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POLL: Which Viola Davis Look Do You Like Best?

2012-02-23T10:53:00Z

Location: 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California on January 29th, 2012.
Look One: Viola Davis, who won the Best Actress honor over Meryl Streep and Glenn Close, was all aglow with her bronze complexion, gold eyeshadow, nude glossy lips and curly hairstyle.

Location: 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California on January 15th, 2012.
Look Two: A short, layered crop, heavily-lined lids, false lashes and plum lipstick made for a sexy, yet sophisticated statement.

Viola Davis. Photos: Jason Merritt/Getty Images (2)

Separate But Equal? Policy Brief Aims To Ensure Charter Schools Aren't.

2012-02-23T01:06:25Z

Charter schools often promise to bring greater equity to education, but a new brief starts with the assumption that they fall short in delivery -- and provides recommendations to fix the alleged injustice.

"Charter schools tend to be more racially segregated than traditional public schools," said author and Penn State law professor Preston Green III, who sat on a board that considered charter-school applications in Pennsylvania. "What we tried to do is write ways to enable charter schools to promote desegregation rather exacerbate segregation."

The brief, "Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Educational Opportunity," from the University of Colorado's National Education Policy Center features recommendations from both Green and University of Wisconsin, Madison education professor Julie Mead on how states and school districts can ensure that charters are integrated and helpful to disadvantaged populations. It also includes statutes that states can use to help reach those goals.

Charter schools are publicly funded, but can be privately run, and often admit students via lottery. Charter schools advocates argue that educational opportunity should not depend on zip code, and that charter schools allow for educational innovation that eventually can trickle back into the traditional system.

Detractors, however, often assert that charters siphon resources from traditional public schools without equal compensation and that they donât serve specific populations, such as special-education students, in proportion with their existence.

Either way, charter schools, championed by both the Obama administration and free-market entrepreneurs, are growing: This year, as they edge into their third decade of existence, charter schools serve a total of 5 percent of American public school students -- an increase of 200,000, or 13 percent, from the year before.

According to research released in 2010 by professor Gary Orfield of the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles, 70 percent of black charter school students attend a school where the bulk of their peers are also minorities -- compared to 40 percent in traditional public schools.

Orfield's brother, Myron Orfield, a professor at the University of Minnesota who directs the Institute on Race & Poverty, studies charter segregation at a local level.

"I think that charters are an engine of racial segregation. They are more segregated than public schools and cause public schools to be more segregated than they otherwise would be," he said. According to a report he plans to release Friday, from 2010-2011 almost 90 percent of black charter-school students in the Twin Cities are in segregated schools -- a number that actually increased by 8 percentage points over the last decade.

A common problem, Green said, is that charter schools often do not comply with federal civil-rights statutes. According to Orfield, they are legally responsible to do so, but are rarely challenged. For example, previous Supreme Court cases found "single-race schools were intentional segregation," Orfield said. "But charter schools haven't been challenged in this way, because people don't have a picture of how big a part of urban education they are."

But Ursula Wright, interim president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, rejects the premise of the brief. "I believe that charter schools have had the type of success that we currently have, serving 2 million kids across the country with hundreds of thousands on waiting lists, because people do see that we offer in many instances a better alternative," she said. "I can't agree with their starting point. The demand speaks for itself."

She added that she's heard Orfield's studies aren't "gold standard."

The brief includes recommendations for charter authorizers -- groups that approve and deny applications to start charter schools -- as well as state legislatures and the federal government.

One suggestion is that charter school authorizers require that in addition to academic qualifications, charter-school applicants show how "the school will broaden, not replicate, existing opportunities for struggling populations." Applicants should provide evidence that their approaches address environmental factors such as local achievement gaps, the brief said, and charter authorizers should FACTOR? weigh "equal educational opportunity" concerns into renewal standards.

The brief's authors said they hoped its publication would influence the debate. Connecticut is deciding whether to increase charter-school funding. Alabama and Mississippi are considering their first charter-school laws.

Mead and Green recommend that state legislatures explicitly state in their laws that charter schools aim to "enhance equitable educational outcomes for all students, particularly those who have historically struggled," and that "charter schools must comply with all federal laws."

