Judge Issues Warrant for R. Kelly's Arrest

R. Kelly's bail may be revoked after not showing up for a court appearance and having a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

The singer narrowly avoided being arrested when he arrived in court on December 20. The original court date he missed, on the 19th, has led the judge to consider revoking his bail.

Judge Vincent Gaughan told Kelly that he was "very dissappointed". R. Kelly has been allowed to tour the US and the judge has warned him that he should not take these rights for granted.

“I’m telling you these are extraordinary matters to have this break given to yourself, and then nobody shows up except your attorneys”, he said.

The date for the trial is scheduled to be set soon. Kelly is faced with child pornography charges,after he allegedly taped himself having sex with a girl who was believed to be underaged.

For some reason, it has taken nearly 6 years for the case to come to trial. Leaders around the country are outraged.

BET Execs to Blame for BET Uncut - Syreeta McNeal, CPA JD

Written by Syreeta McNeal, CPA JD

Catherine Pulsifer states that we should “fix the problem, not the blame.” As I viewed “Hip-Hop vs. America ” on Black Entertainment Television (BET) for the fifth time (no pun intended), I was excited to see people discussing and sharing their views without violence on important social issues. But, I realized one thing as I watched the show and contemplated why I incurred thousands of dollars in debt for a doctorate of law: why were no legal analysts participating on the round table? Not that I have a bias, but some of the issues that were discussed especially regarding BET Uncut were legal in nature and many of the participants did not have the expertise to adequately address the issue and formulate solutions that had previously been in practice since the 1980’s.

Many women advocates on the panel were taking the opportunity to express their resentment to Nelly for creating the “Tip Drill” video. As an African-American woman, I was offended by the notion that a black woman would allow a black man to swipe a credit card through her backside. I did not view this as “having fun” as Nelly mentioned on the panel because this display continues to make black women look like property to be sold on slavery blocks for sex. However, instead of just criticizing Nelly which has been done extensively, let’s take a look at why BET executives should not have run BET Uncut from October 6, 2001 until July 8, 2006, on its regular cable programming.

Background on Government Restriction on Cable Programming

Federal, state and local government have the right to regulate television programming that impacts the health, safety and welfare of its residents. With the advent of cable television in the 1980’s, government agencies wrestled with how to protect the health, safety and welfare of children while not infringing on the constitutional rights of adults to view pornography. One of the solutions implemented is to have adults pay an “extra fee” to watch shows displaying adult pornography on restricted channels. HBO’s Real Sex, Showtime’s The “L” Word, and the Playboy channel are examples of this programming restriction. Restricted access allows the cable industry to minimize youth purchasing and watching the adult programming. This form of restricted programming is effective because it acts as a proper balancing test of competing interests designed to ensure that constitutional rights for adults (e.g. adult pornography) are not infringed while simultaneously protecting health, safety and welfare of children.

Dilemma of BET Uncut Airing from October 6, 2001 until July 8, 2006

On “Hip-Hop vs. America” specials, many of the rappers stated that it is the responsibility of parents to protect what children should watch on television. To some extent that is true. However, as have been shown during the 1980’s debate regarding cable access to adult form of entertainment, leaving this battle for parents to fend does not ultimately minimize the potential negative impact to children. That is one of the reasons why you have the federal, state and local governments’ goal in regulating cable programming is to ensure that this balance is achieved. Now, I am wondering why BET executives (including legal counsel) did not show BET Uncut on subscription programming where adults could pay an extra fee to watch as they had done for shows like BET Jazz or BET Movies?

Cable television has evolved from being an exclusive programming purchased by wealthy consumers. As indicated by the change of Monday Night Football broadcasting from ABC to ESPN, more U.S. consumer households access regular cable programming. As a result, regular cable programming has become the new vehicle for the federal, state and local governments to regulate to ensure that programming does not negatively impact children.

BET Uncut is a racy form of adult pornography that features music videos. BET Uncut resembles programming like HBO’s Real Sex and the Playboy Channel. Like HBO’s Real Sex and the Playboy Channel, BET Uncut should have been aired on subscription programming. So it is puzzling to me that BET offered airing BET Uncut in the late hours of the evening on its regular cable programming. This was not a viable alternative especially since other programming like HBO’s Real Sex and Playboy channel had more restricted access. So, what BET executives should have done on October 6, 2001 was air BET Uncut on a subscription service as they had done for BET Jazz and BET Movies. This would allow adults like Nelly, 50 Cent, Ludacris and David Banner to get their “freak on” legally and simultaneously help parents, who have children who act like “Curious George”, minimize the risk of youth accidentally viewing adult programming. Much of the negative criticism from the black community to Nelly’s “Tip Drill” and other hip-hop artists’ videos would have been minimal because the impact to the black youth would have been lessened.

