In the early 1990’s we knew that black women were more likely to develop many health problems, and to die of them, than white women. We also knew that most of the previous studies of women’s health had included only small numbers of black women or none at all. We felt that improving the health of black women required more knowledge of the causes of these health problems and also more knowledge about how women stayed healthy. More knowledge meant more research. We decided that we would do our best to take the lead in carrying out that research.

Recently, Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study has compiled research correlating obesity in Black women with childhood physical and sexual abuse. Yes, you read that right.

According to the above linked article, researchers used participants from the ongoing health studies dating back to 1985 and over 33,000 women responded. 58% of the respondents reported at least one incident of abuse in childhood and adolescence and 11% reported severe abuse.

While the report has yet to be published on BU’s BWHS website, the article on the research to me seems to be nothing more than shoddy generalizations. It would seem that the research may be pushing something more along the lines of:
physical/sexual abuse –> mental illness –> obesity

A major problem is that this has nothing to do with Black folks in particular. In fact, we know that race and ethnicity are trigger words in bad research in order to push certain agendas. Additionally, I’ve spent the better part of my career, working with victims and survivors of intimate partner and sexual violence.

The correlation seems to go as follows: the Black community is more likely to experience obesity as defined by Americanized (oft read: white) standards. This is a result of a number of things that we know and have identified: 1) access to real food – the ‘good’ grocery stores are on the ‘other’ side of town; 2) socioeconomic status – the good-for-you food is more expensive than junk-food, 3) education about food and nutrition, 3) traditional styles of cooking and eating behaviors, and a number of other reasons. We know that the world has been discussing Black women’s bodies for years.

We also know that Black women are sexually assaulted/abused at rates higher than in other communities. Studies indicate 60% of Black women are sexually assaulted before 18. Also, apparently, colored folks use corporal punishment in way higher percentages than non-colored folks; all though, I will say, most research on the matter pisses me off because it’s propaganda used to force Black folks away from spanking. (Yes, I know that spanking is not the same as “physical abuse” and no, I am not a proponent of spanking.)

Voila! Science.

Er..bunk science. In addition to this being simple, poor, over-generalized science, it’s just offensive and misleading. Further, taking into consideration the idea the most survivors of sexual abuse in the general population never speak out, and that often in the monolith known as the Black community there is the attitude that we’re all family and should protect each other and not speak out about such things…

Is there an accurate way to capture such a correlation, especially in comparison to survivors of other ethnicities?

I think it’s another “let’s focus on Black women’s bodies!” article. I’m gonna go on a limb and call bullshit on this one. Don’t believe the hype. However, if you want to view an interesting documentary on food and the issues surrounding obesity, you should check out HBO’s The Weight of the Nation for the free.

Interesting that this hit the headlines at a similar time as NPR’s tumblr linked a very overly general article in Clutch Mag on why some Black folks ignore negative research on spanking; again, not a fan of spanking but also not a fan of faulty correlations like: spanking –> mental illness in the Black community. The author, Kirsten West Savali, cites nationally recognized sources like the National Institutes of Health, but also sources that say violence is a function of poverty. Wild. No shade though.

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The last thing I wanted to talk about today was the ongoing debate over last weeks Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare. I’ve written about it enough here and here; but, then Mitch McConnell spoke on Fox News Sunday yesterday. Speaking to host Chris Wallace, when asked about the “repeal and replace” meme circulating in GOP circles, McConnell said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the GOP is not interested in providing insurance coverage to the 30 million uninsured that Obama’s plan would cover. He also added that the American health care system was the finest in the world; but don’t tell that to the 50 million currently uninsured citizens across the country.

For me, coming from McConnell this isn’t a shocker. Heck, if you have ever listened to him speak, you get the impression that he chews tobacco, drinks moonshine, and beats slaves all at the same time; no seriously, I think he keeps a few left-over slaves in a shed out back. After all, he is one of the good ole boys from Kentucky. According to statehealthfacts.org, in 2010 Kentucky had a total of 655,100 non-elderly residents uninsured, with 24 percent of them living between 139 and 250 percent above the federal poverty line. McConnell has an estimated net worth of $17 million dollars.

Mitt Romney speaks to campaign adviser, Eric Fuhrstom

Now this falls right in line with Mitt Romney’s position of Obamacare resulting in a “massive tax.” An assertion that fuels the repeal and replace meme given that the new law imposes a new tax on everyone as Republicans would have us believe. Of course that false logic has already been debunked. However, to properly define Mitt’s position, top campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom said, “The governor disagreed with the ruling of the Court,” and added, “he agreed with the dissent, which was written by Justice Scalia, which very clearly stated that the mandate was not a tax.” Okay, are you with me so far? Yes, Romney said it was a tax, everyone on the right says it’s a tax, but Romney’s top adviser says Mitt disagrees with himself and believes that the individual mandate is not a tax. Okay, are you confused just yet? Yes, I figured you would be. Well, watch the video below to figure it out if you can; pay attention closely, because this is getting confusing.

