The monitor of the film(s) listed above is farther down in this eNewsletter.   Good news!   None of the films use the N-word.   Bad news!   Other than “The Hunting Party,” which makes a few bold statements about war, politics, and the media, the films were nothing special.

Before getting into the meat of our eNewsletter, we’d like to ask this question:   why would OJ Simpson/armed robbery and Michael Vick/dog fighting warrant massive media stories and attention while the rape, torture, kidnapping of Megan Williams – who is also Black – in West Virginia by six White people get practically none?   Why the fascination with and determination to keep Black men in prison and a media image that connects Black men to a criminal mode?   Why would the media give all of this attention to Black men?   Why not give it to Phil Spector?

We never expect much from the mainstream media outlets when it comes to serious African scholars, but many of the Black-owned media outlets had very little on the recent passing of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III .   Unfortunately, however, that’s a reflection of the massive miseducation we’re under – and the massive re-education that needs to be done.   There was one radio personality in the New York area who made Dr. Hilliard’s passing a big part of several of his shows – and that’s Imhotep Gary Byrd, who writes for the Amsterdam News and has shows on the Black-owned WBLS/WLIB and the listener supported, non-commercial WBAI radio stations.   In a small extended tribute to the late Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III, which we started in our last eNewsletter, we have decided that this would be an opportune time to once again share some highlights from some of our prominent world educators and scholars who have the same socially conscious viewpoint as Dr. Hilliard on the importance of properly teaching and educating all students (and adult students of life) about true world history and humanity – which without a doubt began in Africa.   What we love about our scholars is that most of them have such a great sense of humor while putting all the material into a digestible format for us.   Most of them also have such a neutral stance on just learning about history – they don’t ride on that we’re the “superior ones” or the “chosen ones” bull dung.   They just want to deal with – and focus on – the historical FACTS.   Here’s a snippet from a lecture by Dr. Na’im Akbar that we just love:   “The world’s history began in the Nile Valley [Kemet aka Egypt] and the Nile Valley is in Africa and it was developed by African people – NOT White invaders who came from someplace else, NOT the current inhabitants who took over the land and took over what they found there and claimed it for their own – but Black, kinky-haired, big-nosed, thick-lipped, blue-black people, like yo’ mama.”   The Brother’s keeping it real on all perspectives!!   Following are just a few audio/video presentations from some African scholars on various issues.

Asa Hilliard interview with Kwaku Person-Lynn; Na’im Akbar interview with Listervelt Middleton; Marimba Ani on her book, “Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior”; John Henrik Clarke in his video documentary, “A Great and Mighty Walk”; Cheikh Anta Diop interview with Listervelt Middleton on the African Origins of Humanity; Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan (Dr. Ben) on the deceptions of organized religion; Leonard Jeffries on the Dennis Prager show discussing Columbia University, African history, and what semitic actually means; Adelaide Sanford on the state of education; and Walter Williams exposes the three major religions.   Visit the BN-W site for more information on these scholars and plenty of others:   BN-W Educators/Scholars .

For those who – believe it or not – still need or prefer to hear it from a White guy, here are links that take you to some of the available parts of a series by Basil Davidson called “ Africa ” (or see all the links at BN-W History ), which most of us have never seen, heard about, or even knew existed.   Davidson also makes reference to the highly respected world scholar who is also listed above – Cheikh Anta Diop.   Not surprisingly, this information is very hard to find – and at this point it’s only available (parts of it anyway) in VHS format from Amazon.com.   You can’t even get it on DVD unless it’s a bootleg copy or on the Internet.   And if you understand America’s origins and its history of racism as well as know anything about the great contributions of ancient Africa to humanity, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why attempts to mute, muffle, and muzzle this information is steady, constant, and consistent…

