people who booed him, he attacked Sens. Obama and Clinton ... mainly on the topic of the war. It's clear what platform this staunch supporter of continuing the war in Iraq is putting front and center. It's also clear that for him, the primary is over, and it's time to turn the fire on the Dems.

Will Sens. Clinton and Obama follow his lead and start attacking him? Or will they still have to focus on the neck-and-neck primary competition? Either way, the race between the two major parties is ON.

On a related note: Oh, the cable watching. I am doing so much of it during elex 2008.

Keith Olbermann on MSNBC ... I don't usually watch him but I am right now and he is going APE-BLEEP on the other cable channels.

"Lou Dobbs, today's worst person in the world!" he proclaimed, horror-movie music under his voice. (He was riding CNN's Dobbs for criticizing the Anti-Defamation League.)

He also calls Fox News "Fix News."

(He was critiquing them for running screen text under John McCain that said "D-AZ"... the Democrat from Arizona instead of what should have been "R-AZ." I guess Olbermann's point is that they are anti-McCain because he is not conservative enough. Or maybe he was saying they wanted to fool Democrats into voting for McCain? I am fuzzy on THAT one.)

Farai Chideya

8:49 PM ET | 02- 7-2008 | permalink

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I Cancel Your Vote!

iStockphoto.com

God bless their little hearts.

Apparently in Florida a rash of people tried to vote yesterday ... 'cause their primary WAS yesterday ... until the state officials moved it earlier ... which meant the people who showed up yesterday had nothing to vote for and had spent their gas money to get to the polls, and I'm sure they were all riled up.

Watch a l'il video here.

That's one way of canceling the vote.

Another, much more humorous to me, is how I interacted with my cousin the other day.

He called me up as a political expert and asked me to break down the pros and cons of various candidates for him. He also asked about some ballot initiatives.

I told him who/what I was voting for and then gave plenty of information on why the other alternatives were good too.

After 20 minutes on the phone, he said: "Thanks for the information. I'm going to go the other way on both issues. I'm canceling your vote."

We had a good laugh at that one, and now my motto is "I cancel your vote!" done in the same cadence as "I'm crushing your head!" (Yes, Kids in the Hall still rule.)

Continue reading "I Cancel Your Vote!" »

Farai Chideya

7:27 PM ET | 02- 6-2008 | permalink

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Mo'Bama, Mo'Hillary ... and a Whole Lotta McCain

So I'm signing off from politics-watchers central. Plenty of the races have been called tonight, including Clinton in California and, surprise surprise, New York; Obama in Alaska(!) and, duh, Illinois; McCain in New York and, yeppers, Arizona; Huckabee in Georgia and Alabama; and Romney in Minnesota and, double duh, Utah.

It ain't over 'til it's over but I'm over for now. I'm-a find out the rest tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in my class we did a really fun live blogging exercise. Live blogging is the equivalent of time trials, when you have to get out as much information as fast as you can and stay up on the news.

In class, each of us (including me) did timed blog posts while watching results come in. Some lasted a mere minute; some lasted ten. We also had to do them in in different styles. (This is on a non-public student learning blog, BTW, so you can't see it.)

We did a pretty good job, I think. I even found and embedded a photo into one of my posts in the alotted time (she said, blowing knuckles proudly).

It was just fun and exuberant to watch the returns come in and test our skills. It reminds me that blogging doesn't have to be some long or even spell-checked compendium.

I can come in here, hit up a couple of quickies (no untoward puns intended) and hop back out ... and let you do the talking, too. (By the way, this is a great time to submit a "Speak Your Mind" essay to us -- here's where to drop us a line -- because folks are speaking VOLUMES.)

Meanwhile, this parody of live blogging cracked me up. Thank you Wonkette. (Remember this is a PARODY and was posted well before the actual results.)

California Liveblogging: No Sleep 'Til Guam

Hello friends of the West! Our polls just closed. It's time to hear Chris Matthews and Wolf Blitzer tell us about our new presidents of the Bear Republic of California. WHO WILL WIN???? Let's do the liveblogging, if Hillary will ever shut up over in New York City. Obama has Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Utah, Illinois, etc. Hillary got Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, etc., who cares, it's Californication Time!

11:02 PM -- Mitt Romney won all seven GOP voters in North Dakota!
11:08 PM -- No projections? WTF?
11:09 PM -- Oh great, the real contest comes now, when we're all so sleepy (or drunk).
11:11 PM -- Mitt Romney will win Minnesota. Suck it, Al Franken!
11:12 PM -- Lou Dobbs is completely orange now. He bathes in TANG.
11:12 PM -- Dobbs also appears to be high as a kite.
11:25 PM -- Back to MSNBC: Tim Russert grumbly suggests that the Obamamentum didn't work.
11:26 PM -- But is it so sad to win 10 states?
11:34 PM -- Romney is far enough behind in California to suggest that at least a few California Republicans don't want to back a complete loser.

The "Internets." Love 'em, loathe 'em, or just talk back. Everyone else is.

Farai Chideya

1:29 AM ET | 02- 6-2008 | permalink

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Prime Political (and Web) Time

So, I'm in a basement a floor underneath Dan Rather, on the campus of the University of Southern California Annenberg. I'm not here FOR Dan Rather, and the odd thing is that he's broadcasting his high-definition television show, but you can't actually see it on the Web.

I could walk up a couple floors and peer down from the balcony, but that's not why I'm here. I'm teaching my first class ever -- on multimedia journalism -- and it's a real kick.

The Web game has changed a lot since I started a site (on the campaign trail no less) called PopandPolitics. The programs used to create Web pages have changed; the ease of using basic programs like Blogger have changed; and the complexity of options on the Web have changed. Teaching a class like this is an education for me as well as my students.

And so is learning about journalism and multimedia on an election night during one of the most highly contested and controversial elections of our lifetime.

In the past, I would have been on television analyzing the news. I miss the juice of that experience, but I also like not having to dress up and wear makeup. But back to the point.

I get to take a step back and look at how various news organizations are tracking politics on a night like this.

The Drudge Report, which broke the story about the blue dress, is still a text-based site that has been breaking early (and unconfirmed) election results.

If you go to a site like NPR's, you'll see constantly updated stories with links to audio (of course) plus text and other media.

If you go to The Washington Post, you'll see the folks there throwing up a lot of maps and graphics and charts, in addition to their other work.

If you go to CNN, you'll see plenty of streaming video.

Most news organizations have their specialties and on a night like this -- mega mega primary night -- you get to click around the Web and see what's what. In addition to every other aspect of what's unfolding tonight, being a part of online history is a kick.

Of course, on our bloggers roundtable we get to see people who are putting their own, opinionated stamp on politics ... and they'll be on with our analysts tomorrow once we see what proof is in this political pudding.

Farai Chideya

10:05 PM ET | 02- 5-2008 | permalink

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What Films Rock Your World?

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in a scene from The Shawshank Redemption.

Warner Bros. Films

Today we kicked off a series on black people in the film industry and depictions of African-American life in film. We talked about everything from To Kill a Mockingbird to the new Ice-Cube-n-Katt-Williams church caper.

I won't go into my L O N G theories about what film does to us and for us, but instead: movies! My favorites!

Okay, one theory/belief: I don't think movies have to be by or directly about the black experience to influence how you navigate the world (if you're black) or how you see the world. So many films (and books, etc.) are allegories for what it means to be human ... and how you treat "otherness."

So, let's make this the equivalent of Desert Island Discs.

If I had to pick five movies to watch over and over again in some post-apocalyptic scenario where I had a solar-powered DVD player, these would keep me in good standing:

Star Wars
Daughters of the Dust
The Shawshank Redemption
Hud
Hi De Ho

That list is based on nostalgia; inspiration; fantasy; eye candy; and comfort.

Runners up on my list:
Snow White (I am not kidding ... I love the animation ... and it's an irony that I was raised to appreciate both the animation and the sociological/racial subtext)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Scarface
Eve's Bayou
Do The Right Thing
Blade Runner
Dirty Harry
Stormy Weather
Silence of the Lambs
Carne Tremula (English: Live Flesh)
Seven
City of God
Tsotsi
Lord of the Rings
Die Hard
Crooklyn
Hero
Roots (okay, it's a TV series, but...)
Forbidden Zone
Shaft
Foxy Brown
Tender Mercies
Cool Hand Luke
Idlewild
Belly

Lord, I could go on.