This via Think Progross:

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Last Friday night just before going to bed, my wife thought it was important for me to see the video that err’bpdy and their mama was talkin’ ’bout here in Memphis last week. Which is really funny because I hadn’t heard a word about this in the news locally; but, I suppose that’s what I get for paying attention to national politics and the foolishness that comes out of other cities other than my own. So I look at this video, and my initial thought after my jaw hit the floor was: “Damn, the strip club is off the hook like a mugg!” Yeah, being as married as long as I have, let’s just say that it’s been a while since I stepped into such an establishment to be, er, entertained. But then it was explained that it was an actual nightclub around the way and not your everyday booty shake joint, and I was floored. I wasn’t the only one appalled by the display of reckless hedonism:

(Memphis) – Video that was posted online promoting a racy Memphis party has captured the attention of police.

The party was thrown by a group called Team Taboo

WREG caught up with the spokesperson of the organization to talk about what Team Taboo does.

“It’s an organization for the people of Memphis,” Kenny Lee said. “People who don’t have family we take them in.”

That’s how Kenny Lee originally described his organization Team Taboo.

The same group who promoted one of its community functions with a steamy video.

It shows young adult popping champagne bottles and engaging in various sex acts.

Some so explicit we can’t show them on TV.

“I am not proud of the video. I was upset after watching it,” he said.

Lee originally denounced the video and even wrote a statement to the media saying Team Taboo does not promote anything illegal or demeaning.

But after questioning Lee for several minutes he admitted his group did in fact release the video.

“We released the video,” he said.”We did.”

He also admitted the groups real focus is on the party.

“We’re an organization in the City of Memphis just like a number of the organizations. We’re just more on the X-Rated side I would say,” Lee said.

That X-Rated content captured in this video has captured the attention of local law enforcement. They are trying to figure out if any laws were broken at the party held at Club Elements.

“We are in the process to see what the owners knew. What information they were privileged too. If we have enough, we’ll proceed with public nuisance charges,” Memphis Police Chief Tony Armstrong.

We couldn’t get hold of Club Elements, but Lee says his group did nothing wrong. He added everyone at the party was consenting adults.

“You had to be 18 years of age to get into that party,” he said. “They I.D.’d everybody.”
He also vowed his parties won’t be stopping anytime soon.

“I mean we are party people you know what i mean,” Lee said. “We get down.”

A community-based organization that’s into giving back, my ass! What are they giving back? A new generation of single mothers struggling to survive while lil’ Raheem or Keisha wonders, “Where’s my daddy?” I’m sorry, but aren’t they contributing to the already startling numbers that places Memphis, TN. number one when it comes to STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and Infant Mortality rates? Shit, I don’t know what Team Taboo spokesman Kenny Lee is talking about; but hell, they might as well be running around handing out free crack to the community.

Here’s what they’re about from their Facebook Fan Page:

Team Taboo Heaux

A couple of pep have asked me how did I come up with the idea for the group. Well the meaning of “Taboo” is prohibited., and is defined as a social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom. For example, its considered as a “Taboo” from a societal standpoint if people: have oral sex, 3somes, are bisexual, swallow nut, lick ass, lick toes, balls, smoke weed, drink liquor, go to strip clubs, fuck doggy style,etc and basically do all of the fun shit in life. Ironically, people still do all of these things and go through extreme measures to hide it..some people pay thousands of dollars and go to Vegas to have their first 3some, some millionaires don’t live the exotic lives that we live in our empire…

[...]The people who you would least expect, the celebrities, doctors, judges, preachers, political figures, teachers, lawyers, judges, and any other human being damn near all do what we do, they just try to hide it from the eyes of society. It feels great being able to be yourself without being judged. Me personally, I don’t give 2 fucks about what people think about me and have lived my life freely, but im aware tht there were females who were hesitant to admit that they wanted a 3some w 2 guys or that they wanted to experience a woman…but they never acted upon their thoughts or fantasies outta fear of ridicule from their peers and embarrassment..