Cheikh Anta Diop has been gone for more than 20 years, Amos Wilson for more than 10 years, John Henrik Clarke for almost 10 years, and now Asa Hilliard.   We have other scholars who are aging and/or in ill health.   Will our remaining and upcoming scholars continue to cite them as great scholars, reference their work for another 20 years, and have annual conferences dedicated to these scholars?   Writing books is important and aiming for the security of tenure is comforting.   Our great past and present scholars have given us a lot to work with textually and academically – we have an abundance of books as well as videos.   We also have many scholars who are securely nestling with tenure and the perks that come with a guaranteed job and income.   But does that comfort interfere with the prospects of seriously embarking on any type of entrepreneurial venture, such as an educational institution?   Does tenure evoke a fear of the unknown?   So we must ask, will educators raise the bar for themselves and for their future students, get out of that safety net mindset, get effective public relations/marketing/fundraising professionals who have the same vision, get quality and competent educators/administrators in place, and then get started on building the educational institutions we needed yesterday?   Black parents will definitely send their kids to these schools – but they can’t do that unless the schools structurally and physically exist.   Will our conscious and intelligent educators make it happen?   Time will tell, but let’s hope they get the confidence to rock the boat and step away from the so-called lifestyle comforts of the “good life.”

With the obvious and very clear editorial/executive choices and decisions to overwhelmingly and selectively portray Africans negatively in the media, author Milton Allimadi very effectively explains not only the root ignorance but the manipulation of the writers – including those at the New York Times and Time magazine– in his book, “The Hearts of Darkness:   How European Writers Created the Racist Image of Africa.”  Also visit the site for more information on the book and its author.

Educator and motivational speaker Baruti Kafele, who is also the principal of Newark Tech High School, offers free lectures to students, parents, and educators at any schools primarily within the New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia areas – and has been doing this for a while.   Principal Kafele is one of those educators who’s very serious and passionate about the need to promote education and inspire/motivate students to want to achieve excellence.   We heard him speak on several occasions and were very impressed.   He’s also very consistent with the email information he shares in spreading knowledge about events and educational matters.   We highly encourage anyone who’s interested to take advantage of this opportunity.   For those who are wondering why he’s doing this for free.   First and foremost – it’s needed – and as he once stated, he makes a six-figure salary so he doesn’t need to charge.   So there you have it, someone doing something simply because it’s part of group empowerment and it just needs to be done.   View his informational video to see his viewpoint on education, what’s needed for students to excel, and what parents, educators, and others can do to help students be the best they can be.   Contact him via email at bkafele@earthlink.net or telephone at 201-433-0622.   You can also visit his web site.

Video footage of many of the African-centered scholars and activists can be found at this site:   KemMiou Video.   This is a great site and it’s a wonderful thing when someone takes the time to put all of this material together in one place.   It includes footage from a wide range of individuals, including Ashra Kwesi, Muhammad Ali, Theophile Obenga, Kwame Nkrumah, Ivan Van Sertima, Malcolm X, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Harry Belafonte with Danny Glover, Marcus Garvey, the Black Panther Party, and so much more.   There is also text and video on the site that’s in French, so if you’re bilingual or multilingual, you’ll really get a lot out of this site.

INTERESTING WEB SITES/LINKS/ARTICLES OF THE DAY :

In continuing follow-up on the Jena Six case, on September 20^th, a massive group of people from all over the country are expected to ascend on Jena, Louisiana, to show support for the six teenagers experiencing 21^st century “Jim Crow justice” for a schoolyard fight where Black students are facing trumped up charges and massive prison time and White students get to suck their thumbs and get “White supremacy and white skin privilege justice.”   For more details on this form of classic American racism, go to Free the Jena 6 or Color of Change.   Here’s a short video on the events surrounding the Jena Six.

The documentary - Banished:   How Whites Drove Blacks Out of Town in America – will run for two weeks at New York City’s Film Forum ( 209 West Houston Street, off 6^th Avenue) from September 26 – October 9.   Film reviewer Kam Williams describes it as a “jaw-dropping shocker you have to see to believe.”   Read his full review:   Williams Review.   From the official web site of the film is this how-to list on rescuing your neighborhood and making it safe:   “lynch a nigger; shoot at your colored neighbors; burn the homes of the Blacks; tell the Blacks to be gone by sundown; appropriate the abandoned land; deny it ever happened; maybe apologize.”  Land takeover – American style.