They also proposed new federal regulations, to be considered in the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind: that federal charter-school funding be tied to advancing equal opportunity, and that states are required to collect data on recruitment, retention and discipline in charter schools.

But those recommendations, said Wright, might not be feasible. "To push a federal statute down assuming states are set up to get that level of data is a bit of an oversimplication," she said.

Cornel West Speaks At Vigil For Unionizing UM Food Workers

2012-02-23T00:52:57Z

Moments before taking the stage at the University of Miami's 8,000-seat Bank United Center Tuesday to deliver remarks on the school's 50th anniversary of desegregation, outspoken author, professor, activist, and prominent Bill O'Reilly opponent Dr. Cornel West made a surprise stop in the name of solidarity.

"I was told there are some precious, priceless food workers who are not being treated as they ought," the well-known Princeton professor said, taking the podium at an on-campus candlelight vigil tied to Black History Month in support of workers employed by Chartwells, a food services company that staffs most of UM's on-campus dining options.

"Let's salute them," he continued. "Let us salute them. It's their humanity, their dignity, their sanctity we are here to affirm."

West told the crowd he didn't want to come on campus without addressing the issue, having received emails detailing the Chartwells employees' fight. With some workers making hardly more than minimum wage even after 10 years with the company, Chartwells employees are moving to form a union to demand increased benefits, higher pay and better working conditions.

"It's a beautiful thing to see people from all different colors and cultures here to fight for justice," West observed, surveying the crowd before alluding to the reason for his visit to Coral Gables: "You can't talk about desegregation over 50 years ago -- of course, by desegregation you're talking about the vicious legacy of white supremacy -- you can't fight the vicious legacy of white supremacy without also fighting the vicious legacies of male supremacy and the vicious legacies of imperial arrogance and vicious legacies of class exploitation and vicious legacies of homophobia and anti-Semitism and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim and anti-Latino and these racist immigration policies and practices around the nation.

"So we're here to let our brothers and sisters trying to form a union know that we are behind them. I am behind them. Use my name any time, any place, any way you want," he said to applause, before hugging workers and heading over to the BUC.

Tuesday's vigil was organized with help from on-campus activist group STAND (Students For a New Democracy), whose members believe the UM community has a call to support the fight of on-campus workers for fair treatment -- even if, as in the case of Chartwells, they are not directly employed by the university.

"Employees, students, faculty, and administration have the opportunity to set wages and benefits that reflect the work that Chartwells food-service workers provide," said STAND member Dylan Beasley. "The campus community has a responsibility to set high standards in Miami-Dade county to ensure that workers have access to a dignified life. Supporting our workers is a duty that we cannot neglect."

Hoping to repeat the success of UM's UNNICO janitors and landscapers who unionized in 2006 and successfully negotiated better pay, seniority, and paid healthcare, Chartswell employees have reached out to the Service Employeeâs International Union. Worker Estee Chandler said she can't afford the company's health care plan despite five years of employment.

"For me to have been working at Chartswell all of this time, I only make a little over $9 [an hour]," Chandler said. "I can't even afford to get healthcare insurance for myself, it is very expensive."

A Chartswell spokesperson told The Miami Hurricane this month they support "employees making an informed and educated decision whether or not to join a workers union," but one employee at UM told the paper the company screened a film that showed unions in a negative light, and others complained managers have been intimidating on the subject.

In a published editorial, Hurricane staff argued Chartswell employees deserved the same success as the UNNICO union: "At every booth in the food court and dining halls, Chartwells workers are the ones making our food, serving it and making sure weâre satisfied. For this reason alone, we should care that they too are satisfied."

The Vote Is In: Will $250 Truancy Tickets Stay?

2012-02-22T23:47:40Z

Story comes courtesy of The City Maven.

By Alice M. Walton.

Los Angeles students who are truant from school would not face a monetary fine until their third offense under a proposal unanimously approved today by the Los Angeles City Council.

The amended daytime curfew is expected to receive final approval next Wednesday.