[...]but what they fail to realize was tht their peers actually was prly thinkn the same freaky shit as them…Ive saw where people had went thru molestation as children and felt dirty n had low self-esteem. The Taboo is a place where a person can sit back and laugh at the obstacles tht they encountered in their past and actually discuss them with open-minded people without being judged. I was molested by my babysitter at the age of 7, she use to beat my ass n force me to eat her pussy, but now I can laugh at it and prly would thank her for the training at such an early age lol..

[...]I could hypnotize a female with my tongue along at the age of 12 lol… I wanted to bring people inside of my world and my life and experience the fun that ive been havn for years. It’s a great feeling be able to express yourself freely without caring about what people think about you. We are trend-setters in the Taboo. The Taboo is a liberal empire that doesn’t live by societal expectations and views, we have our own set of rules and moral codes in this empire that basically plays as an advocator for self-happiness, a place of peace, solace, and an eradicator of stress, and low self-esteem for each loyal Diamond and King within us. I know half of yall prly didn’t read all of this, but this is for the pep who our really interested in what they are representing. When someone asks “What is the Taboo”, I don’t like when people reply tht we are a “Sex Group”….yes true enough we are some freaky mofos but this group represents way more than sex…..I could actually write all day about other things we reperesent…. But just know tht the Taboo is also a place where you don’t have to be a rapper, rockstar or pornstar, to have an amazing sex life…….

Now I don’t know if you grasp just how utterly ridiculous the video happens to be. Maybe in your mind I’m just a typical old dude hatin’ on the activities of young folk. Yeah, you know, just like our parents and grandparents did to us back in the day? Although I haven’t been to a nightclub in some years, trust me, I’m definitely not that guy. As a matter of fact, everyone who knows me will tell you that I’m the guy who will forever stay young at heart; heck, most of them will tell you that I don’t even look my age. Be that as it may, this stuff is out of control; and as far as “community organization,” the group Team Taboo needs their asses kicked for this bullshit. I’m gonna warn you, this isn’t safe for work; again, the following is very explicit; and shouldn’t be viewed around children:

Yeah, I could see a rape case developing at one of these parties…

Now I don’t know if any laws were broken, but I’m willing to bet that many were. First of all, the party was open to folks 18 and older. Now I don’t know how things are where you may live, but strip clubs here in Memphis are strictly open to adults 21-years-old and above. And you wanna hear something even crazier? I showed the video to my 18-year-old daughter who’s on her way to college next semester in Atlanta of all places, as a teachable moment. She was just as stunned as I was after viewing it; and, even more shocking is that she recognized a few kids that attend the high school she recently graduated. Yep, and she also noted that some of them were younger than her.

So yeah, I’d say there were laws broken. The one good thing, however, is that I know my daughter refuses to attend or participate in any fuction foolishness that mirrors anything like Team Taboo has produced here in Memphis, in Atlanta, or anywhere. I don’t know about you, but I’m comfortable knowing what my kid is up to; unfortunately, there are a lot of parents who cannot say that they are.

At the end of the day I don’t know who to blame, nor can I figure out just how we got here. I do know that this isn’t a “black thing” as much as some may make it out to be; or an example of one of the many pathological issues associated with the lived African-American experience. No, this isn’t a direct result of a lack of education, poverty, or single motherhood often used to explain dysfunctional and destructive behavior. Instead, I see this as a societal problem; a problem which if anything, exacerbated by explosion the internet, in an attempt to feed our already voyeuristic nature, now more than ever. I could be wrong, and I’m open to correction by way of a discussion; but, at the end of the day it’s about corrective action.

Am I right, or am I right:

But hey, don’t tell that to the folks on Twitter who obviously approve.

The post Team Taboo Under Fire: Police Investigate Memphis Group’s Nightclub Sex Party Viral Video [NSFW] appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

I mean, why not the extreme stuff like catching a heart attack or a stroke while knee deep in some off-limits coochie? Or worse — said owner of the cooch themselves catching a heart attack or dying while doing the horizontal mambo. Trust me, as crazy as it sounds, that type of stuff happens more often than you think. As a matter of fact, I have a good friend who’s father died while having sex with his side piece. Not that dying is a better option, but having to live through the embarrassment of explaining how you tripped and fell into some pussy to your friends and family, might be a bit too much, that you wished you had actually died. But hey, don’t tell that to the wife of William Martinez:

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -A jury awarded a widow a multimillion dollar verdict in a medical malpractice case involving a man who suffered a fatal heart attack during a sex act with two other people.

William Martinez, a police officer, went to a physician at the Cardiovascular Group in Lawrenceville after experiencing heart problems.

Lawyers said that the doctor should have recognized that Martinez’s symptoms were serious and should have sent him to the hospital for treatment.

