Is it too soon to petition the Supreme Court on gay marriage?

Olson-Boies team hopes for a Supreme Court ruling that will transform the legal and social landscape nationwide, something on the order of Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954, or Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
Olson, who is sixty-nine, in early December, he sounded confident and impassioned; the case clearly fascinated him both as an intellectual challenge and as a way to make history. "The Loving case was forty-two years ago, and it's inconceivable to us these days to say that a couple of a different racial background can't get married." Olson said, "Separate is not equal. Civil unions and domestic partnerships are not the same as marriage. We're not inventing any new right, or creating a new right, or asking the courts to recognize a new right. The Supreme Court has said over and over and over again that marriage is a fundamental right, and although our opponents say, 'Well, that's always been involving a man and a woman,' when the Supreme Court has talked about it they've said it's an associational right, it's a liberty right, it's a privacy right, and it's an expression of your identity, which is all wrapped up in the Constitution."

-excerpt from "A Risky Proposal" by Margaret Talbot
The New Yorker, January 18, 2010, pps 40-52.

HACER scholarship deadline - Feb 16, 2010

Apply for a $100,000 Hispanic college scholarship

Since the inception of the RMHC/HACER program, more than 13,000 Hispanic students have been awarded more than $19.1 million in scholarships to support their college education.

The program nationally offrs four $100,000 scholarships eah year, as well as other local scholarships. Get you application and full details at MeEncanta.com. Reach for your goals! Entry deadline is February 16, 2010.

Giving and Getting – Philanthropic Activity among BGLO

According to C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, "The tradition of mutual aid lay deep in the African heritage, which stressed a greater communalism and social solidarity than either European or American customs allowed. These incipient traditions of mutual aid and self-help in the slave quarters were formalized and legitimated with the Christianizing of the slaves in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."[2] The growth of separate black churches gave African Americans the opportunity to establish the "first black-owned and operated institutions."[3] Since its inception, the black church has been the single most important institution involved in black philanthropy.[4] It has also been the chief beneficiary of the black community s giving efforts. According to Ann Abbe, "Clergy are often the most influential members of their communities, and church members are expected to support the church with frequent and/or large gifts."[5]

The majority of African Americans are taught from a young age that they have an obligation to give to the church. Through personal engagement and the establishment of a trusting bond, black preachers convey the needs of the church and consistently encourage their parishioners to support the work of the church—the will of God.[6] This obligation to give has provided the backbone for many black social movements in the United States, including the civil rights movement.[7] Black ministers were cognizant of the effect of racism on economic mobility in the United States and sought to create a sound financial base from which political and social change could take place.[8] Since their beginnings, black churches have acted as collection points for money, services, and goods that are pooled and redistributed.[9] According to Bradford Smith and colleagues, "the creation and evolution of the black church has been the most significant factor in the political, social, cultural, spiritual, educational and philanthropic development of African Americans in this country."[10] Thus, the black church is a key example of African American agency. Although forced on blacks by white slave owners, in the hands of black leaders, Christianity became an instrument for black emancipation.[11]

Often started as an arm of the church, mutual aid societies were also among the earliest organizations created by African Americans.[12] These societies began in the North and were typically founded by freedmen. In addition to meeting the spiritual needs of blacks, they addressed their physical and social needs.[13] The first recorded mutual aid society was the Free African Society, which was established in 1787 in Philadelphia by the African Methodist Episcopal and African Protestant Episcopal churches. Other organizations included the New York Society, the Union Society of Brooklyn, the African Union Society, the Wilberforce Benevolent Society, the Woolman Society, and the Clarkson Society.[14] Eventually, the mutual aid societies developed into cultural, eco­nomic, and political forces that helped advance blacks. Under the aegis of these organizations, African Americans joined together—trusting and relying on one another in dire circumstances. According to Lincoln and Mamiya, these loosely organized societies were the forerunners of national organizations such as the Urban League and the NAACP.[15] Further, Smith and colleagues note that influential black businesses such as the "National Benefit Life Insurance and the Central Life Insurance companies also owe their origins to mutual aid organizations."[16]

Beginning in 1775 with the establishment of the Prince Hall Masons, fraternal organizations began to work closely with the black church. These organizations were, first and foremost, communal and social, but they were also committed to healing social ills and contributing to the community. They often secured funds and gifts in kind from their members for poor and indi­gent women and children. Black fraternal organizations consisted of two types: those that were black chapters of already existing white organizations, and those that were established specifically for African Americans. Blacks created their own versions of the Masons (as mentioned), Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Eastern Star, Household of Ruth, Foresters, Shriners, and Elks. Those organiza­tions created by blacks for blacks included the Grand United Order of Galilean Fisherman, Colored Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Honor, Friends of Negro Freedom, International Order of Twelve, African Blood Brotherhood, Colored Consolidated Brotherhood, African Legion, and Knights of the Invisible Colored Kingdom. Many of the fraternal organizations established an auxiliary group of women, such as the Daughters of the Eastern Star for Masons.[17] Fraternal organizations were most prevalent in northeastern cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, and New York. These organizations contributed to a culture of "giving back" and "uplifting the race."

