The Obama and McCain Wars: The Black Vote by Akindele Akinyemi

The Barack Obama and John McCain Showdown is getting ready for battle. With Hillary Clinton out of the way this should be a battle for the ages.

The pressure is on for me to actually choose a candidate. I originally said I was not voting in the general election this year but with me running for Wayne State Board of Governors that has changed slightly.

Now we have some Black Republicans in Detroit changing their allegiance to Democrats because of Obama. As usual Blacks have no clue on the value system in our community. I have yet for someone to explain to me why I should go with Obama when I have thoroughly read his voting and position record.

If we pull up Obama's record on abortion you will see this:

We can find common ground between pro-choice and pro-life. (Apr 2008)
Undecided on whether life begins at conception. (Apr 2008)
Teach teens about abstinence and also about contraception. (Apr 2008)
GovWatch: Obama's "present" votes were a requested strategy. (Feb 2008)
Expand access to contraception; reduce unintended pregnancy. (Feb 2008)
Rated 100% by NARAL on pro-choice votes in 2005, 2006 & 2007. (Jan 2008)
Voted against banning partial birth abortion. (Oct 2007)
Stem cells hold promise to cure 70 major diseases. (Aug 2007)
Trust women to make own decisions on partial-birth abortion. (Apr 2007)
Extend presumption of good faith to abortion protesters. (Oct 2006)
Constitution is a living document; no strict constructionism. (Oct 2006)
Pass the Stem Cell Research Bill. (Jun 2004)
Protect a woman's right to choose. (May 2004)

Obama's record on the budget and economy:

Can't do anything at home with $12 billion a month on Iraq. (Feb 2008)
Protect consumers with Credit Card Bill of Rights. (Feb 2008)
More accountability in subprime mortgages. (Feb 2008)
Bush stimulus plan leaves out seniors & unemployed. (Jan 2008)
Voted against limiting credit to 30%, because 30% too high. (Jan 2008)
Account for every single dollar for new proposed programs. (Jan 2008)
Help the homeowners actually living in their homes. (Jan 2008)
Bankruptcy bill pushed by banks &. (Jan 2008)
Lack of an energy policy is a financial burden. (Jan 2008)
Bush & GOP dug budget hole; need years to dig out. (Dec 2007)
Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don't need them. (Dec 2007)
Take China "to the mat" about currency manipulation. (Dec 2007)
Rejects free market vision of government. (Oct 2007)

Obama's record on affirmative action:

Apply affirmative action to poor white college applicants. (Apr 2008)
Fight job discrimination to give women equal footing at jobs. (Feb 2008)
Remove discriminatory barriers to the right to vote. (Feb 2008)
Benefited from affirmative action but overcame via merit. (Dec 2007)
Include class-based affirmative action with race-based. (Oct 2007)
Better enforce women's pay equity via Equal Pay Act. (Aug 2007)
Blacks should infiltrate mainstream to affect change. (Aug 2007)
African-Americans vote Democratic because of issue stances. (Jul 2004)

Obama's record on Gay Rights:

Being gay or lesbian is not a choice. (Nov 2007)
Decisions about marriage should be left to the states. (Oct 2007)
Homosexuality no more immoral than heterosexuality. (Oct 2007)
Ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples; they know already. (Sep 2007)
Has any marriage broken up because two gays hold hands? (Aug 2007)
We need strong civil unions, not just weak civil unions. (Aug 2007)
Legal rights for gays are conferred by state, not by church. (Aug 2007)
Disentangle gay rights from the word "marriage". (Aug 2007)
Gay marriage is less important that equal gay rights. (Aug 2007)
Gay rights movement is somewhat like civil rights movement. (Aug 2007)
Let each denominations decide on recognizing gay marriage. (Jul 2007)
Supports health benefits for gay civil partners. (Oct 2006)
Opposes gay marriage; supports civil union & gay equality. (Oct 2006)

Obama on Education:

Evolution & science aren't incompatible with Christian faith. (Apr 2008)
Children's First Agenda: zero to five early education. (Feb 2008)
$4,000 college tuition for 100 hours' public service a year. (Feb 2008)
Put billions of dollars into early childhood education. (Jan 2008)
Need after-school and summer programs with good parenting. (Jan 2008)
Get parents re-engaged in educating the children. (Dec 2007)
We need a sense of urgency about improving education system. (Sep 2007)
Nationwide program to reconstruct crumbling school buildings. (Sep 2007)
STEP UP: summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged. (Aug 2007)
We left the money behind for No Child Left Behind. (Aug 2007)

Obama on families and children:

Teach both abstinence and contraception to teens. (Apr 2008)
Expand flex-work & Family and Medical Leave Act. (Feb 2008)
Parents should control what's coming over the airwaves. (Jan 2008)
Restore dream of making children's lives better than parents. (Dec 2007)
All kids should learn about sexual abuse. (Jul 2007)
Sex Education for Kindergarten is OK. (Jul 2007)

Obama on Universal Health Care:

Universal health care means anyone who wants it can get it. (Feb 2008)
Insurers are happy to have a mandate; issue is affordability. (Feb 2008)
Voluntary universal participation, like in Medicare Part B. (Feb 2008)
Mandating kids' insurance ok; mandating adults has problems. (Feb 2008)
Young adults up to age 25 can be covered under parents' plan. (Feb 2008)
His plan does more than anybody to reduce costs. (Feb 2008)
His health plan does not leave 15 million people uncovered. (Feb 2008)
Adults will get health care as they can afford it. (Feb 2008)
AdWatch: punishing uninsured families doesn't make sense. (Feb 2008)

I think you get how liberal this guy really is. Yes, the Republicans have not done a good job in defending their values either but my God do you really want someone like Obama in the White House?

He will be in the White House come January 20, 2009 because I do not see the Republican Party coming up with a national strategy to sway Black voters to vote for McCain. Nothing is on the local radar, state radar or national radar. The Senator from Arizona is already in the hole with his age (71 years old). 99% of Blacks will vote for Obama once he receives the nomination.

