Entries from December 2006 ↓

To the surprise of virtually no one, Ohio State University quarterback Troy Smith was the runaway winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy, honoring college football’s best player, awarded at a ceremony in New York Saturday night.

Smith received 801 first-place votes and won the Heisman by 1,662 points — both the second-best marks in the 71-year history of the award.

Arkansas running back Darren McFadden (878) finished second, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn (782) was third and West Virginia running back Steve Slaton (214) was fourth.

Only O.J. Simpson’s 1,750-point victory in 1968 was more lopsided than Smith’s.

The 22-year-old Smith is the sixth player from Ohio State to win the Heisman and first since tailback Eddie George in 1995. And it’s the school’s seventh Heisman — Archie Griffin won two in 1974-75 — tying Notre Dame and Southern California for the most.

Meanwhile, Miami HEAT guard Dwyane Wade has been chosen as the 2006 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, for symbolizing in character and performance the ideals of sportsmanship. Wade, who captured the 2006 NBA Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.67 steals in the six-game series against the Dallas Mavericks, helped the Miami HEAT earn their first NBA Championship.

The Sportsman of the Year issue hit newsstands last Wednesday, December 6. Wade will receive the award in New York this Thursday night, December 14.

A year ago today, my father passed. The grieving that I thought I had done prior to his death as Alzheimer�s disease slowly stole him from us, continued over the past year and today I find myself just going through the motions. Swimming in wet cement, I like to call it. Functional, but just barely. Later today, my mother and one of my older brothers and I will iChat, our new favorite way to stay in touch. I�ll communicate the old fashioned way by telephone with other brothers who don�t have that capability.

Over Thanksgiving, I walked around my hometown and took pictures. On days like today I find myself thinking about home a lot, the physical/geographical as well as spiritual/psychological. I don�t think I have felt at home for many years now.

I found out purely by accident that an interview I did awhile back has been published in the October issue of A&U Magazine. The article was about the Black gay blogger campaign in response to the inclusion of certain homophobic Jamaican dancehall acts in an AIDS awareness concert planned for last summer. Unfortunately their website doesn�t have the article. I only learned of it when a former co-worker told me she saw it.

Similarly, I have reason to believe I am listed somewhere in Nyansapo, the publication of the National Black Justice Coalition. They requested a picture of me quite awhile back, but I have not seen anything. If anyone knows, please let me know.

This Sunday, HBO airs the season four finale of their critically-acclaimed series, The Wire. Hailed for its searing accuracy in dramatizing contemporary social issues in a decidedly non-network-television style of storytelling, this season has also been by far the show�s best ever in terms of its writing and acting.

Continuing their established storyline about the drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland and its impact on dealers, addicts, ordinary citizens, the police and elected officials, this year the show interwove that into the framework of the educational system and its role in contributing to and mediating the ways in which young people get caught up in the life. However, while the school system may be the vehicle through which producers explore these topics, what we have all learned is their complexity and inter-relationship.

There are great similarities between the running of a public school, a police department, and a city government administration. There are people to be served and people to whom you are held accountable. There are measurements of success and failure. There is money to be spent wisely or squandered on hopelessly flawed approaches. There are opportunities for great innovation and creativity, and the temptation to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

The Wire introduced us to four new characters, students at the fictional Edward Tilghman Middle School, all products of the tough West Baltimore neighborhood that produced the Barksdale crew, Stringer Bell, Omar, Bubbles and all the other characters we�ve been following.

Michael Lee (Tristan Wilds) is a mature, reflective young man carrying responsibilities far beyond his years. Practically a father to his younger half brother, he navigates the streets carefully and at times by displaying physical toughness, while at home dealing with a drug addicted mother and recently, an ex-con for a stepfather, who he had good reason to distrust.

Randy Wagstaff (Maestro Harrell) is a story of loss and redemption. He lost his mother at an early age and never knew his father, reputedly an East Side drug dealer and has grown up in the foster care system. Placed in a good home with a sense of discipline and hope, Randy is a quick learner and resourceful entrepreneur, aware that there is life beyond the streets.

