Why Is Black History Segregated?

Does a dedicated month stifle integration of our contributions in all aspects of U.S. society?

It's February--time for teachers to assign reports on Rosa Parks, create dioramas of the Underground Railroad in action, and have their students read chapters of Ralph Ellison’s "The Invisible Man."

Few could have imagined, when historian Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week 87 years ago, that today, millions would celebrate the contributions of black Americans for an entire month, in schools, churches, offices and homes throughout the country.

But is Black History Month enough, and does segregating our celebrations to one month let the nation off the hook for integrating the story of blacks into the broader narrative? In an ideal world, American—and world—history as taught in our schools would reflect the full picture, representative of the rainbow of peoples and cultures that contributed to it. There's something about black history being separated and discussed only during one short month that seems to diminish the achievements of African Americans.

“Our documentation of our cultural achievements and history are a way to prove our very humanity when so many are invested in dehumanizing black people," says Janell Hobson, an associate professor of women’s studies at The University at Albany, who also lectures about black history.. "There is a racial ideology that says ‘These people have no history, no culture, therefore they are not quite human.’”

It took almost 30 years after the first observance of Woodson's Negro History Week before the mayors of several major cities issued proclamations making the week official. The first U.S. president to acknowledge the significance of black history to Americans of every hue was President Gerald Ford, who, during the 1976 bicentennial celebration, urged the nation to “seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” That same year, the association Woodson created to carry out his mission, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), expanded the celebration to a month-long affair, following the lead of young celebrants on college campuses who had long dedicated February to the celebration of black history and culture, and updated the vernacular to refer to it as Black History Month.

In the years since, events in black history have been infused in everything from lesson plans to pop culture, with our contributions getting the Hollywood treatment on the big and small screen in films such as "Red Tails," "The Great Debaters" and HBO's "Something The Lord Made." But despite such inroads, black history and the accomplishments of African Americans are still too often segregated when it comes to larger discussions of U.S. history in school curricula or with regard to media images of racial norms in pop culture.

[ALSO READ: OBAMA'S 2ND TERM: IT'S NOT OVER]

“I cannot tell you how many times students—white, black, Latino, Asian—express gratitude that I’ve exposed them to new narratives and new histories and how they wished they had been given this information elsewhere," says Hobson. "While I take it as a compliment that they feel they’ve learned so much from me, I also feel that too many of us who are faculty of color are burdened with being the ones to provide the ‘diverse’ perspective in colleges and universities. How do we diversify this education so that all faculty are teaching from a multiracial perspective of history and society?”

Perhaps a more comprehensive and integrated view of history would better achieve Woodson's mission. When he first celebrated Negro History Week during the second week of February 1926—he chose the second week of the month because it included the birthdays of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and emancipator Abraham Lincoln, and was already a time of celebration in the black community—he theorized that teaching black history would, “besides building self-esteem among blacks, help eliminate prejudice among whites.”

Poverty On College Campuses

From homelessness to food insecurity, college students are increasingly becoming the hidden face of poverty

Most college students count the days until school breaks, racing through finals to head home for the holidays or a long summer in their childhood bedroom. But for Jeffrey Williams, 22, the breaks were the worst.

“There were days when I would be in my car, like,‘Where am I gonna go?’ I would rotate houses, spending three days with one of my best friends, a couple days with a cousin. It was frustrating and depressing, but I would usually find some help, some cover and a couch or floor to sleep on,” says Williams, who is now a graduating senior at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Two weeks before his 18th birthday, he returned to the home where he had lived since the age of 10 to find his bags in the garage.

“My adoptive mom had said, ‘When you turn 18, it’s time for you to go,’ so they could get the next kid in there to take up that space. So I was expecting it, but I didn’t really believe it. Then it got real,” Williams says.