What are the Republicans going to do this time? Spend $2-$3 million dollars on radio ads like they did before? Or just ignore the Black community because they already assume that Obama has locked up the Black vote. This type of pathetic thinking and planning is always going to doom us. It did not help at all for Sean Hannity to consistently attack Rev. Jeremiah Wright and for Rush Limbaugh to tell Republican voters in Indiana to cross over the vote to defeat Obama. All you are doing is pissing off more Blacks who would be Republicans but would rather stick with the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party must design a serious plan to gain the attention of Blacks here in the urban communities. The ignoring the urban community in each state where there is a large Black population must cease. In Indianapolis the Republicans are doing a horrible job in attracting Blacks because of the lack of consideration of those who might be interested.

I cannot see McCain gaining 10% of the Black vote against Obama in the general election. That is a tough sell. He could get 15% of the Black vote if he was going up against Hillary Clinton.

But as for me I am not swaying either way for now. I am not the type of person who swings for the candidate because he is Republican. Remember, this is the same McCain who voted against a MLK holiday in Arizona (remember the Public Enemy song By The Time I Get To Arizona?). Now he claims he was wrong. What the hell did you vote against it in the first place when MLK was a Republican? Can we say race was involved in this original decision?

Maybe the National Republican Party is not interested in Black people after all. Remember the "Give us a chance and we will give you a choice" campaign by the RNC back in 2006? Blacks in our community did not take a chance on the Republicans and their choice was Democrats. Again, what will we do now in 2008?

Just like the Democrats take advantage of the Blacks the Republicans ignore the fact that values must come first not greed and money. Politics is just that..many tricks. My bigger concern is how Black Republicans wait for the RNC to send them money for their grassroots efforts. With Blacks generating over $800 billion a year in the U.S. economy we should fund our own efforts. I have no patience waiting for a organization that is out of touch with their own White constituency let alone Blacks and other minorities.

What I urge people to do is vote your values first. I am voting my values not just the party. I love how some of these old time Republicans like to use scare tactics against me when criticizing our party when knowing dog gone well you have no inroads in the Black community from a grassroots level. So, in other words get behind me Satan and follow the leader because you need true urban conservatives like myself who can reach out to people who are sitting on the fence in Detroit, Benton Harbor or Saginaw.

We can sit all day and talk about how the Democrats have done this and how they have turned our inner cities into socialist wastelands. I think we know that...even some of the Democrats who I have spoken with have concluded with our positions. However, we are NOT making the connection between being a true Republican who live and practice what we preach and how it can benefit the Black community. If we were making progress then Obama would not be popular among Black folks. We make excuses about how the "liberal" media suppresses our message. Have we forgotten about the power of blogging, podcasting and Internet and Satellite radio? What about all of those Black Republicans who are multi-millionaires who can help get the message of hope out? How many of them have bought ads for the Black Republican magazine that is published by the National Black Republican Association? Why did the Black Family Channel have to fold? How come we are NOT supporting our urban conservative radio shows on the air right now? Are you even listening to my podcast at www.michiganminorityreport.com?


My point is this...regardless of what you call yourself (Democrat, Independent or Republican) we are STILL our worst enemy in our community. It's almost like moving from liberal plantation to the conservative plantation to the independent plantation. All three plantations lack a true vision and focus on what we need to do for our community. Liberals believe in the most asinine values like abortion, same sex marriage, welfare, failing public schools, universal health care and bringing the troops home from Iraq. Conservatives, on the other hand, feel that Blacks should vote Republicans because they reject those values but use God and the Bible as a wedge issue and a dividing point when conservatives should be in the business of educating the blind man and woman. Independents are not really independents but do not want to be labeled. However, in Detroit, a Black independent is really a Democrat because I have never seen a Black independent at a Republican function...ever. They never come out because race is blocking their hearts and I have heard some of these Black "independents" discuss how going to a Republican meeting is like going to a Ku Klux Klan meeting without the white sheets over their heads or a skinhead meeting. If they see Blacks in the Republican Party we are either rich, Uncle Toms or sellouts.

There is no way in the world that liberal theology, liberal education and liberal politics should be dominating our urban landscape. I do not blame this on White liberals, independents or conservatives I put the blame on educated and uneducated Blacks who know better but refuse to do better. We are our own worst enemy.

Remember Keith Butler and Mike Bouchard in that U.S. Senate race in 2006 where we had people inside the Republican Party working against Butler? Yet, they wanted inclusion in the party? Come to find out that Butler's own Black congregation sabotaged his election in the primary by voting against him (they mostly voted Democratic) because the congregation did not want to see him leave as Bishop of Word of Faith.

I want to see Obama and McCain go head up in a general election so I can see the strategy of the Republican Party as it relates to the Black vote. This should be really good.

Why You Should Support Dr. Carol Weaver by Akindele Akinyemi

A while ago I told you that I was supporting Dr. Carol Weaver for State Representative in District 7.

Nothing has changed. The story is STILL the same. We are still moving forward making Dr. Carol Weaver our next State Representative in that district.

I will tell you exactly why I am urging people to get behind me and support Carol Weaver on Tuesday, August 5, 2008.

Under a Dr. Weaver leadership Detroit will be on the verge of becoming an international financial market similar to what we see with the Four Asian Tigers. Hong Kong, alone, is the closest you will see how the free market operates. Detroit must begin to operate from a free market perspective.

Dr. Weaver international business expertise is sorely needed in Detroit. This is one candidate who is an independent thinker. You will not have to worry about her following the crowd. She is not connected to anyone but the community she has been serving.

Her stance on educational choice is paramount. Dr. Weaver fully understands that parents in the City of Detroit are desperate for educational options. Because Dr. Weaver has concluded that quality education is connected to building an emerging sector here in our city and state it would be criminal to keep our children in an unsafe and unhealthy environment where school systems have a monopoly on the educational process.

Parents have become more sophisticated in aligning critical factors with their particular needs. While crime rates, transportation, and taxes all come into play, fifty-three percent of public school parents in a recent survey said the most important factor is the quality of the local schools. "Are the kids going to get a good education?" is the question that can make or break a move. Dr.Weaver understand this issue.

One of the strongest educational reform proponent I have personally met in 10 years Dr. Weaver would love for our children to compete in a 21st century global reality. Having travelled the world conducting business Dr. Weaver have a first hand perspective on why educators must raise the bar on education to create jobs and wealth creation in our city, region and state.

