Giffords Shooter Indicted and Charged

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

A federal grand jury has issued the first in a set of charges in the indictment of Jared Loughner, the man accused of attempting to assassinate U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner is accused of shooting Giffords in a rampage that left six people dead and injured 13 during a January 8 visit at a grocery store. Loughner has thus far been charged with an attempted assassination of Giffords, along with attempted murder of her two aides, Ron Barber and Pam Simon. He has also been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the death U.S. District Judge John M. Roll and one of Giffords' aides. More charges are expected to be released soon.
U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke mentioned that the three charges are just the beginning of legal action against Loughner.
"This case also involves potential death-penalty charges, and Department [of Justice] rules require us to pursue a deliberate and thorough process," said Burke in a public statement.

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Girl Stolen from Hospital Finds Her Mother 23 Years Later

More than two decades ago, a newborn sick with fever was snatched from a New York City hospital, her frantic mother returning to the emergency room to find an empty crib. On Wednesday, police said the baby — now a woman who reached out to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children because she suspected that the people raising her were not her real family — has been found.

Carlina White was just 19 days old when she disappeared from Harlem Hospital on Aug. 4, 1987. Police searched for her kidnappers but never found enough evidence to charge any suspects. Her mother, Joy White, always had a feeling that her baby was alive, her family said.

"I never gave up looking for her," she told the New York Post.

On Jan. 4, a woman known as Nejdra Nance, who was raised in Bridgeport, Conn., and now lives in Atlanta, contacted White, sending along baby photos that looked nearly identical to shots of Carlina posted on a missing children's website. Nance told White she thought she may be her daughter.

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Dr. Laura and the N-Word: She Needs a Reality Check

 

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is at it again. Appearing on The Today Show this morning to promote a book about revenge, she dug up her infamous n-word controversy from last August. For those of your who don't remember, Dr. Laura repeatedly hurled the n-word several times at a black caller who was clearly offended by what she was saying. She then told Today Show host Matt Lauer that the controversy was a "blessing", because she is now on Sirius/XM, where she can use the word all day long and not be sanctioned for it. Good for her.

Adding further insult to injury, Dr. Laura seized an opportunity in a later segment to irrationally compare herself to the comedian Bill Cosby. She claims an unnamed "they" (presumably progressive African-Americans) "Uncle Tom'ed" Cosby because he spoke out in favor of traditional values.

I watched the interviews on The Today Show and again listened to her n-word rant on the radio to get a take on Dr. Laura and her concept of a double standard. During the rant, Dr. Laura seemed angry about the fact that black people can use the word and she cannot. She also comes off as a self-righteous, incredibly arrogant demagogue who believes she possesses a degree of moral authority that trumps everyone else. Maybe that's why her network likes her, but I certainly do not.

 

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Martin Luther King Facebook Page Vandalized by Racists

These images were taken off the KingCenter.org Facebook page.  Most of them were put up on King day.   It appears that America has a long way to go when it comes to race.

Do Women Who Hate their Fathers Tend to Mess Up their Relationships with Men?

 

Dr. Boyce Watkins asked this question on his Facebook page:

A friend of mine once said "If the woman you're dating hates her father, it is almost inevitable that she is going to find a reason to hate you too." Is that true?

 

Here were some of the responses:

• • 

    LaDawn Sumpter-Fraser Almost true... she will find some of the same faults not on purpose but if he does anything close to what her father did or does... the hate will come out and comparison!!!!Speaking from experience!!!I've grown a lot from it but it happens!!!!

    Yesterday at 11:38am · Like

  • 

    Limnyuy Konglim No. Is this the same friend that wrote the book you mentioned a while back?

    Yesterday at 11:38am · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Mike Pace Not absolutely true. It is on a case by case basis. Some may hate their father due to lack of appearance and influence. And some may hate due to other mistreatments or even misunderstandings. Other external factors such as relationship with brothers, uncles, ex boyfriends, etc will most likely play a role. So it is tough to call.

    Yesterday at 11:41am · Like · 5 people

  • 

    LaDawn Sumpter-Fraser Boyce Imma say no to the hate him part because I'm married and it will just be a comparison thing and she will look to find if the husband or boyfriend will do anything close to what her father has done!!! Because she is trying to find the opposite to her dad!!!

    Yesterday at 11:43am · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Lori Stee Might not the statement be made regarding men in relationship to their mothers? To what end do you isolate the dynamic as related to women?

