With Chris Rock’s new documentary, “Good Hair,” hitting theatres nationwide today, black women across the country will undoubtedly be discussing the politics of hair. I’ve experienced more than 20 years of hair reinventions, from the 14-inch, layered partial weave I sport today to the two big country plaits my Liberian mother braided into my hair when I was in elementary school. On other occasions, my cousin would make square parts all over my head and make single braids out of my very short, very coarse hair. You probably would’ve mistook me for one of Coolio’s children back then, but my childhood hairstyles never became the source of hot-button debate—my hair was never political. But for 4-year-old Zahara Jolie-Pitt, the adopted daughter of Brad and Angelina, her hair has become as political as the debate over healthcare.

Newsweek’s Allison Samuels touched a nerve a few weeks ago when she wrote about Jolie-Pitt’s “uncombed hair.”  Samuels writes: “Any self-respecting black mother knows that she must comb, oil, and brush her daughter’s hair every night. Keeping your daughter’s hair neat is an unspoken rule of parental duties that everyone in the community recognizes and respects….In recent pictures it’s clear Angelina Jolie hasn’t taken the time to learn or understand the long and painful history of African-American women and hair.”

Samuels’ article had both black and white women crying foul, with readers leaving more than 300 comments on Newsweek’s website. Some said it would take Brad and Angelina a little bit more time to learn about black hair care. Others admonished Samuels for supposedly berating a toddler, saying that Zahara had beautiful curly hair that didn’t need to be damaged with harsh chemical relaxers or perms.

Before reading Samuels’ article I never thought of Zahara’s hair as unruly or uncombed, but a quick Google image search provided some evidence for Samuels’ argument. As a West African woman with Ethiopian friends, I have seen many black women, young and old, sporting hair similar to Zahara’s. Sure, Zahara’s hair maybe could’ve used some Luster’s pink oil lotion in some of the pics, but she’s only four years old and there’s only so much you can do with a toddler’s hair. The article seems to raise the issue of white parents not knowing how to care for black hair, which is a valid and interesting argument. However, I’ve seen plenty of black mothers who let their daughters—and sons—out of the house with hair yearning for the bristles of a brush. As America’s first black “First Family,” I know the Obamas are supposedly sacrosanct, but there were a few times on the campaign trail when Sasha and Malia’s hair looked a bit suspect. I don’t see anyone blaming First Lady Michelle Obama for their hair mishaps.

Black women have sometimes become too touchy about their hair. When Chris Rock was on Oprah’s Live Friday show a few weeks ago, Oprah read a letter from a black woman who was angry at Rock for exposing our hair secrets, even saying that black men date white woman because they like running their fingers through silky, bone straight hair. She argued that showing the un-glamorous side of black women’s hair would lead more black men to supposedly stray. Honestly, that Oprah viewer may have a bit of a complex. For me, hair isn’t that political. It’s more about function and fashion, whether I’m rocking my country plaits or my 14-inch yaky perm straight.

The election of America’s first black president has left many Americans–both black, white and in between–with the sense that America has made significant racial progress.

However, our country still has a long way to go in overcoming racial prejudice, according to people interviewed for a recent article in the New York Times.

In workplaces across the country, people are more open to talking about race, an often taboo and contentious subject. Some blacks interviewed for the story said they noticed more civility and friendless between them, their non-black colleagues, friends and even strangers passing by on the street:

Samuel Sallis, a 69-year old black man from Milwaukee, said: “Since President Obama started campaigning, if I go almost anywhere, it’s: ‘Hi! Hello, how are you, sir?’ I’m talking about strangers. Calling me ‘sir.’ ”

He added: “It makes you feel different, like, hey — maybe we are all equals. I’m no different than before. It’s just that other people seem to be realizing these things all around me.”

White Americans also said they felt a change.

“I feel a lot more comfortable starting up a conversation with people of other races on the streets now than I did before,” said Mitch Hansch, 29, who is white and works as a waiter in New York City. “Since Obama was elected, racial tensions seem a little lower. I think it’s fantastic.”

It would seem like an odd place to give kudos to the next president, but at a party for the Florida Classic on Saturday almost everyone was giving musical props to President-Elect Barack Obama.

The Florida Classic, an annual college football game between Bethune Cookman College and Florida A&M University, was held this weekend in Orlando.

Some people didn’t attend the actual game, but came to the City Beautiful to party the entire weekend.

One of the biggest gatherings was at BB King’s at Pointe Orlando. More than 700 people were packed like sardines in the blues club.

Probably the weirdest moment of the entire evening came when the DJ screamed for everyone to put their O’s in the air. O’s for Obama, that is.