Namond Brice (Julito McCullum) is second generation corner boy. His father, the imprisoned Barksdale enforcer Roland �Wee-Bey� Brice, still commands respect and loyalty from what remains of the Barksdale operation, and as a result young Namond is expected to follow in his footsteps. In fact, his mother demands it to keep her at the standard of living to which she has grown accustomed.

Duquan �Dukie� Weems (Jermaine Crawford) is the worst case of neglect and the most deserving of attention. A smart and inquisitive student who is fully capable of advancing academically if given support, he won�t get any of that at home. Both of his parents are addicts, willing to steal and sell his school supplies to meet their needs, unable to keep a roof over his head, clean clothes on his back or food in his stomach.

Wrapped around and running all through their lives are the larger city-wide issues of official accountability, real responses versus cosmetic ones, as well as the need for parents to step up and be parents before someone else does, with more sinister consequences.

The campaign for mayor pointed out how easy it is to mislead the public for purely political reasons. Outgoing Mayor Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman) directs police to keep a lid on any new murder investigations to artificially deflate the crime statistics��juking the stats� they call it�so he won�t look bad in his race against Councilman Thomas Carcetti (Aidan Gillen). Carcetti won the election on a platform of reform and real change, but now faces the daunting task of making that happen.

Schools juke stats too. The entire Tilghman faculty is directed to focus on prepping their low-achieving students for upcoming state-mandated tests. They must pass to continue to receive financial aid and avoid direct state supervision. Test scores take precedence over real teaching, or the use of innovative classroom techniques like the dice games former detective, now math teacher Roland Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost) used in his class, or the university-backed program to specifically target the problem students, that former Western District police Major Howard �Bunny� Colvin (Robert Wisdom) is leading. Why do kids need to actually learn as long as the school can create the impression they are succeeding by getting them through the tests? Why invest valuable resources in kids with such diminished dreams and expectations?

If elected political leaders and school officials don�t care about the city�s children, who does? That is another battlefield heavy with landmines. The four young men, and their peers in the school and out on the streets, must negotiate their own way around adults with conflicted agendas.

About his mother, Namond said last week, �She expects me to be my father.� She is completely unable to see the dysfunction of pushing her only child onto the corners, where dealers like Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector) are eager to find and recruit new talent. He was shelling out cash for school supplies at the beginning of the year to any kid who wanted it, in exchange for their services of course.

Pryzbylewski made the teacher�s fatal mistake of growing attached to one of his students by taking Dukie under his wing. By laundering his clothes at home, sharing his lunch with him, and arranging for Dukie to shower at school before it starts, �Mr. Presbo� is taking on a parental role missing from the young man�s life.

Dennis �Cutty� Wise (Chad L. Coleman) returned home from prison in season three, flirted with the Barksdales then gave it up to try to be a positive force in the neighborhood by opening a boxing gym. While he has been more successful in influencing other kids, Michael has kept him at a distance. However, as an image of a Black man not caught up in crime and drugs, Cutty has gained the attention of many of the single mothers and taken advantage of that opportunity on at least one occasion.

Even junkie/informant Bubbles (Andre Royo) has tried to do the right thing by helping another homeless, neglected youth, Sherrod (Rashad Orange). Although he can barely take care of himself, his intrinsic understanding of what the boy needs to do to survive is well-intended.

The show has always been about the City of Baltimore itself, and less about any one particular character. Through the twelve previous episodes leading up to this weekend�s conclusion, the inherent truth of the series is that there are no easy and simple solutions to any of these issues. Just as in real life, one size does not fit all, either in addressing the crime problem, the school deficit, parental neglect and absenteeism, unemployment, homelessness, economic development, hopelessness and despair.

As an exploration of why some people fall into a life of crime and dope dealing, this season of The Wire suggests it is often because they are faced with few viable alternatives and not enough people who care if they don’t. In making a dramatic commentary on the war on drugs, the lesson here is that unless we are willing to examine the innumerable ways in which a multitude of other social ills impact on and are affected by the problem, simply focusing on the drug trade alone will have no lasting effect at all.