He packed his belongings into his ’93 Cavalier and headed to his biological grandfather’s home, where he quietly claimed the couch each night, afraid to explain that he had nowhere else to go. After days of back and forth trying to get financial aid—a nearly impossible feat without his parents’ help—he reluctantly disclosed his homelessness. One heartfelt letter explaining his circumstance and a couple weeks later, he had secured loans without his parents' financial information, and was able to move into the freshman dorm.

“The only way I made it is by the grace of God,” he says.

He has spent his entire college career in limbo, attending school full time, playing football (he made the All-Academic Team every year), working two jobs at a time, and couch surfing whenever the dorms closed. At one point, rather than stay at a dorm where he would be kicked out during breaks, he used his loan money to rent a bed bug-infested studio apartment in a neighborhood where he had to carry a knife each time he walked to his car, but the rent was too much to handle on his own, and last semester he moved into the basement at his dad’s girlfriend’s house.

Williams’s story is one that is becoming increasingly common on the campuses of community colleges and four-year universities alike. For the 2010-2011 school year, the latest for which full-year data is currently available, 33,039 students admitted on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid that they were homeless. Experts think the real number is much higher.

“Many students who experience homelessness do not disclose their situation, because they are embarrassed and afraid,” says Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY).

The Top 4 New Year's Resolutions for Black America

Black leaders provide their wish list

Despite worries that December 21 would mark the world’s end, 2013 has arrived, and with it, the tradition of making resolutions for the new year. In homes around the country, people are vowing to eat better, exercise more, and spend less—all admirable, personal pursuits. But what if you could use the new year as an opportunity to make changes that could collectively improve the lives of black Americans?

Good news: You can. We went to some of our biggest advocates and asked where you should start. Each provided their number one resolution for African Americans. Read on to be inspired and find out why each resolution is important to having not just a happy new year, but a happy generation.

Shavon Arline-Bradley, Director of Health Programs for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
“In this new year, black America has to commit herself to strive for total health and wellness for a better future for generations to come. Start with the ABCs of physical screenings: hemoglobin A1c (diabetes), blood pressure and cholesterol. To add to this list, persons between the ages of 13 and 64 should get an annual HIV test regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or marital status. Black women, please remember to schedule pap smears and do breast exams. It is also important for black men to get annual prostate exams starting at 40 or earlier with a family history. These screenings are critical and can be the difference between life and death. The black community should also tackle key strategies to support healthy lifestyles, including increasing physical activity, improving nutrition choices, reducing stress, and addressing mental health with professional counseling and therapy. Become an advocate and support issues like equal access to health care through the Affordable Care Act and sound the alarm to build healthier schools and community environments for our children and families to live active and productive lives. The choice is yours: Will we continue down the dismal road of elevated health disparities, or will we conquer our ills and live long, healthy lives?”

[ALSO READ: New Year’s Resolutions]

If ever there was an area where black America needs an intervention, it’s wellness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of all black women age 20 and over have high blood pressure, and 54 percent are obese. And blacks are 20 percent more likely to report psychological distress than whites. This is an area where it’s easy to change your trajectory. Start by using this tool to receive a personalized checklist of health screenings you need, including detailed information on each. Then check out this list of preventive services covered by Obamacare, and find out where you can get free or low-cost care. For help with local advocacy, join your local NAACP chapter, or partner with the American Public Health Association.

Kenneth Braswell, Sr., Executive Director of Fathers Incorporated and Director of the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
“The stability of, and commitment to, family must be our number one priority in 2013. Both of those begin with a focus on our children. More than ever it will be critical that black families place children first in our priorities. In 1965, the Moynihan Report prompted America to pay attention to the formation of black families. Much of what it predicted has come to pass—73 percent of our children being born into out-of-wedlock households is proving that Black men and women are less likely to commit to each other. We are losing our sense of collective purpose and family, and because of it, the well being of our children is suffering. We need a 100 percent commitment to ensure that our children receive everything they need from both parents.”

How Tobacco Companies Are Killing Our Black Teens

Here's what we can do to help

You would have had to have been born yesterday to not know that cigarettes are terrible for you. So it makes sense that, increasingly, the folks who turn to cancer sticks are, in fact, minors who have never known a time when pagers were the height of on-the-go technology, or Tupac wasn’t a martyr.