As a journalist, it was pretty awkward to be asked to give a presidential endorsement while I was trying to shake my tailfeather, but I stayed true to what I learned in journalism ethics 101: No spoken political affiliation of any kind, even if it met dancing with my arms at my side while everyone else was waving their hands in the air.

I can’t remember exactly when the “O” request came, but it may have been when the DJ was playing Young Jeezy’s “My President is Black.”

If you haven’t heard the song, all I can say is that the lyrics are about as shallow as a kiddie pool. Here’s a sampling:

My president is black, my Lambo’s blue
And I’ll be goddamned if my rims ain’t too
My momma ain’t at home, and daddy’s still in jail
Tryna make a plate, anybody seen the scale?
My president is black, my Lambo’s blue
And I’ll be goddamned if my rims ain’t too
My money’s light green and my Jordans light grey
And they love to see white, now how much you tryna pay?
Let’s go!

Young Jeezy isn’t the only rapper trying to make paper off the first black president.

Ron Brows has released a remix of the song “Pop Champagne,” featuring Juelz Santana Jim Jones and Busta Rhymes.

The remix, called “Pop Champagne for Barack,” includes such notable lines as “We pop champagne for Barack’s campaign” and “No disrespect to McCain and Palin.”

There’s also the Lil’ Wayne “A Milli” Obama remix, which features lyrics like:

His health care plan is so immaculate
So even if you broke you can afford to take a doc trip
You’ll be feelin’ much better not sick
And he’s ok but his wife’s sick
And her back’s thick and her walk’s sick
She’s a fly chick
Might hit

Despite that bit of misogyny to describe the next first lady, most hip-hop artists have produced music that admires the Obamas, rather than admonishes them.

A recent Washington Post article, discussed the many hip-hop artists–from Nas to Will.I.Am and Common–who have gotten behind the mic to write lyrics that mix cultural pride with lyrical artistry.

What all this means for presidential politics in the 21st century is unclear. Who knows if these rappers actually practiced what they preached, and hit the voting booth for Obama on November 4th. Their outspoken support of the candidate probably didn’t translate to gains in the electoral college or popular, nationwide support for his presidency.

Though music featured prominently throughout Obama’s 21-month campaign, ( Steve Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” played at campaign rallies and Obama admitted to listening to Jay-Z on his iPod) the backing of celeb rappers has probably done nothing more than to add a sense of modern, presidential coolness to a candidate that was already considered hip by many.

Since Obama’s election on November 4th, the American public has been inundated with all things Obama.

From which Cabinet appointments the 44th president will make, to what food the Obamas love and what puppy should grace the halls of the White House.

No to mention, entire photo galleries and montages have been devoted to the fashion choices of the future first lady, Michelle Obama.(according to Essence.com, she’s a “political fashionista”)

Even before Obama steps foot in the Oval Office, there’s an article from the Chicago Tribune about how he’ll rake in the big bucks after he leaves the White House.

There have even been articles on the fitness habits of the country’s 47-year-old president-elect.

Perhaps no subject has loomed larger than the one about what Obama’s presidency means for black America. Here are some notable ones:

-Obama Lifts Ceiling of Dreams for Black Men

-The Significance of Obama’s Victory for African-Americans

-In Poll, African-Americans Say Election Victory a ‘Dream Come True’

-Obama Election: A Turning Point in the Perception of Blacks?

The New York Times has an interesting article today about black voters in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

Many of the voters interviewed worried that their votes wouldn’t count. They were weary of early voting, saying they heard rumors that those votes would probably be thrown out.

Others, such as 27-year old Monica Albertie, were worried about mishaps on election day:

“I worry about getting there and all of a sudden the electricity doesn’t work. Anything can happen. I know that sounds silly, but these are real concerns. We have a record of getting excited, then being disappointed. You get paranoid. What if the bus system shuts down that day?”

In recent weeks, other publications have written articles about the nagging fears that some African-Americans harbor about voter disenfranchisement. The demographic, which polls have shown overwhelming support Senator Barack Obama, worries that they may see a Democratic defeat on election day. A Time magazine piece by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Randall Kennedy’s article in the Washington Post explore how black voters may react on November 5 if Senator Obama doesn’t become President Obama.

It seems the Democratic presidential contest is getting more contentious as the race continues. In the past few weeks, presidential politics have been replaced by racial and identity politics, with everyone entering the fray–from Geraldine Ferraro to Barack Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright.

Even before the recent campaign surrogate skirmishes, everyone from political pundits to mainstream media outlets were dissecting the Democratic race, grouping supporters into categories based exclusively on race and gender.

Will white men vote for Obama? Does Hillary have a lock on white female voters? Will Latino voters go for the black candidate instead of the white female candidate? How much of the black vote will ensure Obama victories in Southern states?