During the antebellum period, black women devised a variety of means of supporting causes that were important to the community. For example, they participated in "fairs" with white abolitionist women to support antislavery legislation. These black women also sponsored their own fairs to support the African Methodist Episcopal Church, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and the Union Anti-Slavery Society. Other African American women's organizations held fairs to support the black press or orphaned black children.[18] These efforts by black women are yet another example of the importance of uplifting the race as a motivation for giving. African American elites (those in business and professional circles) have also created many social and service organizations for themselves. Because of the insular nature of these organizations and the fact that their membership is exclusively black, their philanthropic efforts go unnoticed by nonblacks and are often overlooked in discussions of African American philanthropy Among the women's groups in this category are the Links, Girl Friends, National Smart Set, Drifters, and Northeasterners. For men, the organizations include the Boule (Sigma Pi Phi), Comus Club, Reveille Club, Ramblers, Bachelor-Benedicts, and Guardsmen. African American children also belong to elite organizations—the most prominent being Jack and Jill.

According to a member of the Links, "Once you are a part of one of these groups, you end up knowing many more people in all the other groups too."[19] Because most of the elite organizations were founded on the premise of volunteerism and charitable giving, the potential for black philanthropy in these groups is obvious. For example, the Links proudly claim, "[Our] tradition is based on volunteerism. For over fifty years, the organization has gathered mo­mentum, continuously redefined its purposes, sharpened its focus, and expanded its program dimensions in order to make the name 'Links' synonymous with not only a chain of friendship, but also a chain of purposeful service."[20] Within these elite organizations, giving is an expectation—a requirement, in fact, of membership. The success of these black elite organizations in supporting a wide variety of philanthropic endeavors is made possible by the strong bonds of trust within the organization.[21] The historical origins of African American giving have shaped the current practices of the BGLOs.

“Giving and Getting – Philanthropic Activity among Black Greek-Letter Organizations” by Marybeth Gasman, Patricia Louison, and Mark Barnes
Gregory S. Parks, Editor, Black Greek-Letter Organizations in the Twenty-first Century, University of Kentucky Press, 2008, pp187-191

Notes
[1] To more fully understand the actions of these organizations, we drew on their published histories and secondary sources. To augment this knowledge, we conducted interviews with members of BGLOs—capturing the voices of those closest to the phil­anthropic action.
[2] C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1990), 242. This idea is reiterated in James A. Joseph, Remaking America: How the Benevolent Traditions of Many Cultures Are Transforming Our National Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995).
[3] Bradford Smith, Sylvia Shue, Jennifer Lisa Vest, and Joseph Villarreal, Philan­thropy in Communities of Color (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), 10.
[4] Ibid.; Alicia Byrd, ed., Philanthropy and the Black Church (Washington, D.C.: Council on Foundations, 1990); E. Franklin Frazier, The Negro Church in America (New York: Schocken Books, 1963); C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Church since Frazier (New York: Schocken Books, 1974); E. Franklin Frazier, Black Bourgeoisie (New York: Free Press Paperbacks, 1997).
[5] M. Ann Abbe, "The Roots of Minority Giving: Understand the Philanthropic Traditions of Different Cultures to Solicit Them More Effectively," Case Currents (July 2002): 4.
[6] Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church.
[7] David Garrow, Philanthropy and the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Center for the Study of Philanthropy, 1987).
[8] Eric Anderson and Alfred A. Moss Jr., Dangerous Donations: Northern Philan­thropy and Southern Black Education, 1902-1930 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999).
[9] Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church; Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Womens Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880-1920 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993).
[10] Smith et al., Philanthropy in Communities of Color, 9.
[11] Anderson and Moss, Dangerous Donations.
[12] Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church.
[13] For more information, see Emmett D. Carson, A Charitable Appeals Fact Book: How Black and White Americans Respond to Different Types of Fund-Raising Efforts(Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political Studies, 1989); Emmett D. Carson, A Hand Up: Black Philanthropy and Self-Help in America (Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Press, 1993); Emmett D. Carson, "Black Philanthropy. Shaping Tomorrow's Nonprofit Sector," NSFRE Journal (summer 1989): 23-31; Emmett D. Carson, "Despite Long History, Black Philanthropy Gets Little Credit as 'Self-Help' Tool," Focus 15, no. 6 (June 1987); 3, 4, 76.
[14] Smith et al., Philanthropy in Communities of Color.
[15] Lincoln and Mamiya, The Black Church. More information on mutual aid societies can be found in V. P. Franklin, Black Self-Determination: A History of African American Resistance (New York; Lawrence Hill Books, 1992).
[16] Smith et al., Philanthropy in Communities of Color, 11.
[17] Lawrence Otis Graham, Our Kind of People: Inside Americas Black Upper Class (New York; Harper Perennial, 2000).
[18] Beverly Gordon, Bazaars and Fair Ladies: The History of the American Fundraising Fair (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1998).
[19] Graham, Our Kind of People, 113.
[20] Links Inc. publicity materials, 2001.
[21] Graham, Our Kind of People.