In any case, how we live and how we dream are tied to what we see and whether we see ourselves in it. That's how I'll leave it for now, but I'd love to hear what movies have your hearts, ears, and eyes.

Farai Chideya

6:29 PM ET | 02- 1-2008 | permalink

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What The Heck is "Equality" Anyway?

iStockphoto.com

Okay, here's a thought. Is "equality" between blacks and whites, men and women, and... well, between anyone really the goal of civil rights policy? What does it even mean to be equal?

When we talk about equality, we're often talking about two things. One is, according to our Constitution, the concept that "all men are created equal." The other concept is equality of opportunity, which has to do with issues like educational equity.

Let me go to the second issue first. Today on our show we took a few different cuts on the issue of equality.

First we spoke with Ward Connerly, who's successfully pushed to end race and gender based admissions and hiring programs. After transforming the political landscape in states including California and Michigan, he's now targeted five more states for ballot initiatives. (We got a bit salty with each other, too. Take a listen.)

We also spoke with Shanta Driver of By Any Means Necessary, which is a coalition battling Connerly's organization. She argues that black and Latino students, among others, have lost ground.

So, take a listen for yourself. Is ending race and gender-based affirmative action fair, or does it prevent long-term educational equality?

(For some historical background, check out our conversation today with three men whose families were involved in a court case that helped launch "Brown v. Board," the case that legally desegregated schools.)

Okay, let's get to the second point. Are people actually "equal?" The question hinges on whether "equal" means "same."

It's clear that we all bring different gifts to the world, and have different struggles. You can be born rich, poor, with physical challenges, and on and on and on. So when advocates call for equality, do they really mean that we should all end up in the same place? That, for example, all people should have a college education? (That's an argument I heard from analysts from the powerful Gates Foundation.) Or do they mean we should all have the same chance to do these things?

We don't always make these distinctions when we talk about equality, and maybe that's one reason -- just one among many -- that we still find ourselves fighting with each other instead of fighting to make things better.

Farai Chideya

5:05 PM ET | 01-31-2008 | permalink

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The TRIFECTA of Dems: And YOUR Vote

Sens. John Edwards and Hillary Clinton photographed on the campaign trail.

Getty Images

So, we played you our interviews with Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator John Edwards today.

We got the three big Dems ... including Senator Barack Obama from yesterday's show. (The above links will take you to full audio and text transcripts of the interviews.)

So, who are you planning to vote for, if I may so boldly ask? I mean, really ... Democrat, Republican, Independent: who are you for? Hit us up with a comment on the blog because it strikes me that we have a lot of information now about both what candidates have said (though they're often, well, politic) and how they make us feel (which is something we talked about on today's show).

Let
Us
Know

Anyhow, here are a couple of important moments from our interviews with Senators Clinton and Edwards.

We got down to dolla dolla bills, y'all, with Senator Edwards.

Q: If you don't perform well in South Carolina, will you drop out of the race? What do you plan to do after South Carolina's primary, if you don't come in at least second?

A: I'm in this for the long haul, and the causes that I've engaged in -- speaking for the people who don't have a voice, speaking for the uninsured, for people who live in poverty, for our veterans, for the men and women serving in Iraq --- those are the causes of my life. And they're not going away, I'm in it for the long haul.

Q: Are you running out of money?

A: No, actually. Here's the amazing thing that's happened. Since the first of January, we raised a record amount online, on the Internet and as a result, the money won't be the issue. We have plenty of money.

And Senator Clinton got personal with us:

Q: We actually spoke with actress Victoria Rowell. She's written a best-selling book about growing up in the foster care system. She's stumping for you.

A: Isn't she wonderful?

Q: Absolutely. And she talked about your commitment, not just with Marian Wright Edelman, but providing free legal services in child abuse cases when you were getting your law degree at Yale. Why is this kind of work important to you?

A: I think that it initially was important because my mother had such a very difficult life, and if she had been born at a later time, I believe that she probably would have been put into the foster care system because her parents essentially abandoned her, and her grandparents were very unwelcoming. Basically, she had to leave their home when she was 13 to go to work in someone else's home just to be able to have a safe place to live and to try to be able to make some way in her life. They let her take care of their children, but she had to get up and get the other children off to school, and they let her go to high school. So I really saw at a very early age, that despite my comfortable, secure upbringing in my family, that wasn't the case for so many children. It just became the cause of my passionate commitment here in public service to do what I can to give every child the chance to live up to his or her God-given potential.

Farai Chideya

2:46 PM ET | 01-25-2008 | permalink

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We Get HEAT from Obama; Edwards Next

We are on fire down here in South Carolina ... hitting the road, working long hours (we wrapped yesterday at 2 AM), and talking to the candidates stumping for Saturday's Democratic Presidential primary.

Tomorrow, we'll have Sen. John Edwards. We actually talked to him today after the show about issues, including whether he'll drop out of the race if he doesn't win South Carolina and whether his campaign is running out of money. (I'll leave the answers as cliffhangers!)

Today we got to speak to Sen. Barack Obama, whom polls (and you never know with polls!) favor to win on Saturday. You can hear OR read the full interview with Senator Obama here.

Also on today's show, our team went down to Dillon, S.C., to talk about failing schools in the "Corridor of Shame"... the poor rural schools along Interstate 95 in South Carolina. Check out our special report. As we were leaving town after doing our reporting, Sen. Obama was just coming to town for a rally and repeat visit to Dillon.

So when I got to talk to him today, I asked: What would it take to make sure that all of the underperforming schools in America, including ones in the Corridor of Shame, became excellent schools?

The Senator said that it would take $18 billion dollars. So I asked him where that money would come from. He replied:

Well what we're going to do is delay or cut programs that I don't think are as high of a priority. ...There are a host of ... programs at the federal level that I think are less of a priority than making sure that students get a good education.

We also asked the Senator about the debunked allegations that he went to a radical madrassa, or Islamic school. He was capital N, capital H -- Not Happy -- about the question. In fact, before he answered it, he actually gave me some serious grief about even posing the question. But he did finally answer, saying in part:

The unfortunate thing is that it gets repeated and its completely false.I went to a secular school in Indonesia which happens to be a country that is majority Muslim. I am a Christian, have been a Christian. And we're now seeing emails that are being distributed repeated ly as part of a smear campaign or political strategy which insults not only me and my Christian faith, but also tries to stir up anti-Muslim sentiment. And I think that's the kind of politics that people of weary of. It doesn't solve problems. It doesn't focus attention on healthcare and education and what we're going to do about the troops in Iraq. And that's the kind of campaign I intend to run, one that focuses on the problems we face, and I'm confident that the American people will understand that these kinds of scurrilous reports and rumors have been debunked and we will continue to debunk them.

This whole race is HOT ... and so is getting to cover it. This is my fourth round of presidential election coverage, and each time you feel a surge of energy, a bit of juice from chasing the story. And voters seem to be on fire about participating in the election, as well. It could be a year that breaks voter turnout records ... stay tuned on that one.

By the way, in case you're an undecided voter, like some of the students we interviewed, you can have a fun time with Vote Chooser. It lets you, duh, choose who you should vote for. And though it may not be scientific, it's a good time ... and so is hitting the campaign trail.

Farai Chideya

8:58 PM ET | 01-24-2008 | permalink

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Live from South Carolina

Right now, I'm typing this on my Blackberry as we drive down the Strom Thurmond Freeway (!!!) back toward Columbia, South Carolina.

We're coming from the city of Dylan, part of what's called the "Corridor of Shame." Poor schools whose students consistently fail Federal "Leave No Child Behind" tests are clustered along Interstate 95. That district is one of eight suing the state for better funding and support.

Cynthia Thomas, (left), photographed with her daughter, Mikeya Murphy.

Devin Robins, NPR

We sat down with a mother and an eighth grader; plus the superintendent and the principal at the middle school in Dylan. You can tune in tomorrow (Thursday) to hear our special report, plus a conversation with top state politicians.

