The Environment On Our Heads

African American ladies: accepting that you probably have more creative options with it, artificially straightened simply does not look right most of the time. And clearly it does not feel right because you are not allowed to touch it. This when natural is so beautiful. The fluffy natural fro whether long or short looks like what God intended. Cornrows are cool too.

Brothers have to cut it off. Shaved off is the latest trend. It is cut as short as possible to prevent the curl. Anything to hide the peas. This when organic would be cool. Remember the Jeri Curl? Almost as much oil on our heads as in our cars. Imports are way down in this area though. What do you think?

U.S. Blacks Use Millions of Barrels of Oil Each Day

African Americans use 2.6 million barrels of oil every day if you count our population (13%) as part of the 20 millions barrels of oil we use in America each day. Is this a good thing or a bad activity? At fifty dollars per barrel, it also represents $130 million per day for blacks to drive to and from work. That is $4.30 per day for each black man, woman and child in the U.S.

Energy Policy Act of 2005: Good or Bad For Blacks?

Is the energy bill currently being considered by Congress good or bad for blacks? The bill is available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/108/energy_pdf.htm What do you think? Which provisions hurt or help the African American community?

Although Congressman Al Hastings' environmental justice amendment failed, Congressman Al Wynn and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee have amendments that were accepted as part of the bill. See http://groups.msn.com/AAEA/legislation1.msnw Senator Barack Obama has also authored legislation that could be included in the bill: http://groups.msn.com/AAEA/legislation.msnw

What would you like to see in our national energy policy?

Do Native Americans Support Reparations for Blacks?

My recent exchange with an indian acquaintance about land reparations for blacks led to a response of 'us first.' This is understandable. But should blacks stop pushing for repayment for slavery until indians figure out how, when or if they are going to fight for their own legacy rights? The indian reservations represent a much larger land ownership share than blacks can point to. Blacks own mortgages. Indians have their owns nations within the United States.

AAEA is pushing for federal land and mineral rights transfers to African Americans as reparation for slavery. For more information, go to our Reparations Pages:

http://groups.msn.com/AAEA/reparations.msnw

http://groups.msn.com/AAEA/reparations1.msnw

What do you think?

Status of the Black Community

What Do You Think?

A new National Urban League report, "The State of Black America 2005," states that middle class blacks' tenuous hold on prosperity reflects racial discrimination in housing and other wealth-building arenas — both historically and now — and suggests that today's civil rights battles are largely economic. Among the report's findings:

• Blacks have more than double the unemployment rate of whites.
• Less than half of blacks own homes compared to more than three-fourths of whites.
• Black youth are more likely to have poorly trained teachers, live in poverty and not have health insurance than whites.

The report also makes clear that black America has made significant gains in some areas. Since 1960, when black men earned only 50 cents for every dollar earned by white men, income gaps have narrowed as the black middle class has grown and become more educated. In 2000, black men earned 64 cents on the dollar. The median net worth of black versus white households has remained virtually unchanged for more than a decade: In 2000, black households on average were worth $6,166 compared to $67,000 for whites, census data show. The ratio was virtually identical in the early 1990s. For additional Information:
The National Urban League, http://www.nul.org
120 Wall StreetNew York, NY 10005
(212) 558-5300(212) 344-5332 [fax]

Damu Smith Needs Your Help

Environmental justice activist Damu Smith has been diagnosed with colon cancer and he needs your help. He has a 12 year old daughter who needs him and he does not have health insurance.

His many friends are planning a tribute and fundraising gala for him. Email spirofhope2@yahoo.com for more information. In the interim, you can help Damu by contributing to his assistance fund:

www.thepraxisproject.org/damu.html

UPDATE: Damu Smith died on May 5, 2006