Why is the unexpected any kind of surprise anymore?

We live now in a vicarious age, but we don't live our lives through other people. Instead, we live our own lives vicariously through what our technology creates. It brings us community by allowing us to gather together, without really moving, in a virtual space far from the reality of events, and the more sophisticated the technology, the farther that distance, until we find ourselves with several personal realities from which to choose. We live our lives through things, not in them. We invest ourselves in our artificial realities rather than involve ourselves with the actual one, which is boring and slow and not as efficient. It becomes easy then to categorize the events that happen, to compartmentalize them within the parameters of our created realities — Republican and Democrat, red and blue, liberal and conservative, urban and rural — so that they make some sort of sense. The technologies that are now at our fingertips promise a reality as efficient and logical as they are. They represent us in those realities, and we live vicariously through our little machines.
So why are we surprised by surprises? Because even the shocking is supposed to be predictable now. We carry computers now in our pockets and in our purses and on the dashboard of the car. Because at those moments when the towers fall or the city drowns or a balloon goes up, there is a long moment before we're able to work the actual events into the realities we have created for ourselves. That is what passes for surprise these days — that long moment of hesitation when the real world cracks through again, those first few hours before we have had a chance to remove ourselves again through our technologies to that distant place within which they bring us together, the places we can go without ever moving at all. Things are real again, and then gone.
- Charles Pierce, Esquire, January 2010

Washington DC Summer Leadership Program - Jan 29th deadline

The Institute for Responsible Citizenship is currently accepting applications for its summer leadership program in Washington, DC. The Institute provides America’s best and brightest African American male college students with unparalleled networking opportunities, leadership development, and life-long mentorship.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Exposure to congressmen, Supreme Court justices, doctors, business executives, educators, and other influential leaders
• Rigorous academic seminars
• Roundtable discussions, including seminars on leadership development
• High-level internships around Washington, DC
• Activities that promote strong bonds with each other

PROGRAM DETAILS
• The program runs from June 5 to July 31, 2010
• Students must commit to two-summers
• Housing is paid for by the Institute
• Students work at paid internships based on their career interest

You should be a college sophomore to apply. The Institute does not have a GPA requirement. However, the median GPA for recent classes is 3.65. An applicant’s GPA is not the only criterion that is evaluated during the admissions process. Campus involvement, awards earned, athletics, and volunteer work are also important factors.

The application can be found on the web at www.i4rc.org/application.htm. Applications must be received, not postmarked, by the deadline - January 29, 2010. Inquiries should be directed to info@i4rc.org or (202) 659-2831.

The Institute for Responsible Citzenship
We Inspire the best and brightest African American men to be men of great character who will make significant contributions to their communities, their country, and the world.
1227 25th Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20037 www.i4rc.org

Bank of America Student Leaders Program - Feb 17th deadline

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative® is accepting applications for 2010 awards. This program recognizes and rewards individuals and organizations making a difference in communities across the country, and is divided into three categories: Neighborhood Builders®, Local Heroes and Student Leaders®.

We would like your help to spread the word about the Student Leaders Program, an exciting opportunity for high school juniors and seniors.

Since its inception in 2004, the Bank of America Student Leaders Program has recognized more than 1,000 high school juniors and seniors identified as exemplary young people with a passion for improving their communities. The program helps students gain a greater understanding of how nonprofits create impact in the community and helps develop them as the next generation of community leaders through two components:

• A summer 2010 eight-week paid internship with selected nonprofit organizations designed to provide opportunities for the students to develop and apply leadership skills through hands-on work experience, while raising their awareness of community issues addressed by their Host Organization.

• A week-long all-expense paid Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. Conducted in partnership with the Close Up Foundation, the Summit introduces students to aspects of civic, social and business leadership and provides them with knowledge and skills they will use throughout their life to create positive community change.

