Patty Jackson says, "Go! This is a 'must see' exhibit!" )originally posted 1/15/09)

"Would America have been America without her Negro People?" - Dr. W.E.B. DuBois (1903)


Dear friends,

For the past two weeks, just as she did for ten months prior to the election of President Barack Obama, the legendary WDAS FM radio personality Patty Jackson of Philadelphia has been vigorously inviting folks to learn, understand, and, consequently, appreciate the historical experiences of African American people and how those experiences are enmeshed in the total social fabric of what makes American culture. Through the Tavis Smiley-sponsored touring museum called America I Am, we all can do just that. The exhibit will be housed in Philly through much of the Spring. Therefore, anyone who plans on travelling that way (Philly), over the next five months, can check it out. Please click on the link below to find out more.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://americaiam.org/

PS Please catch Patty on weekdays, from 10am to 3pm, at http://www.wdasfm.com/ Cheers!

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What's up with Etta James calling President Obama's ears big?

"...if Etta James is so caught up on Obama having big ears, then why did she marry a “white" man? To be sure, Bob James has big ears..."

Dear friends,

I normally do not bother with the stupidity of folks in the entertainment industry. However, recently Etta James, a popular singer of old, made a comment about President Obama that should be challenged. She made a disparaging remark about Obama's "big ears".

Actually, Etta James has a nerve, since she married a "white" man named Bob James - a great musician (James is his surname- not hers). The fact of the matter is: Obama's mother was "white". Europeans have larger ears than Africans. That's a physiological fact! The next time you have a chance, look at ANY European American's ears. They are bigger than those of African Americans. Period. It was a natural part of coming from a cold climate that they have large ears (to help deal with the cold). Black folks have small ears compared to "whites".

Moreover, due to the historical “mixing” between Africans and Europeans, there are some African Americans with larger ears than their European American counterparts. Therefore, if Etta James is so caught up on Obama having big ears, then why did she marry a “white" man? To be sure, Bob James has big ears, just as Africans have kinky hair. The kinky hair kept us from getting caught up in the large amounts of vegetation of warm climates.

At any rate, at least to me, Etta James chumped herself off, by saying something so stupid. She hates her Blackness. Beyonce merely represents a mirrored image of Etta's own self-hatred of being Black. That's her problem. Still, I'm proud of Beyonce. It's just unfortunate that neither she, Jay Z, or her parents know much about human physiology or their people.

One Love.,
G. Djata Bumpus
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