By now you should have heard about the report that one out of two people with AIDS in this country are Black. Well that sounds about right because one out of two people murdered in this country are also Black.
AIDS is the leading cause of death among black women between 25 and 34, and the second-leading cause of death in black men from 35 to 44, according to a report released Tuesday. CNN.com
You can have all of the AIDS prevention awareness programming you want, but what we are fighting here is as much a disease of the mind as one of the body.
“For a lot of young black women, what’s putting them at risk is emotion,” the 29-year-old iReporter said. “Young women are going to men for security — you’re talking about a fatherless home and a girl looking for approval. That’s the kind of thing that puts them at risk.” CNN.com
I was horrified and EMBARRASSED sitting in Atlanta’s airport at 5:45 in the morning waiting to catch a flight. I was finally forced to watch Soledad O’Brien’s “Black PROBLEMS in America” I saw the vignette of the single Black woman who does not use condoms despite the fact that she thinks her “man” is cheating on here. I think every Black person in the boarding areas had their mouth open. One brother looked downright indignant.
I have no solutions to offer on this one, but I doubt that that single Black mother on Soledad’s “Black PROBLEMS in America” is likely to change her mind. For some women being without a man, any man is a fate worse than death and it appears that that mentality is costing Black women their lives.
In 30 minutes a hearing Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs will conduct an oversight hearing into the current status of sexual response and prevention within the U.S. military. This hearing seeks to ensure that the Department of Defense has adequate policies and oversight mechanisms in place to prevent, treat, and punish sexual assaults.
LaVena Johnson’s case is not on the agenda, but members of Congress will be asking Army Officer’s questions so it was a good opportunity to possibly get a few answers on the LaVena Johnson case or highlight it again. I know many of you have written to ask the members of the committee to ask about LaVena’s case and some of you are actually gong to the hearing. I would give you advice, but you are probably sitting on the hard floor of the Rayburn Building waiting to get in right now. If you take your laptop, head for the side where the power outlets are and if some high school student intern tries to tel you that the area is just for the media just say “I AM the media!” and sit down. Make sure you stick around for Panel Three were the Department of Defense and U.S. Army, and GAO will provide testimony.
Witness List
Panel One – Members of Congress (Statements Only):
Honorable Louise M. Slaughter, Member of Congress (NY-28)
Honorable Jane S. Harman, Member of Congress (CA-36)
Panel Two – Victims and Family Members:
Ms. Ingrid Torres, MSW, CSW, Washington, DC
Mrs. Mary Lauterbach, Mother of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, Vandalia, Ohio Panel Three – Department of Defense and U.S. Army, and GAO:
Mr. Michael Dominguez, Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Defense (Personnel and Readiness)
Dr. Kaye Whitley, Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, U.S. Department of Defense
Lieutenant General Michael D. Rochelle, Deputy Chief of Staff G-1, United States Army
Ms. Brenda S. Farrell, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and is open to the public.
What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are asking for your support in making sure that the voices, stories, and perspectives of African American women and girls are woven into the fabric of this historic event!Please consider donating by clicking our donate button in the sidebar.
Okay. So we are going to give our two lunchtime panelists from Blogging While Brown an opportunity to speak!
We had a panel about new media and online activists and their relationship with old media and old guard civil rights groups and whether there are gulfs between the two groups and whether bloggers and online activists should even bother to try. The panel went off on an unexpected tangent about money so I have invited our two panelists to the roundtable where they will get to talk about what I wanted to talk about at the conference.
Necole will be on at 8:00PM CST and Clarissa will join us at 8:30PM. In addition we will be talking with Clarissa about Color of Change’s campaign on behalf of the family of LaVena Johnson.
The call in number is 646-478-4750 8:00PM CST
What About Our Daughters has received credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We are asking for your support in making sure that the voices, stories, and perspectives of African American women and girls are woven into the fabric of this historic event!Please consider donating by clicking our donate button in the sidebar.
“Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant,” declared Luda on the track titled “Politics: Obama is Here” Ludacris ( hat tip Sandra Rose)
I saw this earlier today at Sandra Rose. It is a new “song” from Ludacris. Oh this is sure to go over well in the flyover states. Ig’nant. These merchants of misogyny don’t have the sense God gave a chicken. Anything for a dollar and a bisquit.