Students who are stopped by police for not being in school would either have to show the court that they have an attendance plan that was developed with a guardian or perform 20 hours of community service over a 60-day period. If a student violates the daytime curfew three times, he could face a $20 fine, which would increase to as much as $155 with court fees. The current fine is $250.

âItâs really difficult for kids to pay that fine. It certainly puts a strain on families and really creates a system that is more designed to help people fail than to help people succeed,â said Judge Michael Nash, who presides over the Juvenile Dependency Court.

Between 2004 and 2009, LAPD and school officers issued 47,000 truancy tickets. African-American and Latino students accounted for 88 percent of those tickets, though they represent 74 percent of the student body, according to a report from the Public Safety Committee.

Los Angeles City Councilman Tony Cardenas spearheaded the change to the curfew.

âTruancy is a very important issue because school attendance rates are directly tied to school success and (are) a proven factor in reducing crime,â Cardenas said. âWeâre going from a purely punitive model to a restorative justice model.â

truancy fine

Earl Ofari Hutchinson: GOP Again Has its Sights on the Voting Rights Act

2012-02-22T23:31:29Z

The landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act must be renewed every twenty five years. In 1981 despite some grumbles and idle threats to oppose its renewal from a few in the Reagan administration, President Reagan dutifully signed the renewal legislation. A quarter century later, again despite the grumbles and idle threats from some in Congress to delay or even block passage, President Bush again dutifully signed the renewal legislation with a big congratulatory celebration at the White House signing. The renewal of the Voting Rights Act by two conservative GOP presidents seemed to assure that any effort to scrub the Voting Rights Act from the federal books was a pipe dream.

However, that may soon change. A federal lawsuit by Shelby County, Alabama has quietly worked its way up through the appeals courts. The county wants much of the Act dumped and has recycled the same old argument that it is outdated, discriminatory, and a blatant federal intrusion into states rights. In times past this claim would have gone nowhere. But during the GOP presidential debates Texas Governor Rick Perry lambasted the Act. That squarely put it back into public focus and political play. State attorneys general in three states have endorsed the Alabama county's challenge. The announcement that Attorney General Eric Holder will vigorously enforce provisions of the Voting Rights Act to prevent voter suppression raised an additional howl from conservatives.

Then there's the Supreme Court. There is little to stop the court from taking a fresh look at the Act, and even ruling that the key requirement that Southern states get "preclearance" from the Justice Department before making any changes in its voting rights laws and procedures is unconstitutional. There are a slew of other challenges in addition to Alabama's to the Act that could give the court's five conservative judges more than enough ammunition to scrap the Act.

The crop of Tea Party driven House Republicans could give the court even more cover to question the constitutionality of the Act. GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul would be one of those. He's publicly boasted that he would not have backed the 1964 Civil Rights Act if he had been in Congress then. On the fortieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act signing in 2004 Paul opposed the symbolic congressional resolution lauding it. Though Bush signed the renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 2006 a core of House Republicans stalled the legislation for more than a week and demanded that hearings be held. They used the same old argument that it punishes the South for past voting-discrimination sins, and they didn't like the idea of bilingual ballots.

A renewed assault on the Act fits right into the Tea Party's endless attacks on the federal government for alleged over-intrusiveness. It would also be set against the backdrop of the hotly contested 2012 battle for the White House and conservatives efforts to maintain or expand their congressional numbers.

The GOP has already pecked at eroding the Act with the rash of photo identifications laws that the GOP governors and GOP controlled state legislatures have enacted. They have one aim, and that's to discourage and damp down the number of minority and poor voters that overwhelmingly vote Democratic.

Despite the solid bipartisan support that the Act got in prior congresses and from GOP presidents, the Act has always been more controversial than many have believed. The popular myth is that congressional leaders were so appalled and enraged at the shocking TV clips of Alabama state troopers battering civil rights marchers in Selma in April 1965 that they promptly passed the landmark law that restored voting rights to Southern blacks. What's forgotten is that the marchers were there in the first place because the bill was badly stalled in the Senate and the House. It took nearly five months to get the bill passed.

