VIDEO * GERALDO RIVERA APOLOGIZES TO TRAYVON MARTIN’S PARENTS

The parents of Trayvon Martin appeared on  Geraldo Rivera’s “Geraldo At Large”  Fox New show Sunday night.  A few weeks ago Geraldo came under fire for commenting that “Trayvon’s hoodie killed him surely as George Zimmerman did”.

After a few days of getting backlash about his statement, Geraldo finally issued a half hearted apology to the Martin family.   After issuing the apology he invited the parents onto his show so they could make amends face to face.

“Now, what I was trying to do was caution parents that allowing their kids to wear hoodies or similar clothing in certain circumstances, particularly if they are minority young men, could be dangerous. But I never intended to hurt anyone’s feelings and certainly, Sybrina and Tracy, I never intended to hurt your feelings. I want to personally convey my deepest apologies to both of you. I am sorry if anything I said, Tracy, added to your misery,” Rivera said on his show.

The apology was accepted by Travon’s father, but he also let took the opportunity to defend his son and explain exactly why Trayvon was wearing a hoodie on the night that he was murdered by George Zimmerman.

“Your apology is accepted. Let me just add one thing with the wearing of the hoodie,” he said. “I don’t think America knows that, in fact, at the time of the incident when he initially made the call, it was raining. So Trayvon had every right to have on his hood. He was protecting himself from the rain. So if being a suspicious, walking in the rain with your hoodie on is a crime, then i guess the world is doing something wrong.”

What do you think about Trayvon’s parents accepting Geraldo’s apology?

VIDEO * CORI B. F/ SNOOP DOGG “DADDY’S GIRL”

 

Cori B. is the daughter of rapper Snoop Dogg and she is following in her daddy’s footsteps.  Cori is also an artist making strides within the music industry.   In her latest video she tells us why she is such a “Daddy’s Girl”

In the video Snoop is a proud poppa who is out on the road while his little girl decides to throw a birthday party with some of her friends.  The Doggfather comes home early and surprises his little lady but he doesn’t even trip when he realizes she is having a party. It becomes a family affair as Snoop joins in on the fun.

UNRELEASED VIDEO OF BARACK OBAMA GIVING A SPEECH AT HARVARD IN 1991

A video has surfaced of then Harvard college student Barack Obama giving a speech at the university during a protest supporting diversity. Buzz Feed posted the interview where Obama is introducing professor Derrick Bell who was responsible for holding the school accountable for creating more diversity on campus.

It was perhaps Barack Obama’s most intense immersion in the charged campus racial politics of the late 1980s and early 1990s: As President of the Harvard Law Review in the spring of his final year there, 1991, he aligned himself with Professor Derrick Bell’s dramatic protest for diversity on the faculty of Harvard Law School.

Bell was the first black tenured professor at the school, and a pioneer of “critical race theory,” which insisted, controversially, on reading issues of race and power into legal scholarship. His protest that spring was occasioned by Harvard’s denial of tenure to a black woman professor, Regina Austin, at a time when only three of the law school’s professors were black and only five women. He told Harvard he would take a leave of absence — a kind of academic strike — “until a woman of color is offered and accepted a tenured position on this faculty,” and he launched a hunger strike to dramatize his point.

Obama was a major figure on campus, the first black president of the Law Review. Some friends, in a prescient joke, just referred to him as “the first black president.” He had a reputation as a conciliatory figure, not a confrontational one like Bell.

Even though the video is over 20 years old, the President still had the same swag back then that he has now

VIDEO * RADIO PERSONALITY BRIAN DAWSON’S “B. SPOT TV” FATHER AND SON EDITION

Working in radio for the last 11 years has given me the opportunity to come in contact with a lot of different people and personalities. One of my current co-workers at Radio One in Raleigh is Brian Dawson. Brian is the afternoon jock for Raleigh’s K97.5. He has been in the market for over 10 years. One of the things that Brian brings to the table as an on air personality is his relationship with his children. He is a husband and the father of two boy.

Outside of radio, Brian is also the host of a successful TV show that airs locally entitled “The B. Spot”. On a recent episode of the television show Brian documented his relationship with his oldest son Chase. The two bonded over an NFL football game, spent some time at the radio station making a commercial, and spent time together as Chase ran track, played football and other extracurricular activities.