    Yesterday at 11:49am · Like · 3 people

  • 

    Ida Davis

    This is a very timely discussion. The relationship between daughters
    and fathers forms the basis for positive or negative relationships
    between men and women. I disagree with this statement, however.
    Some women seek a "nice daddy-type" man to...See More

    Yesterday at 11:49am · Like

  • 

    Beverly Knapp I think that is a very stereotypical comment. These types of generalizations do not add to progression.

    Yesterday at 11:52am · Like · 3 people

  • 

    Rodney A West Yes, it starts off as a trust issue, then the love airbag bursts. The father-daughter relationship is a critical element in the psychology of loving ALL of your woman.

    Yesterday at 11:56am via Facebook Mobile · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Jocelyn Mills Lyons If she hasn't faced and worked through those issues.....I think so.

    Yesterday at 12:06pm · Like

  • 

    Jocelyn Mills Lyons On a certain level, don't we all have some issue to work through?

    Yesterday at 12:08pm · Like · 3 people

  • 

    Elijah Augustine I've found this to be true. It doesn't take very long in a relationship to figure out whether the woman had a good or bad relationship with her father. The difference to them being well adjusted in a relationship is like night and day.

    Yesterday at 12:22pm via Facebook Mobile · Like

  • 

    Ida Davis

    Lori, I can personally relate to your discussion! In a real world,
    children love and respect both parents. However, behind closed
    doors in the big houses with the white fences, there is often
    terror. Children of abusive parents carry the scar...See More

    Yesterday at 12:26pm · Like · 2 people

  • 

    Tracy Jones Billups

    wow.......I think the woman will have trouble relating to a man properly if she has not dealt with any issues she has from childhood including father issues.
    Hate is a strong word, so for her to hate the man who should be her first love mea...See More

    Yesterday at 12:31pm · Like

  • 

    Sheila Monae Yes it's true

    Yesterday at 12:56pm · Like

  • 

    Shanelle Walker Not true

    Yesterday at 1:31pm · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Monica Davis Usually, she will look for her husband/boyfriend to be what she wanted in a dad.

    Yesterday at 2:28pm · Like

  • 

    Shakira Pumphrey idk i love my daddy!!!!

    Yesterday at 2:33pm · Like

  • 

    Mary Alice Miller No. Usually, she subconsciously is attracted to physically and emotionally unavailable males -- males who may be there, but are not there. If she is self-aware, she works to change what she is attracted to. Then she finds out many males are physically and emotionally unavailable. If she affirmatively chooses not to get involved with them, she will find slim pickings.

    Yesterday at 2:55pm · Like

  • 

    Mary Alice Miller I meant physically and emotionally unavailable males like her father, if that is what her father was like.

    Yesterday at 2:58pm · Like

  • 

    Cynthia King

    Boyce: "A friend of mine once said "If the woman you're dating hates her father, it is almost inevitable that she is going to find a reason to hate you too." Is that true?"
    No, but like anyone who has been bitten once and twice shy, they dev...See More

    Yesterday at 3:23pm · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Lanessa Gray Pettigrew So NOT true!!

    Yesterday at 4:06pm · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Valencia Roner Nope! Not true.

    Yesterday at 4:17pm · Like · 1 person

  • 

    Willie Carr Jr It might not be true as a rule because there are always exceptions, but as a man I'd be on guard. It's a fact that many men who abuse women had "mother" issues so it's just as likely that women with "father" issues might pose some real challenges.

    Yesterday at 4:36pm · Like

  • 

    Mary Alice Miller ‎@Willie; Also, some males who saw males abuse their mothers (quite common) learn that abusing women is male behavior. This is true if the father was in the home abusing, or if he hit it and quit, and other males come into the mother's life with abuse.

    Yesterday at 4:49pm · Like

  • 

    Willie Carr Jr

    There is an element of truth there but please know that although males who abuse women is probably more prevalent, abuse is often a two way straight. Whether it's physical or verbal all abuse can be very destructive. Hopefully those who've ...See More

    Yesterday at 5:15pm · Like

  • 

    Mary Alice Miller We need more males like you to step to out-of-order males and guide them on a different path -- with words.

    Yesterday at 5:26pm · Like

  • 

    Willie Carr Jr

    Thank you. It's refreshing to communicate with a lady who is at least willing to acknowledge that because I point out that there are two sides to an issue, it does not make me a woman hater. I beleve in words as much as is humanly possible...See More

    Yesterday at 6:38pm · Like

  • 

    Se'lina Roberts Not true.

