Register to Vote by Oct 7th! (in Illinois)

Check out video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

The We Are the Ones Song
by will.i.am

people say Obama’s words are just words...

but...

when was the last time "words" weren’t important...???...

when was the last time a great leader didn’t use words to lead...??...

when was the last time a person didn’t use words to describe how they felt...?...

when was the last time "words" weren’t empowering...?...

and we can all recall the last time "words" were used to divide us and install fear...

Bush used words to fear us into voting for him the second time around...

terror this...

terror that...

nuclear here...

weapons of mass destruction there...

and those words effected a lot of people’s choices...

"enough is enough"...

let’s rebuild...

let’s change ourselves...

let’s allow positivity to guide us...

let's take action....

let’s activate our passion...

we are Americans....

and this is the first time in forever that someone running for president represents "US"...

some say this is all excitement...

I call it “proud to be an American”...

some say this whole Obama movement is "cult like"...

well...

if it comes across cult like...

then...

the cult is called America...

the Obama movement is connecting America.

and it has made "US" realize our importance...

the youth is excited and activated...

adults are passionate and motivated...

the elderly are proud to know the country they built is in safe hands...

we are one...

for too long politics has been corrupt...

separate from the American people...

with agendas that go against what the American people "need"...

education...

health...

safety...

jobs...

etc...

politicians have spoken a different language...

making it so the youth and poor people feel as if voting was only for the wealthy and old people...

making "US" feel as if "we" had no voice...

making "US" feel powerless...making it feel like if "we" did vote it wouldn’t change anything...

but wait...

that did happen...

some of us voted, and it didn’t change anything...

we were in the dark...

we had no voice...

we were powerless...

because America was not a united America...

and "they" spoke a different language...

and they had an agenda different from our well being...

correct me if I’m wrong...or speak up if I’m missing something...

we want education, health, safety, and good jobs...right???...

oh yeah...

and "a healthy planet to live on"...

but here we are...

in a war... poor education... poor health programs... the dollar is down... the planet, polluted...

the rich, richer... and the poor, struggling...

with sky high gas prices to top it all off...

and now even the rich aren't really rich internationally because our dollar is has fallen so far down...

in our slumber... a very small few got really rich...

because when you’re sleeping...

"it’s hard to change agendas"...

we know what happened in 2000 and 2004...

but in 2008...

it’s different...

we are awake...

and there is a movement...

and "it’s hard to change a movement"...

last time "we" didn’t have a movement...

America wasn’t united...

and now "United and "Standing"...for something...

we know the power of "US"...

and we have a person who represents the "U.S."...

"US"…

"we are the ones we’ve been waiting for"...

I’m proud to be an American...

will.i.am

though i really can't understand how anyone could vote for mccain in this day and age (no offense to any die-hard republicans), it amazes me even more that some people still walk around saying that they are proud to NOT vote and do not participate in our democracy. yes, our electoral process has many flaws. yes, there are lots of factors outside of the president himself that dictate our country's economy and social structure...but if you sit idly by while watching our country continue into ruin, you're just as at fault as the folks running the country into the ground. Get out and vote! [Obama ;o)] Help others to register by Tue Oct 7th! and get them to vote! [Obama!] Take your family members and neighbors with you to the polls! Have a poll party afterwards! [to hopefully celebrate Obama's win ;o)]
seriously though, Americans need to get involved in our political process if we want to change the direction the country's going in. stop letting excuses concerning "those with real power doing what they want anyway" keep you from letting your voice be heard. when the dec 2007 election in kenya went against public opinion, people rioted. millions were displaced and thousands lost their lives. they fought because they believed they were treated unjustly. they fought because they felt they had no other choice. later, the country was able to come to some compromise....when bush stole the vote, we complained to each other, shrugged our shoulders, and life went on. now, i'm not saying we should loot and kill and burn things down if the election doesn't go our way. Lord knows violence only begets more violence. but being active participants in the political process is the only way to bring about change. every social movement that has brought about change (women's movement, civil rights movement,gay rights movement, labor movements, disability rights movement, etc.) started because people were courageous enough to take a stand against hate/discrimination and protest! take a stand this election and vote!

New FREE Michael Moore Film...2008 Election!