For his part, Barack Obama quickly denounced Ludicris.
“As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn’t want his daughters or any children exposed to. This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.”
Sandra pretty much sums up this clear cry for attention:
Expect Luda’s publicist to issue a carefully worded prepared statement apologizing for his “unintended” offensive lyrics in 5…4….3…2 Sandra Rose
Yeah right. Unintended? Its going to be a long hot summer. Folks are we really ready for prime time?
Whew, I have been sitting on this for a minute waiting for it to launch. Color of Change has launched a campaign on behalf of Lavena Johnson’s family.
Democratic Representative Skelton’s House Armed Services is basically twiddling their thumbs on the LaVena Johnson issue although sources say that discussions are still underway, however Color of Change is calling on another committee of Congress with jurisdiction to hold hearings. They want us to direct our efforts to Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee.
Go to their site to send a message directly to Congress.
Dear ColorOfChange.org member,
LaVena Johnson was a 19 year old private in the Army, serving in Iraq, when she was raped, murdered, and her body was burned–by someone from her own military base. Despite overwhelming physical evidence, the Army called her death a suicide and has closed the case.1
For three years, LaVena’s parents have been fighting for answers. At almost every turn, they’ve been met with closed doors or lies. They’ve appealed to Congress, the one body that can hold the military accountable. But, as in other cases where female soldiers have been raped and murdered and the Army has called it suicide, Congress has failed to act.
Will you join Mr. and Mrs. Johnson in calling on Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, to mount a real investigation into LaVena Johnson’s death and the Army’s cover-up2? Will you ask your friends and family to do the same?
From the beginning, LaVena’s death made no sense as a suicide. She was happy and had been talking with friends and family regularly3–nothing indicated she could be suicidal. And when the Johnsons received her body, they noticed signs that she had been beaten.4 That was when they started asking questions.
After two years of being denied answers and hearing explanations that made no sense, the Johnsons received a CD-ROM from someone on the inside. It contained pictures of the crime scene where LaVena died and an autopsy showing that she had suffered bruises, abrasions, a dislocated shoulder, broken teeth, and some type of sexual assault. Her body was partially burned; she had been doused in a flammable liquid, and someone had set her body on fire. A corrosive chemical had been poured in her genital area, perhaps to cover up evidence of rape.5
Still the Army sticks by their story. They refuse to explain the overwhelming physical evidence that LaVena was raped and murdered and continue to claim that she killed herself.
For many Black youth, and working class young people of every race, the military is seen as an option for securing a better future. LaVena came from a deeply supportive family, and while the military wasn’t her only option, she was attracted by its promise to help her pay for a college education and the opportunity to travel around the world. She also thought that by joining she could continue her lifelong commitment to serving other people in need. She made a decision to serve in the military, with all its risks, and expected respect and dignity in return.
LaVena’s death is part of a disturbing pattern of cases where female soldiers have been raped and killed, and where the military has hidden the truth and labeled the deaths suicides.6,7 In virtually all cases, Congress has been slow to investigate or hold the military accountable in any way. Unfortunately, most families simply don’t have the resources, time, and psychological strength to push back.
We can help the Johnsons, and other families, by holding Congress accountable in the LaVena Johnson case and by demanding it investigate the pattern of cover-ups by the military.
Please take a moment to join those calling on Congressman Waxman to investigate the cover-up of LaVena Johnson’s death:
Here is another opportunity for you to get answers from the United States Army in the Lavena Johnson case:
On Thursday, July 31 at 10:00 am, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Oversight Hearing on Sexual Assault in the Military.” The hearing will take place in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and is open to the public. Oversight Committee Website
This is a subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The full committee is chaired by Congressman Waxman. The hearing will be webcast.
