When the Bishop Eddie Long lawsuits initially hit the mainstream media, I said that I would reserve my judgment until all of the facts were made available. However, I am finding it extremely hard to censor myself when so many young men have come forward, (the total thus far is four). Each claim, new and old, has been met with silence from Bishop Eddie Long. Now, is it just me or is his silence really speaking volumes!?!
As I have said many times before, there are three sides to every story: his, theirs, and the truth. The rules change, however, when society can only hear one side of the story--that all have a common thread of wrong doing. Right or wrong, the public will eventually draw its own conclusion.
If you would like to read the details of now the 4th "alleged" victim, click here...
I observed something that I found a little disturbing at one of our school sites today, but I'm not sure if my concern is warranted or not. (Granted, I have been drinking the "Waiting for Superman" and "Education Nation" elixir all weekend, so I may be overreacting.) So, having said all that, at what age/grade did you feel fairly comfortable writing in cursive?
September 24, 2010
Am I the only person extremely annoyed that the Lindsey Lohan fiasco is being covered by mainstream media? As a single-mother, I can't help but feel sorry for her; however, as an educator, I find this type of glorification extremely problematic!
The Bishop Eddie Long’s sexual
coercion case has caused my heart to weigh a ton. Of course, I plan to reserve
my judgment until all evidence—or lack thereof—surfaces, but the wait will not
be an easy one.
I first heard about this story late last
night when I finally checked my emails; however, as of this morning, the news
is nearly nationwide--(accompanied by a new victim.) After becoming somewhat drunk from all of the coverage, I
really wish the court of public opinion would just take a recess until all of
the facts are made available. Also, can we not forget that there are other people
besides Bishop Eddie Long that may need our prayers and compassion!?! I understand wanting to be supportive of
celebrities, but can we also remember that there are other victims tangled up
in this mess. In fact, this entire story is more problematic than just Bishop
Eddie Long.
The allegations are very layered and
extremely challenging! But, I have to admit, as a single-mother, if I
entrusted my son to someone in his position and I had that confidence
betrayed!?! Wow! Honestly, I really can’t say what I would do, but I can almost
guarantee that I would have quite a few “Catch
a Case” moments! Still, until we hear everything, I’m hoping down off of my soapbox,
but before I do, the mother in me would like to ask a few questions:
1.Why
were the young men “former” church members….what happened that caused
them to leave the church?
2.I
understand that one of the alleged victims had been involved in a burglary at
the church a couple of months ago. Could the burglary not be seen as a form of
acting out?
3.Why
were the young men on the payroll of New Birth Missionary Baptists Church
without having a clear job title and job description?
4.Why
haven’t we heard from a parent or guardian of the alleged victims?
First, I am glad that James Jones
apologized for jumping on his daughter’s school
bus and threatening the bullies who tormented her day in and day out. That
being said, I can’t promise I wouldn’t have acted the same way. I am definitely
a “Catch a Case Mommy.” Meaning, I am willing to catch a criminal case to
protect my child. In fact, as long as there is breath in my body, I will never compromise
my son’s safety! And if we’re really being honest here, what
real parent wouldn’t use any means to protect their child?
We all know that it is extremely
difficult to make rational decisions when you are dealing with your emotions.
So, if nothing else, this father was justified in protecting his daughter, (who
also suffers from cerebral palsy.) Now granted, before I would evolve into a
“Catch a Case Mommy”, I would first attempt to be lucid enough to exhaust all of
my available resources, (i.e. school administration, contacting parents, bus
driver, etc.) However, if the latter had been done…then I would conveniently
forget about my education, my articulation, my age, and my 4-letter filter to
protect my child. (Don’t judge me either.)
Actually, we can’t even judge Mr. Jones for his outburst. He tried
some of the familiar resources to curb the bullying, but evidently, to no
avail. His daughter even took matters into her own terrified hands and began to skip classes
and hide in the bushes near the school bus stop to avoid her attackers, but
when her efforts weren’t enough—Mr. James snapped!
Dr. Phil's Housewives were back this week, so lets get right to it!
Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! She may not
have had much time to share her story last week, but she more than made up for
it on this “Get Real Tuesday”! Wow! This woman is so lost in her own arrogance
that I don’t even know if Dr. Phil can help her navigate her way out! I feel
sorry for Gloria; it is obvious she is starved for attention. However, the
things that she’s does to be noticed, (i.e. provocative dress, bitchy attitude,
and haughtiness), is only attracting negative attention, which is
counterproductive.
Now, on to Ms. Alana! I am still
very much “Team Alana”, but respect begets respect. How can she expect Michelle
to respect her when she doesn’t return the favor? Not to mention, Alana was
totally out of line for threatening to put her foot in Michelle’s you know
what. Who does that!?! I mean, really!
