TheLoop21.com

Where are the Black faces in breast cancer pink?

by CBT
The face of breast cancer awareness doesn’t typically have a Black image attached to it but does it need one? I mean, if you have breasts, you can get cancer, right? Hey, I’m a borderline hypochondriac, so I think I’m susceptible to any ailment out there— with a few exceptions. 

I’m not trying to be flip, but the whole “I didn’t know this affected Black women too,” just doesn’t fly with me. Although I don’t have anyone in my immediate family who has been stricken with breast cancer, I know plenty of women in my extended family and also friends who have battled the disease. This isn’t unusual and I'm not an anomaly. There are many in our everyday lives who courageously fight the good fight and maybe we just aren’t paying enough attention to them.

What Washington, D.C., is doing right on HIV/AIDS

by raechal
With outrageously high rates of homelessness and crime, Washington, D.C.'s not what you'd call a model for good government. I'm from Louisiana, and even we would've tossed Marion Barry out of office by now. Probably.

But this week, D.C. did something every state should copy — fighting back against HIV/AIDS. Public school officials agreed to offer optional tests for sexually transmitted diseases at every high school.

What happens after Gates' beer at the White House?

by raechal
Some people still don't comprehend the issue.

The day before the overhyped meeting of President Barack Obama, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley, The Washington Post quoted White House spokesman Bill Burton as saying the president is "glad they'll be some closure when folks come over."

Really? Just like that, we can end this whole conversation about racial profiling — whether what happened in this case is a clear example of that — and of how we perceive and relate to people of other races? Obama should host happy hour more often.

VH1's T.O. show proves athletes are still role models

by Crystal P. Smith
With all the negative attention surrounding football due to the murder-suicide of Steve McNair and the questionable future of Michael Vick, tuning into The T.O. Show, which premiered Monday night on VH1, brings a lighthearted, positive representation of star athletes—even if you're not a fan of reality TV.

Putting Michelle Obama's critics in their place

by raechal
Some people must forget Michelle Obama's a real person. How else could they write the vicious comments about her and worse, her 11-year-old daughter, Malia, that surfaced on the Free Republic Web site? In case you missed it, she was described as "street ghetto trash" and someone who "loves to make monkey sounds."

The sad thing is that I wasn't really surprised. Since Michelle Obama became a national figure, she's been admired for her classy personal style, but she's also been criticized for her muscular arms, not being proud enough of her country, and lately, just for being black.

The lesson in the death of Vibe Magazine

by Crystal P. Smith
Media — black media in particular — is having a hard time making it through the recession. First the trouble with Ebony and Jet, then the closing of King magazine and RushmoreDrive.com, an online black search engine, and now Vibe, created in 1992 by Quincy Jones and Time Warner, is also closing its doors — effective immediately.

New California tax rates scream racism

by Crystal P. Smith
Beginning July 1, certain cities in the greater Los Angeles area will adopt new sales and use tax rates despite the fact our country is still suffering from the recession and that Los Angeles is already one of the more expensive cities to live in.

Beyond the fact is that while areas like Inglewood, El Monte and South Gate, which are mostly black and Hispanic, are getting much higher tax rates — over 10 percent. Inglewood will go from 9.75 percent to 10.25 percent. Pico Rivera and South Gate are going from 10.25 percent to 10.75 percent while Laguna Beach is being reduced from 9.25 to 8.75 percent — the lowest on the list.

Why have 'black' Web sites?

by raechal
RushmoreDrive.com is out, and a new Web site, theGrio, which is affilliated with NBC News, is in on the rapidly changing landscape of Web sites aimed squarely at the black community.

MTV's '16 and Pregnant' as sex education

by raechal
The new MTV show, 16 and Pregnant, finally gives us an answer to the question of how to teach sex education in schools — tell the truth. Simpy offer accurate information about the consequences of sex, especially unprotected sex.

The documentary-style MTV show, which premiered Thursday, makes it easy. Teachers and parents don't even have to talk, just steer teens to this show and its Web site, which has an "ask the expert" section, links to information about preventing pregnancy, and other resources.

Talking honestly about blacks and AIDS

by raechal
(Read more about our Stop Black AIDS initiative.)

AIDS is not the kind of thing most of us want to read about or even think about daily. And it's pretty clear most of us aren't really comfortable talking about it and all that comes with it — the importance of using condoms and being honest about your sexual history.

If we were, it wouldn't continue to infect such large numbers of people, especially in the black community. African Americans are affected at much higher rates than others, especially black young people and black women.