Here is a list of the subcommittee members:
Majority John F. Tierney, Chairman Carolyn B. Maloney Stephen F. Lynch Brian Higgins John A. Yarmuth Bruce L. Braley Betty McCollum Jim Cooper Chris Van Hollen Paul W. Hodes Peter Welch
Minority Christopher Shays, Ranking Member Dan Burton John M. McHugh Todd Russell Platts John J. Duncan Michael Turner Kenny Marchant Lynn A. Westmoreland Patrick T. McHenry Virginia Foxx
Although this is a subcommittee hearing, members of the full committee wil be able to attend. CBC members on the committee are Clay, Watson, and Cummings. But don’t limit your inquiry to Black members. You don’t care who asks the questions. Republican, Democrat, whatever! You just want answers.
My source said that he could not determine whether Lavena Johnson’s case would be discussed specifically, but the members of the committee have the ability to ask questions. Here is your opportunity to tell them what questions you want asked. Due to the lateness of the notice a call or FAX was recommended as every member of Congress is not amenable to the digital age ( it is what it is)
For all of you who are upset burn a few anytime minutes or get on efax and tell your elected representatives what you want to know from the Army about Lavena Johnson and others like her.
This is separate from the organized campaign that some other large online advocacy groups are working on rolling out. When they tell me more, I will let y’all know, but I know some of you who are in DC may want to attend. In particular you might want to ask them about the allegations in this article,Tracey Barnett: Women GIs in fear of the enemy in their army. Including the allegation that three servicewomen died of dehydration because they didn’t want to drink water. If they drank water, they would have to go to the latrine where they feared they would be sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. CRAZY!
For those not famiar with the Lavena Johnson story, here is some background from Jezebel
When LaVena’s father finally brought himself to look at his daughter’s corpse in 2005, sent home from Iraq with a report that she’d committed suicide by shooting herself in the left side of her head with an M-16 — which, by the way, is not a handgun but a relatively long rifle, he thought there was something wrong.
Private LaVena Johnson’s nose was broken, teeth were loose, one eye was concave and there were abrasions over her body. The supposed M-16 hole to the head was far too small for the revolver-sized exit wound, and was on the wrong side of her skull for a right-handed woman to have pulled the trigger. Her genital area showed evidence of acid, perhaps used to destroy DNA evidence. She had white military gloves glued to her burned hands.
Since then, the Army has continued to insist that the LaVena committed suicide by pointing her rifle with her non-dominant hand at the side of her head and set herself on fire, all after she beat herself up and poured acid on her genitals (since their was no apparent investigation into whatever happened there). Oh, and there was a trail of blood leading away from the tent where her body was found.
Her father has been trying for nearly 3 years to get someone — including Congress — to investigate the death of his daughter.
The folks from Black Interactive TV have a sizable number of mini clips from the conference
Brian Willis and Shawn Williams from Dallas South Blog, and Theo from Theo Talks at breakfast.
Gina introduces Jordan from Free Press right before his presentation on net neutrality.
The dynamic duo, Angela Benton and Markus Robinson from Black Web 2.0. All of our workshops rocked!We had some truly talented and gifted people presenting at Blogging While Brown
Blogger Rights Panel – Kristal and Attorneymom
Attorneymom from Character Corner and Kristal from Pocketbook Protest broke down copyright and derivative works, terms of use and work for hire.
We’re still chopping and slicing and dicing the professional video. There is over 6 hours of footage, but in the meantime, Theo from Theo Talks, recorded about three sessions and streamed it live on USTREAM
Our incredible conference videographer, Deborah Jones from D. Jones Productions cranked out this mini conference video with some interviews and mini conference highlights. More video coming soon, but she worked long into the night to get this out to us. I appreciate it. If you have a conference or event that you want taped, I highly recommend D. Jones out of Atlanta.
I am now forming a Blogging While Brown Twitterholics Anonymous. I believe we got some people hooked on the tweeting this weekend. Why can’t I quit you Twitter??? I actually didn’t tweet as much as I wanted to, but I have gone back to read other people’s twitter streams.
Some of the folks who I know were Twittering: Shawn from Dallas South Blog ElisaC from BlogHer Wayne aka “Villager” from Electronic Village AT Alien from Straight from the A Pam from Pam’s House Blend Theo from Theo talks ( he also did Ustream)
Tamera from 