Shouldn't every single school board annually demand that each of their students take math & science (and also in history & geography) exams of the same type given to the same age group by such nations as Germany & Japan, for example, and communicate the findings to each student and his/her parents? Parents should demand said results or seek alternative schools. Dr. Weaver will work with educators to make this a reality.

Detroiters should not be surprised that China produced 4 times more BS engineering degrees than the U.S., and Japan twice as many. Additionally, Nobel Prize-winning scientist R.E.Smalley of Rice University reported by 2010, 90% of all Ph.D. physical scientists and engineers in the world will be Asian living in Asia. No state representative, who is an incumbent or candidate, is talking REAL educational reform here in Michigan to help our students compete except Carol Weaver. I guarantee you that NO ONE in her race will even come close on educational reform here in Michigan other than Carol Weaver.

Dr. Weaver have acknowledged the fact that the larger the school the greater the rate of crime, violence, discipline problems, absenteeism and tardiness. Large schools have 4 times rate of serious discipline problems than small schools. She is prepared to tackle this problem without proposing to raise taxes. She wants to give parents options.

Real education reform begins in the home. Dr. Weaver understands how strong, viable families are connected to educational successes. Meanwhile, more state government is controlling education and the result is failure. Dr. Weaver wants parents to step up to the plate and be part of the solution.

Furthermore, here is a woman with complete integrity and a passion that is incredible for her community. Unlike many candidates who I have HELPED get into office only to forget that family, education and economics are prime elements in revitalizing Detroit Dr. Weaver has made this a prime concern in her campaign. Not to mention that she is willing to work both sides of the aisle to help transform Detroit and Michigan into a viable economic engine. She is not afraid of the challenges ahead to support families and support true educational reform in Detroit.

Therefore, stand with me to support Dr. Carol Weaver for State Representative in District 7.

Brenda Lawrence Should Run for State Representative Not Oakland County Executive by Akindele Akinyemi

I like Mayor Brenda Lawrence of Southfield. She made history in 2001 when she became the first Black woman mayor of Southfield beating former mayor and current city councilman Donald Fracassi.

However, what the hell is she thinking about running against L. Brooks Patterson for Oakland County Executive?


Of course the Michigan Democratic Party is setting her up to fail.

While Southfield has made growth under Mayor Lawrence's tenure you cannot leave out L. Brooks Patterson's effort to bring automation alley to Oakland County.

However Southfield has been dubbed at times the carjack capital of Southeastern Michigan. Southfield is not well-regarded in much of Oakland County, so Mayor Lawrence faces an uphill battle just in the fact that she is the city's mayor. Southfield has a serious property crime problem. Taxes are really high, but property values of homes are lower than those of similar houses in neighboring cities. A lot of people in Oakland County think Southfield has been heading downhill for awhile, and that Mayor Lawrence is at the wheel of a sinking ship. Many don't want to take the risk of voting for her under the circumstances her own city is in.

Lawrence claims she can bring in regional transit to Oakland County. How can she do that without raising taxes?

To be honest with you I don't hear too many people talking about moving to Southfield like I used to 15 years ago. It's become another Detroit (we call it North Detroit) and successful Blacks are moving OUT of Southfield and moving into Farmington Hills and Novi. They are moving to Wixom and Northern Oakland County. There is no excitement moving into Southfield anymore. In fact, young people are moving BACK to Detroit of all places because they pay almost the same for car insurance and the schools are not up to par like they were 15-20 years ago. It really has become a second Detroit.

If you drive up and down Northwestern Highway you can see nothing but vacant office space.

I look at malls like Northland and see how that mall has gone downhill in recent years. No more JC Penny and no more Kohls. The Jeepers at Northland must be the worst Jeepers in Southeastern Michigan.

In my opinion I feel that the good Mayor should help transform Southfield into a world class city by not chasing higher office but working and being dedicated to the people who trust her leadership. If anything she should run for State Representative. I believe she would make a serious impact in Lansing as it pertains to Southfield instead of running for a seat that she cannot win at this point in time. Everything she is talking about like mass transit and improving the quality of life can be done on a state level.

The New Underground Railroad in Michigan by Akindele Akinyemi

We need to free Detroit today.

Urban conservatives must began to do things differently that is focused on revitalizing moral values in the inner city. Detroit is Godless because we have moved away from God and have moved towards the most negative energy a person can conceive.





The effects of psychological slavery are real in society. Detroit is not just the only city that is Godless but even the suburbs I visit often are feeling the same effects as Detroit.





I remember One Network member I.C. Jackson from Grand Rapids talking to me a while back about a new underground railroad. She might be onto something. I later found out that the concept was linked to Mason Weaver from California.





Detroit suffers from single-parent homes, drugs, promiscuity, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases, high school dropouts and poverty. Not one Democratic leader in office in Detroit talks about this crisis openly. They are committed to keeping the residents here on the plantation.





Last week, the Detroit Branch of the NAACP had their 53rd annual Freedom Fund dinner. While people were eating and listening to the rhetoric of Rev. Jeremiah Wright there was Rev. Dr. Levon Yuille outside protesting with a group of pro-life supporters. Rev. Yuille is the pastor of the Bible Church in Ypsilanti, MI. If anyone is fighting for freedom it's Rev. Yuille. The NAACP supports abortion because they receive donations from Planned Parenthood. If anyone knows Planned Parenthood's history you would know that they target Black children in our community. Yet, the NAACP fights for racial injustice. If this is NOT racial injustice then I do not know what is.





In fact, the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, said this about Blacks:





"We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members." Margaret Sanger's December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble, 255 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts.





Because the NAACP and the Black Church have sold out their own to be part of a $4 billion industry called abortion we probably cannot rely on them in the long run.





So I.C. is right on this one. It's time we conducted an underground railroad and build our safehouses in the urban community. The LGBT community build safehouses to support their twisted lifestyles. How come Blacks who are seeking a way out cannot build a safehouse?





You would think the church community would be on board with this underground railroad. Not when 90% of the church in our community are practicing emotionalism and only 10% believe that the Bible is the moral absolute truth. That alone is a pandemic.





