Vince Vaughn Tells Playboy Magazine That Affirmative Action Is Racist LET THE OUTRAGE COMMENCE! Via TheRoot Vince Vaughn normally plays a dick or a doofus in his movies. But who knew that Vaughn was a dick in real life? According to Vaughn, in his new Playboy interview, affirmative action is racist. So says the rich, white man. In the interview, Vaughn discusses his newest movie, which I don’t care about, but the Q&A session veered into politics when Playboy asked him about his allegiance to Ron Paul, and then whether he believed in affirmative action: So you’re not a fan of affirmative action? I’ll answer that with a question. Do you believe that using race as a factor in evaluating a person is a good way to operate? The idea is that those who have been at a disadvantage because of race deserve a leg up when it comes to landing opportunities. But then you’re evaluating someone based on race, which is racism. Rights don’t come to you because you’re a man or a woman or African American or European or Jewish. And I certainly don’t think the federal government should be in the business of deciding things or handing out money based on factors like these. It’s the same with same-sex marriage. Who cares what people feel about each other? Let people decide for themselves who they can marry. It’s not the government’s job. It’s between you and your partner and your church or synagogue or whatever you believe in. I think history has proven without a doubt that the proper role of government is to protect individuals’ rights and liberties. That has always been the most prosperous, freest society for people to live in. And when government gets too involved, society turns into a place that gets very, very ugly. But I think we’ve walked more into Crossfire here than Playboy. Vince done really done it now. You gonna boycott his movies now, or nah? Image via WENN
Diddy Gushes Over Girlfriend Cassie In Racy Instagram Photo Bad Boy bossman Diddy has never really been one to hold his tongue and he definitely didn’t hold back this past weekend on matters dealing with both his personal and professional life. Shortly following the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, Sir Combs took to his Instagram page with this lengthy message to Hollywood, calling them out for the blatant shortage of African-Americans in films. No argument there! Diddy was also very vocal about his lady love Cassie earlier in the week and even gave her a lovey-dovey nickname. Check that out on the flip…..
Black Family’s Home Firebombed By Racists Racists targeted a rich Black family’s LA Mansion over the weekend, in an effort to drive them out of their affluent white neighborhood. Via DailyMail : A Los Angeles family whose house was firebombed early Wednesday, causing $200,000 worth of damage, said they considered moving away, convinced they were the targets of a hate crime. But Ronald and Malissia Clinton have chosen to stay after being inundated with support from the local community in Manhattan Beach. The couple believe there is no other reason for the attack – where a gasoline-filled tire was set alight, blowing out the front of their house at 2.30am – other than the fact they’re black. “I don’t have proof, I don’t have any type of motive, but I do have a gut,” Mr Clinton told My Fox LA. “And I tell you- my gut tells me this was racially motivated. And it was somebody that had the intent to harm, injure or even kill us.” Mr Clinton, a pharmacist, was sleep when the attack occurred. He said he woke to the sound of at least two explosions. His wife, a corporate lawyer, was away on business. He quickly got his three children up, grabbed the family dog and ran outside. He then used a garden hose to douse the flames at the front of the house until firefighters arrived to finish the job. The house was bought in 2013 for $3.5 million. The fire department confirmed the incident was arson. Sad that the family had to deal with such hate. Thankfully, no one was hurt and hopefully the culprit will be caught soon. MyFox LA
Home Of Only Black Family In White Neighborhood Gets Torched In Suspected Hate Crime An African-American family of four is lucky to have made it out alive after their home, which sits in a predominantly white area was allegedly targeted in vicious hate crime attack. via CBS Los Angeles Authorities Thursday were investigating a “suspicious” fire at a South Bay home while the family who lives there wondered if they were targeted. The fire was reported at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of 11th Street in Manhattan Beach, the Manhattan Beach Fire Department said. The family is black and moved into the home about a year ago. The family was asleep inside the home, but was awakened by their barking dog and smoke detectors. They were able to get out of the house safely. Homeowner Ron Clinton said someone left a burning tire at their front door. “They used an accelerant to ignite it,” said Clinton. “All I know is that when I woke up, I woke up to a loud blast.” “The fire was extinguished and found to be confined to the front entrance, with significant smoke damage to the second and third floor,” officials said. The fire caused more than $200,000 in smoke damage to the home. A motive has yet to be determined, but Clinton, a married father of three, says the family has had other incidents. “We don’t know who could have done it. But being we are the only African-American family in that area, it was brought to my front door and it feels like it’s personal.” Hopefully they find who did this and stop them from attempting to harm other families.