I have been fortunate enough to have driven across this country twice, both times with my sister, Sekai. On our last trip we got to do some fun, some sad, and some moving pieces for News and Notes. We got to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, right across from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where a white supremacist set a bomb and killed four little girls. Yet the museum tells a story of triumph, the story of black Americans (and non-black, as well) living through a period of outright terrorism. Folks survived it and transcended it.

Yet the old South lies restless and uneasy under the "New South," as so many marketers put it. Here in South Carolina lawmakers are debating whether to take down -- or at least add a contemporary commentary to -- a statue of "Pitchfork Ben."

Ben Tillman was a South Carolina governor and U.S. Senator in the late 19th century. He supported lynching African Americans and said black people who wanted the same rights as whites should be killed.

Recently, a State Representative introduced a bill to have the statue removed. One of our guests on today's show, law professor Danielle Holley-Walker (who blogs SCBlack Press.com) is actually holding a forum on the issue this week.

One of my favorite quotes in the whole worrld is from novelist William Faulkner. He said, "The past is not dead. In fact it's not even past."

I love this part of the country. It looks like home to me. Maryland limns the Mason-Dixon line and some of the foliage is similar, especially in the summer. And, as we discussed on air last week, there's now a musem in Baltimore dedicated to Maryland's black history. In so many places in the South, and beyond, there's a sense that we are "remixing" history so we can acknowledge how America's story was written, add new elements of knowledge, and come up with a vibrant way to discuss the foundations of American life.

This has been a magnificent day. We had our first live show at South Carolina ETV, a public television station that has extended true hospitality to us and the other NPR shows.

This presidential election is history in the making. Everyone has a chance to participate, even if you're not of voting age or can't vote. I mean, we're all in conversation about the future of the country ... and the impact of the past. One day people will look back at THESE times and the ripples we left and say the past isn't even past.

By the way, it looks like we'll get Senator Obama on the show again this week. Stay tuned!

Farai Chideya

9:16 PM ET | 01-23-2008 | permalink

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Blue Skies?: Miami Real Estate

iStockphoto.com

I'm passing through Miami for a meeting before we as a show head to South Carolina for our live coverage.

It is one of the kind of days that I love ... indoors. The skies are a magnificent blue, but not that clear sunny blue. Instead, they are a steely mass of shifting layers, dark thunderclouds moving in what seem like glass, superimposed planes across a field of whiter clouds in the distance. The fronds of the coconut palms are pushed back like the umbrella of a commuter walking against the wind. The water, too, is dark and roiled.

And the high-rise condos around here are blue, too. So many of them are half-finished, with blue plastic covering newly installed windows. Blue is a kind of thumbs-up color, an all-is-well color ... usually. But I wonder if these condos -- contracted during the boom of speculation -- will cost the buyers who plunked down deposits dearly.

I've got my eyes on the skies ... and the real estate. The mortgage crisis is a huge story, one with as many ripple effects, I believe, as the presidential election. I'm excited to cover the story, actually. It's great to deconstruct how this country and the economy works.

It's one of those issues you can understand on many levels: the structural nature of the economy; how different local markets are affected; and, of course, the emotional and financial cost that people holding the bag on a high-priced mortgage have to pay.

Farai Chideya

5:38 PM ET | 01-21-2008 | permalink

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MLK: Play Your Position

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Last night, I spoke at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The Black Graduate Students' Organization (BGSO) had their 22nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards. I was introduced by Dr. Katheryn Russell-Brown, who's been on our air. She's an author and a UF law professor, who heads their Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations.

The BGSO crew are DYNAMIC scholars ... and funny! And smart, artistic, etc. etc. etc. (Why, when I had a 7 AM flight, did I stay at their dance party until almost 3 AM?)

Anyway, back to the speech. A little story I used to kick things off ...

Several years ago, I was in one of my raise-a-fist angry black woman moments. I don't even remember what set me off. So I sent an e-mail to some activist friends, all about saving black youth. Essentially, I tried to out-activist the activists. Imagine me trying to channel Huey Newton ... or more importantly, faking it out of a sense of insecurity about my own gifts. At the moment, I thought it was better to put on someone else's skin in order to fulfill my (well-meaning) goals.

Anyway, one of my friends, a community-based activist, kindly sent me an e-mail in response. The part I remember is that she said "play your position." The way she put it, with humor and some ego stroking, it wasn't an admonition. She was saying, kindly, that she was an activist and I was a journalist and both of us had our roles to play in creating a more just, liberated, and equal society.

Though she's passed away, her words stick with me still.

Most of us want to play someone else some of the time. We think that if only we were ... WHATEVER ... we would be more effective at making change. Sometimes when we think this, we are truly working out our place in the world, and we do need to shift direction. But sometimes -- most of the time -- it's because we see so much need in this world and we want to fill it all.

At the event, we had a conversation about what it means to find your mission, to play your position ... even when others disagree with you. That includes when the people disagreeing with you are the ones who have supported you, people who you love.

That got me to Reverend King. On MLK's actual birthday, the 15th, News & Notes producer Roy Hurst got us some tape of Dr. King speaking out against the Vietnam war in 1967. In that speech, with a heaviness and weariness, Dr. King acknowledges that many of the people who had marched and struggled with him were also people who did not want him to speak out against the war. Rev. King said (and we played this part of his speech):

Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns, this query has often loomed large and loud: "Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King? Why are you joining the voices of dissent?" "Peace and civil rights don't mix," they say. "Aren't you hurting the cause of your people? "they ask. And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment, or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.

The people who questioned the wisdom of Dr. King's path included members of the SCLC, people he had been working for justice with for a decade. So, why did Dr. King break with them on this issue? Well, each of us has our own moral compass, our own path to walk ... our own position to play. And as I've learned over time, one of the greatest things we can do for social justice is to play our position well.

Dr. King was willing to play his position, not only when it brought him into opposition with people in power who he was willing to defy, but also when he made people who stood beside him angry. He was willing to follow his moral compass. Not all of us have that strength all of the time. He was certainly human ... he probably didn't live up to his own expectations all the time. But he played his position, one that ultimately cost him his life.

We don't have to lose our lives in order to change others'. All we have to do is find that sweet spot where we find our moral compass, give our gifts to the world, and accept but do not expect rewards when they come. Okay, that's not really an "all we have to do." That's quite a high bar. But I do believe, deeply -- from having a job where I get to speak to politicians, artists, community activists, pundits, and you name it -- that it's the diversity of our gifts that produce transformation.

So: happy Martin Luther King Day. And play your position ... and play it well.

Farai Chideya

9:47 PM ET | 01-20-2008 | permalink | trackbacks (0)

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Too Black? (Too Strong?)

Okay folks:

We get your e-mails and letters. Today, for our weekly "Letters" segment, we got a ping that said we were "racist" for doing so much black news.

I don't buy that. Most of our listeners aren't black, and we get kudos from listeners of all races. Most importantly, our show is tasked, in our mission statement, with "illuminating the African-American experience." The question is, how do we do that?

Sometimes we profile black folks, including some who do some pretty unusual things. (See Christopher Johnson's piece on a top mixed martial arts fighter.)

Sometimes we discuss race.

Sometimes we have black guests discussing the news of the day, particularly on our politics segments, our bloggers' roundtables, and our reporters' roundtable.

And sometimes, as with today's segment on something (judging from this blog) that you care deeply about -- the FDA saying cloning animals for meat is safe -- we just have two white folks on talking through an issue that our broad mixed audience cares about.

So are we too black? Or just too strong... in that we are willing to tackle issues other people don't?

Look, I question our approach. Our staff does. And that's a good thing. It means we are willing to change and innovate. It's not as if we come in to work every day and always agree, among the staff, on how to approach these things. We're trying to figure it out.

That's also a strength. Our staff is racially and culturally mixed. We all have different interests. Off air, we have our various hobbies and superpowers. The staff includes a martial artist, two DJs, a jazz musician, a cyclist, a novelist, etc. etc. etc. One thing I hope is that over time we can bring more of our loves and quirks to the show ... and that we can get more of yours on through our blogs and by incorporating you on air.

(I also lurv the science fiction and horror movies. I am looking for a way to do something on horror movies for our air, so if you have any good ideas, ping me here through the blog.)