An new underground railroad will not be conducted by liberals for urban conservatives who are serious about seeking the true experience of God. We must connect with our spiritual nature first (I did not say anything about religion). Urban conservatives then must begin to restore the family structure in our community. This means men must understand their role as the spiritual head in the house. Because liberal politicians KNEW over 40 years ago that if they removed the Black man from the home in the inner city the family would collapse. This was shown in television shows like Good Times (which ran from 1974-1979 on CBS).





Overall, the traditional family is under siege and the challenges for young parents have never been greater. Never before in the history of this country has there been a lower probability that a child of any race will grow up in a family with a father and mother present. We now approach, as a nation, one out of every three babies being born out of wedlock.





Organizations like the Family Rights Coalition here in Michigan are helping us put together a new underground railroad. The Executive Director of the Family Rights Coalition is Michael T. Ross M.D. Here is a man who I have found more passionate about changing Detroit than most church leaders. On Monday, June 9, 2008 Dr. Ross will be speaking at Marinelli's in Madison Heights on the subject of Safeguarding Marriage And Family. I urge you to join in the discussion and join not just the Family Rights Coalition but also support the DADS and MOMS of Michigan.





Children Needs Both Parents are helping us on the New Underground Railroad here in Michigan. This is headed by Minister Ron Smith. Children Needs Both Parents is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, founded and incorporated in 1993. This is a FAMILY organization who advocate the rights of FAMILY and it's members. Their goals include counseling to both parents, supervision of visitation which will allow parents to go on escorted outings with their children as opposed to visitation taking place in a designated room and workplace support.





Robert and Angela Pedersen, R.N and Darrick Scott-Farnsworth runs A Child's Right from Battle Creek, Michigan. A Child’s Right advocates what current research, common sense, and public opinion demands; EQUAL parenting by BOTH fit parents. It is a Child’s Right to have EQUAL and substantial time with BOTH fit parents after a divorce.





If anyone is on the new underground railroad its Robert Pedersen. His commitment to children runs so deep that he plans on cycling 758 miles from Lansing , MI to Washington D.C. A grueling 758 mile cycling trek to raise awareness of a child's fundamental right to be loved, guided, educated and nurtured equally by both fit and willing parents. Cycling for Children's Rights. After pedaling 758 miles the cyclists will arrive in Washington, D.C. within five days. Later in the week the cyclists will be greeted by and speak to thousands at the Family Preservation Festival. on the Mall in Washington D.C.





There are six fathers that will peddle to Washington D.C.





Robb MacKenzie - 2007 cyclist. Upper Penninsula of Michigan - US EPBT Founder.
Robert Pedersen - 2007 cyclist. West Michigan -
Brian Downs, Esq. - Grand Rapids MI - Running for Judge in Kent County MI in 2008
Derek Bailey, MSW - Traverse City MI - American Indian. Founder of Dance4Equality
Mike Saxton - Lansing MI - Dads and Moms of Michigan
Bill Koellner - Pennsylvania - Cycling4Children





These men and women are examples of the new underground railroad here in Michigan. If we do not begin to support people who are pro-family and practice what they preach then our communities will fall even further into the abyss. I cannot understand how Blacks in our community put things like family, pro-life and education on the backburner and continue to support anything that keep us in a emotional funk without thinking about our actions and consequences first. I find more White people in conservative circles MORE interested in bringing conservative values to the city of Detroit while Blacks sit and talk about insurance redlining, pouring more money into the schools, etc.. It's time we give those Black politicans who represent us a report card from a realistic approach. If the NAACP gives out report cards urban conservatives should join in and grade the NAACP, Urban League, and other Black organizations who have sold out to the highest bidder.

I can hear the Black Nationalists/grassroots and liberation theologists now. They have people "struggling" for our "liberation," for our "freedom" and fighting against "racial injustice." This is so far from the truth. It is all based on lies and fallacies.

The new underground railroad here in Michigan must be based on economics not social justice first. Whenever you hear Black people in our community fighting for social justice please RUN. That is exactly what it is...social just-us. Just-us Black folks moaning about what has been done to us. We have to take a Booker T. (Washington) perspective and begin rebuilding our communities economically first.

Instead of opening a church on every single corner in our community how about merging several of those churches into one to create a faith-based engine to save souls. Then create banking institutions in the community so that people in the community who may not have a bank account can learn how to obtain one.

Instead of voting for name recognition we need to support people who understand who God really is and help us transform Detroit into a financial market. I grow tired of people just running for the hell of it and cannot even articulate one position they are running on.

Instead of saying no justice and no peace all the time let's try to promote justice and peace by supporting institutions of learning and faith based organizations that are promoting traditional values in our community.

The reality is Detroit needs MORE Black Republicans and independent conservatives to help balance out the economic, political and social structure of the city. The days for urban conservatives being in the closet is long gone. People are dying for leadership and guess what? They are NOT seeking liberals anymore. They want us to step up and take control of our city and region.

The unions are a thing of the past, Detroit Public Schools MUST die off at once and the automotive industry will never come back. We need Jesus to help guide this city back to glory. 90% of churches are based on emotionalism but 10% believe that the Bible is the moral absolute truth. That is a serious pandemic.

The reason for a new underground railroad?

• We have a church on every corner and have the highest levels of crime, prostitution and drug use/selling. Why open a church in Detroit?

• Detroit Public Schools brag about how their teachers are certified. Only 24% graduate from DPS. 76% drop out. Need I say more?

• We have a Mayor who brags about Next Detroit and building houses. (1) No one is moving into the houses and (2) people are STEALING copper as well as gas meters and electric meters off the houses BEFORE they are built 100%. Thanks a lot Mayor Kilpatrick.

• The Democratic Party has a monopoly on the political spectrum in Detroit. Can someone please tell me what has changed in 30 years? This is nothing but straight slavery 2008 style.

• Black power dominates our city. It has also decimated our city as well. What good is telling people Jesus is Black if Blacks do not even represent Him well with our negative behavior? Sounds like feel good behavior to me.

• People blame the Republicans for cutting services in the city. If we learn to conserve money and stop spending money on spinners on our Yukon Denali or Suburban then perhaps that money can be kept in the community. With all of these churches in Detroit we do not need state government taking care of the elderly or children. That is when free market economics come into play.