“There was enough for him to make the call and to know that he should have sent this man directly to the hospital to get a stress test that clearly would have identified and diagnosed his blocked heart arteries,” said attorney Rod Edmond.

A few days after the doctor’s visit, Martinez went to a motel near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to see a woman – not his wife – and another man for a sexual rendezvous.

Martinez died after having sex numerous times. The female returned from the bathroom and found him collapsed on the floor.

A Gwinnett County jury found the doctor negligent and awarded his widow a $3 million settlement. (source)

A lawyer representing the doctor said that Martinez was told to make an appointment the next day, but Martinez delayed.

Yeah, dying butt-naked in a hotel room after fucking off on your wife, has to suck. So what’s the moral of the story you ask? Other than visiting your doctor regularly, never leave home with dirty underwear; and, never get butt-naked anywhere your wife isn’t present unless it’s at the hospital or doctor’s office. No really, why take that gamble when there’s all this free internet porn?

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Not that I’m sympathetic to people who shoot and kill unarmed black youth. But on the contrary, I figured the lead story in the media this week would be what Kelly Virella reported over at Dominion Of New York. She introduced us to what I think to be a significant study, which concludes that in the state of Florida, contrary to popular opinion, black folks have fared better within the state’s judicial system since the 2005 implementation of the now infamous “stand your ground” or “shoot to kill” law. One would think a such a story as covered by Kelly, would have made major headlines; but, I suppose such a revelation or finding isn’t as polarizing as the typical race-related story or incident the mainstream media craves. That is, with the exception of the good folks from the Tampa Bay Times, of course:

A Tampa Bay Times analysis of nearly 200 cases — the first to examine the role of race in “stand your ground” — found that people who killed a black person walked free 73 percent of the time, while those who killed a white person went free 59 percent of the time.

[...] The Times analysis found no obvious bias in how black defendants have been treated:

• Whites who invoked the law were charged at the same rate as blacks.

• Whites who went to trial were convicted at the same rate as blacks.

• In mixed-race cases involving fatalities, the outcomes were similar. Four of the five blacks who killed a white went free; five of the six whites who killed a black went free.

• Overall, black defendants went free 66 percent of the time in fatal cases compared to 61 percent for white defendants — a difference explained, in part, by the fact blacks were more likely to kill another black.

“Let’s be clear,” said Alfreda Coward, a black Fort Lauderdale lawyer whose clients are mostly black men. “This law was not designed for the protection of young black males, but it’s benefiting them in certain cases.”

The Times analysis does not prove that race caused the disparity between cases with black and white victims. Other factors may be at play.

The analysis, for example, found that black victims were more likely to be carrying a weapon when they were killed. They also were more likely than whites to be committing a crime, such as burglary, at the time.

Experts note that most cases have unique combinations of facts and circumstances that determine whether a person goes free or goes to prison. They caution against drawing conclusions on statistics alone.

Now, we have the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights launching an investigation into whether there’s a racial bias applied to the law which grants defendants the ability to use deadly force, without having the duty to retreat from a confrontation. According to the commission, there may be signs of bias:

Data compiled by the Wall Street Journal shows a near-doubling of justifiable homicides from 2005-2011 in states where SYG [Stand Your Ground] has passed. Moreover, their data shows that while white killers of black victims comprises only 3.1% of all homicides, such cross-racial killing constitute 15.6% of justifiable homicides.

A separate FBI study found that, “34% of cases involving a white shooter killing a black person were deemed as a justifiable homicide. Meanwhile, in similar situations, when the shooter was black and the victim was white, the homicide was ruled justifiable only 3.3% of the time.”

While I welcome the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ investigation and pending release of their finding about one year from now, we must be careful in our rush to judgement. It’s easy to look at those numbers above and arrive at the conclusion, that the laws application has be wrought with racial bias. But there are a couple things to consider when you spout the notion that when white folks kill black folks, under stand your ground, they’re somehow egregiously justified.

One would be, just as the Florida study points out above, at least in their state, black victims were more likely (than white victims) to be acting in the commission of a crime, or to be in possession of a weapon; and, let’s not forget that black folk are more likely to be killed by a black defendant in a “stand your ground” case. That last point is something to marinate on if somewhere in your head you develop the notion that white folks are killing black folks and getting away with it.

I mean, I don’t think a white person who kills a black person who attempts to rob, car-jack, or simply kick his ass for being white isn’t justified in bussin’ a cap in a brotha’s ass. Hell, I’m black and I don’t care if you’re black, white, or purple: If you run up on me with the intent to do me harm — which almost always happens in the commission of a crime — I reserve the right to use deadly force to defend and protect myself from serious injury or death. And, I’m kinda glad that the law would look past my race, and instead focus on the circumstances leading to my defense of self.