According to the American Lung Association, 90 percent of all smokers take their first puff before the age of 18, and 99 percent light up by the age of 25.

Rashe Warren is one of those young smokers. The Baltimore native had his first cigarette at 15; just one of the 3,800 teenagers who try cigarettes for the first time each day. Seven years later, he’s still hooked.

“I saw it around me—home, school, outside, everywhere—and wanted to try it," said Warren, now 22 years old. "I kinda liked it, so I just went with it."

[Cig Co.'s Don’t Have to Show Graphic Warnings]

Warren says cigarettes seemed like a better alternative to illegal substances like marijuana, but he knows they are dangerous. “I wouldn’t say smoking isn’t gonna kill me, ’cause I know that it can. So I try to lighten up on it, and smoke less than I used to,” he said. He currently smokes 11 cigarettes each day.

He’s right. According to the Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, 1,200 smokers die each day. And cigarette manufacturers are working overtime to replace the dead; each day they entice at least two young people to become regular smokers.

Nationwide, about 20 percent of adults smoke cigarettes; that percentage jumps to 23.1 percent for African Americans. More than 600,000 middle school kids smoke, along with 3 million high schoolers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 43.5 percent of black teens have smoked a cigarette at some point in their young lives, and three-quarters of them continue smoking as adults.

It’s not by chance that they try them. United States tobacco companies spend more than $100 million an hour marketing their products. And it works; upward of 80 percent of underage smokers choose the three brands that are the most heavily advertised. The average young person is exposed to 559 tobacco ads annually; African American adults see 892 ads each year.

A 2011 study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine found that in California neighborhoods with high schools, as the number of black students increased, the amount of local advertising for menthol cigarettes jumped, and the price of said cigarettes dropped—a combination that entices young folks to purchase mentholated cigarettes in increasing numbers.

“Menthol cigarettes serve as a starter product for youth smoking. We need to protect our youth from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and findings from this study further support a ban on menthol flavor in cigarettes,” said study coauthor Amanda Dauphinee from the Stanford Prevention Research Center.

Rape on Campus

One in five female students has been sexually assaulted

For most students, college is a dream, full of promise, ripe with new experiences for academic and social growth. But for too many women enrolled in undergraduate school, college ends up being a waking nightmare. One in five female students experience either attempted or completed sexual assault during their tenure, according to a study in the Journal of American College Health, making rape the most common violent crime on college campuses nationwide (6 percent of men are assaulted). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) may be a bastion of opportunity for black women, but nearly one in seven have reported assault there, too.

Beyond campus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that women are four times more likely to be violated between the ages of 18 and 24 than at any other time. And while 17.7 percent of all white women experience some type of sexual assault in their lifetime, that rate is 18.8 percent for black women, and 24.4 percent for those who identify as mixed race.

But these numbers don’t tell the whole story—the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that just 27 percent of all rapes were reported last year. On college campuses, that report rate drops to a mere 5 percent.

There seems to be a perfect storm of issues that make students especially vulnerable to sexual assault during their college years. “College campuses can foster a false sense of security. Rapists look to exploit vulnerabilities that can arise in these environments, as students let their guards down in social situations. The majority of these assaults are committed by someone known to the victim,” says Katherine Hull, spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

That’s the case at least 80 percent of the time, whether they are currently in an intimate relationship or casual acquaintances. Women (and men) are less likely to report assault when it’s at the hands of someone they know for many reasons, including fear of retaliation, concern that the school won’t help them, uncertainty as to whether it was rape, worry that they won’t be believed, and feelings of guilt and shame.

[ALSO READ: Republicans and Their Obsession with Rape]

Alcohol and drug consumption are also tied to an increased risk of assault. Nine out of 10 campus cases involve alcohol, according to the Center for Problem Oriented Policing, with both offenders and victims imbibing before the attack. Drinking is associated with heightened aggression, misreading of cues, and a decreased ability to protect oneself.

