This is the time of year when we commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. I have been busy setting up the station's activities for the commemoration which includes 4 parades, an ecumenical service, a weekend of special exhibits at the California African American Museum, getting a parade float built, negotiating for donated cakes for our King Day Birthday party, getting the choir from Frank D. Parent Elementary School all set for our birthday party. Also, some young 6th graders who wrote a speech about Dr. King and won a local oratory contest with it.. I'll be promoting them at our King birthday Party as well.. It all takes place in Leimert Park - the center of African American Culture in Los Angeles... Councilman Bernard Parks(yes, Bernard, the former LAPD Police Chief and wannabe mayor) is shutting the streets of the park down for a huge festival... The parade ends at Leimert Park so we anticipate thousands of folk will attend.
Additionally, I wrote and produced several radio promos that detail what the station is doing over the course of the King Holiday Weekend, and some promos that include people on the street with reflections of the life of Dr. King... The latter was quite the wake up call...
After setting forth our arsenal of King parade promos and promos touting the broadcast of our special radio docudrama, I got the bright idea to produce a short series of bits featuring listeners, you know, people in the community. I wanted to know what King's Dream meant to them.... After getting the appropriate approvals and such from our programming department, we hit the streets of Inglewood and South Los Angeles... Simply asking "What does King's Dream mean to you?". Let me just say that I was not prepared for the amount of people who did not want to comment. Not only did they refuse comment, they had a huge attitude about it... But getting past that, I was not prepared for the ummmmmmm, misinformed way that my people expressed thier thoughts:
Us: Hi, we'd like you to comment on the legacy of Dr. King
Them: Ok, yeah..
Child with Them: Momma, I know about Martin Luther King, let me talk!!
Them: ok, baby.. uhhh can she talk?
Us: Sure, that would be cool...... Hi.. what school do you go to?
Little One answers: I go to ******* school
Us: What grade?
Little One: 5th Grade
UsL: ok, cool... who was Dr. Martin Luther King?
(microphone is on)
Little ONe: ummm, he was a slave that had a dream about......
Us: Are you sure he was a slave? Who told you that?
Little One: Oh, we learned that in school... saw a movie and everything....
Us:
Little One: He had a dream that one day all the people like casucasions, black people and mexicans would all get along...
us: ok, so then how did he get out of slavery?
Little One: He didn't.... Somebody shot him and he died....
Momma: Stop it child, you know Martin Luther King wasn't no slave!!!
Little One: he was too, momma....
Us to Momma: ok, look, the library is right there why don't you take her there to teach her about Dr. King and his legacy and what it means to her life right now.... If you don't have time now, please make sure you take the time this weekend to inform her correctly......
Momma: aiight brotha, thanks a lot man... I'm sorry.....
Us:
hmmmm....
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Thursday, January 05, 2006
What the ...??!!
In case you did not know about it, earlier this week Twelve Coal Miners were trapped in thier mine.. after two days of searching the rescue workers found the miners... all had died except one... sad. But here's the deal... Somehow, the word had gotten out that the miners were all alive and well.. The community rejoiced. Church bells rang out the good news. Prayers and jubilation swept across the town... Three hours later coal mine officials announced a tragic mistake, stating that all but one had perished in the mining accident... Ben Hatfield CEO of International Coal Group said that the company did the best it could under extreme stress and exhaustion, and that officials "sincerely regret" the families were left to believe for so long that their loved ones were alive. "In the process of being cautious, we allowed the jubilation to go on longer than it should have." a choked-up Hatfiled said... Cautious!!?? what the...???
WHAT A SUPER SIZE CROCK OF CACA!!! This company allowed inaccurate information to get out to the waiting families, indeed the entire world via the press... I'm sure they watched on TV as they allowed everyone to celebrate and announce a miracle while all along knowing that the miners were indeed dead. For three hours!!! Now, I don't know about you, but at first glance this is a company that does not care about people... These company executives seem sadistic in nature. What kind of person would sit on that type of vital information!! What kind of company would allow such jubilation to go forth and then cruelly announce that "uhhh sorry, we made a mistake"... The same ones that would allow unsafe conditions to exist in such a prevalent manner at the work site.
The evidence shows that the company was cited for numorous safety violations. Mine roofs that tended to collapse without warning (tended to - that means happened often!!??), Faulty or inadequate tunnel supports. A dangerous buildup of flammable coal dust. In the last two years the mine received 273 such violations... Two Hundred and Seventy Three!!!! Many of those violations were deemed "significant and substantial". But that's not all, 16 violations in the past eight months were designated "unwarrantable failures" - this is the one where the operator of the mine had already been warned and showed "indifference or extreme lack of care". There were other tickets for failing to properly insulate electrical equipment and wiring. Sparks from electrical equipment can ignite coal dust and methane gas, triggering fires and explosions. This place was already an accident waiting to happen.. And the company did nothing to make the place safe. They didn't give a care... Now, the mine is supposedly contesting some of the infractions and has agreed to pay fines on others... But still... this place is unsafe. All these infractions and the mining company is calling the tragedy a "tragic case of miscommunication"????