Retired Cop Says White Officers See Black People As Something To Practice On As police officers across the country continue to show little to no regard for black lives , one retired St. Louis police officer sat down with the Atlanta Blackstar to shed some light on the ugly truth behind the badge for many of his white former-peers. via Atlanta Blackstar It was frustration with the racism he felt from the police officers who frequently pulled him over in his late-model vehicle that compelled Glenn Rogers to become a police officer in the St. Louis area 25 years ago. And it is still racism in the police force that is pushing Rogers to speak out now in anger and frustration, seven years after his retirement. Rogers, 64, is a former police officer and undercover detective for several municipalities in St. Louis County and was a police chief for a short time in southwestern Illinois and a police chaplain in three different departments. He has watched the events transpiring in Ferguson with the unique perspective of someone who understands what it’s like on both sides of the badge. From the first days after he joined the police force of a town in St. Louis County in 1990—a place that, like Ferguson, had an overwhelmingly white police department in a majority Black town—Rogers was stunned by the obvious contempt his white colleagues had for the Black citizens they were paid to serve and protect. “As I began to see how Black people got talked to, treated, grabbed, arrested, how they got dealt with when being incarcerated, to me it looked like something off a slave boat when you actually saw the booking process and the handcuffing process,” Rogers, 64, told Atlanta Blackstar in an exclusive interview. “It was just a long lineup of Black people. I don’t think in the first year I saw more than one or two white people arrested. And those were usually for failure to appear for tickets.” Rogers also went on to describe the mentality that he observed first-hand for of many of his white counterparts during his time as an officer. Over the next few years, Rogers said he could not believe how much heartlessness and hostility white officers brought into encounters with Black people. Rogers calls this the “human element”—the part of the job where officers get to use their discretion in deciding how to respond to any given situation. These are the situations where Black people often met danger. “The human element has got to be put in check,” said Rogers, who has served as a police advisor to six different mayors in the St. Louis area. “There is an area of discretion involved in every job and the same with law enforcement. The human element has to decipher and make a decision when it’s not clearcut by law or by what is apparent before you. When they say cops have split seconds to make decisions, it is not a lie. The main goal of a police officer—as I told the new officers I trained—is to go home at night. You can’t trust anybody on the street because you don’t know what they’re going to do. But with that, you also have an obligation to be humane, to only use what is necessary to accomplish your job and go home at night. I found that many times white officers do things knowing that Black people don’t stick together, knowing you can always do something to a Black person and 95 percent of the time you will come out unscathed and it will go away and you can continue as usual.” Former officer Rogers later made a disturbing revelation about many white officers viewing black people as good to “practice on” to perfect their skillset because blacks often don’t stick together and don’t know the law. Rogers said the white officers knew Black people weren’t likely to know how the system worked, or to understand their rights, so it was easy to make them run afoul of the law. “They saw Black people in my opinion as the people you could practice on and get your skills straight,” he said. “They were the people who didn’t know how to deal with the system, so therefore they would make all the mistakes that needed to be made for officers to do to them the things they do to people who make those mistakes. This is why I saw it is intentional that the public is never taught the real mechanics of the law. If you do so, you will eliminate hundreds of thousands if not millions of incidents where they encounter the police or are candidates for arrest. This is both enlightening and disturbing all at once. You can read the full details on what former officer Rogers had to say HERE and trust us, it’s definitely worth a read.
Nicki Minaj’s Ex Safaree Talks New EP And Their Current Relationship Status Safaree Samuels is slowly but surely becoming a circulated name on the pop culture scene in light of his very publicized split from YMCMB first lady Nicki Minaj, but he’s now focused on moving forward with his music. SB recently sat down with XXL Magazine for a quick chat about his upcoming EP, whether or not it will include songs about the break up and even commented on the real status of his current relationship with Nicki amidst all the rumors. Check out a few interview excerpts below. via XXL Magazine So aside from “Burner” what else can we expect from your EP? There’s definitely going to be some personal stuff on there. That’s another thing, too. People are going to really be able to hear where I’m coming from. It’s not just going to be your typical rapper, I’m going to have a couple of things in there that’s going to be personal. When people hear [my next song], they’re going to be blown away. It’s a really dope song. It’s called “Bruce Wayne.” What is it about? It’s about a guy who’s talking to a girl; he’s just telling the girl how he wants to make her feel good, but it’s in a sarcastic, funny way. Also just letting a girl know, “Hey, I like you but don’t get it twisted.” It’s a fun record. It’ll make sense for the spring time. Can you tell me a little bit about your new music? I’m Jamaican, so there’s some things in there of the Jamaican culture. There’s a big Jamaican influence. I’m from Brooklyn, I’m from New York, so they’ll be feel good N.Y. music. There’s going to be down South music. I’m not your typical New York artist. I’m not out here trying to act like I’m a thug who’s going to shoot you and kill you. Because people that are shooting are not free doing music, they’re in jail. I’m not even trying to portray that. Do you want to touch on Nicki at all? They’ll hear it in the music coming up. I get the vibe that you’re trying to distance yourself from the Nicki stuff and focus on the music. I’m just working on myself. You work on yourself everyday, right? Are you and Nicki on good terms? We’re on great terms. Anything else you want to add? Health, wealth and positivity. You get what you put out. Safaree also recently snagged a campaign with Karl Kani clothing and is gearing up to have the video for his single “Burner” debut on MTV Jams. Welp. Can’t blame dude for wanting to get on with his life, riiigggght? You can check out the full interview with XXL Magazine HERE . Meanwhile, Nicki and Meek have already been spotted grabbing some grub together out in L.A. for Grammy weekend. Details & pics on the flip….
