Anderson@Large

Strange Bedfellows

I'm in DC, a company town and politics is the company's business. With the spiraling rates of HIV/AIDS infection, one really needs to be concerned about one's bedfellow.

Jose Antonio Vargas' piece in the Washington Post is yet another wake-up call:

If past is prologue, the city won't get a handle on its AIDS problem. That means continuing illness, heartbreak and tragedy for many of the real people behind the numbers, people like Josh Murray.

And the numbers are staggering. About 12,500 District residents have HIV or AIDS. Of the nearly 3,300 new HIV cases reported between 2001 and 2006, 37 percent were spread through heterosexual sex, 25 percent through homosexual sex. More than 80 percent of those new cases were among African Americans: men, women, teenagers. And perhaps the most worrisome figure of all -- because, with enough education, it's easily preventable -- is the number of pediatric cases: 56 children born with either HIV or AIDS in the past five years.

I lived in DC for many years. Back in the day, my concern was the bit players who confirmed that "politics is Hollywood for ugly people."

The story of bureaucratic incompetence and infighting that Jose tells is not a pretty picture. Today, you must know your status.

For the location of a testing site near you, click here.

Wanted: 10,000 Good Men

No, this isn't a personal ad. Instead, it's a plea to stop the killing in Philadelphia, where the homicide tally is 321.

To reduce the violence, community leaders, including music producer and entrepreneur Kenny Gamble, the Philadelphia Millions More Movement, Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, will launch the "Call to Action" on Sunday. Their objective:

Organize 10,000 men to deter illegal behavior and "increase the safety and sense of community" in their neighborhoods.

This unprecedented grassroots effort reflects the community's desperation to reach young black men who are both victims (more than 70 percent of all homicides are black males) and perpetrators.

Yale sociologist Elijah Anderson spoke before the Trotter Group's recent meeting in Philadelphia. Dr. Anderson is author of "A Place on the Corner: A Study of Black Street Corner Men" and "Code of the Street: Decency, Violence and the Moral Life of The Inner City," an ethnography of Philadelphia street life.

I asked Dr. Anderson (no relation) whether he thought the organizers would meet their objective and stem the wave of violence. He said it's a "great symbolic gesture" but they need to address the root causes, including father absence, the availability of guns, the drug trade, and structural poverty:

The jobs have left and the ones that are left behind are now competing with working class whites, legal and illegal immigrants, and older workers returning to the workforce. The underground economy emerges to pick up the slack.

Dr. Anderson said young black men are profoundly alienated. They believe there are two different systems of justice:

Civil justice is weak so you go back to street justice – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The system has set people up with short fuses. If someone violates them, you have to respond in such a way so that they won't do it again. When there's stability and confidence in the system, folks call 911 and have matters settled by the civil or criminal system.

When civil law is weak, street justice fills the void and street cred is everything.

Clearly, elected officials, policymakers and community leaders must do more to boost confidence in the judicial process. Meanwhile, "Killadelphia" is drowning in a pool of blood.

It's said a drowning man will grab a razor blade. So symbolic or not, the 10,000 men initiative is a start.

For more info, click here.

We’re Going to Make It

I want to give a shout-out to my cousin, Sam Anderson, who was one of the honorees at the recent Black and Male in America national conference.

While Sam and I don’t agree about much (an understatement), we share a lifelong commitment to racial uplift and social justice.

I also want to commend Kevin Powell who organized the conference. I first met Kevin when we were guests on “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.”

Kevin’s love for black people knows no bounds. The love was returned by the hundreds of men and women who came out to hear messages of hope and determination, and consider a plan of action for economic, political and personal empowerment.

Speaking of some brothers with a plan, if you get a chance, check out the fabulous photographic exhibition, “The Black Panthers: Making Sense of History,” at the Aperture Gallery in New York City.

The photographs will be on view until Aug. 2. For more info, click here.

Black and Male in America

Father’s Day is Sunday.

Empowerment, fatherhood and "paternal abandonment" will be on the minds of participants during a three-day conference, "Black and Male in America," organized by activist and writer Kevin Powell.

The conference will open this evening with a town hall meeting at Hanson Place Central United Methodist Church in Brooklyn, NY.

The plenary sessions and workshops will bring together scholars, activists, policymakers, artists, mental health and social workers, religious leaders, fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters "to discuss issues and remedies for the improvement of black males."