It also seems the race about race has also become an argument over which group is more oppressed, white women or black men? Gloria Steinem’s article in the New York Times posed that question.

CNN video

Michelle Obama has drawn criticism for saying the success of her husband’s presidential campaign has made her proud of America for the first time.

During a campaign rally in Milwaukee before the Wisconsin primary last week, Michelle Obama said : ““Hope is making a comeback and, let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.”

Some people are deeming Mrs. Obama’s comments unpatriotic. Just days later, some people were also questioning Senator Obama’s patriotism, saying the Senator did not wear a flag pin and properly pledge allegiance to the flag. 

Michelle Malkin, a blogger for Townhall.com, said Mrs. Obama comments are an affront to the many accomplishments America has achieved:

“Every naturalization ceremony I’ve attended, where hundreds of new Americans raised their hands to swear an oath of allegiance to this land of liberty, has been a moment of pride for me. So have the awesome displays of American compassion at home and around the world. When millions of Americans rallied to help victims of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia — including members of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group that sped from Hong Kong to assist survivors — my heart filled with pride. It did again when the citizens of Houston opened their arms to Hurricane Katrina victims and folks across the country rushed to their churches, and Salvation Army and Red Cross offices to volunteer. “

Even Cindy McCain, the wife of Senator John McCain, felt it necessary to respond to Obama’s comments, saying during a campaign rally that she’s always been very proud of her country. But not everyone agrees with McCain and Malkin’s response to Michelle Obama’s statements.

On the Seminal blog, one blogger wrote that Mrs. Obama is justified in her feelings:

“Michelle Obama is an African American female, and based on that alone her relationship to her country is a more complex one. Without a doubt, the roots of Michelle’s comment went far beyond the government’s treatment of African Americans, but that alone would be grounds for righteous indignation. Should she be incessantly and automatically proud of a government that only in the last 40 years has begun to move towards the self-evident truth that all men are created equal?”

7 QUESTIONS WITH LEROY HUGHES, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF CONCERNED BLACK MEN

Since its inception in 1975, the National Organization of Concern Black Men has been dealing with issues of concern to black youth. Leroy Hughes, director of operations for Concerned Black Men, talked to me about the issues that should concern all black men in America.

Download  Leroy Hughes Interview

Transcript of Interview

1.  What are the issues Concerned Black Men is currently working on and what issues should be of concern to black men in this country?

LH: We primarily focus on youth related issues as well as issues affecting men. That involves a focus on male reproductive health, mentoring, tutoring. We concentrate on abstinence projects, teen pregnancy prevention, AIDS prevention, adult literacy and fatherhood initiatives. We work with young men to improve their parenting skills, job readiness. We try to develop best practice programs to strengthen the community and we try to create best practice programs that target youth in our community so that they can become productive citizens to society and develop the skill sets to become the foundation for their community now and in the future. We try to promote and develop programs for parents so that they can employ skills to help those very same kids to be the best that they can be and to try to encourage and maintain the family unit.

2.       What are some of the issues, locally and nationally, that are particular to black youth?

We are extremely concerned about the achievement gap, especially among young boys; the fact that African-American boys are really lagging behind their peers. We are concerned about truancy; we are concerned about high school dropouts. One of our primary goals is to increase the academic performance of youth and try to develop programs that’ll keep them in school. Right now we are heading up a project called “The Boys of Color: 2025 Initiative.” As part of our young males of color achievement initiative, we try to identify best practice programs across the country that assist young boys and try to close the achievement gap and keep them in school. [We] try to figure out how we can infuse those best practices into local school systems and get dollars from foundations and maybe the federal government to help support programs to deal with this achievement gap issue. We all know about the dilemma affecting African-American youth, boys in particular.

3.       Do you think the government is doing enough to address these things?

We can appreciate some of the initiatives the government is trying to promote to boost the achievement gap, but more really needs to be done. We’re talking about more funds to support afterschool projects, mentoring and tutoring projects. We encourage and try to work with other community-based organizations to create awareness for the need for the federal government to intervene. In concert with the federal government, it’s the responsibility of every community-based organization to develop programs and plans locally to address whatever dilemmas their communities are going through. Each community really needs to identify on what is the pressing issue of the day that they should focus on, and then form partnerships to deal with that. Then community-based organizations are in the best position to deal with the federal government and make their demands.

4.       With the Jena 6 and Genarlow Wilson cases, is your organization talking more about criminal justice issues or are the young people you mentor more concerned about those issues?