In business, we usually state that we do not want to “reinvent the wheel” because it breeds inefficiency and has people focusing on unproductive things. It seems like BET executives failed to execute this business motto. BET executives had historical precedent to show them how to properly balance the competing interests. I guess the need for press and ratings, whether it is morally, socially and legally questionable, allowed BET Uncut to stay on regular cable programming from October 6, 2001 until July 8, 2006. It seems like BET executives proved that smut sells and keeping BET Uncut on the air for that long, as well commercials for “Girls Gone Wild,” is the way to ensure that the balancing test designed to protect adults’ constitutional rights and the health, safety and welfare of children just laid to the wayside. U.S. Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee stated it best at the recent Jena 6 hearings, “shame on you.” BET executives (including legal counsel) could have avoided the backlash regarding BET Uncut by restricting the programming. People want to attack Nelly, Ludacris, 50 Cent, David Banner, and other rappers. They do deserve their portion of the blame. However, the real culprits in the BET Uncut duration are the BET executives (including legal counsel). BET executives are in charge of ensuring that there is a proper balance in protecting the welfare of programming suitable for children while allowing adults to get restricted access to adult entertainment. BET’s legal counsel is responsible for presenting an analysis of the 1980’s debate and solution crafted in regards to programming termed as adult pornography. Also, BET’s legal counsel should use the art of persuasion to reiterate that BET, like other cable programming, are bound by precedent and required to follow the solution crafted unless they can prove the solution they offer is the better alternative. The fact that BET Uncut suffered a significant backlash from the black community and BET ended its programming after almost a five year reign is proof that airing BET uncut on regular programming was not a better alternative. Also, with restricted access generated for BET Jazz and BET Movies, the financial burden of including BET Uncut under restricted programming appeared minimal. So, BET Uncut proved to do more harm than good and this could have been avoided if BET executives would have restricted its access.

Now, I don’t know what happened during the BET board meeting when the decision to air BET Uncut on regular cable was made. So, if BET’s legal counsel did show the legal precedent and analysis and the BET executives still decided to ignore the legal advice, shame on those other BET executives. But, if BET’s legal counsel did not present the legal precedent and analysis and just went with the flow to be what I consider solely a form over substance lawyer, then BET’s legal counsel deserves to suffer the same fate as “Brownie” because the controversy over BET Uncut could have been avoided. Now, the lingering impact of black youth thinking that it is okay to have a credit card swiped through a black woman’s backside is “having fun” is what our community has to seriously counter.

But, what is amazing is that the airing of BET Uncut occurred while the Bush Administration and “Do Nothing” Republican controlled U.S. Congress maintained regulation over cable programming. There Federal Communication Commission (FCC) was outraged after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl XXXVIII’s halftime show. Where was the outrage from the FCC on the potential damage that BET Uncut did from October 6, 2001 to July 8, 2006 to the youth? Hmmmmm (tribute to Arsenio Hall), makes you think this form of degradation is not a coincidence from 2001 to 2006. Maybe, Kanye West’s statement after the Katrina disaster is right after all. “Bush doesn’t care about black people” because if he did the Bush Administration, through the FCC, would not display such an inconsistent treatment in regulating offensive programming. However, BET executives, you are still not off the hook. Shame on you for not following social and legal precedent as it comes to adult programming in your airing of BET Uncut!


This essay was submitted by Syreet McNeal, CPA JD

St. Clair Bourne - Black Film maker, Dies at 64

Sent Over by Curtis Stephen

Hello Everyone:



The news of a sudden death always strikes like a thunderbolt. Such was the case when many of us learned of the sad passing of the dynamic documentary filmmaker St. Clair Bourne over the weekend. His work was nothing short of stellar -- each time out the gate. He was the director of landmark PBS documentaries that probed the life and times of everyone from Paul Robeson to historian John Henrik Clarke. And then there was his fascinating profile of Gordon Parks on HBO just a few years ago.