Bennet K. Hatfield, CEO for International Coal Group and his senior officers should be arrested for murder (negligent homicide). His board of directors should be arrested also as accessories after the fact. The company should be seized and deeded to the workers and people of Tallmansville, W. VA... You know, eminent domain.... There are probably other charges that should be prosecuted based on the psychological torture this company inflicted on the miner's families and townspeople...
I can see all the way from my little computer/studio room in the second bedroom of my condo in sunny Southern California and having absolutely no knowledge of the mining industry that this is a corporation whose culture of greed and corruption is so pervasive that it would do anything and say anything even at the expense of its employees's lives - both physical and psychological.
Let's put this in perspective... If you get a plethora of tickets, they're gonna seize your vehicle and if you have enough, you're going to jail. Somebody in ICG needs to go to jail... If you kill someone in an accident, you may be charged with vehicular manslaughter.. (My niece's dad did three years in the state peneitentiary for such a crime - it was a sad circumstance but that's how the law works) Accordingly, these people running this corporation should be arrested and sentenced to hard time, not some country club like the one Martha Stewart went to, but I want to see these guys in Marion Illinois (The country's most maximum federal penetentiary - That's where they sent John Gotti)... No Justice No Peace!!!
WHAT A SUPER SIZE CROCK OF CACA!!! This company allowed inaccurate information to get out to the waiting families, indeed the entire world via the press... I'm sure they watched on TV as they allowed everyone to celebrate and announce a miracle while all along knowing that the miners were indeed dead. For three hours!!! Now, I don't know about you, but at first glance this is a company that does not care about people... These company executives seem sadistic in nature. What kind of person would sit on that type of vital information!! What kind of company would allow such jubilation to go forth and then cruelly announce that "uhhh sorry, we made a mistake"... The same ones that would allow unsafe conditions to exist in such a prevalent manner at the work site.
The evidence shows that the company was cited for numorous safety violations. Mine roofs that tended to collapse without warning (tended to - that means happened often!!??), Faulty or inadequate tunnel supports. A dangerous buildup of flammable coal dust. In the last two years the mine received 273 such violations... Two Hundred and Seventy Three!!!! Many of those violations were deemed "significant and substantial". But that's not all, 16 violations in the past eight months were designated "unwarrantable failures" - this is the one where the operator of the mine had already been warned and showed "indifference or extreme lack of care". There were other tickets for failing to properly insulate electrical equipment and wiring. Sparks from electrical equipment can ignite coal dust and methane gas, triggering fires and explosions. This place was already an accident waiting to happen.. And the company did nothing to make the place safe. They didn't give a care... Now, the mine is supposedly contesting some of the infractions and has agreed to pay fines on others... But still... this place is unsafe. All these infractions and the mining company is calling the tragedy a "tragic case of miscommunication"????
Bennet K. Hatfield, CEO for International Coal Group and his senior officers should be arrested for murder (negligent homicide). His board of directors should be arrested also as accessories after the fact. The company should be seized and deeded to the workers and people of Tallmansville, W. VA... You know, eminent domain.... There are probably other charges that should be prosecuted based on the psychological torture this company inflicted on the miner's families and townspeople...
I can see all the way from my little computer/studio room in the second bedroom of my condo in sunny Southern California and having absolutely no knowledge of the mining industry that this is a corporation whose culture of greed and corruption is so pervasive that it would do anything and say anything even at the expense of its employees's lives - both physical and psychological.
Let's put this in perspective... If you get a plethora of tickets, they're gonna seize your vehicle and if you have enough, you're going to jail. Somebody in ICG needs to go to jail... If you kill someone in an accident, you may be charged with vehicular manslaughter.. (My niece's dad did three years in the state peneitentiary for such a crime - it was a sad circumstance but that's how the law works) Accordingly, these people running this corporation should be arrested and sentenced to hard time, not some country club like the one Martha Stewart went to, but I want to see these guys in Marion Illinois (The country's most maximum federal penetentiary - That's where they sent John Gotti)... No Justice No Peace!!!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Dreams
Dreams
Well, it's a new year and folk are making resolutions to change circumstances... I'm going to excercise more.. I'm going to stop smoking... I'm going to treat my wife better or I'm going to treat my husband better.... These are good things, I guess if one really does that which he or she resolves to do.