• AIDS, Herpes and STDs are rampant in our community. Yet, our children are banging on the stairways, empty classrooms and back hallways at the public high schools.

• We talk about being healthy but there is a fast food restaurant on every corner in our community. Yes, some of our very own Black people own these restaurants that are the main contributor of diabetes. This is racial injustice. However, liberal Black leadership is quiet on this issue.

• We talk about how we need affirmative action. No we don't. The reason? Now parents have to get up off their butts and educate their children and be responsible for their academic success.

• Black schools should be teaching MORE about Booker T. Washington, Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, Star Parker, Mason Weaver, Keith Butler, Shelby Steele, Thomas Sowell, Alveda King, Michael Steele, J.C. Watts, Janice Rogers Brown, Larry Elder, Angela McGlowan, Jesse Lee Peterson, Armstrong Williams, Walter Williams, John Hope Bryant, Ward Connerly, and many other local urban conservatives who have made a serious contribution to helping us get off the plantation. We are so saturated with Black Nationalism and socialism that we never talk about these great men and women of American society.

So yes, I agree with my sister I.C. Jackson. We do need a new underground railroad here in Michigan. I hope you are ready to leave the plantation because there is room over here for those who are seeking the experience of God. Through His power we can transform minds and hearts. But you have to be willing to take that step off the plantation. Otherwise, nothing will never change in our city and region.

Help those family organizations build stronger families in Detroit. Help those urban conservatives build charter schools in Detroit for our children. Help those who care about your health support Melalucca. Help those conservatives promote a free Detroit effort by utilizing the free market. Help support equal parenting rights for children. These are things Black organizations are not talking about at all and its sad.

Help urban conservatives free Detroit today by helping us conduct the underground railroad.

Detroit Needs Vouchers Right Here, Right Now by Akindele Akinyemi

Let us look at the facts here in Detroit. Only 24% graduate from Detroit Public Schools. Over 55% of s read on a fifth grade level. Less than 1% of Black men are working in any educational capacity. And there are restrictions on alternative teacher certification programs even though state universities can activate them at any time.

What I am realizing is the fact that Detroit Public Schools are not, nor was ever, designed to keep children free and help children excel in society. This system was designed to fail. Now we have State Rep. Bettie Cook Scott playing politics by introducing criminal legislation to lower the number of students to 75,000 to protect DPS's first class district status to avoid more charter schools in Detroit.

Let me take this a step further. Detroit has the potential to become a financial market just like the Four Asian Tigers. We can generate a economy similar to Hong Kong and Singapore if we can restructure our education system.

Have you heard ANY of the Presidential candidates talk about education? Hillary will not talk about it. Obama is lying to the people about he has never heard of Black Theology or Jeremiah Wright's tirades in the church. McCain is just old asnd just happy to get the nomimation. But seriously, NO ONE is talking about education. We never do in Michigan except when Gov. Granholm wants to reduce class size by building smaller high schools. A building will not help transform the child's mind and educational level. If you want educational reform you have to reform the Black church and begin to discuss relationship building. To call a school like Denby High School in Detroit "Denby Tech" and have a 9.1% in math is a prime example of Detroit school leaders window dressing the severity of the problem.

I talk about education every single week on the Michigan Minority Report's podcast at www.michiganminorityreport.com You should listen to our podcast and weigh in by emailing us at info@michiganminorityreport.com.

Educational reform is the cornerstone of my existence. We cannot have strong families in the home if we are not educated on the issues at hand. We cannot save our children if parents cannot read themselves. We talk about getting rid of ESL programs in the schools but that would be a mistake because most Black childern in Detroit Public Schools and charter schools need ESL because they are so used to speaking slang off the streets that when it is time to speak correct English they struggle just like someone from Yemen trying to speak English. Black children use English as a second language also in the inner city.

I can tell you one reason why public schools in Detroit fail year after year. Our time-bound mentality has fooled us into believing that schools can educate all of the people all of the time in a school year of 180 six-hour days. The consequence of our self-deception has been to ask the impossible of our students. We expect them to learn as much as their counterparts abroad in only half the time.

For nine months of the year, schools generally open and close at fixed times such as 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., offering six 50-minute instruction periods, no matter how well or poorly students comprehend material. Graduation is based on attendance time rather than academic attainment, yet state regulations require a minimum of only 41 percent of secondary school time to be spent on core academic subjects.

Unyielding and relentless, the time available in a uniform six-hour day and a 180-day year is the unacknowledged design flaw in American education. First, students arrive at school ready to learn in the same way and on the same schedule. Second, academic time can be used for nonacademic purposes with no effect on learning. Third, yesterday's calendar can continue to serve students' needs despite enormous changes in society. Fourth, schools can be transformed without giving teachers the time they need to retool themselves and to reorganize their work. Fifth, students can deliver world-class academic performance within the time-bound system that is already failing them.

Students in other post-industrial democracies receive twice as much instruction in core academic areas during high school. Here are the estimates for required core academic hours during the final four years: United States, 1460; Japan, 3170; France, 3280; Germany, 3528. In practical terms, this means that most foreign students are studying language, literature, science, or two or more languages while many of our young people spend their time in study halls, pep rallies, driver education, and assemblies.

Schools abroad protect academic time by distinguishing between the "academic day" and the "school day." In Germany and Japan, learning is serious business. "Academic time" is rarely touched. In the United States, conversely, students earn a high school diploma if they devote as little as 41 percent of their school time to core academic work.

Many of our economic competitors supplement formal education with significant out-of-school learning time. In Japan, parents spend over $7 billion annually on private tutorial instruction called juku. In Europe, half of the students do two or more hours of homework a day but only seven percent watch five hours of television; in the United States, only 29 percent do that much homework, while 20 percent watch that much television.

School performance abroad has consequences and is closely related to opportunities for employment and further education. Apart from the small percentage of students interested in highly selective colleges and universities, most students understand that possession of even a mediocre high school diploma is enough to get them into some kind of college or job. Conversely, in Germany and Japan, students must pass demanding competitive examinations for admission to universities.

Teachers in other countries enjoy freedom and respect as professionals. Japanese teachers generally spend only 20 hours a week in front of classes, and Germans 21 to 24 hours. The rest of their work weeks-in Germany, 38 hours-are devoted to preparation, grading, in-service education, and consulting with colleagues. In Germany, teachers are held to high standards and treated as professionals.

