(Akiit.com) Public intellectual, philosopher, writer, and activist Cornel West is the author of several books about the various aspects of American culture. Well known for delving into complex issues ranging from race to religion, politics, and popular culture, Dr. West has never been an individual to shy away from speaking truth to power. Race Matters, the arguably now classic book provided an in depth analysis of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. While the list of topics he touches on reach far and wide, the life he led prior to being a world renowned professor was not one of them. Living and Loving Out Loud: A Memoir, fills in much of this background.

This latest book differs from his past work, as the focus is directed inward. Living and Loving Out Loud is the story of Dr. West upbringing, coming of age, and personal struggles throughout his life journey. Critically looking at one’s experiences is no easy undertaking, and the manner in which he does is refreshing. Instead of being evasive about his mishaps, he honestly puts forth the events of his life in a tone that is free of self-aggrandizement.

Cornel West describes himself as “a bluesman in the life of the mind, and a jazzman in the world of ideas.” In discussing his love for music, he recounts his personal favorites that range from nearly every genre of 20th century music. Be it Jazz, Blues, or Hip-Hop, West expresses his insight on the inner workings of the genre. It is admirable how he can explain at length the elements of popular music, and see the value in an art form that many intellectuals regard as debased and transitory.

Of particular note, is Dr. West outlook on hip-hop and its origins. He notes “Music education was drastically cut in neighborhood schools. Poor kids couldn’t get their hands on instruments. So self-invented artists—like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Kool Herc—invented instruments of their own. In talking about the origin of music he takes into account the reality of the conditions arose from. To paraphrase, this genre of music literally made something out of nothing. A point missed by most pundits and critics of rap music.
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(Akiit.com) William Tweedle, a residence hall director at Morehouse College, wants students at the historically black men’s school to get “In the Zone.”

That’s the zone where there’s no cursing, no saggin’ pants, and no use of the word whose plural spelled backward is “saggin.’ ” All are beneath the image of the Morehouse man, Tweedle said.

Morehouse President Robert Franklin is making the same points to students on a somewhat different plane. He talks about the new “Renaissance man” who is “well-read, well-traveled, well-spoken, well-dressed and well-balanced.”

Franklin, who was named president last year, instituted the practice of giving every freshman a tie and a blazer in the college’s primary color, maroon, as a tangible symbol of the image of a gentleman.

Morehouse is one of several historically black colleges taking action recently to improve dress on campus. Overt dissent on the Morehouse campus has been minimal, but a smattering of bloggers nationally have suggested that schools might be trying to take away students’ freedom of expression.

“Call me crazy, but I didn’t realize that there was a correlation between morality and Brooks Brothers,” Morehouse alumnus Jonathan Walton, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of California, Riverside, wrote in an article on the subject.

Profanity and exposed boxers are not exactly part of the stereotype of Morehouse, whose distinguished alumni have included actor Samuel Jackson, director Spike Lee, theologian Howard Thurman, Olympian Edwin Moses, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, current Morehouse President Franklin. And, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr.

But Morehouse has also had its challenges. Two years ago, before either Franklin or Tweedle were on campus, a group of four students and former students were accused of torturing and killing a fellow Morehouse brother. Police believed they were after money they thought he had received from an insurance settlement.

The four have been indicted in Clayton County Superior Court but have not yet been tried.

Sagging pants seem inconsequential in comparison, but dress and language help create the campus atmosphere, Franklin said.

“The fact is a significant percentage of our students arrive at Morehouse with a preppy orientation and understand the importance of presentation of themselves,” Franklin said. “Some of the students themselves are surprised to discover a small number of students who arrive with a different, almost thuglike, orientation in dress, speech and social behavior.”

Some students don’t seem to be aware of their language, said Tweedle, director of Hubert Hall at Morehouse. “They don’t know they’re cursing. They don’t know they’re using the n-word the way they use it.”

Likewise, Tweedle said, “I understand that baggy pants and a certain level of sagging is part of culture, but showing your drawers, your underpants, is unacceptable.”

Tweedle and Franklin’s efforts predate the recent presidential election. But President-elect Barack Obama’s win has boosted the backlash against the sartorial and linguistic byproducts of the hip-hop culture.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, an activist, former presidential candidate and radio host, is among those taking note. Sharpton, long a critic of vulgar rap lyrics, recently told the Chicago Tribune, “You can’t be using the b-word, the n-word, the h-word when you have Barack Obama redefining overnight the image that black people want to have.”