Alana totally pissed me off this
week with her behavior; however, my anger quickly subsided when that damaged little
girl dwelling inside of her suddenly showed up. Alana is in a lot of pain, and
I just hope that Dr. Phil can help her with her issues. (By the way, Michelle
still scares me!)
At any rate, is it just me, or does
Dr. Phil’s Housewives end too soon!?! I feel like he only really talked to two
of the women today—and we are a couple of weeks in, but I still don’t know
anything about Rachael.
Today, Oprah will put her official stamp on the documentary, Waiting for “Superman.”A film that was made to show the most common gaps
and cracks found in the education system of America.
Education, but definitely, urban education is very near and dear
to my heart. Not just because I work with inner-city youth, but because—as a
single mother—I have been faced with some of the same issues that the families
are faced with in the documentary. And trust me when I tell you, there isn’t a
textbook that exist, and you can devour as many pages as you want written by
educators like Jonathan Kozol to others like Lisa Delpit, nothing can
really prepare you to actually see firsthand what “certain” students face on
a daily basis. Some of the “pseudo-schools” I’ve seen would not even
be considered a safe space, much less a learning
institution.
I’m not naïve enough to believe Oprah can change this
very broken system with just one show, however, I do believe her influence—and that
infamous “Oprah” effect will at least get the documentary, and its message,
into the right hearts and into more theaters before its September 24th
release date.I have not seen the entire film yet, but Geoffrey Canada,
(Harlem Children’s Zone), is the muse for some of the work. If you don’t know
who that is Paul Tough captured part of his story in Whatever It Takes. (Interesting read).
The director of Waiting for Superman, David Guggenheim, told the rest of the story
through the eyes of five of the children who are directly affected. Personally,
I thought this was a brilliant decision because people need to hear from the
kids in their own unfiltered words.
From what I have seen, the documentary does not put the
responsibility solely on just one source. It divulges a trajectory of blame from
the government, administration, teachers’ union, teachers, states and the
nation as a whole. Basically, it puts a mirror up to society, and the reflection
peering back at you is not all that pretty.
At the end of the day, children should be entitled to a
great education no matter where they live or the hue of their skin. It should
not be a gamble, (i.e. lottery)—it should be a given.And if America really does not believe that
every child is entitled to an adequate education, then maybe Waiting for Superman can educate them on
the consequences of children not having one.
First, I am beyond perturb at Mr. Clifford "T.I." Harris for his latest discretion! I am, however, still a fan of his music! Don't judge me...I can be a fan of the man's gift without being a fan of his horrific decisions. The latter, actually, is what has me scratching my head. What the hell is he going to tell the judge at this bond hearing that has been ordered? How will he defend his actions? I mean, he tested positive for opiates, drugs were found on his person--(not in the car as previously reported), and he was around company that had been deemed "inappropriate." So I'm a little confused here, but check out the rest of the story....
It’s so funny to me how God, (or
whatever higher power you believe in), but in my case God, will speak directly
to you through another vehicle or person. For nearly a week, I have been
struggling with a decision that needed to be made about a particular person in
my life who I didn’t particularly believe meant me well. This said person didn’t mean me any harm
either… but that was part of the problem—*they* did not serve any purpose in my
life.
I’m a strong believer that anything
with “ship” on the end of it takes work, so needless to say, relationships and
friendships take effort from all parties involved. In my case, however, I was
getting nothing from this person. Yet, because *they* were related to me, I only
saw the relationship how I wished it would have been, as opposed to looking at
it for what it actually was. In reality, this person was only taking from my
life but never adding anything to it. (Unless you want to call worry and frustration
an asset, which I will not.)
At any rate, even though I knew the
person needed to be pruned from my life, for some reason I was still going to
give *them* that one last chance until I stumble across a “vehicle” from one of
my Facebook friends. You can check it out after you finish reading my diatribe,
but basically in the video, the infamous T.D. Jakes describes the three types
of friends you have in your life. I decided to share it with you just in case
you may need to do your own pruning. And don’t feel bad if you do, I think we
tend to get caught up in, “Oh, that’s your family” or “You guys are, (or were),
so close”. I have always said this, but now I will actually ascribe the
following to my life: “Just because we share the same bloodline does not mean
we share anything else.” And truthfully,
nobody has the power to hurt you like your kinfolk!
I have some work to do, so I’m
climbing down off of my soapbox now. Have a wonderful day, enjoy the video, and
watch out for God’s vehicles.
Dwight Howard and his son's mother, Royce Reed, just can't seem to stay out of the headlines lately! Last week she called the police on him--this week he hit her with a $500 million lawsuit. WTH is going on!???! I mean, how do you attempt to sue the mother of your child?! Seriously.... Do they not realize their son will be able to read one day!
I wish them both well, but as a single mother myself, I'm "Team Royce" on this one. Nothing personal Dwight, but I know how it is. Here's the full story.... By the way, did anyone ever see Royce on that show, Basketball Wives?