We’ve been focusing on those issues for quite some time, since our inception in 1975. What we’re trying to do more so than ever before is really focus on the issue of parent education. We really feel that if parents are educated about their rights and responsibility as citizens– and what they can do and what they are empowered to do–they really could have been in a better position to deal with this issue before it got to this point. We really believe that education is the key. Educating kids and parents about their rights is really the key and best solution for dealing with racism and hate crimes. If we can apply that type of approach, then we’re really in the best possible to position to change policy.

5.       The organization was started in 1975 to fill the void in positive male black role models. Do you think that void still exists to the extent it did in 1975?

It still exists. We all know about the significant number of African-American youth who are either incarcerated or did not complete high school. We know that our work is not done. In fact, we have a great deal more to do. We would like to think that we have made an impact because the organization has grown. We started in Philadelphia with about five police officers. Now we have 31 chapters across the country. But even since the organization has grown, the issues still persist. Even though we’re in the 21^st century, too many of our young men are in jail; too many of them are dropping out of high school; too many of them are engaged in truancy. That tells us that we are still in a state of emergency and there’s still much work to be done. Yes, to that extent the void stills exists. We’ve still got work to do and as long as there’s work to be done the organization will be here to try to meet that need.

6.       Do you think another organized civil rights movement is necessary? Do you think it needs to be a massive effort?

It needs to only be a massive effort in the sense the each person has the responsibility to do their part. Back in the day, in the 1960’s because the country was galvanized because of so many issues that great leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King carried on their shoulders. Today, we have made gains as a race. More of us, more so than ever before in history, are empowered to do things individually whereby collectively we can make a difference. We all have an individual responsibility to take on the role of leadership. The one obstacle we have within our race is that we’re still looking for that one person, when really it should be each individual doing their part.

It’s important, given our stature economically, intellectually, that we can do it. By doing that, you almost engage in another civil rights effort.

7.       Nooses have been reappearing all over the country, something that was common during the civil rights movement and before then. How do you as a concerned black man explain the reappearance of nooses in 2007 to your children and the kids you mentor?

When I speak to my own children, I have to remind them that we as human beings, even though we have great qualities, we also have idiosyncrasies.  They’re still a lot of people who don’t understand, or perhaps don’t want to understand, the difference we have as individuals as opposed to embracing diversity. Because we’ll always have those types of individuals who have a problem with embracing diversity and celebrating differences, you have to be prepared to deal with that.

Since the 1980’s, sentences for crack cocaine have been harsher than sentences for powder cocaine, but today the Supreme Court voted to allow U.S. judges to impose shorter sentences for people convicted on crack cocaine charges.

Previously, someone arrested in possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine would get the same sentence as someone arrested with 500 grams of powder. Crack is a cheaper form of the drug and is predominantly used by blacks—more than 80 percent of people imprisoned on crack charges are African-American. Powder cocaine, on the other hand, is predominantly used by whites and Latinos. Many people in the law enforcement community, social activists and others have long thought the laws governing cocaine sentencing are racially and socioeconomically biased.

New guidelines for shorter sentences went into effect on Nov 1st. The Sentencing Commission, the authority that establishes the guidelines, will vote Tuesday about whether to apply the new rules retroactively, a ruling that could mean freedom for almost 20,000 people now imprisoned on crack cocaine charges.

Talk show maven Oprah Winfrey is campaigning today in Iowa for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

As part of a three-state campaigning blitz, Winfrey will also campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina, two key states in the Democratic primaries that will help decide whether Obama becomes the party’s presidential candidate.

Political insiders aren’t sure what kind of impact Winfrey will have on the campaign trail, but the American public has already seen the O effect on books, television, publishing and movies. Oprah’s show is viewed by 9 million people every day, most of these people are women and about half are older than 50, a demographic that is very similar to the average Iowa Caucus voter.

People have been abuzz with news of the double O factor. Katharine Q. Seelye of the New York Times asked at the end of November:

“Can the Oprah magic that converts books into best-sellers translate to politics? Will the viewers, mostly women, who follow her advice on daytime television follow it into the voting booth?[Or] Will she alienate her viewers by overtly taking sides in the increasingly intense debate between the man who could become the first black president and the woman who could become the first woman president?”

Robin N. Hamilton of the Huffington Post said Oprah’s presence on the campaign trail could encourage more civic participation from previously uninvolved voters, even if those people don’t end up pulling the lever for Obama.

“What is significant about Oprah is that at the very least, her participation may encourage a sector of the population to engage in political debate, a debate they may otherwise have avoided,” Hamilton said.

But Joe from Vermont, who posted a response to Seelye’s article, said there is one person with even more political clout and power than Oprah.

“As for Oprah and the rest, I don’t think endorsements have much weight,” Joe said. ”I’m sure the crowds will come out to see Oprah and a few will be converted. If you take past campaigns, all the union, press and other endorsements didn’t really change things. It’s the American voter that decides.”