The job of protecting students naturally falls to the universities where the assaults are happening. But recent high-profile cases, like one at Amherst College that resulted in suicide, have left some wondering if they are doing enough. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) research shows that nearly half of all college students ages 18 to 24 have five or more drinks in one sitting at least once a month. Yet six years after NIAAA issued evidence-based recommendations to colleges to reduce student drinking, a follow-up study found that only 3 percent of colleges had implemented all of them (just 39 percent had executed some of them). The National Institute of Justice found that only 40 percent of schools offer sexual violence prevention programs, and less than one-third of those programs include information on reducing acquaintance rape, despite the fact that it is the most common type.

Racists Let Loose After Obama's Reelection

Computer screens are the new white hoods as folks take to the web to trash the president

Remember after President Barack Obama was elected the first time, and the media was pushing the idea of a “Post-Racial America”? One where no white person could possibly be racist, because, look, 43 percent of white folks were suddenly colorblind and gracious enough to vote for the junior Senator from Illinois? One where black folks could no longer complain that they were being held back because of their race, because, hey, there’s one of them leading the nation? One where reverse racism was the new thing holding folks back, as white people were increasingly discriminated against in favor of black folks?

What a difference four years makes. This time around, when the election was called for President Obama, there was no pretense of civility, or of a connectedness that extends beyond the very real barriers of race in this country. In fact, the race-baiting was in place long before the president’s acceptance speech. This time around, it seemed as if “Be as racist as you can” was point three of the Republican strategy, right behind “Be as vague as possible” and “Have no regard for people who have less money than you.” From “Invisible Obama” chairs hanging from trees in Virginia, to the Birthers, who continue to demand proof that Obama is American, the racist language took on both overt and coded forms.

[ALSO READ: Obama Hangs in Effigy Outside Church]

It’s the coded stuff that aggravates me the most, the (not at all) sly suggestions from some Conservative whites that he is not “one of us,” that he can’t possibly be that intelligent, that well-educated, that well-spoken, that there must be some type of fraud going on for him to be in the position he’s in. Donald Trump is the bad-haired, big-mouthed personification of this attitude: “I have a deal for the president… If Barack Obama opens up and gives his college records and applications, and if he gives his passport applications and records I will give to a charity of his choice—inner-city children in Chicago, American Cancer Society, AIDS research, anything he wants—a check immediately for $5 million.”

Jason Thompson, son of Tommy Thompson, who lost his race for Senator of Wisconsin to Tammy Baldwin, stomped all over the line at a campaign event when he said, “We have the opportunity to send President Obama back to Chicago—or Kenya.” And former presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich didn’t even bother to veil his intention when he said, “President Obama is the best food-stamp president in American history.”

Where Were You?

Will you ever forget the moment President Obama was reelected?

History is littered with terrible “Where were you?” moments: There’s the moment you found out Tupac had been shot (in my room, listening to my boom box), when you watched O.J. flee the police in a white Bronco (in my auntie’s front room), and, of course, when the first tower was hit on 9/11 (in my dorm room at Howard University, getting ready for class). But we don’t get many positive ones.

So when, at 11:12 p.m. on Tuesday night, MSNBC called the election for my president, I was beside myself, much as I was four years ago. This time, I was blessed to share it with my 16-month-old daughter, who, like her mother, was too wound up to sleep.

[READ MORE: "The Best is Yet to Come"]

It wasn’t just that the guy I was rooting for won, or that the other guy lost. It’s the fact that, despite having voted in every presidential election since 2000, this president is the first one I’ve ever felt was mine. And it’s not, contrary to what conservatives will have you think, because of his skin color. Sure, I love that he’s black; I’d be a liar if I said any different. But the deeper truth of it is, I appreciate the significance of his ascendency in a country where, in my father’s lifetime, people who looked like us where unable to exercise the rights granted to them by the 15th Amendment.