Then Senate minority leader, Illinois Republican Everett Dirksen, heaped amendments on the bill that included scrapping the poll tax ban, adding exemptions and escape clauses for Southern counties, and excluding all states outside the South. House Republicans tacked more amendments on the bill to weaken it. The fight over these amendments dragged on for weeks in Congress. The biggest fight, though, was over the poll tax ban. The tax was the most odious and hated symbol of Southern racial exclusion. Civil rights leaders were enraged when the Senate refused to eliminate the poll tax, arguing that it wouldn't pass constitutional muster. House leaders agreed.

There's no real threat that a majority in Congress will switch gears and vote to scrap the Act in the immediate future. However, the action of many state officials, attorneys general and the always looming shadow of the Supreme Court are strong warnings that the Voting Rights Act could again be in the sights of the GOP.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on American Urban Radio Network. He is the author of How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is host of the weekly Hutchinson Report Newsmaker Hour heard weekly on the nationally network broadcast Hutchinson Newsmaker Network.

Follow Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/earlhutchinson

Idris Elba Set To Play Nelson Mandela In Biopic

2012-02-22T23:06:12Z

The rumor that Idris Elba will play Nelson Mandela has been circulating on the web for at least a month or so, today we can confirm that it is officialâ¦

Tyrese, Martin Luther King: Singer Channels Leader In 'A Dreamer's Dream'

2012-02-22T22:58:58Z

A few years ago, singer-actor Tyrese Gibson was in the running to portray Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the Lee Daniels-directed movie 'Selma.' When the film was shut down in the pre-production stages, Tyrese threw himself into research on the late civil rights icon, determined to produce an MLK project of his own.

Rog Walker: A Boy

2012-02-22T22:48:59Z

Many would agree that a child deserves to see the entire world and to know that he or she can be anything that they want to be. This is what we are taught in elementary school, and yet, the primary options are always limited. Doctor, lawyer, fireman, etc. As we grow and mature, these ideas become so embedded in our minds that we don't pursue life out of a vast understanding of the world's options, but rather out of what is deemed "successful" or "respectable."

On my journey, I never realized I was lost (at least not until I actually found myself). I was fortunate enough to discover a truth that remains hidden from most people for their entire lives. My identity and purpose exist in something present in this world, something that may not have been presented to me by my parents, teachers, or peers. I can be spiritually and practically fulfilled living from inward choice rather than a societal determination of success.

Don't buy the hype and don't sell it either. There is an entire world out there and it is up to you to connect with it and decide for yourself what works for you.

Don't buy the hype..
A Boy: A Speaking Pixels Photo Story
Experience the original spread: http://speakingpixels.com/boy

Tio Hardiman: Black History Month Is Real

2012-02-22T22:23:08Z

As we look back on all of the accomplishments and contributions of African-American people across the world. One must consider that African-American people have survived the test of time. African Americans should be proud and very grateful to their mighty ancestors for all of their struggles and not giving up on freedom and justice. Sometimes we forget about all of the sacrifices that were made by African Americans in order for them to be recognized as full citizens of the United States of America. African-American people fought in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. You would think that African Americans would be very bitter and refuse to fight for the United States. However, African-American people became some of the most loyal patriots of the United States of America.

The scars of slavery will never completely heal and it's very important to realize that an injustice was done to people of African decent on the shores of America. Looking back on the journey from Africa to the United States were millions of African people, who were forced into the bottom of slave ships and kidnapped from their homeland. These same African people were treated like cattle or livestock, sold for rum and sugar, picked cotton, raped, lynched, and treated like non-humans for over 400 years. Out of adversity comes greatness.

People like Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, and many more African-American leaders emerged to help African people work on their liberation from slavery. Subjecting people to slave conditions and depriving people of the basic human rights to read or write is very damaging to a people's self-development over time. In spite of all the constraints placed on African slaves, they were able to persevere. The African slaves had a vision of freedom because they were free in their homeland. The American people should always be grateful for the many contributions that former African slaves made to this great country.

There were times when most people would give up and just roll over but the spirit of the African people would not allow them to surrender. Surrender meant giving up on the next generation and everyone should want to make things better for their offspring. I'm not sure how the African slaves held up under such extreme conditions but only God knows what he had in store for them.