Sure, Trayvon Martin’s parents are mourning the loss of their son, and as such, they feel compelled to do something to ensure that he did not die in vain. I can understand and empathize with them working to repeal Florida’s stand your ground law; however, at the end of the day, Trayvon was not killed by Florida’s stand your ground law. As a matter of fact, without the law on the books, I’m of the belief that that though unfortunate, he would still be dead. Not because he was committing a crime or being in the wrong place at the wrong time; but simply because George Zimmerman had a gun at the time of their confrontation. And unlike Marissa Alexander, Zimmerman didn’t fire a warning shot as an act of self-defense. Fortunately for Marissa, her actions could have, but didn’t lead to the death of another individual, given the presence of two children when she  pulled the trigger.

So who’s Marissa Alexander?

Look, there’s no argument from me on the history of racial bias when it comes to black folk and the judicial system. However, when it comes to justice, what matters more in my opinion, are the facts and circumstances surrounding the actions of a defendant, rather than the color of their skin, or if they’re male or female. At the end of the day, Marissa Alexander isn’t in jail for being black, any more than O.J. Simpson is. But, don’t tell that to Rep. Corine Brown (D-Fla) and the host of Alexander supporters who say otherwise; sadly, for them, facts do not matter.

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Listen to what his mother says:

Rudy Eugene: Naked Face-Eating Man Shot By Miami Police

But that aside, I figured black folk would be raising all kinds of hell and protesting in Miami by now; I mean, now that we know it was a brotha shot and killed by the police. OK, so he was eating another man’s face while growling like a wild animal; not normal, I get that. But damn, he was naked and unarmed. Hell, I know he wasn’t wearing a hoodie or nothing, but did they really have to shoot him? I’m only asking because you know how that hoodie thing plays out in Florida. But yet ain’t nobody marching or nothing, so I guess it doesn’t matter; yep, maybe he should’ve had Skittles.

To hear his friends tell it, he never used hard drugs:

I mean seriously, is this what’s hot out in the streets?

C’mon y’all, Harriet Tubman didn’t take a front seat on the bus for this type of foolishness:

JOPPA, Md. — A Maryland college student has admitted murdering and dismembering a man and then eating his heart and part of his brain, police said Thursday.

Kenyan-born Alexander Kinyua, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Nigerian national Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, allegedly carried out the gruesome deed after ranting online about human sacrifices and death cults.

The 37-year-old victim had been living at the Kinyua family home in Joppa, Md., for the past six months, the Baltimore Sun reported.

His severed head and hands were found in the home and more of his remains were dumped in a trash container outside a church, police said.

Kinyua, 21, allegedly confessed to killing Agyei-Kodie with a knife then eating his heart and portions of his brain. 

Alexander Kinyua (L), has confessed to killing his roomate, Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie (R), and eating his heart and part of his brain.

Harford County Sheriff Jesse Bane said the crime was among the most brutal and bizarre he had seen in his 40 years with the force — and he had never come across a case of cannibalism.

“I’ve not encountered that in this county, and I hope we never encounter it again,” Bane said.

Kinyua’s father, Antony, reported Agyei-Kodie missing last Friday after going for a jog.

Then Tuesday night, Antony called police to say his other son, Jarrod, had found a human head and two human hands inside metal tins under a blanket in the laundry room, according to charging documents.

Kinyua told his father they were instead animal remains but when interviewed by police he allegedly admitted to killing Agyei-Kodie.

Kinyua faced a court Thursday via live video feed from Harford County Detention Center. The judge ruled he be held without bail.

Kinyua is a third-year electrical engineering major at Morgan State University and fellow students said his behavior had become increasingly troubled in recent months, the Baltimore Sun reported.

He was charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment for allegedly fracturing the skull of a classmate with a baseball bat on May 20, in what police described as a random attack.

Kinyua, who was born in Kenya but has lived in Maryland with his family for the past nine years, had also began making threatening online posts, including recent Facebook messages about “mass human sacrifices.”

I don’t know what’s really going on in Black America; and, it’s a damn shame I can’t even blame it on crack. I don’t know, but black folks eating  other people here in America, sounds a little bit like Negroes taking this post-racial thing too seriously. Sure we might be all “equal” now, but does that mean we gotta do what “other people” do? I tell you one thing that hasn’t changed, cannibal or not, police will still buss a cap in a nigga’s ass. I know assimilation can be a bitch; but, being post-racial doesn’t give black folks creative license to start eating people and having shootouts over Kool-Aid.