In late October, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that state lawmakers must provide the rights and benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples. The high court gave legislators six months to either change state marriage laws to include same-sex couples, or come up with another mechanism, such as civil unions, that would provide the same protections and benefits.

The court’s vote was 4-to-3, with the three dissenting justices arguing the court should have extended full marriage rights to lesbians and gays, without kicking the issue back to legislators.

Full marriage rights remain the goal of some New Jersey activists who are taking their case to the people–in hopes of putting pressure on the legislature�by way of a clever new Internet commercial that parodies the popular �PC vs Mac� commercials run by Apple Computer.

Blue Jersey, a progressive source of news, political analysis and activism in the state of New Jersey is behind the spot and the �Think Equal� campaign. They assert that even legalized civil union status is no guarantee of equal treatment, especially during times of crisis like medical emergencies.

You can view the ad here.

Today is World AIDS Day and the 25th anniversary of the first recognized cases of the disease. The theme for this year�s annual observance is �Keep the Promise.�

The promise to which we are referring, was made six years ago when world leaders made a promise to halt and begin to reverse the spread of AIDS by 2015. However new reports by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that, as of 2006, the epidemic continues to spread in every region of the world.

To date around 65 million people have been infected with HIV and AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people since it was first recognised in 1981. The vast majority of the 38.6 million people living with HIV in 2005 are unaware of their status.

AIDS is among the greatest development and security issues facing the world today.

In 2005 AIDS claimed the lives of 2.8 million people and over 4 million people were newly infected with the virus.

At around 17.3 million, women make up almost half of the total number of people living with the virus, 13.2 million of which live in sub-Saharan Africa (76% of all women living with HIV).

Sub-Saharan remains the most affected region in the world. Two thirds of all people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa where 24.5 million people were living with HIV in 2005.

Growing epidemics are underway in Eastern Europe and Central Asia where 220,000 people were newly infected with HIV in 2005.

Declines in HIV prevalence have been noted in Kenya, Zimbabwe, urban parts of Haiti and Burkina Faso and four Indian states including Tamil Nadu.

Here in the United States, at the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the were living with HIV/AIDS. In 2004, 38,730 cases of HIV/AIDS were diagnosed in the 35 areas (33 states, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated that approximately 40,000 persons become infected with HIV each year.

In 2004, the largest estimated proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were for men who have sex with men (MSM), followed by adults and adolescents infected through heterosexual contact. MSM accounted for 70% of all estimated HIV infections among male adults and adolescents in 2004 (based on data from 35 areas with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting), even though only about 5% to 7% of male adults and adolescents in the United States identify themselves as MSM. The number of HIV diagnoses for MSM decreased during the 1980s and 1990s, but recent surveillance data show an increase in HIV diagnoses for this group. This increase points to a continued need for culturally appropriate prevention and education services.

Almost three quarters of HIV/AIDS diagnoses were for male adolescents and adults.

According to the 2000 census, African Americans make up 12.3% of the US population. However, African Americans accounted for 19,206 (50%) of the estimated 38,730 new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the United States in the 35 areas with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting.

During 2001�2004, the rate of HIV/AIDS diagnoses for African Americans decreased, although the rate for African Americans was still the highest rate for all racial and ethnic groups.

The primary mode of HIV transmission among African American men was sexual contact with other men, followed by heterosexual contact and injection drug use.

The primary mode of HIV transmission among African American women was heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
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Expecting world leaders to hold to their promise may seem like a tall order, but there are things we can all do as individuals to contribute to the global effort.

First, educate yourself. Know the facts about HIV/AIDS, what it is and how it is transmitted from person to person. Don�t make assumptions about your own risk level or the health status of people with which you come in contact.

Second, share your knowledge with others. Correct misinformation and don�t fall victim to other�s assumptions or assertions about who is or isn�t at risk.

Third, take responsibility for your own actions. Maintaining your health is your responsibility, not that of any potential partner. Understand the risks and take necessary precautions to keep yourself safe from infection, even if others are reluctant to do so.

UNAIDS LINK

World Health Organization LINK

Centers for Disease Control, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention LINK

National Minority AIDS Council LINK

National HIV Testing Resources LINK