The upshot: even if it stings sometimes ... and even if we think you're wrong ... we want your feedback. We need it, and we hear you.

Farai Chideya

5:34 PM ET | 01-17-2008 | permalink

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Race: I'm Just Not Hearing You

Tomorrow, we're going to have on Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, author of Race and Justice: Rodney King and OJ Simpson in a House Divided. We'll be talking through ... talking about race and politics specifically.

When Bill Clinton used the term "fairy-tale" in discussing the candidacy of Barack Obama, was it:
A) racial, and offensive
B) offensive only if you support Obama
C) neither racial nor offensive

How you answer the question depends on who you are and what you're listening for. Race is just one factor in how we listen ... not the tone of our skin but the cultural context we bring to conversations.

Speaking of listening, we did a tour de force of the latest in politics today.

First we got a breakdown of what happened in Michigan from NPR's Ron Elving.

Then we got a chance to speak with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick about his city's challenges and whether the federal government needs to pay more attention to urban affairs. (He thinks so!)

We also had analysts Ron Christie and Melissa Harris-Lacewell talk, among other things, about whether some of the campaigns are going broke... or at least if they're in trouble. (Two Republican candidates are making some unusual asks... former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told his senior staff to go a month without pay; and Sen. John McCain is looking for a three million dollar loan for his campaign.)

We also spoke about black gay and lesbian issues from the left and the right: blogger and regular commentator Jasmyne Cannick and Abner Mason, former president of the Log Cabin Republicans.

And we're headed to South Carolina next week for the primary there. Scroll down our blog and holla if you live in SC and we can talk to you!

Farai Chideya

7:53 PM ET | 01-16-2008 | permalink

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Bam! Throw Down That Race Card!

A rendering of "the race card," depicting Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, created by Fabian the Occasional Superstar.

racecard.tv

Yesterday, we posted a timeline of the barbs that the Clinton and Obama campaigns have traded that have been (or been interpreted as) race-based.

The question we've been kicking around with our guests over the past couple days is: have the two campaigns crossed a racial line, or is this just politics as usual?

Okay, permit me to do one of the things I love ... go on a tangent with the help of our friend the Internet.

If you go to Wikipedia and search "dirty tricks" you get an explanation of how the term became popular during Watergate for the low-down, dirty tactics of some political operatives.

There's also a set of links at the bottom of the page to everything from the Willie Horton ads to the "Anti-Obama Whisper Campaign."

Anyhow, that page hashes through debates about Obama from his-middle-name-is-Hussein to he-tried-cocaine. The question of whether it matters that Obama once used drugs -- fueled by a snarky remark by BET founder Bob Johnson -- was key to our discussion today with CNN contributor Roland Martin and Robert George of the New York Post.

Bloggers and pundits have plenty of views on how "dirty tricks" are playing out in Campaign '08. An article on the progressive Web site AlterNet offers the opinion that the Clinton campaign is ruthless. It says:

The headlines say the latest schism among the top Democratic presidential candidates is over gender and race. But on the ground in the presidential season's opening states, there is a darker narrative: that Hillary Clinton will not just fight hard, but fight dirty, to win. And her tactic of choice is attempting to suppress the votes of her rival's supporters. The latest example is from Nevada, where the Nevada State Education Association is widely seen as filing a suit on Clinton's behalf to stop Las Vegas' most powerful union, Culinary Workers Local 226, from caucusing inside downtown casinos after the union endorsed Barack Obama. The tactic foments a split along racial and class lines in arguably the strongest union city in America.

But some writers think the Obama campaign is just as culpable for the "race card" issue. An article by Cenk Uygur reads:

The Obama campaign sent their national co-chair Jesse Jackson, Jr. to tear down Hillary Clinton on MSNBC the other night. He took it too far over the top. His comments on Hurricane Katrina seemed to indicate he was saying Hillary Clinton doesn't care about black people. It's one thing when Kanye West says that about George Bush, it's another when it's Obama's spokesperson saying it about Hillary Clinton. That is out of bounds.

But is anything really out of bounds in politics? You know what they say about love, war ... and getting those votes.

Farai Chideya

2:53 PM ET | 01-15-2008 | permalink

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New Hampshire: "No Black Haircare Products"

Where in New Hampshire can you find box perm?

Carson Products

Iowa likes to say it's the first big contest on the road to the presidency. But New Hampshire is festooned with banners and newspaper headlines that remind you it is the "First-In-the-Nation Primary." And boy, does it get packed.

Thousands and thousands of newswomen and men; students; volunteers; and campaign workers flood into the state, spend millions of dollars, and then pack up and ship out as soon as the primary is over.

Having been on that campaign trail myself, I can say that you need a good pair of snow boots and a high tolerance for late-night cocktail parties. That's where you get all the good intel.

It really is a sight to behold. And it raises the question of whether ANY state -- particularly one whose demographics are, frankly, so white and so much less diverse than the nation as a whole -- should have so much influence on American politics.

But hey, pass the shrimp ... at least while the reporters are in town.

Speaking of which: a favorite memory.

It was my first campaign trail, 1996. I was doing commentary for CNN.

I was having cocktails in one of those big, faceless hotels with Bill Maher and Al Franken and a bunch of other folks. It was fun.

But I got a chance to watch Maher's show. It was on Comedy Central back then. Chris Rock used to do occasional "color" commentary for Maher. He did a stand-up in New Hampshire, shivering outdoors, back when he had that texturizer just short of a high-top fade and said "I am in New Hampshire. And I can say with certainty, there are no black haircare products in New Hampshire."

That says it all.

Except for our interview today with two of the 1,300 (!!!!) black people in New Hampshire. Wanda Mitchell, a diversity officer at the University of New Hampshire, said there are black hair care products ... but it can be hard to find a church with a good gospel choir. It was a fun convo. Check it out.

Farai Chideya

1:27 PM ET | 01- 8-2008 | permalink

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Whoa-Bama!: A Win, and a Question of Loyalty

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with wife Michelle and two daughters, Malia and Sasha, at an Iowa caucus night rally.

Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

I have a friend. Let's call her Rashifa.

So, Rashifa and I were talking about politics. She was shocked at how many of her friends weren't that enthusiastic about an Obama presidency. She was like, "It is time for black folks to claim our own! How in their ever-loving minds could a black person not vote for Barack Obama?"

Well, according to our interviews at News & Notes plus other reporters' work, there are plenty of reasons black folks give for not supporting Obama's run for the White House.

Among them:
-- He just can't win. (or: A black man just can't win.)
-- The Clinton legacy is strong on race.
-- Let's stick with a winner, and that winner is ... (usually the name they give is Clinton)
-- I don't know if he has enough experience. (Variant: It's just not his time yet.)
-- I don't know enough about him.
-- I like John Edwards' talk about economic equality.

And on and on and on. Everybody's got an opinion.

After Sen.Obama's win in Iowa, will some people change their opinion? During today's political post-mortems, we talked about the tendency voters have to want to fall on the winning side. Will Obama's win in Iowa quiet those folks who said, "He just can't win?"

Today we had two segments that dug into that question and more.

First we spoke with political strategists Jamal Simmons and Angela McGowan.

McGowan, an analyst for Fox News, is author of Bamboozled: How Americans Are Being Exploited by the Lies of the Liberal Agenda. Simmons was press secretary for the presidential campaigns of both Sen. Bob Graham and Gen. Wesley Clark.

In addition to parsing out the impact of Obama's win, they talked about whether Gov. Mike Huckabee would appeal to New Hampshire's fiscal conservatives the way he appealed to Iowa's social conservatives. (Gut instinct on their part: no.)

Then, we caught up with three reporters for our weekly roundtable: Clarence Page, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune; John Yearwood, world editor for the Miami Herald; and Bob Moser, a contributing writer for The Nation.

Moser has been following how the race is playing in South Carolina, and he found that a fair number of black voters were not yet sold on Obama.

Back to my friend Rashifa.

Referencing Barack Obama's memoir Dreams From My Father, she said, "He's a black nationalist."

And I said, "He doesn't sound like a black nationalist."

Rashifa said, "He's just smart enough not to talk about it."

Everybody's got an opinion.

What's yours?

Farai Chideya

4:40 PM ET | 01- 4-2008 | permalink

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In Character: Who Would You Talk To?