The real reason I was screaming like a maniac is that I knew President Barack Obama would continue to fight for everyone, even those who were angriest about his reelection. There would be no 47 percent left to fend for itself, no class warfare waged to shut out those who didn’t support his candidacy. When he said, during his acceptance speech, “We are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people,” I felt it keenly. Whether or not you think of yourself as patriotic, it’s hard to argue with that notion when you only have to look around to see the impact of the recession.

[READ MORE: What to Expect if Barack Obama is Re-Elected Nov. 6]

That feeling of solidarity is the root of why I didn’t vote for He Who Must Not Be Named. To me, he represented an idea that’s scarier than any tax cut or global warming denial. It’s the notion that self-interest is everything, that taking care of each other is a bad thing, and taking away the rights of others is the American way (even if history shows us that it is).

While I’m realistic in my view of what the president can accomplish with a divided Congress and views that don’t always mesh exactly with mine (thumbs down on drilling and drones), I’m hopeful that we’ll be better off in 2016 than we are today. And as big a deal as this week’s win was to me, I hope that when I remind my daughter where she was during that moment one day, it will be old hat her. As a toddler, she has only lived in a world where it’s not just possible for a black man to run the show, but a reality, and that’s the very best thing of all.

Where were YOU when Barack Obama was reelected? How do you feel? Tell us in the comments.

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Barack Obama's Education Grade

What the president has done on education gets high marks.

While the nation was gearing up for the Olympics, President Barack Obama was quietly extending his legacy. On July 26, he signed an executive order establishing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. The initiative, which will be administered by the Department of Education, aims to “strengthen the nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages, and help ensure that African Americans receive a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, a satisfying career, and productive citizenship.”

It’s not a surprising action when you consider the president’s stump speeches and his own story. At the National Action Network’s Keepers of the Dream Awards Gala last year, he called education “the civil rights issue of our time,” and said that “giving every one of our children the best possible education…is the single most important factor in determining whether they succeed.”

It’s a philosophy that Melody Barnes, the president's former domestic policy advisor, says is ingrained in who he is as a person and a leader.

“For all of us who understand Civil Rights history, ultimately, the fight for the laws and the changes to the Constitution were a matter of creating greater opportunity for African Americans and others who had been treated unfairly. We’ve seen a lot accomplished because of those laws, but at the same time, we know there are still so many barriers,” she explains. “Having worked with the president and understanding his background and his work in communities where there are a number of people of color, and where there are also people who have been in tough economic straits for some time, I believe that education can be the key to moving forward generation by generation. The president and first lady not only talk about that publicly, but they talk about it personally. The president understands that in a very intuitive way, but also in a practical and economic way as well.”

In our Education Special earlier this fall, we reported that from early education through college, African Americans are typically behind the curve. Here, we examine how the education policies of the president’s first term have addressed the causes of this opportunity gap.
 

[READ MORE: EXAMINING OBAMA'S FIRST TERM]

For Shirlene Payne, sending her youngest daughter, Samara, to Head Start was a no brainer. The Westwood, N.J., mother of three had firsthand experience that it worked: She had enrolled her oldest daughter, CheyAri (now 12) out of necessity back in 2004.

“I decided to return to school to complete my bachelor's in social work. But there was no way to raise children and work and do the program," says Payne. "I found out about Head Start through a community agency and enrolled her. Because of the full-day program, I was able to go back full-time.”

There are more than 300,000 African American preschoolers enrolled in the program, which provides early education for children whose families’ income falls below the federal poverty line, which currently sits at $15,130 for a family of two.

Payne enrolled her second daughter, Anaya, in Head Start three years later. “It was such a positive experience. The outcomes where great; my other daughters were socially and academically ready for school. I couldn’t possibly think of putting Samara anywhere else.”

Payne was so impressed with the program that she joined the board of directors for the Bergen County Community Action Partnership, which administers the program locally. As the liaison for policy counsel, she’s very familiar with the impact of the president’s $5 billion investment in early learning programs, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Pro vs Con: Should We Immunize Our Children?

