Is The Ethiopian Pop Star, Teddy Afro, In Jail For The Right Reasons?!!

Teddy Afro is so freakin' gorgeous! He is one of the best Ethiopian singers ever & I absolutely love the song in the video called Alamin!Even though I can't understand one word of it!When Beyonce performed in Addis, a whole lot of folks felt that Teddy Afro upstaged her. He is an immensely popular Ethiopian star!

Unfortunately,Teddy Afro got sentenced to 6 years for a crime that many believe he has no part in. But because of his involvement in politics, many fear that the Ethiopian government may have set him up.Here's more from BBC:

"The singer was found guilty of running the man down in his car and driving away without reporting the incident in Addis Ababa in 2006.

Ethiopia's best-known pop star was also convicted of driving without a licence.

His music became an anthem for opposition protests in 2005 and many fans believe the charges were politically motivated.

But the Ethiopian authorities have denied this. As he passed sentence, the judge said the prosecution was not in any way a vendetta.

There had been some confusion about which night the homeless man had died. On the first date the singer - whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun - had an alibi: He was out of the country."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the rest here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7768589.stm

Odetta Was Known As "The Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement"! May She Rest In Peace!

This first video contains an interview with Odetta where she discusses her impact on the civil rights era as an activist.She was also a wonderful singer with a rich,deep baritone voice that was quite emotive. Odetta is singing,in the second video,on "The Johnny Cash Show". Her voice is absolutely breathtaking.Odetta moved on to a better place on Tuesday before she got to fulfill one final dream. Her final wish was to sing at Barack Obama's inauguration on Jan 20. Here's an excerpt from an obituary that was published in the NY Times:

"Odetta, the singer whose resonant voice wove together the strongest songs of American folk music and the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 77.

The cause was heart disease, her manager, Doug Yeager, said.

Odetta, who lived in Upper Manhattan, had been admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital three weeks ago with a number of ailments, including kidney trouble, Mr. Yeager said. In her last days, he said, she had been hoping to sing at the presidential inauguration for Barack Obama."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the entire obituary here:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/arts/music/03odetta.html?_r=1&hp

White Teacher Binds The Hands & Feet Of Two Black Students During A Lesson On Slavery!

There are all kinds of children's books that show the tools that were implemented to bind slaves during the slavery era. Why would this white woman find it necessary to have her students act this out in her class? Couldn't she just have shown them "Roots"? How insensitive to think that this would be an appropriate way to demonstrate what slaves went through! I mean, these are probably the actual descendants of slaves! You can't imagine the pain that many people feel even discussing slavery. It is a very,very sensitive issue. I think this teacher needs racial sensitivity classes because she does not recognize the error in her method of teaching. Here's more from The NY Daily News:

"A suburban middle school teacher who bound the hands and feet of two black girls, then made them crawl under desks representing slave ships, has sparked outrage by one of the girl's mother and the local NAACP chapter.

While one student volunteered for the Nov. 18 lesson on slavery in America, seventh-grader Gabrielle Shand, 13, did not.

When she got home that day, her mother Christine Shand, 41, said her daughter burst into tears.

"My daughter didn't volunteer for this. My daughter was embarrassed. She's extremely uncomfortable," Shand said.

Eileen Bernstein, social studies teacher at the Haverstraw Middle School in Rockland County, and the school's principal and superintendent have apologized to the girl and her mother, but Shand believes they are upset about her daughter's reaction, not with the lesson itself.

Bernstein, who is white, said that she had done the lesson before, Shand said.

"Are you telling me when you do a section on the Holocaust, it's okay to simulate an oven and have a grandchild of someone who was a survivor just get in the oven?" asked Wilbur Aldridge, head of the local NAACP chapter. "That makes so sense."Northern Rockland School District Superintendent Brian Monahan said he was having "conversations with our staff on how to deliver effective lessons."

"We encourage our teachers to deliver the curriculum in a variety of ways, to go beyond just reading the textbook," he said. "But this obviously went wrong because the student was upset."

Monahan refused to say what, if any, measures were taken against Bernstein, but she was still working today. The school district said Bernstein was not available for comment."(END OF EXCERPT) Read the whole article here:http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/05/2008-12-05_new_york_teacher_binds_black_students_du.html