Today News & Notes had its launch of a new NPR-wide series called "In Character."

Author and Spelman professor William Jelani Cobb took a look at Mudbone, conjured by Richard Pryor.

The whole point of this series is to look at fictional characters that epitomize elements of American life.

I'm getting ready to do Jim from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

Then I'm going to have a LOT of fun doing Storm from the X Men.

If I could talk to any fictional character, though, it would be Anyanwu, the wise, tough, and empathetic shape-shifter from Octavia Butler's Wild Seed. To me, she embodies the strengths and weaknesses of womanhood, refracted through the masterful speculative fiction of one of my favorite authors.

Meanwhile, check out this essay inspired by Toni Morrison's Pecola Breedlove and the ongoing conversation about the series over at the 'In Character' blog. And like Evy in Minnetonka, you can tell us about the characters who've moved you. We may even put your suggestion on the radio.

If you could have a conversation with any fictional character in the world, who would it be?

Farai Chideya

7:57 PM ET | 01- 2-2008 | permalink

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Happy 2008!!!

iStockphoto.com

We have today off, but I came in to reorganize my office. You know -- "New Year, New Start."

OMG! I have so much stuff! It is fairly terrifying to try to drag it around, but it will be faboo once I get it set up.

Meanwhile, Jasmyne Cannick called me out to see if I would go on her "New Year's Sista Hike."

I did, and thought I was running late. But her group was just taking off as I got down to the bottom. Finding parking around Runyon is a mad drama.

I am so glad I started the New Year with a hike ... it was really refreshing.

I called my mom at midnight her time, spoke to my sister today, and had a great time at a party last night (played Guitar Hero for the first time, among other things).

It bodes well for the rest of the year.

Tomorrow, we start running full-tilt into caucus/primary land.

Tonight, I'm going to read a good book of fiction and await the political rush.

What did you do to ring in the New Year??? Inquiring minds want to know.

Peace and joy to you and yours,
Farai

Farai Chideya

8:50 PM ET | 01- 1-2008 | permalink

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Thanks to Our Bloggers ... and You!

Hey folks:

One of the most fabulous aspects of 2007 has been presiding over the News & Notes bloggers' roundtable. We have, as our commentator Michael David Cobb Bowen shouted out, helped put black bloggers on the map.

It's been a real joy to see the black blogosphere flourish. When I started the blog PopandPolitics back in 1995, "blogging" wasn't a common term and that blog was so unusual that it got a small profile in The New Yorker.

Now everyone and their grandmother has a blog, but what still needs to happen -- and here's where N&N comes in -- is building more of an alliance between bloggers. Some people compare bloggers to cats. It's hard to herd 'em. And that's not a bad thing, exactly, but what sometimes happens is that people haphazardly refer to other conversations as opposed to building a critical mass around key issues.

The OPPOSITE of that happened this year, however, with the blog buzz around the Jena 6 case -- and black bloggers led the way. The continued and concerted effort by people who had never met each other raised a debate over race and justice that ultimately brought people out into the streets. Part of our mission here at N&N is to reverb those conversations both within the blogging community and to a wider audience.

So, on that score, more in 2008! More bloggity blogging, more discussions, more verbal smackaroonies and smoocharoos.

Props to everyone at News & Notes and NPR who has pushed hard to make this work, particularly our Web producer Geoff Bennett and the people who've booked our bloggers roundtables, including Devin Robins, Anthea Raymond, and Jenee Darden.

Looking forward to more in 2008!!!!!

(And check out today's conversation on R. Kelly and the sexualization of black girls. It's important.)

Thank you all for listening and blogging with us. Don't forget to eat those black eyed peas for luck!

Peace,
F

Farai Chideya

2:38 PM ET | 12-31-2007 | permalink

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Bhutto's Death and Assassinations' Tolls

Today on the show, we talked to Melissa Harris Lacewell about the psychological impact of assassinations of leaders -- elected leaders like President John F. Kennedy or unelected ones like Martin Luther King.

Lacewell said, in part:

What political leaders like Martin, Malcom, and John F. Kennedy do is that they provide a focal point for our political hopes and dreams. If we think about Martin Luther King, for example, it's not as though the tactics and strategies that Martin King was using in the 1950s and 1960s were brand new. ... So why was Martin so important? He became a focal point, a way for us to say, here, this man, this charismatic, brilliant loving, young man represents all of what is best of us as a country, the best of us as a race, as a people. His assassination was a way of indicating that the country was unwilling to put its very best to the front, and instead was willing to cut down its future, its promise, its youth. In many ways, this is a similar kind of thing that is going on right now in Pakistan.

We also talked about how Barack Obama's presidential candidacy carries with it the specter that yet another African-American leader could be assassinated, something I asked Obama about directly in July.

Senator Obama said:

I don't spend all my time obsessing about safety issues. We take precautions and this is a risk that all presidential candidates face. Obviously it's a little more prevalent if you're an African-American candidate, but Michelle and I -- my wife and I -- talked about this before we got into this race, the sacrifices that were involved -- being away from the kids, not having as much privacy as we once had --- and our conclusion was that it was worth it, because we're in one of these moments where I truly believe we've got an opportunity to reshape the political landscape right now in a way that we haven't had maybe since Ronald Reagan did it for conservatives back in 1980.

If, as Melissa Harris Lacewell argues, that the assassination of Martin Luther King represented the country's willingness to cut down its best, what did Benazir Bhutto represent to her people?

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, author Ahmed Rashad wrote:

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has left a huge political vacuum at the heart of this nuclear-armed state, which appears to be slipping into an abyss of violence and Islamic extremism. The question of what happens next is almost impossible to answer, especially at a moment when Bhutto herself seemed to be the only answer.

He goes on to say "Bhutto was a giant of a politician in a land of political pygmies and acolytes of the military."

The article notes Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist, is the author of "Taliban" and "Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia."

Not everyone was convinced Bhutto had such stellar leadership qualities.

In an article on MSNBC.com titled "Be Careful of Pakistan's 'Ms. Liberty'," Middle East Bureau Chief Richard Engel wrote:

While the Harvard- and Oxford-educated Bhutto is the leading opposition politician in Pakistan, she is still more popular in the West than at home. Bhutto's regime is remembered for having one of the worst human rights records in Pakistan's history, and her government did not allow the media freedoms she criticizes Musharraf for crushing. Bhutto could also still face corruption cases in Britain, Spain and Switzerland.

Engel also argued, "Bhutto and Musharraf also have a common interest in keeping the courts here weak." The undermining of the Pakistani court system under the state of emergency was one of the most highly criticized aspects of General Musharraf's recent policies.

As we look at the death of Benazir Bhutto, the question that comes to mind for me is: what happens to an already politically bruised people when politics become death?

It's a question that African Americans have faced; and ones that not only Pakistanis but many people across the globe face today.

Farai Chideya

6:09 PM ET | 12-27-2007 | permalink

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Do You Know Someone Who Exemplifies Triumph?

Today, you got to hear our conversation with Denzel Washington, who directed the new Golden Globe-nominated film The Great Debaters. He plays a real person, Mel Tolson, who led the Wiley College debate team to victory over a prominent white college in the 1930s.

It was a groundbreaking moment in race relations. And Tolson also put himself at great risk doing labor organizing of sharecroppers, both black and white.

Tolson, who's now passed, is a perfect example of the kind of people we're looking for for January's special series: Triumph. So, in a different way, has Denzel Washington -- who's triumphed by pushing against the countervailing winds sweeping over the Hollywood Hills that push many black actors into obscurity rather than success.

So, what do we mean by Triumph?

Who has transcended the circumstances of their birth or childhood?

Who has put themselves at great risk to succeed?

How did someone overcome a setback to re-dedicate themselves to their dream?

How does this person's success inspire others; or how does their work lift up communities?

We want your input -- your nominations for people who exemplify Triumph. We're talking about transcendent success in any field -- from finance to education -- or a personal story of surmounting adversity.

Is there a family member or local hero who comes to mind, or a national figure whose story you've always wanted to hear?

We want to know.

Let us know on our blog, and we'll be sure and take some of these stories and put them on our air.

And, of course, the happiest of holidays!

