Brooklyn, NY - - - I See Promotions, LLC, in conjunction with the Ajile L. Turner Scholarship Fund, is pleased to announce the return of the Fort Greene Festival on Saturday, June 26, 2010. Continuing in Brooklyn’s history of great outdoor festivals, the Fort Greene Festival (FGF) enters its second year this summer and is expected to once again attract thousands of people to the day long affair. Hip Hop artist and actor Common will headline the program; Malik Yoba will host, and Rosie Perez will co-host. Now dubbed, The Art, Soul, and Future of Brooklyn, FGF will continue in its mission to celebrate the cultures, cuisine, and artistic diversity of Brooklyn. The full day program, from 12:00 noon to 10:00 pm, is a mixture of musical performances, food, film, and shopping. The official entrance to the festival will be at the corner of DeKalb Avenue and Washington Park in the Fort Greene section of Central Brooklyn.

The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center For the Arts 2nd Annual Benefit Concert will take place Wednesday, June 16th 2010 at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts.

Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts
5616 Memorial Drive
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Toll Free: 1-888-875-TASF / 404-298-4222 tel
404-298-4223 fax

Tickets are $35 on the day of the event. For more information call 404.298.4222.

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY MIKE EPPS, RICK ROSS, BUN B, TOO SHORT, ROSCOE DASH, PILL and More to be announced!

(You must be 18 or over to attend.)

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO BENEFIT THE TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR FOUNDATION

Source: http://tasf.org/events.asp?id=193

The cast of ‘The Wire’ is reuniting in New York for ‘The Wire: Paintball Edition’ for actor Jamie Hector’s (Marlo) non-profit youth organization Moving Mountains.

The tournament will pit cast members against each other as The Streets Vs. The Law. Players include but are not limited to Michael K. Williams (Omar), Sonja Sohn (Kima), Felicia Pearson (Snoop), Anwan Glover (Slim Charles).

100% of proceeds go to Moving Mountains Youth Summer Program

Even though he is no longer in office I can’t help but talk about George W. Bush. I mean what’s done is done and I guess we are not supposed to hold any grudges but what the hell did he do to this country. Before anybody goes all FBI on me, I am not about to threaten him or wish any harm to him but this man has truly messed up America. The crazy part about it all is that it was destined to be so there it is.

In my opinion he caused and allowed 9/11 to happen. You can argue all you want but in the word of Jay-Z, “I don’t believe you, you need more people”!  This Patriot act that he put into play has officially taken away the right of all Americans. I mean just think about it. The act dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies ability to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expanded the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and broadened the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. In plain English…The government can strip you of everything at anytime and if anyone challenges it , they can say ..Oh, I thought he was a terrorist! Law enforcement, police, the D’s , the Jake’s, the pigs, whatever you want to call them no longer need a reason to harass us. If they even dream that we are up to no good, they can get us. Wake Up People!

Are you still asleep? Ok, well it just got worse. Now all of a sudden they feel like there are too many “out of towners” here in America. They are supposedly running out of money and need to clean house after developing this country on the premise that it is the “Home of the Free, Land of the Brave”. Then we get slapped with ARIZONA. Now remember I stated earlier that the patriot act reduces restrictions on Law Enforcement ability PERIOD! So what do they do? Arizona has passed a law; I mean hell the government passed it so each state can join in at anytime.  So technically it was no need for Arizona to say they passed a law because as long as a state has “LAW ENFORCEMENT” the power provided by George W. Bush and his Patriot Act is INSTANT! But I get it, they have to entertain us and make us think that the lawmakers of the state were at work like they are supposed to be. Right! So now, if the Law Enforcement of Arizona feels that you may be illegally here they can snatch yo ass up for investigation. 

So I started thinking, hell this is going to spread soon if it not stopped.  Next it will be you look like you are going to commit a crime, or I think you just committed a crime. Wait a minute, I think we already have that one. We have to stand up for our rights and not let anyone scare us into giving them control of how we live.  It is nothing but a scare tactic. IF they cause major fear, they feel we will run to them for protection. Just think about it, if your children were afraid when you were not around what could you do? Honestly, if you are not there it’s really nothing you can do. But if you wanted to be with them every minute of the day, the only possible things you could do would be to keep them home with you all day and night.(Might lose your job) Or you could attach a camera system to your child to follow them around. (Might be kind of heavy) Maybe you could just wire them so you can hear all activity around them. (Might be irritating to a child) It just seems pretty impossible for the average person to accomplish. Now if the government felt like majority of the population is in fear and they need to step in they would have to and can do all the things above. Cameras everywhere and microphones from satellites listening in so they can so-called protect and serve. Serve us with an ass whooping or jail time because they now can and will know everything that we are doing.