BN-W was nominated for a Black Web Award in the “Best Black Movie Site” category.   The deadline is October 19^th, so show some love for Ban the N-Word and click here to vote.

On October 21^st, Philadelphia is calling on “10,000 Men” to come and register for a “city-wide call to increase the safety and sense of community in our neighborhoods” in response to the increased homicide rate in that city.   For more information about this initiative and details on registration, go to Philadelphia Millions More Movement or 10,000 Men Philly.

BlackElectorate.com is holding its second annual “Business and Building” Weekend in Washington, D.C., from October 26-28.   A BN-W representative attended last year and found it to be a very well-rounded professional and socially entertaining event.   For more details on this upcoming weekend business forum, go to Building and Business II.

On November 2^nd, Pace University is holding its Drive-In Conference:   Laid to Rest? The N-Word and Other Language of “Dissed” Respect.   It’s an all-day conference and will take place from 8:00am – 5:00pm at the Pleasantville, New York, campus.   BN-W will be a panel member as well as presenting a workshop.   For more details on other participants and registration, go to Pace Conference.

We sent out a BN-W Special Announcement on Black Enterprise (BE) magazine founder/owner Earl Graves silencing the microphone of comedian Eddie Griffin because he used the N-word during his headlining performance at a BE annual event.   Kudos again to Mr. Graves!   We also included links to the continued tactics of Black Entertainment Television (BET) along with its parent company, Viacom, to dis-empower and weaken the Black community with pseudo-conscious videos like “Read A Book.”   Kwaku Person-Lynn describes the dangers of “educated” Blacks in his essay, “The ‘Educated’ Slave.”   Even some high school students are starting to realize they are being played by being profoundly and intentionally miseducated.   Hazel Trice Edney writes about a high school senior honors student in the article, “‘Eurocentric’ Curricula Damage Black Students in America’s Public Schools.”

As expected, the media had very little about the West Virginia rape, torture, and kidnapping of Megan Williams, a Black female, by six White male and female suspects.   As in the Duke lacrosse and Tawana Brawley cases, the victim was also called the N-word.   Since the media downplayed this story, following are several articles on the heinous treatment this young woman suffered, including being forced to eat rat and dog feces, lick her blood off the floor, drink water out of the toilet bowl, being choked with a cable, deep stab wounds to her leg, multiple sexual assaults, and much more.   Here are the articles:   Charleston Gazette, Playahata.com, and Amsterdam News.   If these kinds of acts (including the Duke and Brawley cases) are being done today, can you imagine what was done to Black females during those centuries when enslavement and Jim Crowism were legal here in America?   We have a few questions:  who has a very long history of false rape accusations that have resulted in thousands of innocent men being hanged, lynched, castrated, and burned?   is it Black women or White women?   who has a centuries-long history of getting raped and then the proof of those rapes being the birth of hundreds of thousands of the rapists’ children? is it Black women or White women?   If you know the historically accurate and factually proven answers to those questions, then the question remains, why do we have a biased media and culture that regularly pushes the notion that Black women are lying and White women are telling the truth?   For those wondering about the Brawley reference and still questioning its legitimacy, we suggest you read the Alton Maddox Brawley FAQ.   Maddox is still very active in the community and still stands by his facts; no one has been able to dispute it legally or otherwise and no one has sued him for what has been written in plain sight for years on his web site!   And in sue- and libel-friendly America, you know that must mean something.   So you decide who and what you want to believe.   Will it be Maddox, law enforcement, or the media?

The Enough is Enough Campaign rallied outside the home of BET Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Debra Lee on September 15^th and will continue to do so until the negative images of Blacks on that cable station is addressed.   About 500 protesters showed up.   We think it’s wonderful that people are getting involved but they mustn’t forget about the real head honchos, including Sumner Redstone, who heads Viacom; which is the parent company of BET, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, and many others.   CBS and the National Amusements movie chain are also under his corporate leadership.   Connect the dots, folks.   We’re giving you some powerful leads and all you have to do is connect the dots!