We can do the same here in Detroit except we have ghetto standards for educating our children. We have a ghetto mayor, ghetto city council, ghetto school board, ghetto State Representatives and ghetto State Senators and a ghetto teacher union. We deserve better.

The other issue here is the fact that our children are not being prepared to learn global education. True educational reform should be placed on heavy rote learning. Rote learning is a learning technique which avoids understanding of a subject and instead focuses on memorization. The major practice involved in rote learning is learning by repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it.

Rote learning is widely used in the mastery of foundational knowledge. Examples include, phonics in reading, the periodic table in chemistry, multiplication tables in mathematics, anatomy in medicine, cases or statutes in law, basic formulas in any science, etc.

We also need to look at the extended school year. For example, an elementary school with 800 students from 20 linguistic and ural backgrounds should operates year-round. The school could alternate between 12 weeks on and three weeks off and close only for one three-week interval in July. During the three-week breaks, the school offers special programs to provide remedial or enrichment classes for about 150 students.


Reinvent schools around learning, not time. There is no point to adding more time to today's schools if it is used in the same way. We must use time in new, different, and better ways. I support the notion that students should master the following common core subjects: English and language arts, mathematics, science, civics, history, geography, the arts, and foreign languages. Detroit and other urban students can meet this core set of expectations just as students abroad do.

Higher education needs to get involved. Higher education already offers a that holds learning fixed and makes time a variable. The school reform movement cannot succeed unless academic institutions honor the results of new standards and assessments. Also, colleges and universities educating teachers must align their programs with the movement to higher standards.

We should also take a look at vouchers again in the inner city. Whatever Dick and Betsy DeVos did before in 2000 did not work. I think we should explore the possibility of creating an exploratory committee to see which voucher program would be the best choice for parents whose children are trapped in failing schools. We have some parents who would love to keep their children in private schools but cannot. These same inner city parents support vouchers.

I fully support vouchers because it helps with competition. Vouchers would inject a desperately needed dose of competition into an arthritic system that has brought the intellectual growth of its youth to a grinding halt. An ideal voucher plan would allow families to add their own money to the amount of the voucher--so that a family willing to pay, for example, $2,000 for education could add that to a $3,000 voucher and be able to afford a $5,000school. Privately funded voucher plans in Milwaukee, and other cities have been used by many low-income parents to pay half the tuition at nongovernment schools in order to remove their children from undisciplined, ineffective, and often dangerous government schools. Surely middle-income families would be willing to put forth the same proportional effort.

In Taiwan, 95% of the children go to college. 96.1% can read. They only go to school 9 years. We go 12 years and our educational system STILL ranks near the bottom.

In Detroit, it is time for true educational leaders to help push for true educational reform to save families from going under. Forget the year 2000 when the DeVos family pushed for vouchers. It is time that we had a new effort to bring all educational options to the table. This includes vouchers.

Black Theology and NAACP Equals Victimization by Akindele Akinyemi

The circus in Black leadership has hit pandemic levels in Detroit. Blacks are desperate to embrace anything other than the truth. Recently, the Detroit Branch NAACP had their 53rd annual Freedom Fund dinner at Cobo Hall. The speaker was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, IL. He is also the former pastor of Sen. Barack Obama.

It seems like people, both Black and White, are polarized over the issue of Wright. Rev. Wright claimed that conservatives have not launched an attack on him personally but the Black Church. We know that is complete nonsense because the Black church is one of the most cliquish sect of people in the community. If anyone is being attacked we are doing it to ourselves.

Of course most White people who I speak to do not understand Black Theology. They dismiss it as a made up or feel good theology. The message of black theology is that the African American struggle for liberation is consistent with the gospel--every theological statement must be consistent with, and perpetuate, the goals of liberation. This theology maintains that African Americans must be liberated from multiple forms of bondage--social, political, economic and religious. This liberation involves empowerment and seeks the right of self-definition, self-affirmation and self-determination.

I would go along with this 100% except this form of theology is based on Marxist philosophy. This is the same philosophy that has kept Blacks in bondage for decades in our own community. Black Theology actually encourages a victim mentality among blacks here in Detroit. Reducing Black identity to "victimhood" distorts the reality of true progress.

The NAACP invited Rev. Wright to speak from a "liberated perspective." Rev. Wright nor the NAACP is in the business of liberating Black people. If that was the case then the NAACP and other churches who preach Black Theology would be in lockstep with the majority of Blacks who are pro-life (from protecting the unborn to stopping the violence), support educational options (such as charter schools and vouchers), and support rebuilding families in urban communities by way of promoting relationship building and marriages. The NAACP nor most Black churches are not in the business of family or relationship building.

To tell you the truth I do not blame Whites for our conditions but ourselves. Blacks feel that we need affirmative action when we don't. We seek handouts when we should teach our children and families to work and earn a living. We vote for the same party that has promoted criminal public policy that keeps us trapped on a plantation.

This brings me to Professor John McWhorters' book Losing the Race. McWhorter articulates three main objections to victimology: First, victimology condones weakness in failure. Victimology tacitly stamps approval on failure, lack of effort, and criminality. Behaviors and patterns that are self-destructive are often approved of as cultural or presented as unpreventable consequences from previous systemic patterns.

Second, victimology hampers progress because, from the outset, it focuses attention on obstacles.

Third, victimology keeps racism alive because many whites are constantly painted as racist with no evidence provided. Racism charges create a context for backlash and resentment fueling new attitudes among whites not previously held or articulated, and creates "separatism" -- a suspension of moral judgment in the name of racial solidarity.

Personally, I think it is the ultimate fallacy to believe that the culture of victimization is kept alive from the pulpits of Black Preachers on Sunday mornings. If we accept that premise , then we must accept at least two other that are just as incoherent. One is that Blacks in America have achieved equality in all of the social arenas. Another one is that any claim to the contrary is a perpetuation of the culture of victimization. Therefore, I disagree with Rev. Wright or anybody else who states that Black people in this country, are oppressed.