The speakers will include:

• Dr. William Jelani Cobb, Professor of American History at Spelman College
• Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, scholar and best-selling author
• Hill Harper, actor, “CSI: New York” and author of the bestseller “Letters to a Young Brother”
• Byron Hurt, filmmaker, “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”
• Jeff Johnson, BET News Correspondent
• Ed Lover, host, Power 105.1’s “Morning Show with Ed Lover and Dr. Dre”
• Chris “Kazi” Rolle, hip-hop artist and star of “The Hip Hop Project”

Powell told Our Time Press:

We should never let the system off the hook for what they continue to do to marginalize, alienate and oppress Black males on a variety of levels. What the school system has done and continues to do to our young men is a tragedy. We have to do better in the school system, we have to continually challenge the criminal justice system, we have to continually challenge things like what happened to Sean Bell. The media depictions of the narrow images of Black men being put out there. But the other part of it, and what we are going to be saying all weekend and for the rest of my life is, "Brothers, we've got to step up our game on so many levels."

The conference is free and open to the public.  For more info, click here.

You know, brothers are going to work it out.

It’s Your Health

If you’re in the DC area on Saturday, you may want to stop by the National Mall, where Dr. Ian Smith will launch the 50 Million Pound Challenge, a national weight loss and fitness campaign for African Americans.

Before you take another bite of that Dunkin' Donut consider this:

The number one health crisis facing not only African Americans, but all Americans, is being overweight. Two out of every three adults (66%) today are considered to be overweight, or even worse, obese. Even more troubling, 17% of all children in the U.S. are now overweight. The statistics for African Americans are even more alarming—where almost 80% of adult women and 67% of adult men are overweight. Equally worrisome is that 20% of African-American teenagers between the ages 12-19 are overweight, and this number appears to be rising.

Dr. Ian said:

The groundswell of support has been amazing.  What began as a simple challenge has become a remarkable commitment by leaders across the community. For individuals, losing weight and getting fit has never been easier, or more important. Too many African Americans are dying from preventable illnesses. The Challenge empowers people to help themselves by getting fit and losing weight that has frustrated so many for so long. It helps us take a giant leap forward towards leading longer, healthier lives.

Dr. Ian will be joined by Patti LaBelle, Steve Harvey, Omarion, Yolanda Adams, Ashford and Simpson, Kelly Price, Jackee Harry and a cross-section of African American leaders to raise awareness of the impact of obesity on one’s physical and mental health.

The event is free and open to the public. For more info, click here.

National Black AIDS Awareness Day

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

To be sure, folks are tired of hearing they should know their status but African Americans represent the changing face of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

African Americans are at the greatest risk of HIV infection, according to Admiral John O. Agwunobi, Assistant Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

Blacks make up close to 13.5 percent of the U.S. population but accounted for 49 percent of new HIV diagnoses in 2005.  Of the more than one million Americans estimated to be living with HIV, nearly half are African American.

So, get educated and get involved.  For more info, click here.

And get tested.  For the location of a testing site near you, click here.

March for Justice

Forty thousand demonstrators marched down Fifth Avenue on Saturday to denounce the police killing of an unarmed black man, Sean Bell, on his wedding day.

The march for justice was organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton who said:

We’re not coming to buy toys, we’re not coming to buy trinkets — we’re coming to shop for justice... Our presence is a bigger statement than anything we could ever say with our mouths.

"Al's Army" waved signs that read "March for Justice: Improve Police and Community Relations Now," "Stop Police Brutality" and "Please don’t shoot my son."

A young sister carried an accusatory albeit grammatically incorrect placard: "I am the 4 man."

The march stepped off in the shadow of the Plaza Hotel and wound its way down Fifth Avenue, past the Apple Store, Bergdorf Goodman, Trump Tower, DeBeers, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Sean John and the New York Public Library, where Patience and Fortitude stand guard.

For roughly 90 minutes the demonstrators, who marched in silent rebuke of police brutality, were the brightest lights on the avenue. Their quiet dignity was intermittently punctuated with chants of "no justice, no peace" and counts from one to 50 to mark the number of shots fired by undercover officers.

Hordes of holiday shoppers and tourists stared in puzzlement at the sea of black faces. I overheard snippets of complaints about their inability to cross at certain intersections. I thought: It's a black thing, you wouldn't understand.

The march ended at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue outside Macy’s, where I worked for three years during my undergraduate days.

While one can find just about everything at "the world’s largest store," activists now must shop for justice at the U.S. Department of Justice or the new Congress (and here).