If people would take a serious look and this dark period in American history, I'm sure everybody would have a deeper appreciation for the former slaves. To rise up and become intellectuals, property owners, inventors, doctors and lawyers, to build strong families, and become preachers and entertainers when everything was taken away from you in the beginning represents what's real about Black History Month. Black History Month provides everybody in the world with a window into the lives of African-American pioneers and pacemakers that had overcome adversity on all levels. That's why Black History Month is real!

Rihanna 'Forgives' Chris Brown

2012-02-22T22:21:10Z

The-Dream is in full promo mode in new York City for his new single, 'ROC,' which will appear on his fourth album, 'The Love IV: Diary of a Madman,' the follow-up to 2010's 'Love King.' Early Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 22) at the Def Jam offices, while speaking on his project and his upcoming Kill the Lights tour, the R&B crooner spoke to The BoomBox about his role in creating the remix to Rihanna's 'Birthday Cake' featuring Chris Brown.

Erin Harper: Whitney Houston, One Amazing Crack Ho: An Open Letter to John and Ken

2012-02-22T22:15:47Z

Until now, I have not written about Whitney Houston, largely because so many others have. However, recently when a friend told me that Los Angeles radio hosts, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou of KFI AM 640 had referred to Ms. Houston as a "crack ho," I could not remain silent.

"Here comes the crack ho again...look at that, she's doing handstands next to the pool. Very good crack ho...And then you find out she's dead. It's like, really? Took this long?"

Wow. Classy, right?

In recognition of John and Ken's classiness, which obviously makes them much better than two crack hoes, I have written them a nice little letter. If you know these guys, please feel free to pass it along.

Dear John and Ken,
Despite your suspension and public apology, I am still extremely disturbed. Although I am far too upset to present you with a breakdown of the societal structures that led to the advent of the "crack ho" and the subsequent ignorance that is the hackneyed crack ho joke, I am not too angry not to present you with this letter. Nevertheless, if an in-depth analysis of relevant societal structures is what you need, then you might start by fetching a copy of Dr. Tupac Shakur's 1992 Doctoral Dissertation, Changes.

In my world, where you have an open invitation, there is no such thing as a "crack ho" or even a "ho." My friends and I prefer the terms "people who have been victimized by the crack epidemic", "people involved in prostitution", and "victims of prostitution". It might seem a bit crazy, but we actually like to think that these folks just might qualify as human beings and that many did not become involved in these circumstances by choice, or simply because they did not have anything better to do.

As I stated in one of my tweets the night of her death, Whitney Houston was much more than a singer and she certainly was not anyone's crack ho. Each time she sang a song, won an award, or broke a record, she literally helped to enhance the "sense of pride" of African-American girls who had previously seen few artists who looked like them reach a comparable level of superstardom. Furthermore, Houston's reach extends beyond African-American females to people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, including the boys and men whom you would probably call little sissy-faggots for singing her songs.

There are far too many young people who, instead of engaging in junior crack ho activities, spent after school hours refining renditions of "I Will Always Love You" with the help of a voice coach or mentor (because they wanted to sound exactly like Houston) to minimize Whitney Houston to a crack ho. In addition, there is a countless number of people who, because they almost hit one of Houston's famous notes and won a talent competition, were left with an enhanced sense of self-confidence, a known protective factor against the risks that many young people face, to ever minimize Whitney Elizabeth Houston to a drug-addicted prostitute.

Lastly, I was going to include a list of Ms. Houston's formal philanthropic efforts in order to lend further support for why she isn't a crack ho. However, after listening to and reading the personal accounts of how her work touched and will continue to touch so many lives, a list of her formal philanthropic efforts became irrelevant to my case. Simply belting a tune over the airways, in a way that only "The Voice" could, was enough to earn her the respect of never being called a crack ho or any name other than the one her parents gave her ever again.

John and Ken, your comments lead me to believe that you're whack -- you know, like crack. However, instead of minimizing you to crack hoes, I will just hope that you can learn from this unfortunate experience and use the fruits of your knowledge to teach others henceforth.

Warm regards,

Erin Harper

P.S. Allow me to leave you with this video -- I like to call it "The Antithesis of The Crack Ho".