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American women are offered 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which exempts companies with fewer than 50 paid employees, but in 2011, only 11 percent of private sector workers and 17 percent of public workers reported that they had access to paid maternity leave through their employer. And for first-time mothers, only about half can take paid leave when they give birth.

At the same time that working women in the U.S. lack a benefit widely available across the globe, almost 50 percent of families had two working parents in 2010, and 26 percent of households were headed by single parents. Without guaranteed paid maternity leave, many of these working women face significant financial hardship by having to choose between their paycheck and their families.

Women are forced to put their careers and financial future at risk simply because they want to have children. During their pregnancy, they face being fired unfairly or not being able to properly care for themselves. They should not have to worry about making ends meet without paid maternity leave on top of that.

[...] Morris and Leeneeka Bell, who says she was fired by the Emergency Communications Center after her pregnancy left her on bed rest, announced their plans to file a lawsuit after the EEOC finding. Their attorney, Lisa Millican, says this is a clear-cut case of discrimination.

OK, so about that “being fired unfairly,” thingy:

(Reuters) – More than three decades after Congress passed a law trying to protect pregnant women in the workplace, discrimination is still widespread and needs to be combated with publicity and clearer guidelines, according to testimony Wednesday at a federal hearing.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s legal counsel, Peggy Mastroianni, said the agency had resolved 52,000 pregnancy cases since 2001, with $150.5 million paid out in damages.

Discrimination against pregnant women includes firing, forced leave without pay, being denied a place to pump breast milk and being barred from some work, witnesses told the five-member EEOC panel at a hearing on the issue.

Decades after the passage of the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, discrimination ranges from the shop floor to the executive suite, with sexual stereotyping a major factor. It is found in every state, but is more likely to hit women in low-income jobs, they said.

[...]The Pregnancy Discrimination Act forbids discrimination by employers based on pregnancy, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments and promotions. Under the law, pregnancy is considered a temporarily disabling condition.

Yep, and you thought the so-called “war on women,” was just about birth control?

Two former Fulton County 911 operator trainees plan to sue the Georgia county, claiming they were fired for being pregnant.

One of the women secretly recorded a conversation she said she had with the director of the Emergency Communications Center, during which she asked for her job back after being fired.

Que'ana Morris & Leeneeka Bell said they are going to sue Fulton Co. after they say they were terminated for being pregnant.

In the recording obtained by ABC News, a person identified as department director Angela Barrett repeatedly refers to Que’ana Morris’ “situation” as the reason for her firing.

[...] Morris says in the two months before she was fired, she missed 16 days of work on doctor’s orders over complications with her pregnancy. She says she had permission to miss those days for medical reasons, and that it only became a problem after she was already fired.

I don’t know, but this seems like all types of wrong to me. What’s next, people getting fired for being a certain race? I know, I know, I know: something like that will never happen here in this country; but, this firing pregnant women thing is just ridiculous. But hey, maybe it’s a Georgia thing. According to another recent story, it’s okay for a cop to kick a pregnant women in the stomach.

The post Workplace Discrimination: Black Women Fired For Being Pregnant (VIDEO) appeared first on THE INTERSECTION | MADNESS & REALITY.

No, it’s not necessarilly about yelling and screaming about our current president being a Kenyan Marxist, or sleeping in tents in public parks in the dead of winter to protest the excesses of wealthy Wall Street corporatists. Nope, none of that; instead, it’s about what one Wisconsin resident had the courage, and intestinal fortitude to do last Friday when he visited his favorite local restaurant:

THIENSVILLE, Wis. – A jumbo-sized restaurant customer is protesting after he was cut off from an all-you-can-eat fish fry near Milwaukee.

At 6 feet 6 inches and 350 pounds, Bill Wisth acknowledges he can pack away more fish than the average guy. But, Wisth wants Chuck’s Place in Thiensville to live up to its all-you-can-eat advertising.

After Wisth ate a dozen pieces of fish last Friday, a waitress refused to bring more. The restaurant says it was running out of fish and patience. They sent Wisth on his way with eight more pieces. Wisth called the village police. And he came back two days later with a picket sign.

Waitress Elizabeth Roeming says the restaurant has tried to work with Wisth over the years, even letting him run a tab that he hasn’t paid off. (source)

Watch the video:

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But, politicians want to sit around and debate the issue. They want to request a whole bunch of statistical analysis to prove what every Black person over the age of 2 years old understands: police profile racially. Why do politicians play this game? To pretend they are actually attempting to address the scourge of law enforcement bigotry without actually doing a goddamn thing about the problem.

