Eric Deggans: What I learned from meeting Shirley Sherrod: It's time for media to help us find a new way to talk about race

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What I learned from meeting Shirley Sherrod: It's time for media to help us find a new way to talk about race

Maybe we can use our existing communication vehicles to begin a conversation about race. We can use Facebook and Twitter and blog post distribution to have a conversation that spans the nation and the globe.
We can use the editorial pages of African-American newspapers–as we have always done–but we have to pay attention and participate. We have to do it when we do not feel like it. We have to do it when we get laughed at, mocked and talked about.

We have to conduct a little independent research and read existing research about us and our community. We have to be interested in ourselves. We are a wealth of knowledge, however it does little good when we do not have the infrastructure to carry out our continuous discussion on race. The ingredients are there, we only have to put it together and use it.

We have to encourage those who can, to do. We should create a black news wire service just for the chronicling of news that affects us in the black community. We have to encourage students to major in print Journalism (some of you get what I mean). Then, have those newspapers up and running and available to hire new grads to report on and in their community.

How do we do that? We create business infrastructure in our communities like in the olden days when we had to shop black and we cared about quality and good customer service because we loved ourselves. We knew the list of lovers of blacks was short but if we were on it, it would be alright.

With business infrastructure in place, advertising dollars should flow to those newspapers and back into the community. Those dollars pay salaries of news personnel. We will live with ourselves. Our community would become the community. We will witness a return to a more moral black, a discreet black and an educated black as the standard. Our families would heal and increase in size, thus increasing the economy.
Even though this is an oversimplified idea, many of you get the picture. I wish I knew how to make it a reality.


Editor's Note: Quite frankly, I am tired of begging a group of people, who obviously do not care for me or my type, to accept me. Anyone can tell when they are being excluded on purpose or when they are outright hated. I'm tired of it but I don't say anything about it. I go where I am accepted. This attitude crosses race for me. I don't fit in everywhere I go with blacks either and I conduct myself accordingly.  What is the problem with this attitude? It's restrictive and I will not learn anything about anyone any different than I am. I'll be come stupid. I'll be no better than those dumb ass racists.

Making Home Affordable Program Ramps Up Efforts

Volunteer Agency: Kaplan Thaler Group
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the Making Home Affordable Program in February 2009 as part of the plan to stabilize the housing market and help struggling homeowners get relief and avoid foreclosure.

Making Home Affordable is an initiative that includes a mortgage modification program to provide eligible homeowners with more affordable monthly mortgage payments. The Federal Government provides free resources to struggling homeowners to help them learn about options under the program, and to work with a HUD-approved housing counselor. Since the program launch, over one million homeowners have received help.

The PSAs feature real homeowners who have benefitted from the program.

Created pro bono by The Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York-based advertising agency, the new campaign is available in English and Spanish and features real homeowners from across the country who have benefited from the program.

“Even though the economy is getting stronger, many Americans are still facing the fear and uncertainty of losing their home to foreclosure,” Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, said.

“The Administration’s loan modification programs have given more than a million responsible homeowners a chance to stay in their homes, and we want to do all we can to help make sure that struggling homeowners know about these free resources for help,” he said.

“Many responsible borrowers continue to face challenges due to unemployment, negative equity or because of soaring utility payments,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, said.

"These public service announcements will help us to reach at-risk borrowers now, while they are still current on their payments and eligible to receive help through the Making Home Affordable Program or our expanded options for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refinancing.”

“We are proud to partner with the Treasury and HUD on this critical campaign to educate Americans about free resources available to help them prevent foreclosures,” said Peggy Conlon, President and CEO, the Ad Council. “We hope Americans who are struggling will be empowered by these compelling PSAs and take simple actions to help them stay in their homes.”

The Ad Council will distribute the new PSAs to more than 33,000 media outlets nationwide. The campaign includes television, radio, print, out of home and web advertising. The PSAs will air in advertising space donated by the media.

The Making Home Affordable Program was launched in February 2009 to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure through no fault of their own make their monthly mortgage payments more affordable. Since then, more than 1.5 million homeowners have been offered help under the program, and almost 1.3 million homeowners have started a trial plan. Homeowners in permanent modifications under the program have a median monthly savings of over $500 each month or about one-third of their previous payment.

Homeowners that are struggling with their mortgage payments to visit www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov or call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) to learn about their options.

Sponsor Organization: The U.S. Department of the Treasury, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Campaign Website: www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov

Census 2010 News | Just 3 Days Left to Ensure You Are Included in 2010 Census

Census 2010 News | Just 3 Days Left to Ensure You Are Included in 2010 Census


Telephone Assistance Line Closes July 30

The U.S. Census Bureau reminded the nation today that on Friday, July 30, it will shut down its toll-free telephone assistance line. More than 130,000 interviews have been completed via the toll free line. Friday is the last day for callers who feel they may have been overlooked in the census to complete their 2010 questionnaire quickly over the phone.

“I urge residents that believe they did not receive a form, who did not mail it back or have not been contacted by a census enumerator to call 1-866-872-6868 to ensure they are included in the 2010 Census, making this the best count of the American population to date,” said U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves.

For more than three months, individuals who believed they weren't included in the census were invited to call the toll-free assistance lines (open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Russian) to provide their information.