This New Year season I have been thinking a little deeper though. I have been seeking wisdom on how to reach my dream. How do I really get to the next level... We may know that there is a wonderful plan for our lives, but somewhere along the way, our dreams have been quashed, diverted, disrupted, lost... We've given in to the dream killers and dream stealers.. you know, the playa hatas...We believe the troubles we have in our lives are barriers and are impossible to overcome. Aaccordingly, we lose sight of our dreams. We despair over the time it takes to reach our God-given dreams. Thus we've settled for less than God's best.
What is a dream? Well, let's look at what a dream is not. A dream is not a wish. (I wish I had a million dollars). A wish is a passing fancy, an idle thought. a whim without consequence or impact. It's spoken and gone in a second or less. It is a desire without application. or prayer.
A dream however is real. It has a godly goal and a righteous PLAN OF ACTION.. God-given dreams are the visions that guide our lives and motivate us to do what God has called us to do. Where there is no vision, the people perish... Heard that before. eh? People today are perishing without vision. An epidemic of violence engulfs our communities. Angry, hopeless, frustrated young men and women are robbing, killing and being killed , The legacy of slavery and discrimination has caused us to submit to the bondage of illiteracy, drunkenness and apathy.. Drugs flood the community , directly killing many and making others "walking dead". There is no dream, no vision.. thus the people perish.
A vision is a picture of what God wants to bring to pass in our lives, and what we must do to implement his plan. Vision is spiritual discernment. Those who have vision can discern his plan for the future and work toward that plan.
We have to think great thoughts. We have to, by faith, see some great visions, then walk, in faith, toward what we have seen. A dream given by God is inevitable and irresistable. If he starts a dream, please believe, he will finish it.
If you have a dream in life... Go for it.... If you have allowed people and circumstances to defer your dreams, stop it and start walking toward the goals that are in your heart. Don't listen to the playa hatas!! Go higher!! Strive and struggle to get to your goal!! I see you in the future and you look much better than you look right now... I see you meditating on the vision God has given you. I see you fulfilling the wonderful dream he has for your life. And there is no end to the blessings he has for you - now and forever!!! In 2006 Reach For it!!! It's Your Time!!!
Well, it's a new year and folk are making resolutions to change circumstances... I'm going to excercise more.. I'm going to stop smoking... I'm going to treat my wife better or I'm going to treat my husband better.... These are good things, I guess if one really does that which he or she resolves to do.
This New Year season I have been thinking a little deeper though. I have been seeking wisdom on how to reach my dream. How do I really get to the next level... We may know that there is a wonderful plan for our lives, but somewhere along the way, our dreams have been quashed, diverted, disrupted, lost... We've given in to the dream killers and dream stealers.. you know, the playa hatas...We believe the troubles we have in our lives are barriers and are impossible to overcome. Aaccordingly, we lose sight of our dreams. We despair over the time it takes to reach our God-given dreams. Thus we've settled for less than God's best.
What is a dream? Well, let's look at what a dream is not. A dream is not a wish. (I wish I had a million dollars). A wish is a passing fancy, an idle thought. a whim without consequence or impact. It's spoken and gone in a second or less. It is a desire without application. or prayer.
A dream however is real. It has a godly goal and a righteous PLAN OF ACTION.. God-given dreams are the visions that guide our lives and motivate us to do what God has called us to do. Where there is no vision, the people perish... Heard that before. eh? People today are perishing without vision. An epidemic of violence engulfs our communities. Angry, hopeless, frustrated young men and women are robbing, killing and being killed , The legacy of slavery and discrimination has caused us to submit to the bondage of illiteracy, drunkenness and apathy.. Drugs flood the community , directly killing many and making others "walking dead". There is no dream, no vision.. thus the people perish.
A vision is a picture of what God wants to bring to pass in our lives, and what we must do to implement his plan. Vision is spiritual discernment. Those who have vision can discern his plan for the future and work toward that plan.
We have to think great thoughts. We have to, by faith, see some great visions, then walk, in faith, toward what we have seen. A dream given by God is inevitable and irresistable. If he starts a dream, please believe, he will finish it.
If you have a dream in life... Go for it.... If you have allowed people and circumstances to defer your dreams, stop it and start walking toward the goals that are in your heart. Don't listen to the playa hatas!! Go higher!! Strive and struggle to get to your goal!! I see you in the future and you look much better than you look right now... I see you meditating on the vision God has given you. I see you fulfilling the wonderful dream he has for your life. And there is no end to the blessings he has for you - now and forever!!! In 2006 Reach For it!!! It's Your Time!!!
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