I know some people may think it is impossibel but I am going to leave you with this last thought. We all know cameras are everywhere. But how are they able to hear what is going on IN our homes? I’ll tell you!  I kind of figured it out when I was online playing my PS3 on my new 42in HDTV. That’s my baby! I play others online in NBA Live and I NEVER , EVER turn on or use a mic to chat with others.  So I was playing against someone and had to pause the game and through my TV I was hearing this other person’s whole convo from my TV. I had to ask myself how that is. Hell I’m still asking! I remembered that recently the whole world was converted to a digital signal. This means the only way one would be able to watch ANYTHING would be to purchase a HDTV, (people love gadgets) or to buy a converter box. Not only are they able to control everyone’s TV but digital signals can be tapped into. They know damn well if they asked everyone could they listen into our homes we would say hell no. But with this Patriot Act, there is really no need for them to ask. They can do as they please. And if asked, they can say they are listening for terrorist! Step your games up people!

It is real fear that can be felt when discussing changing the mind-set of the African American community. Immediately, the conversation turns to “us versus them.” Who exactly those parties are marks the disillusion that starts the puppet master games that we are playing on each other. The barometer for success is not based on the consciouness of our actions, resulting in detrimental consequences, which only leads to more tragedy. The numbers speak to an entire generation disillusioned by the where their success is spoken, worn and faked. The educational lie has suggested  that success can be had without it for African Americans, but this has never been the case.   

Understanding the migration trends of new citizens from India and Asia who are the nation’s best intellectuals, would be beneficial to blacks. Pursuing advanced professional degrees in science, math, and technology, as they do, leads to the highest paying jobs. Black leaders demanding jobs for a people with the wrong skill set will leave parents with grown, disillusioned children living at home and a race of people seen as lazy. We celebrate and psychologically escape in the most economically destructive ways. Tricksters and community pimps take full advantage of a race with low esteem by providing places to get intoxicated, spend heavily and get no return on the investment.  

The black community must find our heritage of being owners of our own dreams. Education must find its way into hip-hop music. If that occurs, the less conscientious hip-hop artists of today will finally be exposed as providers of disillusionment. Being the loudest message to young people, the “art” has undermined the aspirations of two hip-hop generations, if there’s no sharing of real employment. It constantly suggests consumption of products made by manufactures who don’t desire our presence in the store, but more importantly we can’t identify any investment they’ve made in our community. A party does not represent investment in a community … it must not be based on brands, manufacturers, or black leaders who can’t commit to having cause marketing programs that up lift our community. We must research our industry employment categories. Getting the highest level of education must be the desire of every child and parent so the example resonates in the home. We must promote obtaining higher education and profession designation in every black household.  

Stop yelling at the young generation about what they do not get when you have not built anything for them. What institutions for higher learning have been built by the last generation of Americans in the 50s and 60s? Why is the younger generation left out of the discussion? Our community must bond to our own collective benefit. We must not create illusions of economic progress, instead we must produce jobs and education forums and training that would make our forefathers and mothers proud. Unfortunately, the leaders of our community should be community principles and not individuals who need their jobs or entertainers who say catchy lyrics that sound great but produce ignorant realties.

Principles of leadership will guide us to our collective greatness, so “I will not kill my brother or sister” would be on our agenda. It will mandate that we have profound and productive respect for ourselves. Economic principles that generate revenue is a must. Committing to do business with our community and to hire and start businesses is critical. Reduce debt and save more. Education principles to acquire and support knowledge and skills that allow me and my family to be desired for our intellectual skills and trade skills should be of top priority. Avoiding occupations that will be eliminated by technology and outsourcing is of the utmost importance.
 Munson Steed- Rolling Out

http://www.joinred.com/

Urban retailer DTLR is hosting free, one-day football camps with several NFL players, representing several NFL teams in cities around the country this summer. The camps, which will take place the month of June, will be held in Atlanta (June 12), Chicago (June 19), Charlotte (June 26) and Washington, DC (June 28).The camps will benefit 300 youth in each market and will include comprehensive football drills for student-athletes entering grades 8 – 12 during the 2010 – 2011 school year. The camps will also offer a complimentary lunch for participants, a fun morning warm-up for parents and a recruiting seminar for parents and student- athletes.

“DTLR realizes sports is often time the dreams of many urban youth,” said DTLR Community Outreach Manager Sherri Goodall. “We want to help them reach their goals; so, we have partnered with several outstanding football players to help them increase their skills on the field. It only makes sense to bring sports, professional athletes and DTLR’s community efforts together in a way benefits everyone involved.”

Camp participants will perform agility drills, offensive and defensive fundamentals broken down by position and seven-on-seven passing drills.

For more information on the camps, contact

brandi@studiobpr.com.

BIllboard.com reports that that Atlanta rapper has partnered with Trojan Magnum condoms for the “Magnum Live Large Project.” The campaign identifies men who use Magnum condums, and will award one $5,000.

Those interested can visit MagnumLiveLarge.com to download an instrumental, to which they can record lyrics about the popular condom line. Visitors will vote on their favorites, and a panel of judges - including Luda - will pick from the top ten.

In addition to the prize money, the winner will have their song played on national radio

, and will win a trip to a Hip Hop festival in Atlanta on June 19, and will also be brought on-stage for one of Ludacris’ shows