The Church in our community cannot preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and sit still while atrocities are being committed against Black people all over the country. A church cannot be preaching of eternal salvation while thousands of young Black men will not make it past 30 years of age. It is the church's intrinsic role to call society's attention to society's problems. We see many examples of that in the different leaders that God chose to to carry on His work. In the bible, from Moses to Jesus, we see how crucial it was to fight against institutionalized "injustice" in order to bring about change. Yet, Blacks continue to be divided over what form of Christianity we need to practice. While most Blacks (both conservative and liberals) are confused about the direction of the church in the Black community I see daily how Muslim communities in Dearborn and Hamtramck live in peace, practice prosperity, and keep their families intact. Yet, these people supposedly practice a false god (Allah) and a false prophet (Muhammad). These people come from Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Egypt, Bangladesh and Palestine. If that is the case how come their children are playing outside in front of their house in a Islamic neighborhood while in a Black Christian neighborhood gunshots are heard and drugs are sold? Who are the real terrorists here?

The Jewish community talks about connecting with Blacks in the urban community when it comes to race relations. However, we know that groups like AIPAC lobbies for American taxpayers money to be sent to Israel to support their infrastructure. Why? Because there is a connection between Christians and Jews right? If that is the case ask yourself why would Jewish people move out of Detroit after the 1967 riots? How come when we moved to Oak Park and Southfield they (the Jews) move further out? Yet, some of them want to come and discuss race relations.

We want to be like the present day Jews but do not want to work as hard as them to keep our communities intact. Jewish people keep their money in their community. Their families are intact. Their women are respectful and keep themselves accountable to their husbands. The family worships together on the Sabbath. Their schools exceeds regular public schools. We cannot say that with Black Christian communities in Detroit.

The same goes for the Asian community. Most Chinese or Indian people practice Buddhism and Hinduism. These people are prospering, families are intact, and are highly educated. Their children are disciplined and they do not make excuses for their vision for education. However, Blacks in our community who practice Christianity claim that their way of life is not true. If that is the case then how come they control the automotive market in the USA right now? How come we find more Indian and Asian doctors than American doctors?

Black Theology has its roots in the Black Power Movement of the 1960s. Some of the strands of this theology comes from African Spirituality (which most ignorant Christians call paganistic even though the very strands of the Black Church comes from West Africa). But because preachers who practice this form of theology keep our people in the dark with its Marxist leanings it is hard for Blacks to forgive Whites and move on in America. However, you never hear about someone from African Diaspora preaching this type of victim theology. Why? Because most Nigerians, Ghanaians, or Jamaicans understand how hard work will pay off in the long run.
Most immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean adapt and assimilate better than those Blacks born and are educated in America. Additionally, crime statistics show that Black against White far exceeds the converse. Perhaps the reason is this Marxist version of Black Liberation Theology, that reinforces the Black concept of victimhood, is then manifest in violence against the alleged victimizer.

A pastor who is valiant enough to use the pulpit as a venue to point out social conflict, must brave enough to use that same venue to point out solutions to the conflict and wise enough to help guide in the implementation of those solutions within his community.

Therefore, Black Liberation theology is not a theology but a political stance which promotes victimology. It is no longer needed in our community in its present Communist form. I am not against teaching the historical, linguistic and geographical perspective of the Bible as it relates to Black people. But what we should be focusing on is the spiritual nature of God and His rules. The Gospel should be taught to all nations, regardless of color.

A Message to The Emerging Leaders In Detroit: Follow Urban Conservatism by Akindele Akinyemi

I was part of the Emerging Leaders panel for the Freedom Institute this weekend. The topic was Which Way Young America, Democrat, Republican or Independent. While this panel was made up with the brightest and the best emerging leaders in our state there was only two Republicans on the panel. Stuart Foster, who is the chair of the Michigan Young Republicans, and myself.

Two Republicans who shook up the panel and audience? While Stuart Foster shook up grounds on asking people about affirmative action I was shocked how no one discussed the family. If you want to bring back America or even Detroit in that manner then you better start discussing the family.

Young emerging leaders in our community have to get back to basics. Most people in the audience realized that I am not your typical playbook Republican. Urban conservatism is what driving me by utilizing family values through educational choice to generate wealth creation in our community. I am not just interested in helping people here in Detroit and other urban areas where failing schools are present but also connecting our young people all across the Diaspora.

Because I do not walk lockstep with traditional Republicans I find myself on the outside sometimes. This works for me as I try to reform urban conservative thoughts to help people understand what it really means to be a Republican.

Emerging leaders must be involved in educational choice such as charter schools and homeschooling. Too many times I hear in these panel discussions and within the audiences how we have to save Detroit Public Schools. First, I am no fan of DPS and second, we should allow DPS to just die off like a old person who is breathing their last breath. This system produced only 24% graduates while the drop out rate is 76%. So when I hear all these groups talking about saving DPS I feel that is a waste of time within itself. We have to take DPS off life support.

If you want to deal with educational reform you have to deal with it from a urban conservative perspective. First, DPS should have a funeral. Second, embrace educational options for our children. State lawmakers are not in the fold of reforming education because of the lobbyists in Lansing and special interest groups. Unless we find policymakers to take up our cause then we are a sitting duck unless we develop leaders who are pro-educational choice in our community who are willing and able to take things to the next level.

Republicans fit the urban conservative value system better than Democrats. As an educational activist most urban conservatives embrace educational options. They also support family issues that I feel can benefit our community. From a racial perspective, I find it interesting how grassroots White Republicans support pro-life, pro-family (shared equal parenting rights, reforming the Friends of Courts, etc), educational options, lower taxes, promote work over welfare, personal retirement accounts. It is rare that I find Black Democrats fighting for these issues.

In fact, these issues in our community are looked upon as "not important" because the NAACP has outlined what we need to fight for in the Black community (insurance redlining, foreclosures, voting and saving a dying school system called the Detroit Public Schools). To me this is called plantation politics. Anyone stepping off the plantation is called a sellout or Uncle Tom. Well, you might as well call me a sellout because my work platform is not about begging the government for anything but following the trend of other Africans and other immigrants who come into this country and work hard that will eventually pay off. Americans are extremely lazy and we are lazier in the Black community.

I still ask Blacks in Detroit why are we still supporting the Democratic Party when our conditions have gotten worse?