Under that same umbrella helmed by Redstone is the Flavor Flav “odyssey.”   Not only the VH1 Flavor of Love and its New York spinoff series, but now the Comedy Central roasting of Flavor Flav.   Overall, this roasting was shameful with the constant reference to Flavor’s skin tone as if it his dark skin complexion were something negative.   We understand the concept of a roasting, but that roasting had some very racist undertones to it, including descriptions like these by mostly Whites:   oily cadaver; turd with teeth; one black motherfu*ker; skinny and black; how do we roast charcoal?; smaller and darker; shriveled up raisin; burnt already; a bowl of sh*t; and extra crispy.   Those “jokes” were obviously all in reference to his skin tone.  Come to your own conclusion, here are the BN-W Flavor Flav links to the show.   So, in the end, Viacom and its leadership are overseeing BET, VH1, and Comedy Central, all of which are putting out overwhelmingly negative images of Black people.   Interesting.   And it really doesn’t matter that many of the BET hands-on executives are Black because – after all, for now anyway – they’re more than likely part of the Educated Slaves Club as described in the essay above written by Kwaku Person-Lynn, right?.   That’s probably why they got hired in the first place.   Here’s a detailed analysis of the roast by playahata’s Bruce Banter where he comments about never seeing “so many White people talk negative about dark skin and being dark as bad and watching Black folks laugh at it” and he wonders about Comedy Central’s real motives behind airing this roast since traditionally roasts have been private events.

As we mentioned in BN-W #54 the conclusion of Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations will be included with our new bi-monthly Music Monitor.   As we also stated, we’ve got a lot of information, and, for that reason, until Part II comes out, we’ll be filtering stuff to you so it won’t be too overwhelming in the buildup to Part II’s conclusions.   Refer to BN-W #53/54 if you need a repeat of our feelings on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  

As with the Tony Martin video on the Jews and the African slave trade, Occupation 101 is also apparently marked for constant removal.   As everybody knows, you can’t hide or runaway from truth forever.   Here are links to another online Occupation 101 video as well as the video’s web site.   A video on the media bias as it relates to Israel and Palestine is Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land, which we’ve discussed in previous BN-W eNewsletters.

If you missed any other BN-W monitors, just send an e-mail to bannword2@yahoo.com and request that it be sent to you.   As always, we highly encourage you to see these films for yourself and, if applicable, make your own judgment call on the N-word usage – appropriate/inappropriate? necessary/unnecessary? sensible/nonsensical? does it add to or take away from the film’s concept? does the N-word have to be used at all? is there a valid reason for doing so? is it mandatory for the scene(s) to be effective? what are the circumstances/situation that necessitate any use of the word? is it just thrown in for humor, fear, crime, insult? are other culturally insulting slang terms used as much as the N-word in the film?   Lots of questions and a whole lot of reasons to wonder what’s the real purpose and thought process behind why these entertainers, writers, directors, producers, executive producers, distributors, and studios/studio heads and executives give the “greenlight” for these crews to liberally use (or allow to be used) the N-word.

FEATURE FILM(S) :

T H E   I N V A S I O N

[Release Date:   8/17/07]

Starring Jeffrey Wright, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig; screenplay written by David Kajganich; directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel; produced by Joel Silver; executive produced by Roy Lee, Doug Davison, Susan Downey, Steve Richards, Ronald G. Smith, Bruce Berman; studio – Warner Bros. Pictures

NOTE :   One plus about this film is Jeffrey Wright, although his role is limited.   Another plus is we get two shots of Ausar’s phallus (the Washington Monument), which is a reminder and tribute to ancient African history.   Other than those things, there’s nothing more to write about this film because there was no need to make it. We did notice, however, that there was a lot of pill popping encouraged.

R E S U R R E C T I N G   T H E   C H A M P

[Release Date:   8/24/07]

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett; screenplay written by Michael Bortman, Allison Burnett; directed by Rod Lurie; produced by Mike Medavoy, Bob Yari, Marc Frydman, Rod Lurie; executive produced by Arnold W. Messer, Bradley J Fischer, Louis Phillips, Frederick Zollo; studio – Yari Film Group

NOTE :   This is another film that makes you wonder why it was made.   Samuel L. Jackson, we see you a lot in films but you’ve got to give us more than this.   It is a typical Hollywood film which always has a little bit of something racial and/or sexist somewhere in it (“don’t get like a chick on me, be a man”), but this film does, at least, put a mini spotlight on the plight of homelessness.

