Black Politics Blog

A message from your host, Chris Owens . . .

I’m talking with one of my favorite people about everything I’ve been dying to talk about concerning the presidential campaign:
Can Obama take Virginia and North Carolina?
Who’s the Democratic coalition really made up of?
What’s the role of third party candidates?

I’ll be speaking with Melissa Harris Lacewell, Associate Professor, Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, (Princeton 2004) and is currently at work on a new book: “For Colored Girls Who've Considered Politics When Being Strong Wasn't Enough.”

All that and more on the show.

A message fom your host, Chris Owens . . .

I’m taking on two topics:

Claims about John McCain’s racism . . . Is McCain racist? And are his recent ads really working? I’ll be speaking with Irwin Tang, author of “Gook: John McCain's Racism and Why It Matters.” (See his youtube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2rpvj9NSXM.)

And, I’ll be talking about the latest news from Gitmo, the folks who’ve been forgotten down there in Guantánamo, Cuba, with Shayana “Shane” Kadidal, Senior Managing Attorney, Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative (GGJI) at The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).

Plus, I’ll share my recap of this week’s news, including the outcome of the TN congressional primary – impacting Rep. Steve Cohen, who was on BP last week. And, I have a follow-up on Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick, who we’ve spoken about in the past, he’s still in hot water.

All that and more on the show.

Do you know that even if you make good money -- you still might get a bad loan? Hear Chris Owens today explain why and how this happens. He’s talking with Jim Carr, Chief Operating Officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which just announced its findings this week showing where there are real differences in how people get loans in this country and how unfair lending practices work. Visit www.ncrc.org after the interview to learn more.

Plus, he’ll be speaking with Rep. Steve Cohen, from Tennessee’s 9th District, who in his own way, has changed history: He sponsored the House bill that this past Tuesday, passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow laws.

Chris Owens takes on the FOX news machine and the activists who are pushing back against that network’s insulting and disrespectful portrayal of people of color. Chris will be joined again by James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change.org.

Plus, he’ll have an update on a story that broke just yesterday… it’s one you may have missed and it involves the prosecution of a reviled Haitian paramilitary leader, named Emmanuel “Toto” Constant. Chris will be speaking with Jennifer Green, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights. Visit ccrjustice.org after the segment to learn more.

And, Chris will have a challenge to the menthol lobby… all that and more on today’s show.

On this weekend’s show: Why is the patriotism of African Americans questioned? Tune in for the feisty conversation on this topic with:

22-year veteran of the military, Mustapha Rahim; he served in Iraq and Bosnia and he’s a Republican.

Dr. David Campt, who’s joined us before, his expertise: those testy social questions that make you want to duck out of the room.... he’s known as the RACE DOCTOR, and he’s the author of “The Little Book of Dialogue For Difficult Subjects” with co-author Dr. Lisa Schirch. www.davidcampt.com

Commentator and author, Janus Adams, who was one of four children selected to end de facto segregation in New York in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. Today she is a frequent lecturer and on-air guest, and her commentaries are heard on NPR. www.janusadams.com

Chris Owens takes on John McCain’s odd news week (from Viagra to economic psychology), plus Rev. Jesse Jackson’s nutty gaffe ... with NY Post columnist and conservative friend-of-show, Robert George.

Chris will dig deeper into generational tensions in the black community and notions about "passing the torch," with Dr. Benjamin Chavis (who knows a lot about the perils of leadership, he ran the NAACP back in 1993 at the tender age of 45) and now he's working in "black" media, as President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, working to get the vote out. Visit http://www.voteforit08.org to learn more.

And, Chris will have a broader discussion about black media with journalist Kristal Brent Zook, who just penned a new book on the topic called I SEE BLACK PEOPLE: The Rise and Fall of African American-Owned Television and Radio.