Farai Chideya

2:06 PM ET | 12-21-2007 | permalink

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The 'Dirty Laundry' of Gay Life and Family

Maurice Jamal, Loretta Devine, and Farai Chideya, (left to right), photographed at NPR West studios.

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch

We had a chance to have on the wonderful Loretta Devine to talk about her new film, Dirty Laundry. She gives an alternately hilarious and heartbreaking performance as a small-town mother whose son comes home from New York. The son gets a big surprise, learning about the son he never knew about ... and then has to tell his family that he's gay. Those are just the plot twists for starters.

Even if you don't know her name, you probably know Loretta Devine -- her face and the slight Texas twang left in her voice. You might remember her turn in the stage version of Dreamgirls, or in movies including Waiting to Exhale. In a town known for being unkind to "blacktresses," she works all the time. You can check out her filmography and see work on shows including Boston Public and Grey's Anatomy, as well.

Devine came into our studios with the film's director, Maurice Jamal, who was rocking a very neatly shaved fro-hawk. He's hardly the kind of person who hides that he's gay, or that he's bucking a number of assumptions about what a black man can be.

So: given the film's content -- and the fact that it was co-produced by black gay author and advocate Keith Boykin (Beyond the Down Low) -- is Jamal trying to say that black people are more homophobic than whites? In his opinion, not at all.

Here's what he said on-air during our interview today:

"I actually don't think that the African community is more homophobic than the mainstream community, the white community. What I think is that black folks are just more connected to our hometown, whether it be through sororities or fraternities ... we still go to church with our mom and dad. Coming out has a different implication. ... I'm not just coming out, my family is coming out around this issue. How does my coming out affect my grandmother, and my mom, and my brothers and sisters?"

On the way out the door, Jamal made an additional point: that gay black men and women are more likely to stay in their original neighborhoods, near old friends and family, than gay white men and women, who -- he says -- will often end up in neighborhoods like San Francisco's Castro district, places that are hubs of gay life.

Do you think he's right? What about your family? If you've come out or had a relative that's come out, how did it play out?

Oh, and another note: Loretta Devine sees great things ahead for black films. She says:

"I think a lot of doors are getting ready to open and are opening for African-American films. I'm in This Christmas, and it's No. 2 at the box office, which was a shock, I think, to established Hollywood. And it's the same thing as when Waiting to Exhale came out. There's such a tremendous need for what our writers and directors and actors have to offer. And I think there's money to be made and people are waking up to that truth.

Maurice did a little riff on what he called "urban garbage" films -- specifically saying that if he wanted an easy sell to film-funders he would have made something like (the mythical sequel) "Soul Plane 8." He didn't hold back.

So, is quality black film coming up? Or are films that tackle serious topics the exception to the rule?

Farai Chideya

6:37 PM ET | 12-12-2007 | permalink

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More On Our New Series: Blacks and the Military

I have been traveling a lot lately and everywhere I go, I meet people who are listening to the show. Most of them are happy; some (as you can tell from our letters segment!) have a bone or two to pick. But I love being able to circulate and hear people talking about some of the most important ideas and issues of our time ... and hear from you that you think we're bringing up and exploring those issues.

So, here's what's next... or what's now: African Americans and the Military. It's our new monthly series, and I'm incredibly excited.

I come from a long line of military folks. My grandmother's grandfather was a water boy in the Civil War. One of my grandmother's uncles enlisted (at the age of 15... lying that he was 18) and fought in World War I. His younger brother fought in World War II. Two of my uncles served in Vietnam. Another was a Marine who traveled the world. And my cousin Jake got back not too long ago from Iraq.

Exploring the relationship between black communities and the military is incredibly important to me on a personal level and a journalistic level.

So it's with great pleasure that I bring you today's launch of the series.

For an overview on African-Americans and the military, we spoke with John Sherwood -- a historian with the U.S. Naval Historical Center and author of Black Sailor, White Navy -- and Gregory Black, a retired Navy commander and creator of the Web site BlackMilitaryWorld.

Marine Capt. Vernice Armour

Courtesy Armou

Then we talked to Marine Capt. Vernice Armour. She is the nation's first black female combat pilot. Armour served two combat tours in Iraq and left the Marine Corps this past June.

Tomorrow, we're talking about black anti-war movements and participation. As you can see, it's going to be a critical and controversial month ahead.

So: we want to hear from you. If you've got an opinion on the war, bring it. If you've served and want to be on the air ... or if you have family in service ... or if you have strong opinions that are against the war or military service, and you want to speak to the world, let us know. We're here to broadcast to you, but also to broadcast you. Let us know what's on your mind.

Farai Chideya

6:53 PM ET | 12- 6-2007 | permalink

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Coming Up: The Inside Scoop on NPR's Dem Debate

Tune in Wednesday so you can hear my chat with NPR's Michele Norris, host of All Things Considered.

Today, she also hosted the NPR Democratic Debate in Iowa. You can find a full audio stream here, but Michele and I talked about what happens behind the scenes; how Iowans think about politics; and why having a radio-only debate changed the nature of the interactions between the candidates (including the fact, she says, that they don't have to laugh at each others' bad jokes).

So, until you take a listen to Michele's and my conversation, check out the audio (above). And here's a little bit of how Sen. Hillary Clinton reacted to a question by co-moderator Steve Inskeep.

Sen. Hillary Clinton on Illegal Immigration:

"[W]hat we're looking at here is 12 to 14 million people. They live in our neighborhoods. They take care of our elderly parents. They probably made the beds in the hotels that some of us stayed in last night. They are embedded in our society.

If we want to listen to the demagogues and the calls for us to begin to try to round up people and turn every American into a suspicious vigilante, I think we will do graver harm to the fabric of our nation than any kind of, you know, person by person reporting of someone who might be here illegally. I reject that. I think again you have to look at the failure of the federal government and the failure of our political system to make a change in how we should be enforcing our immigration laws. And that's what I will try to do."

Farai Chideya

6:42 PM ET | 12- 4-2007 | permalink

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Coping When AIDS Hits Your Family

I remember when a member of my extended family was diagnosed with AIDS, and how hard she fought against it. Over this Thanksgiving, we talked about her and all the gifts she gave to us and her daughter, who is now married and doing great.

Well, today we had on Carla Bailey and her daughter Jamie Bailey-Rataj. Carla is a mother of six who has been battling full blown AIDS for more than a decade.

When she first was diagnosed, she didn't want to tell her three children. We talked about how she told them and the rest of her family; how she's gone on to be an AIDS advocate in Los Angeles; and how she went on to adopt three more children (her brother's) after her diagnosis.

It's a story of strength that we all can learn from, and a sober reminder that the crisis isn't over.

Farai Chideya

7:43 PM ET | 11-30-2007 | permalink

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More Money ... And More ... And Yours

Today in our reporters' roundtable, we talked through the race riots in France; restricting guns for people with mental health records; and the economic downturn in the United States and abroad.

Specifically, we focused on how reporters are transmitting economic info to folks who don't know the jargon. Are you getting what you need?

Well, we have Howard University economist Bill Spriggs on Monday, and it's a perfect time to ask about mortgages, the stock market ... or whatever you please.

If you have a question, please submit it via the comment section below. Be sure to leave your name and an accurate e-mail address, so we can contact you if we use your question on the air. Your e-mail address will not be made public.

Farai Chideya

7:34 PM ET | 11-30-2007 | permalink

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Elex 2008: Real and Personal

As I tracked the latest GOP presidential debate, I thought, "This is getting personal." The level of heat in this and the last Democratic debate shows that people are trying to use muscle while they can before the third and fourth and fifth place candidates begin to lose all hope.

Today, we talked politics with James Taylor, an associate professor of political science at UCLA, and Mark Sawyer, an associate professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. We got into why the attacks are seeming more personal, and whether the issues of voters of color will be addressed adequately.

Coming up on Monday is the Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum, featuring the Democratic candidates. Dan Rather, PBS's Ray Suarez, and NPR's own Michele Norris moderate.

Considering that Iowa is 92 percent non-Hispanic white, it might not be the most representative state for American diversity. But they have dibs on the early slot in Election 2008. And finally, they're getting close: the Iowa Caucus and the state primaries, that is.