Come watch the trailer for the new Michael Moore movie entitled "Slacker Uprising". You will be able to download the entire movie for free on September 23rd if you sign up!
http://slackeruprising.com/

If being natural is so 'popular'....

then why aren't more black folks doing it?

i've read comments in some online cirles that being 'natural' and/or locking the hair is a recent fashion 'trend,' but in everyday life i'm not seeing the masses of natural heads that folks are talking about...

now don't get me wrong. there are lots of black women who've walked away from the creamy crack/ fire cream. but there are lots of black women who continue to straighten their hair on a regular basis, or chemically color treat it, but claim to remain natural. let's think about this scientifically. obviously, coloring the hair is a chemical process, but heat also facilitates chemical changes (think about baking bread or burning wood - the finished product is not the same as the staring materials)...overtime, heat can permanently change the texture of hair, even if you haven't saturated it with relaxer. are you really sporting natural hair if you never wear your own texture and are constantly flat ironing? what about the constant layering of hair color?

then others have presented the argument that "everyone is getting locks now" but "folks are doing it for the wrong reasons"....in some ways, this may be true since locked styles are more widely accepted now than ever. and locks do seem to be a fad of sorts....still, i have only personally known a couple people, men or women, who were locked before i made the commitment...of course, now that i'm locked, it seems like everyone's doing it...probably because i'm more aware of HOW people are wearing their hair and WHY...

then there are others who start locking with lock extensions/weaves.... and those who 'commit' to locking their hair three, four, and five times over....that's a whole 'nother story....

in the midst of this "natural hair/locking revolution" that i hear so many natural/dread heads talking about, i'm still surrounded daily by women (and some men) who continue to lye, fry, and dye their hair to get straight, wavy, "good" hair....

if being natural is so popular, why aren't more black folks embracing their own natural curls?

i think about tonia, a white mother who adopted African American children. she wanted to keep the girls natural, but found it hard to find role models of Af. Amer. women loving their natural hair where she lived. why was this such a difficult feat? (this enlightened mama later decided to lock her daughter's hair so that she can grow up feeling proud about her natural self. good job, mama! see their blog)

i've read too many blogs about whether folks are 'keeping it real' or being true to their natural selves throughout this whole process. whether folks truly have a spiritual connection to their hair beyond cosmetic arrogance. one blogger even spent months and months and months repeating the same ill feelings about newbies vs old skool lockers who locked for deeper significance than today's fly-by-night lockers. i was amazed by the shear energy this individual used to blog about the same things for the better part of the last year.....don't black folks have enough issues that keep us divided without picking through the nuances of our natural hair? regardless of how ridiculous some sound - 'why do my locks look fuzzy/lumpy?' duh! they're dreadlocks! - we gotta move past some of this superficial bullshit.

the real issue is not why or how one is "going natural" or locking their hair (although people should realize that their locks are more than a just "style," even if they're locking because they like the look.) the real issue is why are black folks across the world still hooked on texturizers, relaxers, flat irons, and blow dryers that promise to straighten away our sense of identity in the first place.... i'm not even gonna touch on the issue of wearing fake hair....better yet, why don't we dialogue about *real* issues like why there are more black men in prison than in college, or whether kids in Chicago Public Schools need to be paid to get good grades, or how the US government can spends trillions of dollars in an overseas war while our economy runs into the ground....but i digress...

yeah, i know....we're all at different stages of "enlightenment." i recognize that i made some serious shifts in my paradigms of thought to get to where i am today, and i'm certain that my consciousness will continue to expand and transform as my locks grow and mature with me....in the meantime, lets just agree to embrace the fact that at least some folks have started (and continued) the process of locking and loving themselves in whatever natural state they're in. let's get concerned about what really matters - education, poverty, hunger, HIV/AIDS, racism/discrimination, nationalism, criminal/child welfare system, politics/government corruption - throughout the African diaspora. now thats whats up.

I've Been Tagged...

Here are the rules...

• Link to the person that tagged you..... I was tagged by Anthia-Ofo and Saabira
• Post the rules on your blog
• Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself that have not been shared already
• Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
• Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

1) i LOVE to travel! i've been to the regular touristy spots (Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, etc.) and took a cruise through the bahamas, but i also had the opportunity to travel for service. my first international service trip was to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala in 2001. last december, i went to Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa. my next service trip is scheduled for dec 2008 to San Salvador, capital city of El Salvador. one day, i'll go to Brazil and New Zealand and maybe tour the Mediterranean Sea...but that'll be for pleasure ;o)

2) i love watching documentaries, especially concerning the Black/African/African American experience, but about social movements in general. ya gotta know about where the world has been to understand the direction our world is going (and in some ways, we seem to be moving backwards...)

3) i like watching (American) football. i usually post up with my loved ones on sundays to watch the game. i'm rooting for the Bears this season, but it doesn't look like they're gonna make it today...i'm not as bad as my mother though. she actually bets on the game regularly ;o) i like watching boxing too, especially the light- and featherweights. they seem to fight the hardest.

4) i like to ice skate. in fact, Chicago is a great city for outdoor ice skating in the winter...i'm by no means an olympian skater, but i can do a turn or two on the ice.

5) i listen to all forms of music, except traditional country, acid rock, and techno. (yes, there is a difference between Chicago deep house and techno - and i consider myself to be a young, old skool househead)

6) i've always wanted to try hang gliding, but i could never in life imagine bungee jumping. go figure.

Here are the 6 folks I'm tagging:

• Ms Trina
• Naturally Me
• Wendi
• Naseema
• Happy, Nappy, and Free
• Hannah Ranay