If all these folks are going to do is sit around in a little room and say, “profiling is bad…. we should do something about it…” and then move onto the next topic, they need to get the fuck out of office, because they do not care about what happens to real people in the real world.

Who are the people compiling the statistics and where are they coming from? Most of the time, they work FOR the people in power, who are invested in maintaining the status quo. So, not only can they manipulate the facts to make them fit the narrative of the white dominators, but they rely on information given to them by the oppressive law enforcement community. Somehow, the word of a cop is seen as more reliable than that of his victim, so he can lie about absolutely anything and be seen as the “good guy” in the story. What is to stop a white police officer from incorrectly listing the race of his victims in order to “prove” that he is not engaging in racially biased behavior on the job? (In fact, it was proven that in East Haven, Connecticut, police officers did exactly this for many years)

If a victim of police oppression reports the crimes that officers commit against him, it is usually written off as unfounded, or uncorroborated. Yet the word of a single pig is enough to land a man behind bars. Why are police given more credibility than an ordinary community member, especially if that community member is Black?

There is also nothing stopping police officers from harassing and endangering anyone who reports profiling or brutish behavior. Everyone knows about the “blue wall of silence”. If a Black person walks into a police station to report to an officer that one of his fellow “boys in blue” has committed criminal acts against him, he is putting his safety in the hands of people who are invested only in defending and protecting the man carrying the badge.

Combating racial profiling is not about crunching numbers, compiling reports and making recommendations that the police look at as optional. In order to fight racist police practices, there needs to be serious consequences for officers who are caught profiling. They should be kicked off the police force and charged with a felony. They need to be held accountable. As it stands today, police officers can commit even most egregious offenses, like the murder of unarmed people, with little to no chance of repercussions. ANYTIME a police officer shoots an unarmed person, they should be charged and convicted for murder (or attempted murder if the person is lucky enough to survive.) Police officers complain that they do not want to have to stop to think before they act, that it could put their lives in danger… well… tough shit. Shouldn’t you HAVE TO take a second to think before you take the life of another human being?

Police officers also should not be foreign invaders. If there is a need for law enforcement presence in a given community, the officers should be recruited from among local residents only. No more white “good ole boys” rolling into a Black community and running roughshod over the rights of the people who actually live there. Let the white boys stay in their little suburban communities and arrest the folks with the meth labs in their garage.

I understand the desire for activist groups to enforce racial profiling laws. There is this belief that compiling statistics to “prove” that racial profiling exists will somehow force police departments to change their ways. That the threat of removing funding sources to police departments who are non-compliant will help alleviate the insidiousness of racial profiling. However, I think that until a police officer has to worry about facing VERY REAL CONSEQUENCES, like PRISON TIME for engaging in such practices, there is really no incentive for an individual officer to change his behavior.

Recently, there was an amendment passed for Connecticut’s racial profiling law, the Penn Act. A huge production was made about the “much needed changes” to the Penn Act that were added. Basically, the legislators decided that the Penn Act provisions would be enforced more stringently if they added a “traffic stop receipt” concept to the legislation, so that motorists who have been pulled over can be sure that their race was listed correctly. They also included a provision that allowed people to anonymously launch complaints about profiling, and appointed a committee to investigate the claims, as well as to examine the statistics compiled for evidence of profiling. Honestly, I do not see the efficacy of this sort of approach. Why do people need “proof” that profiling happens? We all know it does! How do statistics protect motorists from police officers? Where is the incentive for officers to stop this behavior?

And what about pedestrians? How many anti-profiling laws include people on foot? We all know that “stop and frisk” policies are steeped in racial profiling. Why not include people who are walking through the community under the umbrella of these profiling laws? One proponent of the Penn Act Amendment here in Hartford actually became angry when another activists mentioned that the Act did not go far enough because it only “protected” motorists! He said that the Penn Act was not intended to protect people on foot, therefore the amendment did not include them. Well, if you are “amending” a piss poor law, why not make the logical choice to extend the legislation to cover ALL people who are profiled, not just those in cars?

Compiling statistics is not the solution. SERIOUS consequences for INDIVIDUAL officers as well as departments who violate the rights of community members MUST BE INCLUDED in order for an anti-profiling law to offer any serious protection for the public. It is one thing to “work within the system”, it is quite another to ignore what REALLY needs to be done to address police profiling and brutality simply to get a piece of legislation passed.

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“What we need is a body-culture revolution in black America. Why? Because too many experts who are involved in the discussion of obesity don’t understand something crucial about black women and fat: many black women are fat because we want to be.”  Randall writes in her op-ed piece.