This presidential campaign has been chugging along for almost a year now ... BEFORE any voters get to indicate their choices. Now, it's crunch time. All the also-rans or almost-coulds are going to try hard to get traction before they're swept to the side. All of us in the news game are planning what we can bring to the table that keeps our listeners/readers/viewers engaged.

So: what do you need? What do you want to learn? What hasn't been covered? Who do you want to hear from?

Before you know it, we'll be well into the land of primaries and then nominees and then... the race for the winner.

Farai Chideya

4:32 PM ET | 11-29-2007 | permalink

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Sweet Sister-Song

A headshot portrait of vocalist Nina Simone.

Jack Robinson, Hulton Archive/Getty Images

I am a huge, enormous, gigantic, massive music freak. I mean, gigabytes of digital, CDs, and even a few bits of vinyl.

Today, producer Roy Hurst and I put together a feature on a book called I Got Thunder: Black Women Songwriters and Their Craft.

LaShonda Katrice Barnett interviewed more than 40 black female musicians in her quest to know about the craft of songwriting. She shares what she learned in her book, and both as a journalist and a music fan, I was fascinated.

When you listen to our piece you'll get a taste of a few great songs by women including Nina Simone and Joan Armatrading, and how they viewed themselves as artists. Being an artist of any sort is not an easy path, and in the book, many of these women share their scars.

One of the points Barnett made was that many of these women are known as singers, but not as songwriters. As an example, she referenced Billie Holiday's self-written and beautifully sung "Don't Explain," one of my absolute favorite songs. In fact, I previously discussed the song with Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of If You Can't Be Free Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday.

So, for all of you who write songs out there -- and I know some of you do -- how do you do it? And for those of you who appreciate the craft, what gets you? The lyrics? The melodies? The blend?

And, by the way, enjoy your holiday.

Farai Chideya

6:22 PM ET | 11-21-2007 | permalink

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Can the Death Penalty Save Lives?

iStockphoto.com

Two professors from Pepperdine University say "yes." In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal (and cited in articles, including this one from the Chicago Sun Times) the professors said that every inmate executed helps deter 74 murders the following year.

The Pepperdine study comes as many states have imposed a de facto moratorium on executions. This is due in part to a pending Supreme Court case on lethal injections, with some critics calling the form of death "torture."

(Our forthcoming interview with Barbara Becnel, the editor of Stanley "Tookie" Williams' autobiography, Blue Rage, Black Redemption, touches on that issue. Becnel says of witnessing Williams' execution, "Stan had been slowly tortured to death.")

Today we spoke with two professors who both study the death penalty.

Cass R. Sunstein is a law professor at the University of Chicago. In 2005, he co-wrote a paper that said, "capital punishment may be morally required, not for retributive reasons, but rather to prevent the taking of innocent lives."

Nonetheless, he didn't completely endorse the study. Professor Sunstein said that "the number they give is way out of line" and called the results "extreme."

We also spoke with Justin Wolfers. He's an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

From his perspective, the research was politicized. In his words, "It's no coincidence that it was published in the Wall Street Journal, which has a very political editorial board."

He went on to argue that states that do not have the death penalty have similar cyclical rises and falls in murder rates, and that in Canada, which does not have the death penalty, murder rates rise and fall on similar cycles.

What do you think? Could the death penalty deter crime? And if it does, is that the main reason the laws should be upheld?

Farai Chideya

3:45 PM ET | 11-20-2007 | permalink

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Family: When is Enough Enough?

Family drama.

You've probably had it.

Maybe it's small and easily forgotten, like an unreturned phone call.

But sometimes it's flat out heartbreaking ...

What if one member of your family betrayed your safety or your trust -- through drug use or physical abuse? How far would you go to keep them in your life? When would you decide enough was enough?

All month we've been looking at issues affecting our families.

Today we took a look at what happens when people have to make tough decisions about HOW and IF they keep ties with kin.

We spoke with Brenda Combs. She was addicted to crack for ten years, and endured being shot, assaulted, and raped before she decided to end her dependence. Brenda says her mother found it hard to cut her off during her addiction ... and then, once she was in recovery, found it the hardest to trust Brenda again.

We also spoke with Judge Lynn Toler, star of the TV show Divorce Court. In her experience, said Judge Toler, she has counseled families to let go of someone who is not only harming themselves but potentially endangering others. Still, families are almost never willing to cut those ties.

So: what are the bounds of loyalty? When does caring for someone you love become destructive to yourself and to them?

Farai Chideya

4:28 PM ET | 11-16-2007 | permalink

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Candidate Turf Wars: Internet and Abortion

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All of the presidential candidates are trying to stake their turf and get their endorsements lined up. And we're not talking (as we did last week) about O.J. Simpson giving his opinion.

On an extended-length political segment today with Ron Christie and Mary Frances Berry,
we talked about why the evangelical Christian group endorsements are going to a mix of candidates. This week, GOP candidate Fred Thompson got the endorsement from the National Right to Life Committee. Late last week, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani got the endorsement of Pat Robertson. But none of the Republican candidates have had a consistent record of opposing abortion rights ... so why did Thompson win the group's support?

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton has staked out healthcare as a key issue; and former Senator John Edwards has announced plans dealing with poverty and Katrina relief. So what's Sen. Barack Obama's turf? Well, today he announced his plans regarding technology. A transcript released in advance of his speech at Google headquarters said, in part:

"I'll put government data online in universally accessible formats. I'll let citizens track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and lobbyist contacts online, and let you review and comment on legislation before it is signed. And I'll ensure that every government agency is meeting 21st century standards by appointing the nation's first Chief Technology Officer."

Speaking of the Senator, a question: Is he running a campaign that appeals more to whites than blacks? That's the theme of a Wall Street Journal article titled "White's Great Hope."

In it, author Jonathan Kaufman says:

"Sen. Obama and a new generation of black candidates are running campaigns that make whites feel good about themselves."

Kaufman also points out that, at this stage in the game, Sen. Hillary Clinton is polling higher among African Americans than whites.

Do you think there's a "feel-good" aspect to the Obama campaign for white voters? If so, is it anything the campaign should worry about? (And should the campaign worry about the poll numbers with African-American voters?)

Farai Chideya

5:55 PM ET | 11-14-2007 | permalink

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Where Did the Jena 6 Money Go?

Radio host Michael Baisden has gone head-to-head with the group Color of Change over accountability for the funds raised for the Jena 6 ... something we discussed on our blogger's roundtable.

On Baisden's show, Mychal Bell's father, Marcus Jones, accused the group of misappropriating funds. The Color of Change, on the other hand, has gone so far as to post copies of canceled checks showing how they gave the money to the families.

The website Daily Kos is explaining this fight as "netroots" activists versus "more establishment African Americans."

Do you think that's the issue? And is this undermining the civil rights conversation that came out of Jena 6?

Farai Chideya

6:38 PM ET | 11-12-2007 | permalink

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Connect the Aquadots: Sloppy Language on Toy Recall

Workers assemble toys on a production line at a toy factory in China.

AFP/Getty Images

In today's economics segment with Dr. Julianne Malveaux, we talked about oil prices, wealth and inequalities between black and white families ... and a toy recall.

The award-winning toy is called Aquadots. And if you read stories like this one from the Associated Press, you will read a headline which says (directly in this case; and similar in others) "Children's Toys Containing 'Date Rape' Drug Recalled."

That is not quite accurate.

As this article itself says further on, the toy does not contain the chemical known as GHB. It does contain a chemical that the body can convert into GHB.

You could consider that nit-picking, but the point about the "date rape" drug moniker is worth inspecting.

There is no one thing called a "date rape" drug. There are several drugs -- the most infamous one Rohypnol, or "roofies" -- that can fit under the slang term "date rape drug." But it's just that ... a slang term. And while it was a tiny part of our coverage today, it's always useful to understand the facts and not just the headlines.

Farai Chideya

2:09 PM ET | 11-12-2007 | permalink

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The Justice Department, Race, and Remarks

Just when you thought the controversy over the Attorney General nominee and waterboarding were going to fill all of the Justice Department's news-hole, there's Tanner.