Two powerful arguments for an issue dividing the nation

It’s a decision that many new parents struggle with: To vaccinate or not? Everyone has an opinion on the subject, from pediatricians who refuse to see children who aren’t fully vaccinated, to parents who swear by the Dr. Sears Alternative Schedule, to those who won’t let a needle touch their little ones on religious grounds. But which is the right path for your family?

We asked folks on both sides of the debate to make their case. Dr. John Snyder, associate director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Baystate Children’s Hospital is on the pro side; that is, he thinks children should be vaccinated according to the schedule recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On the other side is Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center, a nonprofit she co-founded in 1982 to “prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education.” We asked both the exact same questions; their answers have been edited only for clarity and space. Give it a read, then head to the comments to tell us where you fall in this debate. Let the discussion begin:

Loop 21: How and why was the CDC/AAP/AAFP-recommended child immunization schedule developed?

John Snyder (PRO): The recommended schedule of childhood immunizations contains vaccines to prevent the most serious vaccine-preventable infectious diseases posing a threat to infants and children. Many of these diseases were true scourges of humanity in the not-so-distant past, killing or seriously harming large numbers of children every year. Because of these vaccines, many parents today have never seen or perhaps even heard of some of these diseases. Most pediatricians base their vaccine recommendations on those put forward by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which are usually echoed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Practitioners (AAFP). Before these recommendations are made, however, a vaccine must undergo a long and rigorous process of basic science and clinical trials, and subsequent FDA approval. These include:

• Preliminary academic research
• Three phases of pre-licensure trials which look at different aspects of the vaccine, from efficacy to safety
• Post-licensure trials if the FDA approves the vaccine
• Scrutiny by the ACIP, a panel of medical and public health experts (including virologists, infectious disease specialists, and epidemiologists) that weighs the safety and efficacy data as well as the public health ramifications for each vaccine, and advises the CDC on vaccine recommendations

The decision to include a vaccine in the recommended schedule of routine childhood immunizations involves close consideration of the public health benefits as well as the safety and efficacy data for that particular vaccine. The timing and frequency of doses is determined by a variety of factors, including when is the threat of the disease greatest, what is the efficacy of the vaccine at different ages, and how safe is it at that age.

[ALSO READ: CDC Backs HPV Shot for Boys]

Barbara Loe Fisher (CON): A century ago, only one vaccine was recommended by public health officials and doctors and was mandated by states for children to attend school: smallpox vaccine, which was given to children at age 1. In 1949, the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccine was licensed and five doses recommended for infants and children by the CDC and AAP. After that, the polio vaccine was licensed in 1955 and measles vaccine in 1963 and added to the list.

For the past 30 years, the CDC and medical trade associations, such as the AAP, have issued additional vaccine use recommendations for children following the licensure of new vaccines, including those for Hib, hepatitis B, chickenpox (varicella zoster), pneumococcal, rotavirus, hepatitis A, HPV, meningococcal and influenza.

Binders, Malarkey: Funny, But Not Enough to Win This Election

We have to do more than repeat the candidates' catch phrases come Nov. 6

As a child of the ’80s, catch phrases have played a prominent role in my life. From Mr. T’s forceful “I pity the fool!” to Scarface’s terribly-accented “Say hello to my little friend,” some cats are still using some of the biggest ones at (in)appropriate times.

We’ve seen a surge of new catch phrases in the last few weeks of this election cycle. While slogans have long been election mainstays—Hoover’s “A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage” in 1928, Eisenhower’s “I like Ike” in 1952, Obama’s “Yes we can” in 2008 come to mind—the candidates’ off the cuff remarks have quickly become more widely known than the phrases the campaigns spend millions plastering on bumper stickers, T-shirts and online adds. Blame the combination of televised debates and real-time second screen commentary on social networks like Twitter and Facebook; we don’t even have to wait for the media to tell us what’s resonating with viewers. Before the closing statements are delivered, we know exactly what the latest catch phrase will be (at least among those who actually watch debates).