Aretha Franklin: This Is No Reflection On Whitney's Upbringing

2012-02-22T21:49:28Z

NEW YORK — Aretha Franklin says Cissy Houston raised her daughter Whitney Houston well – and that an interview where Franklin said parents need to make sure children "leave home prepared" was taken out of context.

Franklin released a statement Wednesday, four days after Houston's funeral. She was expected to sing at the funeral in Newark, N.J., Houston's hometown, but bowed out because of leg spams she said she suffered after a concert at Radio City Music Hall the night before. She performed again at Radio City the night of Houston's funeral, and paid tribute to Houston as "a very fine young lady."

In an interview about Houston on NBC's "Today" show last week, Al Roker asked Franklin about Houston's superstardom.

Franklin said: "I think parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home ... (that they) leave home prepared, really. She left home with all the right things."

After Franklin didn't attend the funeral, there were some reports that Houston's mother was upset over Franklin's comments and that Franklin was uninvited, a charge Franklin denies.

"Cissy Houston and I have been longtime friends for almost 50 years.Â I have four invitations and parking passes that were sent to me for the funeral," Franklin said. "Cissy does not need ridiculous speculation and neither do I – particularly at this time."Â

Franklin also said her full statement – "This is no reflection on Cissy or Nippy's upbringing," using a nickname for Houston – wasn't aired (a request for comment wasn't immediately returned by the "Today" show).

"Knowing Cissy as wellÂ as I do, I know Whitney left home right and properly.Â I was generalizing and it was a well-intended statement for any young adult coming into the music industry," she said.Â "I was notÂ speaking of anyone specifically.Â "

Houston had fought substance abuse for years. She was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 11, the day before the Grammy Awards. A cause of death has yet to be determined.

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Heavy D's Bio-Documentary Set To Air On Centric

2012-02-22T21:08:12Z

WASHINGTON — The story of late rap pioneer Heavy D will be chronicled in a documentary airing Sunday on Centric TV.

"Be Inspired: The Life of Heavy D" will feature interviews with the Jamaican-born rapper's family and artists such as Will Smith, Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah, according to Centric TV, the 24-hour channel that is part of the BET Network.

Heavy D, whose given name was Dwight Myers, is considered one of the most influential rap artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s, both as the front man for his group, Heavy D and The Boyz, and as a solo artist. He died last November at age 44, from a blood clot in his lung.

Centric said the documentary includes footage from Heavy D's last televised performance, at the BET Hip-Hop Awards last October.

In addition to building his own successful music career, Myers was a big part of the careers of other black artists. Queen Latifah discusses in the documentary being mentored by Myers. Myers also was a record label executive who hired Sean "Diddy" Combs as an intern, and was producer to other rappers, such as Jay-Z.

Myers' talents went beyond the studio to the theater and television. He appeared in "The Tracy Morgan Show", "Law and Order", "Boston Public" and other shows. He most recently played a courthouse guard in "Tower Heist."

Will Detroiters Bother Voting In Michigan's GOP Primary?

2012-02-22T20:51:41Z

Michigan voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote in the state's presidential primary, but very few Detroiters will be among them.

Turnout for non-general elections in the city is generally low, and Department of Elections Director Daniel Baxter said he expects just 10 to 12 percent of the city's 550,000 registered voters to cast ballots Tuesday. The uncontested Democratic primary and the absence of local issues on the ballot are also expected to depress turnout.

Very few Detroit residents vote Republican -- around 13 or 14 percent in general elections -- according to Wayne State University Professor of Political Science Lyke Thompson. Historically Detroiters long have voted Democratic, with the party having dominated elections since before the Great Depression.

"Detroit has had much more connection to the Democratic Party than did the rest of the state," Thompson explained.

Overall voter turnout for the 2008 presidential primary in the city was 15.7 percent. A total of 5,235 people voted Republican. Mitt Romney won Detroit that year, with 1,661 votes to eventual GOP nominee John McCain's 1,306. Ron Paul got 411 Detroit votes.

But in the 2008 general election, Obama swept McCain 97 percent to 2.7 percent. Only 8,881 people voted for the Republican candidate.