“Obama Won; Now Pull Up Your Pants” was the headline on a post-election column by Justin M. LaGrande, lifestyle editor of The Gramblinite, the newspaper of the historically black Grambling State University in Louisiana. “Obama isn’t sagging his pants,” LaGrande wrote.

Obama himself said in an MTV interview shortly before the election that he opposes laws and ordinances —- such as one proposed by an Atlanta city councilman last year —- that would control dress.
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(Akiit.com) Upon his election in 1992, Bill Clinton — affectionately referred to as the nation’s first black president — asked Maya Angelou to compose a poem and read it at his inauguration. Angelou feels a new poem welling up inside her following Barack Obama’s election, but she does not expect another command performance.

“I’m sure Mr. Obama, president-elect, will have them bring his own poet,” the 80-year-old writer said Friday from her home in Winston-Salem, where she holds a professorship at Wake Forest University. “I was somebody else’s poet.”

Angelou raised some eyebrows when she decided to support Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primary over a fellow African-American. But when Clinton withdrew, the writer threw her support behind Obama, “thumping the drum” on his behalf and introducing his wife, Michelle, at an event in Greensboro in September.

The poet and author of such books as “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” said she had a visceral, physical reaction when Obama was declared the winner late Tuesday.

“First I laughed,” she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “Before I could finish laughing, I wept. Then I shook. I mean, I trembled. You know, the old meaning of the word `thrill’ has a physical aspect. It’s like, `Brrrrr!’ My body started shaking.”

But the experience was also cerebral. Images of slavery and the civil rights movement and of her slain friend Martin Luther King Jr. raced through her mind, and in that moment, she realized that the United States was finally “growing up.”

“I thought of my people, African-Americans. I thought of white Americans. I thought of Asians and Spanish people. And I thought, `My God! What a country. What a country.’ I believe that in the secret heart of every American there’s a desire to live in a great country. And look at us now.”
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(Akiit.com) The Karibu Books chain, based in the Washington, D.C., area and one of the few remaining retailers to specialize in black books, is closing after 15 years.

“We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your patronage and support,” Karibu CEO Simba Sana wrote in an e-mail to customers. “We are optimistic that our mission to empower and educate through a comprehensive selection of books by and about people of African descent will continue to resonate within the communities we proudly served.”

Karibu has five stores, one of which has already closed. All will be shut down by Feb. 10.

Like other specialty retailers, including gay and feminist bookstores, black bookstores have suffered in the past 10 years, partly because of the rise of superstore chains and Internet sales, but also because of the growing popularity of black authors. With superstores and online retailers now offering large selections of black books, at lower prices, black stores have had a hard time competing and many have closed.
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(Akiit.com) Antioch, CA For many people, speaking their mind can be so intimidating that they simply would prefer to bite their tongue in the spirit of getting along. However, holding your true feelings inside is one of the most toxic forms of self-destruction (disease). In fact, those friends that frown upon you for “speaking up” may be contributing to your self-destruction; therefore, they may not be your true friends anyway!

Poems in the Key of Life is for those who are seeking to find the proper words to speak up and articulate their innermost feelings about life’s situations. This book “speaks to” the very core of the heart, soul and spirit. It helps you to find the right words to address the situation you are experiencing. The book is segmented into four categories: Inspiration and Motivation, Spiritual, Love and Relationship, and Life and Drama. It is a collection of poetic verses that addresses all aspects of life based on the authors’ personal experiences, observations, obstacles and triumphs.

It is a book to be enjoyed by everyone. Now You Don’t Have to Think about What You Want to Say…just reach for the book…Poems in the Key of Life.

About the Authors
Despite the exceptional sales, this is a debut for both authors PJ Rhae and Don Jackson, husband and wife dynamic duo, as well as their publishing company, Senoj Publishing. PJ has a MPA in Public Policy. She consults and conducts success seminars with large organizations. Don has a BS Degree in Economics and Finance and consults with small businesses. They both have a successful real estate and mortgage company and reside in Northern California.

Poems in the Key of Life can be found at www.senojpublishing.com or www.amazon.com.
ISBN: 978-0-615-14695-9
$14.95
124 pages

MEDIA CONTACT
PJ
877-33-SENOJ
925.706-7202
connect@senojpublishing.com
www.senojpublishing.com