All in all the video is a great example of the relationship between a father and a son. Brian is with his son building a foundation for his future and guiding him through these ever so important early years of his life.

Watch the video below.

VIDEO * 5 YEAR OLD COMEDIAN TALKS ABOUT “GROWING UP BLACK”

I’m totally in favor of encouraging your kids to pursue their dreams. I think it’s imperative that we start helping our children focus on chasing their dreams at an early age. This way they know the importance of going after the things that they want in life.

5-year-old Zay Zay went to his father and let him know that he wanted to be a comedian when he grows up. In an attempt to help Zay Zay fulfill his dreams, his dad who is also a comedian wrote some material for his son and filmed him for this youtube clip. His father appears in the video , and even set up a facebook and twitter account for the youngin’.

The routine is entitled “Growing Up Black” and features Zay Zay talking about the things that he has experienced as a child growing up.

What do you think about Zay Zay’s attempt at stand up comedy?

VIDEO * A FORMER GANG MEMBER GETS HIS PH.D AND IS NOW MENTORING AT RISK YOUTH

Anything is possible when you put your mind to it, and this video proves it. Victor Rios is a former gang member who has turned his life completely around and is giving back to his community. After dropping out of school twice he went on to get his doctorate degree and is now a college professor. He is also mentoring young people and helping them stay on the right track.

It’s good to see people who give back to the community once they achieve success. Watch this video for a real feel good story.

SHOCKING VIDEO * WHAT DO BYU STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT BLACK HISTORY?

After I watched this video I was shocked…Not necessarily at the things that were said…But shocked at how brave these kids were for going on camera and saying some of the most misinformed things that I have ever heard.

A student at Brigham Young University recently decided to dress up in black face (*side eye*) and go around asking students on campus what they knew about black history. Now I don’t expect every person of every race to know everything about black history month. But come on when you have people naming Samuel L. Jackson and 50 Cent as historical black figures we have a problem. As a parent I think it’s obvious that everyone should be taught about Black History. But unfortunately, many schools have gotten away from even acknowledging that the month even exists.

This is coincidental to me because during Black History Month I have made a point to make sure that my 7 year old learns as many things as she can about our history and culture that she can. I was actually talking to her tonight, and when I asked her what she was doing she said she was “studying Harriet Tubman and William Shakespear”. She wasn’t doing it for a school assignment, she was doing it because those are two people in history that she wanted to know more about. Since teaching my child about OUR history isn’t a priority in the schools, I think I have to make it a priority at home.

It goes without saying that in today’s world there are stereotypes that are given to people of all races, but some of the things that these people said in this video really made me want to hop through the computer and smack some sense into them.

It’s a shame that such stereotypes still exist…I mean we do have an African American President….RIGHT?

WHAT DO YOU THINK…

Does this video accurately reflect how America feels about Black History Month?

VIDEO * Q-TIP GETS A DNA TEST AND DISCOVERS HIS AFRICAN ROOTS

Rapper Q-Tip recently hooked up with the folks from OkayAfrica to conduct a DNA test that would tell him where his ancestors originate from. In the video Q-Tip swabs his mouth with…a q-tip and begins to guess where his family tree began. He believes that he is originally from the Zulu tribe(that would be too easy) and has some Mongolian in the mix as well.

I posted this video because I think that it is important that we all become more familiar with our family ancestry. Our kids need to know more about where we come from and I think it’s good that OkayAfrica is recruiting celebrities to get down with the program.

VIDEO * DON TRIP @MRDONTRIP PERFORMS “LETTER TO MY SON” LIVE IN NASHVILLE

Rapper Don Trip performed his heart felt single “Letter To My Son” last night in Tennessee. If you have never heard this song, you should take a moment to listen to what this man has to say as he pleads for the mother of his child to allow him to see his young son.

VIDEO * DWYANE WADE (@DWYANEWADE) TALKS ABOUT FATHERHOOD AND FAMILY

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

NBA superstar Dwyane Wade sat down with Juju Chang from ABC news to discuss his role as a father to his two sons and also how growing up without a father impacted his life.

Dwyane is a champion in the fatherhood movement and he was even asked by President Obama to become a fatherhood ambassador. He has created a website dedicated to the concept of building stronger families.

Visit WadesWorldFoundation to see what D. Wade’s organization is all about.