John Tanner is the Voting Section Chief for the U.S. Department of Justice. Last week, he appeared before the House Judiciary Subcommittee to apologize for recently saying that a Georgia voter ID requirement wasn't unfair to elderly African-Americans because black folks "don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first."

Was this a case of verbal clumsiness or a sign the Justice Department doesn't care about voting and civil rights?

Today we heard from:

Democratic Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama. Rep. Davis argued that elderly African Americans have strong voter turnout, which flies in the face of Tanner's statement. He added that whether Tanner apologized is not the issue:

"The issue...[is] the fact that you have the head of the Voting Rights Division, who in charge of enforcing a major portion of voting rights laws, advancing an argument that is factually unsupported, statistically unsupported. And that led, in this case, to I think the wrong conclusion, which was to sign off on a voter ID law that frankly should have been rejected by the Department of Justice."

We also spoke with Joe L. Reed, a long-term friend of Tanner's who is chairman of the Alabama Democratic Conference. He said:

"You have to judge the man, the whole man, not just one statement or the statement in any one case. He worked with us in Alabama to get more black polling officials. Alabama has more black polling officials than any state in the nation."

John Tanner declined to come on the show, but gave us a statement which read, in part:

"The reports of my comments do not in any way accurately reflect my career of devotion to enforcing federal laws designed to assure fair and equal access to the ballot. I am honored to have the opportunity to do this work, and I am honored to serve with the dedicated employees of the Voting Section who, day in and day out, work hard to protect the rights of all Americans under the Voting Rights Act."

Later in our show, political analysts Robert Traynham and Donna Brazile gave their takes on Tanner and voting rights... and Brazile added that the issue wasn't on the radar as much as it could be.

Listen to the segments and tell us what you think.

Farai Chideya

5:23 PM ET | 11- 7-2007 | permalink

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Finesse Mitchell Wants to Kickstart Your Love Life

Comedian Finesse Mitchell

Getty Images

You may have seen him on BET's Comic View or Saturday Night Live ... or read his dating column in Essence magazine -- and you might just be mad at him.

In an upcoming interview, Finesse Mitchell will give us his take on the man's perspective on dating. He has a new book titled Your Girlfriends Only Know So Much: A Brother's Take on Dating and Mating for Sistas.

And he's ready to take the mic when it comes to dating advice. He writes, "What makes me qualified to give you advice? For starters, I'm a black man. I'm more than thirty years old, a college graduate, and in a committed relationship."

So don't get too mad when he breaks down issues with different kinds of men.

If you have questions for Finesse about dating and the man or woman in your life, submit it via the comment section below, and it may be used during the interview.

Please leave an accurate e-mail address (which will not be made public), so we can contact you if we use your question on the air.

Farai Chideya

3:27 PM ET | 11- 7-2007 | permalink

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Taking Responsibility for 'Demeaning' Images

A group calling itself "Enough is Enough" has been protesting for two months in front of the home of Black Entertainment Television head Debra Lee; and also in front of the home of Phillippe Dauman, who heads Viacom (the parent company of BET, MTV, and VH1).

The picket-the-home technique has been controversial in disputes from abortion to protesting convicted sex offenders in neighborhoods. I asked Fay Williams of the National Congress of Black Women if she ever questioned using that tactic. She said:

"We're there for positive reasons. If we were able to sit down in the studio with Ms. Lee or with any of the other studio executives -- which we have done with many, by the way -- and they had listened to us and not just dismissed us, as the CEO of BET has, there would be no need for us to go to her home to get her attention. ... If we went to BET, we would not even get close to BET, she would not know that we were there."

Todd Boyd, a professor at the University of Southern California, who has sliced and diced racial stereotypes in books including Am I Black Enough For You?: Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond, feels differently. He told us:

"I don't think that this will work. Their complaints are very, very, very subjective. When you talk about words like 'decency' and 'responsibility' and 'positive and negative,' these are very negative terms and they change from person to person. What you have are a group individuals who want to impose their standards on everyone else. There's a certain arrogance there."

What do you think? Who should take responsibility for images? Are groups like Enough is Enough crossing a line by picketing in front of homes?

Farai Chideya

5:41 PM ET | 11- 6-2007 | permalink

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(Insert Joke Here): TV Writers on Strike

Members of the Writers Guild of America picket NBC headquarters in New York.

Gary He, AP

So, the Writer's Guild of America strike is on, full-tilt. Tina Fey, who is both a writer and star of the show 30 Rock is out hoisting her signboard in the picket line, along with plenty of the men and women who script your TV.

What does it mean?

We brought on Emmy winner Larry Wilmore, who's on the negotiating committee for the Writer's Guild of America. (He's also the "Senior Black Correspondent" for The Daily Show.) Wilmore just sold a show to HBO, and pointed out that during the strike he cannot work on developing that show; nor write for any other shows. In fact, The Daily Show is going into repeat-landia, as are the late-night talk shows.

Wilmore added:

"People will see more what are called 'unscripted shows.' And right now television, especially dramas are doing a pretty good job of being pretty diverse, shows like Grey's Anatomy and Lost. Grey's Anatomy is run by an African-American woman. And those shows are going to be off the air. And we don't know what is going to replace them once their current new episodes run out. ...What's dangerous is that some people, you take the minority writers, or people who are right on the fringes of the business, these people could be pushed out of the business during the strike. You never know."

Farai Chideya

4:36 PM ET | 11- 5-2007 | permalink

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Writers Strike and the Economics of TV

The first season cast of VH1's I Love New York.

VH1

Television is not just for the living room anymore.

You can download versions of network shows to your iPod; watch them on demand on cable; see clips on YouTube; or even stream them on your computer. ABC, for example, provides streaming episodes of its primetime shows. There are a few embedded commercials, but they're not as long as when you watch live on TV.

What's fascinating to me, among other things, is that the revenue models for television are changing. The television industry is grappling to figure out how to do what it has for years -- make money off of your watching pitches for products you might just buy.

Now there's talk of moving back to a sponsorship model. In the early days of television, companies would sponsor whole programs, like the Texaco Star Theatre. Now that you can fast-forward through commercials, there have been experiments with going back to that model. Or just doing embedded product placement.

Anhyow, the big news out here on the Left Coast is that the Writer's Guild of America has gone on strike. That means that all those witty lines of dialogue you rely on to get you through the evening ... if you watch series television ... are going to stay in the writers' brains instead of hitting the page. At least until the strike ends. Depending on how long it ends, that could mean some of your series go bye-bye of get thrown into endless reruns.

The exception: the now-ubiquitous reality TV.

Now, reality TV is a place where black folks have MORE than our share of turf. It doesn't mean that turf is exactly prime. Think The-Show-Formerly-Known-As-Hot-Ghetto-Mess; or I Love New York.

Among other things I'm thinking about: Will the rise of reality TV intensify? Is it giving black folks a fair shake or just a shakedown? And what are your guilty pleasures? (Yes, I admitted on the radio today that I watched Dog, the Bounty Hunter.)

Farai Chideya

7:17 PM ET | 11- 2-2007 | permalink

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Did the Democrats Destruct in the Debate?

It was "beat up on Hilary" night for the Democrats, at least according to our political contributor Mary Frances Berry. Those were her words of analysis about Tuesday's Democratic debate, which was anticipated to be gloves-off ... and was.

"Edwards was like a little terrier yipping at everybody's heels -- yip, yip, yip, yip, yip," said Berry, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

And our contributor Ron Christie, a former special assistant to President George W. Bush said, "It was a bad night for the Democratic Party. ... They sat around in a circle and opened fire on each other."

You can hear all of their discussion here.

You can find a transcript of their debate here.

What do you think? In the race for the top spot, are the Democratic presidential candidates undermining their party's chances at the White House? Or is it inevitable that they'll have to slug it out now?

Farai Chideya

6:39 PM ET | 10-31-2007 | permalink

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Nikki Giovanni on Truth and Tragedy

Poet Nikki Giovanni photographed at NPR West studios.

Bettina Wiesenthal-Birch, NPR

Black revolutionary, feminist, artist, cancer-survivor, smack-talker, and healer ... those are some of the titles you can apply to poet Nikki Giovanni.

In April, Virginia Tech student Sung-Hui Cho massacred 32 professors and students, and then took his own life.

Nikki Giovanni was not on c