If you would like additional information regarding the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Student Leaders program, please send an email to debbie.gonzales@bankofamerica.com. Please note the fast approaching application deadline of February 17th for the 2010 Student Leaders Program.

We appreciate your help to spread the word about the Bank of America Student Leaders Program.

Thank you,
Debbie Gonzales
Corporate Social Responsibility Market Specialist
Bank of America - San Diego County
Tel: 619.515.7101 / Fax: 213.457.2576 / Email: debbie.gonzales@bankofamerica.com

Live Your Life by T.I.

You're gonna be a shining star (That's right)
With fancy clothes and fancy ca-ars (Hey, hey, hey, yeah)
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far (Go, hey)
Cause everyone knows (They know), just who you a-are (Rihanna, let's get it!)

So live your life,
You steady chasing that paper
Just live your life
Ain't got no time for no haters
Just live your life
No telling where it'll take you
Just live your life
Cause I'm a paper chaser

Just livin' my life (Ay!)
My life (Oh!)
My life (Ay!)
My life (Oh!) (Put your hands up!)
Just livin' my life (Ay!)
My life (Oh!)
My life (Ay!)
My life (Oh!) (Let me see you put your hands up!)

Hey, Never mind what haters say, ignore them 'til they fade away
Amazing they ungrateful for after all the game I gave away
Safe to say I paved the way, for you cats to get paid today
You'd still be wasting days away, now had I never saved the day

Consider them my protégé, homage I think they should pay
Instead of being gracious, they violate in a major way
I never been a hater, still I love them in a crazy way
Some say they so yay and no they couldn't get work on Labor Day

It ain't that black and white, it has an area that's shaded gray
I'm west side anyway, even if I left today and stayed away
Some move away to make a way not move away cause they afraid
I brought back to the hood and all you ever did was take away

I pray for patience but they make me wanna melt their face away
Like I once made them spray, now I could make them put their taze away
Been thuggin' all my life, can't say I don't deserve to take a break
If you ever see me catch a case, and watch my future fade away

You're gonna be a shining star (That's right)
With fancy clothes and fancy ca-ars (Hey, hey, hey, yeah)
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far (Go, hey)
Cause everyone knows (They know), just who you a-are

So live your life,
You steady chasing that paper
Just live your life
Ain't got no time for no haters
Just live your life
No telling where it'll take you
Just live your life
Cause I'm a paper chaser

Just livin' my life
My life
My life
My life
Just livin' my life
My life
My life
My life

I'm the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished with
The spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid
Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics
Articulate but still would grab a nigga by the collar quick

Whoever having problems with, their record sales just holla Tip
If that don't work and all else fails, then turn around and follow Tip
I got love for the game but ay I'm not in love with all of it
'Could do without the fame and the rappers nowadays are comedy

The hootin' and the hollerin', back and forth with the arguing
Where you from, who you know, what you make and what kind of car you in
Seems as though you lost sight of what’s important with the positive
And checks until your bank account and you up out of poverty

Your values is a disarray, prioritizing horribly
Unhappy with your riches cause you're piss poor morally
Ignoring all prior advice and forewarning
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden aren't we?

You're gonna be a shining star (That's right)
With fancy clothes and fancy ca-ars (Hey, hey, hey, yeah)
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far (Go, hey)
Cause everyone knows (They know), just who you a-are (Okay, now)

So live your life,
You steady chasing that paper
Just live your life
Ain't got no time for no haters
Just live your life
No telling where it'll take you
Just live your life
Cause I'm a paper chaser

Just livin' my life
My life
My life
My life
Just livin' my life
My life
My life
My life

Got everybody watching what I do
Come walk in my shoes
And see the way I'm livin' if you really want to
Got my mind on my money, and I'm not going away

So keep on gettin' 'ya paper (Ah)
And keep on climbin' (Ah)
Look in the mirror (Ah)
And keep on shinin' (Shinin')
'Til the game end,
'Til the clock stop,
We 'gon post up on the top stop

Livin' my life
My life
Got a brand new CD
Got my whole team livin' life
My life
I do it how I wanna do
I'm livin' my life
My life
I will never lose
I'm livin' my life
My life
And I'm not stoppin'

Ma ya hee, ma ya haa
Ma ya hoo, ma ya ha ha
Ma ya hee, ma ya haa
Ma ya hoo, ma ya ha ha

Ma ya hee, ma ya haa
Ma ya hoo, ma ya ha ha
Ma ya hee, ma ya haa
Ma ya hoo, ma ya ha ha (So live your life)