His work blended the uncompromising stance of Oscar Micheaux and Malcolm X (with the firm belief that people of color should play a vital role in documenting their history) along with Edward R. Murrow (with his equally firm belief in the vast potential of television to serve as a medium that can -- and should -- enlighten and inform). I was fortunate to have met him in late 2005 at an event in which he spoke. He passionately addressed the challenge of fundraising for those filmmakers who sought to tell stories of history. And described the changes in the industry that made it possible (citing the federal cutbacks on public funding of the arts in the '80s that led to more restrictive grants). But for him, the fight in that arena was one worthy of waging and he inspired those filmmakers to go against the tide (as he himself once did in the '70s -- and each time since, for that matter) to make their films.



I was struck by the length of time he remained to talk to the aspiring and diverse group of filmmakers in the reception afterward. In fact, I left him there well after his speech and it appeared that he was in no rush to leave :) He loved his work and was passionate about many subjects. We celebrated the return of the late Henry Hampton's Eyes On The Prize series -- that definitive award-winning documentary on the Civil Rights Movement -- on PBS stations nationwide last year after a long absence. In the last years of his life, he was deeply consumed by his work on scores of documentary projects, including one on the history of the Black Panthers. Hopefully there's enough material on the cutting room floor (he certainly produced a great deal of it already) for it to eventually see the light of day. When I wrote my own retrospective on the Black Panthers for The Crisis last year, we bounced notes back-and-forth (and it was clear to me that what he planned to bring would have been nothing short of career defining -- this one was so important to him).



This past summer, Bourne was in Africa on a project. But upon his return, he shook off any trace of jet lag to proudly attend a Black Male in America townhall meeting / ceremony in Brooklyn this past summer organized by the activist and author Kevin Powell and his team (full disclosure -- I was part of that team). The ceremony honored a dynamic group -- among them: Ted Shaw, head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; veteran journalist Herb Boyd; activist Jitu Weusi, and legendary radio host Bob Law. At a packed Hanson Place United Methodist Church, Bourne beamed alongside his friend and fellow honoree -- film director and producer Warrington Hudlin. Bourne's ready smile was one that revealed the essence of the man, but also his sense of humor. When he saw my automatic camera then, there was that smile again! "Betcha haven't seen that in a while," I remarked. "Got that right!" he returned with a booming laugh.



Finally, he marveled at the arrival of Kiri Davis -- the celebrated director of "A Girl Like Me." It was the enterprise and sheer guts embodied in a teenager to tell such a powerful story about the nature of colorism in her own voice that moved him greatly. In many spaces online now, tributes to Bourne have been pouring in. As prolific a blogger in recent years as he was a filmmaker, Bourne would have appreciated that too. He was 64. What a life and what a legacy. PEACE AND BLESSINGS......Curtis



ST. CLAIR BOURNE OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.chambamedia.com/

NY TIMES OBIT: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/arts/18bourne.html

Kevin Blackistone of ESPN Sets the Record Straight

After seeing the letter from one of our writers at YourBlackWorld, my man Kevin Blackistone wanted to set the record straight on his perceptions of the Sean Taylor case. Kevin is a sports guru for AOL and XM Satellite. He is also a regular on the popular ESPN show "Around the Horn".

Kev and I were on CNN together a few months ago trying to figure out why the NFL still has work to do when it comes to hiring black coaches. At the same time, I would argue that it is the NCAA that refuses to let go of it's racist traditions.

Without further ado, here is the article that Kevin wrote on Sean Taylor:


Sean Taylor and Timothy Spicer lived and worked in metropolitan D.C., Taylor as star safety for Washington’s famous pro football team and Spicer as a short-order cook for a famous Washington eatery, Ben’s Chili Bowl.

Eric Rivera, Jr., 17, shown in the preliminary court hearing, was identified by the grand jury as the gunman in the murder of NFL star Sean Taylor.

Both were young; Taylor 24 and Spicer 25. Both enjoyed nice cars that young men often do; Taylor had a Yukon Denali and Spicer drove a shiny ‘94 Caprice on big silvery rims. Both young men were black.

And both are dead now, murdered.

Taylor died in the wee hours Tuesday morning in Miami from a gunshot wound he suffered early Monday from what authorities said was an intruder in Taylor's Miami-area home.

Spicer died two Saturdays ago in Washington after he was found shot multiple times as the victim of a carjacking of his Caprice.

The only reason the country learned of Taylor's death is his celebrity. Spicer's death remained local news, the 169th murder in D.C. this year, or as many as occurred here last year.

But Taylor and Spicer are as linked in tragedy as they were as young black men working in D.C. trying to make it to another day. Gun violence is the No. 1 killer of black men like Taylor and Spicer.

