Thursday, January 15, 2009

Minority Report 1st Vol. 5th Ed.



Normally this story isn't what I'd consider a Minority Report since it was on CNN.com and also involves one of the teenagers from the highly publicized 'Jena 6' controversy, but reading the story broke my heart and brings attention to a rarely discussed topic that affects young, black males.

Just two years after Mychal Bell was charged as an adult for attempted murder and conspiracy in connection with 5 other black teenagers for the beating of a white classmate, Bell, now 18, attempted to commit suicide a few weeks ago.

Please read the entire story here, and below I've also included an interview snippet of Bell speaking about the incident that I believe appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight. That is, unless coverage of the bizarre United Airways emergency landing (I wish mainstream media would call it what it is instead of a plane crash!) on the Hudson River took over. In the new apartment I'm back to no TV until we get the cable cut on, so I'm not sure what's going on over the airwaves at the moment--but I digress.

Luckily Bell survived the attempt with only a punctured lung, but the scariest part is he first aimed the gun--which wasn't fully loaded--at his head.

I'd like to expound on the topic of young black male suicide, because while it certainly isn't the leading cause of death among them, the rates have risen in years past. Therefore this issue is anything but an illusion. Yet before I go any further on tackling such a complex issue, I'll be a good little journalist and do some research first. I just couldn't go to bed without at least sharing this.

My heart goes out to Mychal Bell and the rest of the Jena 6, and also any other of my black brothas out there for whom the rainbow just isn't enuf.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

MiSS Concrete Jungle Moved!

Whewwww, two weeks into 2009 already?? WOW!

No drawn out explanations this time, here's the deal: Miss Concrete Jungle moved--literally!

::Thank Ya!!:: <--excuse me, I had to take it to church for a sec.

But long story short, on New Year's Eve I left my apartment in the Bronx and moved to New Jersey, and I'm so excited! If you've ever had at least a 15-minute conversation with me, it's likely you know pretty much the whole rundown of why I could not stand my old apartment and so the move was a big deal for a few different, and kind of corny, reasons. You know, bringing in the new year in a new place, etcetera, etcetera.

So I move into the new place with a bunch of posts related to the holidays, but up until three days ago I had no internet access (I guess my Dell decided it needed to familiarize itself with the new environment)! And then of course Blogger is blocked at work, so this break was forced and not planned. But the good news is, the writer's block is gone, and may 2009 be the year you get to know Miss Concrete Jungle on a more...hmm, shall we say consistent (?) basis!

Stay Tuned!!!