As President Barack Obama comes close to completing his first 100 days in office this Wednesday, the 100 day hustle has officially begun. By that I mean that political pundits, pollsters and cultural observers alike are all trying to give their spin on the President’s progress thus far. So it is no surprise that today’s New York Times has the results of a poll conducted by the Grey Lady herself and CBS news. Their findings? The survey says that in his short time in office our President has managed to move the conversation on race in this country in a positive direction. Really? Read the full story

When a Malawian judge put the kabosh on Madonna’s adoption of little Mercy,  I can’t say that I was particularly broken up about the whole thing. For the most part, I don’t have an issue with black children being adopted by whites (the children need homes after all). But the way the whole Madonna thing went down seem to be more about money than anything else. But I have got to say that initially I was not sure  what to think about the Newsweek story which profiles the African American family that adopted a little white Irish Catholic girl in Baltimore. Yes, Baltimore a predominantly black city. Read the full story

Earlier this week, singer Natalie Cole (daughter of Nat King Cole) went on Larry King to talk about her need for a new kidney. Before the show had concluded, scores of fans had contacted the show about their willingness to donate their own kidneys (or least be tested for it). Cole is famous so her ability to use King’s show reached millions. Meanwhile it is the grassroots efforts of everyday people that is  mobilizing folks to get  six-year-old Jasmina Anema the bone marrow donor she desperately needs. The effort is called “One For Jasmina”. And although Sherry Shepherd mentioned Jasmina’s plight on “The View” yesterday, most of the coverage of  Jasmina has been limited to local news in NYC. Read the full story

Everyone knows that Madonna is back in Malawi in hopes of adopting a little girl named Mercy. Unlike her three-year-old son David (whose biological father is still alive), Mercy actually is an orphan. Her 18-year-old mother died a few days after giving birth and her father is unknown. But she does have relatives, including a grandmother, Lucy Chekechiwa, who has in some reports has accused Madonna of trying to steal her granddaughter. Children’s organization Save The Children agrees, accusing Madonna of activity verging on a “puppy parade”—basically she’s looking for the cutest child to add to her family. But just like Yohane Banda, David’s dad, who famously flip-flopped on whether he agreed that his son should be adopted or not, Mercy’s family is now supposedly on board with Madonna taking little Mercy wherever she likes. Rumor is that the family buckled in to pressure by both the orphanage and Madonna’s charitable organization. Read the full story

This is one of those stories that breaks your heart when you hear about it. The Huffington Post reports that Regine Revelus and her husband were out of town leaving their 3 daughters with their grandmother. It was just a few days after  their youngest daughter,  Bianca’s fifth birthday. But their eldest son, 23-year-old Kerby, chose Saturday night,  when the family was set to celebrate with a cake, to fatally wound his sister Samantha, 17 and the birthday girl herself—decaptitating his young sister as the police entered the home. Another sister, Sarafina, who is nine, had called 911. Then she watched as police shot and killed Kerby as he was in the process of trying to stab her. This all happened when their grandmother stepped out to take care of laundry on another floor. There are just no words. Read the full story

We have already seem all kinds of bad behavior and boundary violations regarding our President and First Lady. But things are just getting out of hand. The most recent example of this comes from a woman named Tammy Bruce–who used her stint as a fill-in for conservative talker Laura Ingraham to catapult herself to noteriety with some truly offensive words. Read the full story

Listen up sisters (and brothers), CNN reports that our people suffer heart failure at a rate that is 20 times that of whites. Yes, 20 times. Plus, this is happening to us earlier (in our 30s and 40s as opposed to 50s and 60s for whites). Read the full story

Yesterday, I got to see Savion Glover’s last sold-out matinee of “Solo In Time” at the Joyce Theater in New York City. The name is sort of misleading because the brother is never really alone. He is accompanied by two other hoofers, Marshall Davis and Cartier Williams, for about 50% of the numbers. I think the former “Tap Dance Kid” and force behind “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk” comes alive when he directly interacts with the musicians Andy McCloud on bass, Arturo Martinez on guitar, Carmen Estevez on cajon (which sort of an acoustical wooden box) and the astounding flamenco singer La Conga. When La Conga and Glover are in the throes of their duets the rhythms of Africa and Spain synergistically collide with tremendous acoustic power and depth. Awesome. Read the full story

Condoleezza Rice’s years in the White House were pretty lonely if she was ever in search of some sisterly support. Sure she had her good friend George W. but that can’t rival being able to let her hair down (if she actually would) with her girls. Not so for the black woman who hold high level posts in the Obama administration. Krissah Thompson’s Washington Post piece draws a compelling portrait of sisters getting and giving support (not tearing each other down or ignoring one another) in the Obama administration. Isn’t that refreshing? Read the full story

In the wee hours this morning, Christine Beatty, dethroned Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s former chief of staff and paramour, was released from jail. She didn’t have a five car caravan like Kwame did, instead her pastor gave her a ride home in his Chrysler Town Car. So besides the pastor, who was there to meet her after Beatty served 70 days in jail besides her family? Don’t expect me to say Kwame Kilpatrick. But a couple of other members of his family were allegedly there: sister Ayana Kilpatrick and cousin Ajene Evans.  Read the full story