July 30 is the last day to take an interview over the toll free line to leave enough time for Census Bureau professionals to process the data and ensure that residents are counted in the right place and prepare the state population counts by the statutory deadline of Dec. 31, 2010.
ABOUT THE 2010 CENSUS

The 2010 Census is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Census data are used to apportion congressional seats to states, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments each year and to make decisions about what community services to provide. The 2010 Census form is one of the shortest in U.S. history, consisting of 10 questions, taking about 10 minutes to complete. Strict confidentiality laws protect the respondents and the information they provide.

NAACP SUPPORTED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS EXTENSION LEGISLATION IS SIGNED INTO LAW BILL PROVIDES JOBLESS BENEFITS FOR OVER 2.5 MILLION AMERICAN FAMILIES

THE ISSUE:

On Thursday, July 22, 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill, which was strongly supported by the NAACP, which extends federal jobless benefits through the end of November, 2010 to those who had exhausted their normal six months of benefits. The legislation also makes the extension retroactive to June 2, 2010, when the benefits last expired.

This legislation had originally been passed by the House of Representatives in May, but had been stalled in the Senate by members who were concerned that the cost was too high. While the NAACP appreciates concerns about the current size of the national deficit, blocking unemployment insurance is not the proper place to make a stand. It is unfair, indecent and inhumane for the government not to assist those whose very lives may be at stake. With unemployment rates still too high - the national unemployment rate in June 2010 was 9.5%, and among African Americans the rate was 15.4% -- extending unemployment benefits is not only logical, it is the morally right thing to do. It is estimated that more than 2.5 million Americans had seen their benefits expire since June 2. On the third try, the legislation passed the Senate on July 21, 2010.

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have passed a resolution honoring and celebrating the NAACP on the occasion of our 101st Anniversary. The legislation, H. Con. Res. 242, was introduced by Congressman Al Green (TX), who has introduced similar resolutions every year on our anniversary and who is a champion of several NAACP legislative efforts. The resolution was championed in the Senate by Senator Christopher Dodd (CT), who has also consistently supported the NAACP and many of our legislative efforts during his tenure in office.

Specifically, the resolution recognizes the 101st anniversary of the historic founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and honors and praises the NAACP on the occasion of its anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons. This resolution passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 421 yeas to 0 nays on June 16, 2010 and then passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on June 18, 2010.

Yeah and So What! Mail - Issue Update - Unemployment benefits extended through the end of November! - leslie@imadeamesss.com

NAACP SUPPORTED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS EXTENSION LEGISLATION IS SIGNED INTO LAW BILL PROVIDES JOBLESS BENEFITS FOR OVER 2.5 MILLION AMERICAN FAMILIES

THE ISSUE:

On Thursday, July 22, 2010, President Obama signed into law a bill, which was strongly supported by the NAACP, which extends federal jobless benefits through the end of November, 2010 to those who had exhausted their normal six months of benefits. The legislation also makes the extension retroactive to June 2, 2010, when the benefits last expired.

This legislation had originally been passed by the House of Representatives in May, but had been stalled in the Senate by members who were concerned that the cost was too high. While the NAACP appreciates concerns about the current size of the national deficit, blocking unemployment insurance is not the proper place to make a stand. It is unfair, indecent and inhumane for the government not to assist those whose very lives may be at stake. With unemployment rates still too high - the national unemployment rate in June 2010 was 9.5%, and among African Americans the rate was 15.4% -- extending unemployment benefits is not only logical, it is the morally right thing to do. It is estimated that more than 2.5 million Americans had seen their benefits expire since June 2. On the third try, the legislation passed the Senate on July 21, 2010.

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have passed a resolution honoring and celebrating the NAACP on the occasion of our 101st Anniversary. The legislation, H. Con. Res. 242, was introduced by Congressman Al Green (TX), who has introduced similar resolutions every year on our anniversary and who is a champion of several NAACP legislative efforts. The resolution was championed in the Senate by Senator Christopher Dodd (CT), who has also consistently supported the NAACP and many of our legislative efforts during his tenure in office.

Specifically, the resolution recognizes the 101st anniversary of the historic founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and honors and praises the NAACP on the occasion of its anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons. This resolution passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 421 yeas to 0 nays on June 16, 2010 and then passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent on June 18, 2010.

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Amazon Mechanical Turk

How to Maximize Your Working Time on Amazon Mechanical Turk | eHow.com
I'm posting this because I signed up for the Amazon Mechanical Turk and have made .21 cent so far. Really. I guess I'll make it to the $10 you need to earn in able to transfer it to your bank account. Some of the Human Intelligence Tasks won't pay. I got cheated four times in a row. One was to put an ad on Craigslist--never saw that money and the dashboard said that I abandoned it. All I could do was to contact the person who posted the job. I'll keep you informed of my efforts.
In the meanwhile, please enjoy the eHow article on the Amazon Mechanical Turk.
By the way the Turk comes from a mechanical doll from the 1800s dressed in traditional Turkish clothing, who challenged folks in chess as a parlor game. Go figure. I'm uncomfortable saying the name now that I know about its origins. I mean, should we be saying "Turk"? Arrrgggg.

National Urban League chief says America needs more civil rights warriors | Black Politics on the Web

National Urban League chief says America needs more civil rights warriors | Black Politics on the Web: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"