Dartmouth College Announces #BlackLivesMatter Courses On Racial Inequality In America Darmouth College is taking a step in the right direction by planning to offer courses centered around educating students in racial inequality and violence in America. via Fox News Dartmouth College will offer its students a spring semester course borne of the events surrounding the fatal shooting last year of an unarmed black man by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The course, titled, “10 Weeks, 10 Professors: #BlackLivesMatter” is “dedicated to considering race, structural inequality and violence in both a historical and modern context,” The Dartmouth student newspaper reported. The lessons in the Ivy League school’s pilot course will be divided into 15 sections and involve more than 10 academic departments, including anthropology, history, mathematics, English and women’s studies, according to the paper. About 15 Dartmouth professors are expected to teach the individual sections of the class. “We hope students will be able to understand that Ferguson is not just an event in 2014, but something that’s tethered in time to a long history and still-emerging ideas about race in the U.S. and how policing works in an age of social media and distributed surveillance,” said English professor Aimee Bahng, according to The Dartmouth paper. Kudos to Dartmouth College! Hopefully other institutions will soon follow in their footsteps.
Beyonce And Trainer Co-Found Vegan Meal Delivery Company Via Time Attention, all the vegan ladies — Beyoncé and her trainer recently announced they’re launching a vegan meal delivery program. After participating in the 22 Days Nutrition challenge with husband Jay Z in 2013, Beyoncé was inspired to team up with her trainer Marcos Borges, also the company’s founder, for the meal service. The meals, which range in price from $9.76 to $16.50, are entirely plant-based and do not include gluten, soy, dairy or GMOs. “I am so grateful that I took the challenge and credit Marco with leading by example,” Beyoncé said in a statement. “He came up with a great program to get people motivated to make better nutritional choices. All you have to do is try. If I can do it, anyone can. I am excited to partner with him.” How many of y’all ’bout that vegan life? Image via WENN
KKK Leaves Racist Message For Black History Month A Rock Hill South Carolina high school was recently defaced with a racist message on February 1, the first day of Black History Month. Rawstory reports: A South Carolina high school was vandalized with racist graffiti on the first day of Black History Month. Officials at South Pointe High School in Rock Hill confirmed to Raw Story on Monday that vandals had struck the school on Sunday, Feb. 1. Photos were posted to social media showing graffiti on a large rock that sits outside the front of the high school. The words “Happy N*gger Month” were scrawled on the rock in spray paint, and it was signed, “KKK.” “It was discovered yesterday morning, and since then, it’s been eradicated,” a school staffer told Raw Story. “People are still calling because it was posted. Whoever did it, took a picture.” It was not immediately clear if the incident had been reported to police or if authorities were aware of a suspect. SMH…this is a damn shame. Do you really think the KKK left the message or just some (racist) prank pulling teens????
David Oyelowo Says Academy Award’s Prefers To Praise “Subservient” Black Films David sounds like ol’ Marty Tha Kang… Via TheHollywoodReporter Black performers have been singled out for awards “more for when we are subservient, when we are not being leaders or kings or being at the center of our own narrative,” David Oyelowo, who stars as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, said Sunday during an appearance at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. (See video at the bottom of this post.) He directed criticism at both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the larger film industry for, historically, out of “white guilt,” telling stories about black people only through the eyes of white protagonists, saying, “So you have a very nice white person who holds black people’s hands through their own narrative.” Because of the critical and commercial success in 2013 of the Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave and The Butler, in which he played a supporting role, that narrative is finally beginning to change, he contended, adding that it was only those films’ strong performances at the box office that led Paramount Pictures to back Selma. Oyelowo made his remarks — at a ceremony at which he was being honored as one 2014’s virtuoso performers — when asked about being “the subject of Oscar snub outrage.” (Selma was nominated for best picture, but the fact that he and the film’s director, Ava DuVernay, were not triggered a torrent of criticism, especially since, for the first time since 2011, all 20 acting nominees are white. This prompted the viral Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite and an SNL sketch about how King himself would have been disappointed by the news, as well as a defensive response from the black president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs. He was just getting started, peep his full statement in the video below: Talk that talk good brotha. Image via WENN