Joe Biden created several new memes during his performance at last week’s vice presidential debate. Thanks to him, I’ve shouted, “That’s a bunch of stuff!” and “Malarkey!” at least 270 times, mostly at my (slightly annoyed) husband. And after watching the second presidential debate on Tuesday, we have a few new catch phrases to add to the lexicon. The first came from Mitt Romney, who in response to a question about workplace gender inequality, spoke about “binders full of women” he requested when looking to fill staff positions. Of course, #bindersfullofwomen began to trend on Twitter almost immediately. The second came when Romney thought he had President Obama’s back against a wall about the attack in Benghazi, and the president essentially told him to go sit down. I promise you, “Get the transcript” is not only the latest catch phrase, it is the new black.

Debating the Truth

From Big Bird to boldfaced lies, the first presidential debate proves we need to educate ourselves during this election cycle.

Watching debates are always more than a little stressful to me. I get wrapped up in the rhetoric, angry with ineffective moderators, and pissed off by the half-truths and straight up lies. So of course last night’s debate had me turned up to eleven. Here are my top takeaways:

Folks really love Sesame Street. When GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that he would wipe out the deficit by getting rid of the famous kids’ show, which has been running on public television since 1969, the Internet lit up. Facebook was immediately populated with pics of the show’s famous Muppets in angry stances, and Big Bird suddenly had several new Twitter accounts, including one that already has nearly 17,000 followers and spouts missives such as “Tonight’s Sesame Street was also brought to you by the numbers 4 and 7.” But I’m not surprised Romney has beef with Sesame Street. It’s clearly a bit hood (um, Oscar the Grouch, anyone), hella integrated (Black folk, white folk, Hispanics, and monsters, son), and full of lessons about doing right by the community—all things that haven’t exactly been hallmarks of the Republican candidate’s campaign. Romney had better pray he doesn’t win this election; the toddlers I know would cut him for messing with their show.

[ALSO READ: Romney Bullies Past Obama]

Undecided voters are ridiculous. I watched the debate on CNN, and they had a panel of “undecided” voters watch and weigh as the candidates spoke. I probably spent way too much time watching the squiggly lines jump around at the bottom of the screen, but I spent even more time thinking about a skit on last week’s SNL that had me dying laughing. In it, undecided voters were portrayed as idiots who ask questions such as, “Can women vote?” and “What are the names of the two people running, and be specific?” and “How long is a president’s term in office? One year? Two years? Three years? Or life?” With just 32 days to go until November 6, I just find it hard to believe that there are folks who are waiting until after the debates to pick a side. Who the hell are these people? Are they the people who pop up in my Facebook feed posting pictures of what they had for dinner when everyone else is talking about the debate and inventing new Twitter hashtags (#imaginaryundecideds)? I’m beginning to think they just want to be on television; stranger things have happened for 15 minutes of screen time.

[ALSO READ: Young Minorities Look for Options]

Does The Occupy Movement Matter?

What has the Occupy Movement done for us lately?

While the nation buzzes over Mitt Romney’s leaked video about the 47 percent of the country he disregards as “victims,” this week also marks the one-year anniversary of a movement that brought another percent-in-the-name group to the world’s consciousness: The Occupy Wall Street Movement first emerged in New York City’s Zuccotti Park on September 17, 2012, with its rallying cry to promote and protect the interests of the 99 percent of us who are struggling to climb out of the income gap.

The world had never heard the cry of “We are the 99-percent!” before that day in the park, yet the battle of the 99 against the 1 percent is hugely symbolic—at least to liberals—of exactly what’s at stake in this year’s presidential election. Not necessarily as a reflection of the people who support each candidate—because let’s not get it twisted, the 1 percent held a fundraiser for President Obama just this past Tuesday for $40K a head—but as a reflection of the people whose interests are valued by each candidate’s platform.