T H E   N A N N Y   D I A R I E S

[Release Date:   8/31/07]

Starring Alicia Keys, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney; screenplay written by Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman; directed by Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman; produced by Richard N. Gladstein; executive produced by Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Kelly Carmichael; studio – MGM/The Weinstein Company

NOTE :   Alicia Keys is the sidekick best friend and does what she can with the small role.   The film is about spoiled, superficial, overly image conscious White women who depend on their husbands for anything meaningful in their lives – but then finally get the “awakening” from the Nanny.   Sound familiar?

T H E   H U N T I N G   P A R T Y

[Limited Release Date:   9/7/07]

Starring Terrence Howard, Richard Gere, Jesse Eisenberg; screenplay written by Richard Shepard; directed by Richard Shepard; produced by Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf, Bill Block; executive produced by Bo Hyde, Martin Schuermann, Adam Merims, Paul Hanson; studio – MGM/The Weinstein Company

NOTE :   This film is quite entertaining from beginning to end.   It’s a very serious film with serious topics yet it is funny when you least expect it.   The three leads work well together.   The youthful inexperience mixed with the been-there-done-that mentality of the experienced professionals evens out effectively and in a fun, interesting way.   We could have done without the “darkest Africa” comment and animal references – Africa is the birthplace of all humanity!   Aside from that and a few other subtle racial stereotypes (which we won’t focus on), this film also gets into issues regarding war, politics, and the media that you don’t often get in big screen releases with A-list leads unless they’re documentaries and/or independent films.   At the end of the film, there’s even a reference to the falsehood of the “searching” for Osama bin Laden that the U.S. government is “supposed” to be doing.

T H E   B R A V E   O N E

[Release Date:   9/14/07]

Starring Terrence Howard, Jodie Foster; screenplay written by Roderick Taylor, Bruce A. Taylor, Cynthia Mort; directed by Neil Jordan; produced by Joel Silver, Susan Downey; executive produced by Herbert W. Gains, Jodie Foster, Dana Goldberg, Bruce Berman; studio – Warner Bros. Pictures

NOTE :   “Vigilantism” used to justify straight-up murder.   In a culture where police are emboldened to kill Black people (from young men to old women) in a “shoot to kill” manner, this film just shows why cops continue to be distrusted and seen as corrupt and actual participants in crime.   You definitely don’t walk out of this film feeling as if justice was done, you walk out feeling as if someone got away with murder with the assistance of a police officer.   And that just reminds you of Amadou Diallo (41 shots), Sean Bell (50 shots), and the thousands of known and unknown others who were massacred by cops over centuries.   In fact, there’s a scene where Jodie Foster talks about not feeling safe, which only reminded us of how Black parents feel everyday when they send their kids out into a world where one too many cops shoot to kill because of their “fear.”   Now, that’s what you call not feeling safe – when people who are paid to protect might actually do the kill!   So, no, Foster does not save the day or come to the rescue.

BN-W Monitor Coming Soon :  “The Kingdom” [Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner]; “Run, Fatboy, Run” [Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria]; “The Game Plan” [Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kyra Sedgwick]; “Feast of Love” [Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear]; “Why Did I Get Married?” [Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Tyler Perry]; “Things We Lost in the Fire” [Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny]; “Gone Baby Gone” [Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck]; “American Gangster” [Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr., Chiwetel Ejiofor, Russell Crowe]; “This Christmas” [Idris Elba, Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine]; “Lions for Lambs” [Tom Cruise, Derek Luke, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep]; “Fred Claus” [Vince Vaughn, Ludacris]; “I Am Legend” [Will Smith, Alice Braga]; “The Bucket List” [Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson]; “The Great Debaters” [Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett]; “The Comebacks” [Carl Weathers]

Also Coming :   Part II:   Black-Jewish Relations; Bi-Monthly Music Monitors