The political leadership in Detroit forced me to do something about re-cycled leaders that are everywhere in this city. Detroit needs to come of age and shy away from archaic and re-cycled leaders. Who are these? All leaders above 50 are. All leaders under 60 who have been in power over two terms or eight to ten years are. How many does Detroit have? Several!

The present leadership in Detroit are controlled by re-cycled constitutions within their congressional party guidelines. At some point changes must be made to increase the number of fresh, young leaders to flourish.

When I look at injustices and insanity going on in Detroit, I sometimes feel worried. Tell me. What proves that leaders who have been in power for over two terms can contribute as in-puts to the making of our city they have already ruined? What can they add up to Detroit with their frozen and backward looking ideas? To know what I mean, consider names like Conyers, Cheeks, Kilpatrick, Lemmons, and even Leland. These are people with name recognition and that is how people vote. This is one core reason why our city need emerging leaders.

The other day I was reading several bills from our state lawmakers from Detroit and other urban areas in Michigan have re-cycled the same old liberal policies that has failed the inner-city. I discovered that Detroit suffers more from corruption and tawdry politics than natural calamities.

This is where emerging leaders need to come into play here in Detroit. Even though most of the panel lean or vote Democratic we need to embrace urban conservatism as a tool of progress if we want to transform our city. While most of the people on the panel will vote for Sen. BarackObama (I will not vote for him) we have to be mindful that he is not our savior and that he is for America not just African Americans. All politics are local so we have to transform our city here first.

If any Republicans are reading this they Detroit hear our calling. They want more Black Republicans to take an active role. People want change and the time is now for that change. What political activist who is a Black Republican is in the trenches in Detroit?

Without Detroit doing away with re-cycled ideas and leaders, indeed, the city will remain doomed. Something needs to be done to do away with these ballyhoos.

State Rep. Rebekah Warren: An Agent of the Devil by Akindele Akinyemi

I was reading an article from Andrew Shrivell, Esq on State Representative Rebekah Warren from Ann Arbor on Right Michigan.com. He discussed how Rep. Warren is promoting a package of bills that will radically change how Michigan schools educate children about abortion, contraception, and sexual practices.

Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate say these bills will reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions in Michigan by making contraception and sex education available more widely.

What the hell? That does not make any sense.

Sen. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said this in the Detroit News:

"We should all be able to agree that one of the most important things we can do is to prevent unwanted pregnancy."

Notice she represents East Lansing, home of Michigan State University. There is more banging on a college campus than people graduating. You can prevent an unwanted pregnancy by talking to your children about sex BEFORE they conduct the act.

So here is my sales pitch to the Michigan Democrats who are sponsoring this bill. As we move forward with the Genesis Project to open theme based schools in Detroit we will not follow your radical agenda. I am not interested in teaching children about sex in the classroom unless we are going to teach it in the form of a focus group with parents involved. As an educational leader in this community I refuse to bow down to such radical ideologies, even if you are giving us state funding for these schools. There are some things we need to educate our children and there are some things we need to keep sacred in the home.

I cannot understand why Rep. Warren, Rep Wheeler-Smith and others would promote abortion when this is the leading cause of death in the Black community. God gives us life and as usual we chose death.

1,452 African-American children are killed each day by the heinous act of abortion.

3 out of 5 pregnant African-American women will abort their child.

Since 1973 there has been over 13 million Black children killed and their precious mothers victimized by the U.S. abortion industry.

43% of all black children are aborted, nearly 3 times higher than for Whites. This fact is critical, since pastors and politicians argue that the reason for the illegitimacy rates for Blacks being dramatically higher is because they claim, “Blacks seldom abort their children.”

• Over 15 million African-American babies have been aborted (killed by their mothers) since Roe v. Wade. This is 14 times the total of all U.S. soldiers killed in all of America’s wars over 220 years from 1775 to present.

• Blacks abort their babies 3 times that of Whites, a ratio that has grown by 50% since 1992.

“The top three moral crises facing the Black family are rooted in sexual immorality.” - Star Parker, President, Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (CURE).

With 1/3 of all abortions performed on Black women, the abortion industry has received over 4,000,000,000 (yes, billion) dollars from the Black community.

Conservatives by and large oppose abortion and fight vehemently against it. Liberals like State Reps. Warren and Wheeler-Smith believe that it is a woman’s right to choose. They also believe that people who are conservative are racists so why is it that Planned Parenthood, a liberal organization that fights any limit on abortion, has been caught accepting donations from people who want their money to be used to abort black children?

The other thing I wonder is do any of the Michigan Democrats know that sexual promiscuity is the common thread traceable throughout the shredded fabric of the Black family. It is rampant from pulpit to pew to politician.

A. Promiscuity has decimated Black marriage.
B. Promiscuity has resulted in over 70% of all black children being born out of wedlock.
C. Promiscuity has left 85% of black children without 2 parents.
D. Promiscuity has resulted in a level of fatherlessness unprecedented in modern history and perhaps in world history, producing:

1. Explosive anger
2. Rebellion against all authority
3. A rampant drug trade
4. Murder and violence baffling law enforcement nationwide
5. Prisons filled with black men whose confused lives are torn to shreds, without hope, and determined that someone will pay.

“The quickest way to bring anger, tears and vitriol to any conversation among black people is to discuss the state of Black male and female relationships” (Margaret Kimberly, The Black Commentator, April 23, 2004).

Why aren't there movements to increase the adoption of Black children into loving families?

We should not endorse these State Representatives at all. They are just as bad as State Rep. Bettie Cook Scott introducing that ridiculous DPS bill. They remind us of how decadent our community has become and this spells disaster for us. The churches need to take a more active role in securing the futures of foster children and parenting education.

We do not need Michigan Democrats in the State House and Senate talking about unwanted pregnancies and so-called programs to help prevent it. First, pregnancy is 100% PREVENTABLE. Yes, I know that nothing is 100% effective, but we (men and women alike) need to stop acting like children are conceived in the same manner in which someone catches a cold. An even bigger problem is that these statistics point to rampant unprotected sex which is fueling soaring rates of HIV infection among Blacks. A child deserves love and affection and should be more than a by-product of his or her parent’s lack of responsibility, forethought, and/or self-control.