Dr Boyce: Kanye, Serena and the Cost of Getting Ugly

by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University 

When Kanye West stood on NBC four years ago and said "George Bush doesn't care about black people," I applauded. When he acted a fool on stage after not receiving some award he deserved, I laughed. When he came out with that really weird CD after dealing with personal crises involving the loss of his mother and break up with his fiance, I sincerely felt for him (but never bought the album).
But after Kanye's stunt last night on the MTV Video Music Awards, I wanted to slap him. Damn brother, that was just pathetic. When Beyonce told you she liked men with big egos, you surely put that theory to the test.

Kanye West's decision to bum rush the stage and yank the mike out of the hand of Taylor Swift, a 19-year old woman winning her first award has finally certified him as the jackass that everyone thought he might be. I have been a big supporter of West, and I still support him to a point. He brings some degree of intelligence to hip hopthat the industry has needed for a long time. But the truth is that his actions last night were rooted in extreme selfishness and horribly arrogant behavior. Not good for Kanye, nor anyone else.
This must have been "The weekend the black folks went wild," because Serena Williams had an equally problematic outburst at the US Open. After a very bad call by one of the judges, Serena felt the need to offer to shove the ball down the "f*cking throat" of the woman for making her mistake. OK sistuh-girl, does the judge really need to have the ball shoved down her throat?

 

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Dr. Boyce and Madeline Talk Black Politics: “On the Other Hand”

African American Scholar Boyce Watkins and Madeline Talk Black Politics

Technorati Tags: black scholars,black politics,african american scholars,african american politics,barack obama

Black Female Solder Found Dead: Was this a Rape and Murder Cover - up?

by Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.net

I had a very close friend who described a situation in which she was "scheduled" to be raped during a field exercise by some of the men in her military unit that were not happy with her. Fortunately, there was a man in her unit who cared enough to tell her what was going to happen. I can only wonder what happens to other women put in that unfortunate situation. This is not to say that rape or sexual abuse occurs regularly in the military. But it is to say that when it does appear to have occurred, we should let them know that it is not acceptable.

The case of Lavena Johnson is one that not only brings tears to your eyes, it boils your heart. This young woman, only 19 years old, was found shot in the head, with a broken nose and acid on her genitals (a way to cover up DNA evidence in rape cases), with her death being ruled a highly questionable suicide. No one in the military is willing to thoroughly investigate the case, and they only say that the case is closed. I have done some research on Lavena, and my questions have certainly not been answered. A news story about her horrible experience is in the video below, and I encourage anyone who cares to pass this message onto others.

My God Daughter Monique: Athlete, Scholar, Amazing Young Black Woman

I swear, if there were ever any group of people who refuse to listen to you the most, it's your own kids. I can get tens of thousands of black kids around the country to listen to me, but my daughter and God daughter never seemed to hear a word I say.

However, I will focus on the positive and say that my God child, Monique Roberts, must have been listening to something I've been telling her all these years. Monique
is an amazing amazing amazing specimen: When she was 12 years old, she was nearly 6 feet tall, wore size 13 men's shoe, and had fingers 2 inches longer than my own. She was not only tall, but amazingly coordinated and could piggy back ride me all the way down the street. I am not a light little man, I weighed over 200 pounds at that time, so I was quite a load.

Monique could have been a superstar athlete in many sports, and I just told her that she should choose one. I felt that her athletic ability could get her letters and offers from any school in America. Well, my dreams came true exactly as I had envisioned. Monique became more involved in track and field during high school and became the #1 high jumper in the United States. She is also set to break a 20 year old New York State record in the Pentathlon, which takes advantage of the fact that she is such a versatile athlete (she is not just tall, but she is stronger, faster and more coordinated than her competitors). Her success culminated with her accepting a full scholarship to Columbia University this fall, which was actually the school I recommended for her! She wanted to come to Syracuse at first (since she is going to study media), but I felt that Columbia would be a better fit since she would be in the New York media market. I apologize to the Syracuse University coaches for recommending that she go to Columbia, but SU was her second choice. Also, my brother is about to attend an Ivy for his MBA, so I think our family might be getting a little snooty in our old age (haha!). The only other place I would have sent her would have been Spelman College, which is the top school in America.



What's best about Monique is that she is as intelligent and beautiful as she is athletic. She could easily be one of those super model professor athlete ladies in a blockbuster film one day. I am incredibly proud of her.

So, I thought I would share a video of her high jumping. This was her best jump, 5'11", which made her the #1 high jumper in the US. I also think that she could actually be Olympic champion in the heptathlon with the right coaching. So you see? I REALLY DO have a personal life, sort of.

Enjoy!