Voters are required to declare a party when casting a ballot in the primary. Thompson said one factor that might discourage participation this year may be a new Republican-backed law that makes that choice a matter of public record. GOP legislators said the measure would prevent ostensible Republicans from sneaking their votes into the Republican primary process this year.

But even without the declaration provision, Thompson says a GOP-only primary would draw few Detroit voters.

"You're talking about a population that's pretty sensitive to the Democratic agenda and the need for services and active economic development policies to support them," he said. "When you have a bunch of candidates coming through who say the auto companies shouldn't have been helped and a lot of employment that exists in southeast Michigan is auto-related, that doesn't bode well for high participation."

Baxter, the elections department head, said Detroiters might show up at the polls not to vote in the Republican primary, but to cast a Democratic ballot for Obama.

"The caveat to the Democratic ballot is the Democratic Party is not recognizing the results of this particular election," he explained. But nonetheless, "people will show up and vote the Democratic ballot."

Thompson sees "a very great loyalty" to Obama among Detroiters. Looking forward to November, he predicts another big win for the president in the city, and even the same high voter turnout as in 2008 (53.5 percent).

"Those voters will get out and vote for Obama," he said. "There may be some white liberals that are ambivalent in other parts of the region that might not turn out as much for Obama as they did in 2008, but that won't apply in Detroit."

As for the Republican candidates?

"They have little chance with Detroit voters," Thompson said.

David Alexander Bullock: Whitney Reminds, Black History Demands -- We Must Choose to Lose

2012-02-22T20:41:00Z

By and by, I'm goin' to lay down this heavy load. By and by, by and by, I'm goin' to lay down this heavy load. - Negro Folk Song

The death of Whitney Houston was tragic. She was young. She was talented. She was beautiful. She brought us joy. Her death is tragic for at least two reasons. First, it is tragic because we have lost a great artist, a great entertainer -- someone who brought us joy. Second, It is also tragic because it reminds us of human frailty and reawakens us to our mortality. We are a people who run from these two realities -- loss and death. The death of Whitney Houston forces us to confront and consider the powerful lessons taught by loss and death.

In a culture obsessed with accumulation, we deny the truth that life is really about loss. All great human achievement requires loss. The blessing of conception requires the loss of virginity; the joy of childbirth requires the loss of the womb's protection. Indeed, great artist like Whitney lost privacy and the security of anonymity in order to become an American icon. Many believe Christ lost his life to secure humanity's salvation. According to others, Buddha teaches we must lose our connection to material things to ultimately become enlightened. Loss is the truth of life. The key is to choose wisely what we are willing to lose. African-American history teaches us to lay down that heavy load.

If loss is a key to ultimate happiness, then death is the door. This does not always mean physical death -- death has many manifestations. Still, death is the gateway opened by loss that leads to our ultimate authentic life. Christians celebrate dying to sin. America celebrates the death of Jim Crow and obvious institutional racism. The poor often wish for the death of poverty. On today -- with Whitney's funeral -- we celebrated the death of the heat and flame of celebrity living that dried out the well of songs joy. We miss her, but we know now that she is finally at rest.

Our freedom demands we choose what we will lose. Our freedom is exercised by deciding on the terms of our spiritual, cultural, political, economic or physical death. Whitney reminds us that in life we experience loss and ultimately all of us must die -- but our loss and death have purpose. Black history helps us discover that deeper purpose. It inspired us to choose to lose the institution of slavery, the habit of racism and the legacy of economic apartied. It demands we die to an unhealthy commitment to states rights, insensitivity to poverty and a greed that demands maximal profit in the face of obscene levels of wealth inequality.

Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they all died to low self-esteem and ethnic inferiority -- they loss a heavy load. John Brown, Lyndon Johnson, Mother Teresa all died to an insensitivity to poverty - they loss a heavy load. Today we are challenged to choose the terms of our death and what we will lose. Lets us choose to die to a corporate culture that puts profit before people, a political culture that stifles direct democracy and a social culture that denies the legacy of human dignity present most vividly in African-American history. Let us choose to lose racism, sexism and classism. Let us all lose a heavy load.