    20 hours ago · Like

  • 

    Erica Mosely

    I think if there is abuse or anything done that causes the young lady to mistrust her father, there will definitely be some kind of negative impact her interactions with men. The same can be said for men. I believe that your mom and dad a...See More

On MLK Day, Let’s Not Get Into the Dangers of “Hero Worship”

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

When I was a little boy, my mother used to make me put on a suit and recite the "I have a dream" speech in her bedroom. She even had me wear a burnt cross necklace around my neck to emulate Dr. King. It was an uncomfortable process for me, but I'm sure my parents got a kick out
of it. Either way, the first stamp on my brain had been made and it stayed with me for life.
As I got older and studied the life of Dr. King, I quickly realized that his life was very different from my own. He accomplished far more at an early age than I did. He had far more respect than I did. He was a better student than I was. How could I ever match up to that?
But it was OK that I couldn't match Dr. King, primarily because it had been confirmed to me in one celebration after another that I couldn't be anything like that man even if I'd wanted to be. He was superhuman, and I was not. So, rather than having the confidence to continue his legacy, I figured that I would just sit back and enjoy the celebration like everyone else. Why try to match up with perfection?

 

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Does Dr. King’s Adultery Change His Legacy?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

Every year on the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there are some people who raise questions about Dr. King's sex life. They openly ask if the legendary pastor and civil rights leader ever deceived his wife, and some have even gone as far as referring to him as a "sexual degenerate". Conversations about King's alleged adultery tend to be built on three interesting and ultimately incorrect, assumptions: 1) That Dr. King's legacy is somehow impacted by his infidelity, 2) that he is less likely than other men to cheat on his wife, and 3) that it is somehow sacrilegious to discuss his flaws in public.

First and foremost, the idea that King's memory as a great American patriot is tarnished by his infidelity is both illogical and problematic. A great man is not defined by his weaknesses, but by his strengths. Regardless of what Dr. King may have done during the course of his marriage, those actions are almost completely disconnected from the manner through which he inspired billions with his courage and led people of color to the life we share today. It is our fault, not his, that Dr. King has been placed on a pedestal so high that we've forgotten that he was human.

Nearly every single week, I am asked to comment on the financial implications of a celebrity divorce. In nearly every single case, adultery is cited as one of the reasons for the break-up. Dr. and Mrs. King were, in many ways, just another celebrity couple. With Dr. King hitting the road most days out of the year, he sacrificed time to the world that he much rather would have spent with his wife (I've always felt that neither Dr. King, nor Malcolm X, should have ever gotten married, since it put their wives and children in danger). Mix this with the fact that women were likely throwing themselves at King on a regular basis, and you've got the recipe for scandal.

 

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Governor of Maine Tells NAACP to “Kiss His Butt”

Gov. Paul LePage of Maine is no stranger to controversy. The latest finds him sparring with the NAACP over him rejecting numerous invitations from the organization and telling them to kiss him where the sun don't shine.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage has constantly ruffled the feathers of the NAACP as he has declined invites from the organization. The most recent that has drawn the ire of the organization is his denial to attend the ceremonies honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He shunned both an invite to an NAACP dinner in Portlandon Sunday and a breakfast in Orono on Monday due to "personal committments."
As the NAACP and others see it, this is an ongoing pattern with the Republican governor spurning events that are African-American related. But LePage wants to hear no parts of that ongoing dialog and responded to the allegations when speaking with WCSH6.

 

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ESPN Has a Special on the Black Athlete in America

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action 

I was sitting in front of my TV set flipping through one channel after another, and I found something that both intrigued and concerned me: An ESPN special about the image of the black athlete. I was curious to see what they had to say about black athletes, especially males, since that's something I think about nearly every single day of my life.

The panel consisted of Jalen Rose, John Calipari, Randy Shannon, Spike Lee, Robin Roberts and others. I was hopeful that the panelists would not succumb to the temptation of taking the paternalistic viewpoint that black male athletes are somehow destined to be ignorant and need to be told what to do. For example, unlike any other sport, men's basketball and football are the only ones in which there are age limits before the athlete can become a professional. The reasons for these regulations are driven primarily by the argument that the men are too young to go out and support their families by doing what they do for the NCAA without being compensated.

 

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