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What's happening in San Joaquin County that is or should be of importance to our readers and subscribers?  How would you describe San Joaquin County as a place for African-Americans and for positive race relations?  Who and what are some positive African-American organizations and people making a difference?  And others making a difference?  Please share our link.

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What's happening in Sacramento and Yolo counties that is or should be of importance to our readers and subscribers?  How would you describe Sacramento and Yolo counties as places for African-Americans and for positive race relations?  Who and what are some positive African-American organizations and people making a difference?  And others making a difference?  Please share our link.

What's happening in Merced County that is or should be of importance to our readers and subscribers?  How would you describe Merced County as a place for African-Americans and for positive race relations?  Who and what are some positive African-American organizations and people making a difference?  And others making a difference?  Please share our link.

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What's happening in the North Valley (Chico, Oroville, Redding) that is or should be of importance to our readers and subscribers?  How would you describe the North Valley as a place for African-Americans and for positive race relations?  Who and what are some positive African-American organizations and people making a difference?  And others making a difference?  Please share our link.

What's happening in the Bay Area that is or should be of importance to our readers and subscribers?  How would you describe the Bay Area as a place for African-Americans and for positive race relations?  Who and what are some positive African-American organizations and people making a difference?  And others making a difference?  Please share our link.

In a few weeks, the general media cameras will shift from Great Haiti and focus on some other world tragedy, because that is the overarching culture of western media (that if it bleeds, it leads).  And yes, many journalists on the ground in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, will likely garner numerous media awards for their coverage of the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Haitians, there and "foreign."  However it important that those of us viewing the tragedy in Haiti, and also in the Dominican Republic, to keep in mind that the camera is not able to capture the unbelievable positive African spirit that fuels Black communities in New Orleans, the Central Valley of Northern California, Haiti and all points in between -- a spirit that has served us well, but is not necessarily enough to help re-empower us in the 21st century. 

Twenty-five years ago, while still living in New York, I was honored to serve as the first adviser to the Haitian Students Society at the then nation's largest Catholic university (St. John's University).  It was during this time in my life that I weekly literally sat at the feet of some of the greatest African historians and public intellectuals of the latter 20th century; Clark, Ben, Van Sertima, Martin et al., and learned about the history of Great Haiti, and about people like Bookman, Toussaint Louverture, Sanssouci and all the Haitian martyrs (flaws, egos and all).  So while many today are being overwhelmed by media images of the "latest" total destruction of Haiti, I know that it is equally important to know the historical importance and future significance of Great Haiti to the worldwide human rights movement. 

President Barack Obama told Oprah Winfrey that he would give himself a "B+" for his first year in office.  After listening to that self-assessment, I will give him an "A" for confidence (some would call it a need for a self-reality check)!  However based on the leadership tenets of the TALO Leadership Theory, professionally I would give President Obama a solid "C".  And based on his overall decisions on specific policies that are a part of the history of the civil rights movement, that "C" is a far stronger civil rights/human rights grade than the history of those who have previously sat in his seat in the Oval Office.  Clearly Dr. King would be pleased that there is an African-American in the White House in 2010, however, it is doubtful that he would give President Obama a "B+" or "A+" as California Cong. Maxine Waters was once quoted as giving him.  But at the other end of the spectrum, there is no way that he deserves the hateful press that he is getting from those who are playing the real "race deck!"  In fact, I was watching a PBS clip of Dr. King from the late 1960s and heard him say that he felt "there could be a Negro in the White House in 25 years."  During that same era Robert Kennedy is cited as saying "40 years," so Dr. King was also way ahead of the curve as an optimistic visionary.