According to most recent disseminated data by the Center for Disease Control, Taylor and Spicer will be two of roughly 4,000 black homicide victims in the country this year killed by guns. Most, of course, won't be a pro athlete like Taylor but an everyman like Spicer.

It didn't matter if they were rich or working-class, went to college or dropped out of high school, lived in a near million dollar home with a remote control gate or in mom's apartment in a tough quarter of town. It didn’t matter if one was strapping, strong and fast as the wind and the other was more like everyone else.

It didn't matter if they were famous or known to only a few. It didn't matter if they were living their dreams or still chasing them. They didn't escape the pathology.

On the face of it, as news of Taylor being shot rolled through the 24-hour news cycle, it sounded as if Taylor shouldn't have succumbed to such a menace. His father worked in law enforcement. Taylor went to a prep high school and a private college, Miami. He was a multi-million-dollar athlete and even his dalliance with lawbreaking and gun brandishing was said to be something of his recent past. He was a father now too. He had someone to live for forever besides himself. But what do we know?

"Sometimes we assume that because one is raised a certain way one is going to come out a certain way," the recently retired NFL star receiver Keyshawn Johnson, now ESPN football analyst, told me by phone on Tuesday. "Look at Andy Reid's kids. He's coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and they're (sons) selling drugs out of the house. You can't assume that because Sean's dad was a police chief that his life…would be different. It depends on how you approach it." Johnson knows all too well. He was reared in the toughest section of South Los Angeles. He survived being shot twice. He was stuck up outside of his favorite barbershop with his kids in tow.

"You just become an easy target," Johnson said of being an athlete or any well-known person of means.
Darrent Williams was a Denver Broncos' defensive back doing a responsible thing while out last New Year’s enjoying the night. He was in a limousine. A wrong word or misunderstanding in a club turned into bullets fired into his ride. He was killed. He was Taylor's age and another statistic in the deadly demographic.

In the wake of Williams' death, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed alarm at the senseless gun death of a league player and of run-ins with the law involving guns that other players were going through. Not long after came defensive back Pacman Jones' incident at a Las Vegas club that left one man shot and paralyzed.

But this isn't, unfortunately, just a problem of professional athletics, Johnson pointed out. It is bigger than one genre of livelihood.

"You have to be very cautious…about your surroundings and about the company you do keep. You can’t worry about feeling like people are going to look at you and say, 'He's made it now so he doesn't come around.' Well, isn't that the whole point? Secure your life and secure your family and move on? The point is to be able to be successful and make it."

Taylor appeared to have reached that point. Spicer was still working at it with a budding clothing business and dreams of – what else? – producing rap music.
Now both are in the same sad statistical pool. A Miami black neighborhood was planning this week to protest three recent fatal police shootings of young black men. It may want to protest the shooting of young black men by other young black men, which is far more prevalent, when it is through.


There was a lot of outpouring of support almost immediately for Taylor. A candlelight vigil was held. A funeral that will be covered by the national media is probably being planned.

Some athletes interviewed about Taylor's demise served up the trite words we're accustomed to after such a horrific event. They said it reminded that they just played a game and that other things were much more important. It put things in perspective, the choir sang. It shouldn’t have, of course. These things in sports never should. Other things are always more important.

Sports are not a separate thread in the fabric of society. They are no more than another spec of alloy in the mirror that reflects it all.

Sean Taylor as well as Timothy Spicer were the latest victims in what is a near epidemic among young black men. If anything good can come from Taylor's demise it will be that more of us pay as much attention to, and express as much outrage and sadness for, the Spicers where we live too.

Kevin B. Blackistone is a regular panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, an XM Satellite Radio host and a frequent sports opinionist on other outlets like National Public Radio and The Politico. A former award-winning sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News, he currently lives in Hyattsville, Md.

The Great Debaters Up for an Award Already

The producers behind the film "The Great Debaters" are already up for an award.

They will receive the 2008 Stanley Kramer Award at the PGA Awards on February 2. The film details the life of Professor Melvin Tolson, coach of the debate team at Wiley College, a small black college founded in 1873.

The professor took a great deal of criticism during for his teaching style and social views.

Tolson's debate team defeated some of the top universities in the world, including Oxford, USC and others. However, the team was never formally recognized as a championship debate team because in the 1930s, black teams were not considered for championship status.

The school struggled to survive during the 1980s and 1990s, coming very close to closing. However, after getting the attention of Hollywood, the school has new buildings and a new set of opportunities.

Enrollment recently doubled and Walmart has agreed to set up a scholarship fund.