She goes on to opine…

“How many white girls in the ’60s grew up praying for fat thighs? I know I did. I asked God to give me big thighs like my dancing teacher, Diane. There was no way I wanted to look like Twiggy, the white model whose boy-like build was the dream of white girls. Not with Joe Tex ringing in my ears.”

Needless to say, Randall’s article sparked a flood of rebuttals via New Media, mostly penned by Black women, fed up with being publicly dissected and made to shoulder a burden that should be shared by Black men and actually, a good portion of this country.  Go ahead and add this post to the ‘exasperated’ list of folks who eye-rolled at Randall’s article.

While I’ve gleaned that Randall is attempting to advocate for Black women’s health and wellness, I can’t help but take her to task for using her own personal experiences to speak for and judge everyone else. Across my social media platforms and/or timelines, I read nothing but updates by Black women (including and especially women of size) checking-in at the gym and touting the benefits of “cleaner eating”. A lot of us are in fact, taking our health seriously.  As a relatively healthy, fuller-figured Black woman myself– (full-disclosure, I did have a brief stint with an eating disorder when I was a teen, as a way to will my body slimmer) –  and contrary to what Randall suggests; I don’t walk around fist-pumping in the name of fat nor do I have an aversion to healthy eating habits– (up until about five years ago, I’d been a long-time vegetarian)– or being active. More importantly, I’m not fuller-figured via some man’s request and my experiences don’t mirror every other plus size woman’s. While I admittedly grapple with my body’s fluctuating weight, I don’t wrestle with the idea of being mostly comfortable with myself like many people would prefer… at least not beyond the norm of any woman who fusses over her looks. And it took a bit of work to learn to accept maintaining my body in its fullness, while shirking the opinions and judgement of others, who haven’t a clue about my well-being or social life.

Randall also makes the foolish (and common) mistake of generalizing the preferences of Black men (once again, due to her own personal experiences), suggesting that most of them prefer a woman with a fuller-figure and will express dismay at their partner’s weight loss…

“How many middle-aged white women fear their husbands will find them less attractive if their weight drops to less than 200 pounds? I have yet to meet one.

But I know many black women whose sane, handsome, successful husbands worry when their women start losing weight.”

The backlash from Randall’s article has been palpable, and she has felt the impact and responded to it:

“My statement was that many black women are fat because they want to be. I said the word, “many,” there was no “all.” When I talk about, “want to be,” I use an example of husbands. Let me use an example that’s even more profound to me—grandmothers. My grandmother was big as three houses. She was a brilliant, strong woman who ended up having grandchildren and great-grandchildren that went to Harvard and MIT and the like, to do big things.

When I think of what it is to be powerful and beautiful, I think of her. That’s something I wanted to be. In the heart of my hearts, when I think of strength and beauty, the first thought I have is of her. I am acknowledging her influence on me. I wrote and published four novels in 10 years. That’s doing a lot of work. The way I get that work done is not sleeping much or taking time to exercise and take care of myself. Those are choices I’ve made.

I haven’t gotten fat because of eating horrible foods, but by overwork. That’s a choice that most blacks make—going out and working the job as a domestic servant.”  (source)

And there she goes again…  Alice Randall has made a blanket assumption about a Black men, based on her experiences. Even when she attempts to personalize the article in her follow-up statement, to assert her own internal issues with her body, she seemingly projects it onto other Black women.

This brand of writing, which analyzes Black women’s bodies, rarely ever features anything particularly revelatory we aren’t already aware of or haven’t read lately. The emphasis is always put on Black women and is often written by other women (who are just as culpable for trying to police female bodies).

Living our best lives is important. Indulging a sedentary and excessive lifestyle is detrimental to anyone’s health, so enough with the “Fat Black Women Represent Obesity in America” trope; last year it was “Single, Educated but Sad and Unattractive Black Women” — and that one gets resurrected every now and again.  When it comes to Black female bodies and obesity,  there’s an amalgamation of factors at play and it’s not as cut-and-dry as Alice Randall — (who has a agenda book to promote, apparently) — and other people would like it to be, whether they like and/or agree with it, or not.

For once I’d like to read an analysis about the issue of Black people’s (not just women) health and wellness, which advocates healthful lifestyles, but is supportive in its exploration while presenting carefully documented reasons and solutions. I’d like to read more commentary from licensed experts, who’ve done the field work and painstaking research. Because honestly, these Bloggers, quasi-social scientists, and journalists playing couch-Physician while wagging their fingers at Black women for not “fitting-in” or to try to shame them into submission, is not the way.

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