The complete ignorance and incompetence of Gov. Landry and the Louisiana Republican House of Representatives to destroy the 30 year billion dollar film industry in our state proves they have no economic expertise. This is one of the greatest acts of financial malfeasance in the history of Louisiana To destroy the livelihood of thousands of people and eliminate an entire industry reflects how stupid Gov. Landry/Legislature are. Hundreds of millions of dollars in production will be canceled immediately. This will be a ECONOMIC BOOM for other states that have watched our film industry with envy for decades.

Democracy is clarity. As a student of human behavior, I believe it reflects the will of the people. The race is not over but the blame game has begun. I will not let the pundits scapegoat Black voters. I will not let you scapegoat Arab American voters. Not even the shift of Latino voters. Donald Trump was supported by White men, White women, non college educated and college educated. Suburban White women and rural White women by a majority. It’s clear that my neighbors, coworkers, and friends have no problem with a convicted felon, convicted rapist, racist, and misogynist leading their government. They share his values. People show you who they are. This was never about issues. The economy is in great shape. Inflation is just coporate greed. More manufacturing, low unemployment. A healthy economy is supported by a 30% migrant labor force. It’s not about abortion. White women and affluent women know they can always access reproductive care. The GOP created a guest worker program because they want the migrant labor. This election was about the great replacement. A reaction to the society changing around them. The ultimate protection of white privilege. Let the retribution begin.

Today in Louisiana, Governor Jeff Landry signed an executive order preventing to teaching of a Harvard Law School class from the ‘80s: Critical Race Theory. Derrick Bell taught the class demonstrating how discrimination was memorialized in law. The GOP has now changed the meaning of Critical Race Theory (CRT) as any teaching of American history that tells the truth, including its racist, discriminatory, and violent past. This is an attempt at revisionist history and is a movement that defunds education and bans books.

Black men voters have asked me why I support the Democratic Party. I welcome the questions and demands. For your consideration: Democrats’ Policies Beneficial for the Black Community

-Creation of Social Security. Economic safety net after years of working towards retirement. Creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Healthcare safety net for middle/working class and underserved.
-Obamacare: millions of Black Americans with access to healthcare, protection against discrimination practices denying coverage.
-Protection of Reproductive Rights for Women
-Civil Rights Bill that ended Jim Crow laws and segregation
-Voters Right Bill protecting the rights to vote
-Raising the minimum wage.
-The Community Development Legislation combating banking discrimination and funding business capital for Blacks discriminated against and denied lending

The Democratic Party Leaders and Donor Class have campaigned against President Biden because of their fear and timidity about polls. They haven’t been challenged by an opposing campaign of the rank and file Democrat voters. Their campaign has been successful for the past 3 weeks. What they don’t know is what is happening with the ONLY constituency that votes for them 90% of the time, African Americans.

There is a complicity between the media and Democratic leadership. They have independently decided to take Biden out of the race and normalize the criminality of a con artist; a man that led a revolt to overthrow the government with a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol. The media has promoted revisionist history about the treasonous behavior of election denial, attempts to defraud the election with fake electors, and pressuring State governments to change the vote.

There is no place in America for political violence. This assassination attempt was a dark day for America. I condemn the attempt to murder the former President. America knows the pain of political violence. When a Republican President was assassinated. When a Democratic President was assassinated. America knows the pain of political violence. We know the pain of that violence when thousands were murdered for attempting to register and vote for decades. America knows the pain of political violence like The Colfax Massacre in Louisiana, the Wilmington Massacre in North Carolina, Goodman, Chaney & Swerner (Black, White, Christian, and Jewish) murdered for registering voters.

Today in America, this Supreme Court gave criminal immunity to the Presidency, eliminating the conceit that no one is above the law. President Trump will never go to trial for inciting a riot and the attempted overthrow of a free and fair election. African Americans have been here before. Americans tonight are feeling the profound impact & dissatisfaction with the SCOTUS that for generations African Americans have known. The Dred Scott case that denied American citizenship to Black folk. Plessy v. Fergusson that upheld “separate but equal” Jim Crow segregation

Unfortunately I believe the Supreme Court of the United States will give immunity to Donald Trump for trying to overthrow the government. It will be a monumental moment in American history. The oath to serve and protect the constitution will be diminished. It is a call to action to save democracy. Donald Trump is unfit to serve as President of the United States. His election alone would signal that our nation of no one is above the law is little more than conjecture

Days after his 90th Birthday, Bill Cobbs died today. A father figure, a griot, an iconic artist, that mentored me by the way he led his life as an actor. He played my father twice: in I’ll Fly Away & The Gregory Hines Show.Each time imparting wisdom with a word of encouragement Bill Cobbs was born and raised in Cleveland. He shared so many stories about the city he loved. It’s serendipity that I’m here in Cleveland as I learn of his passing. He comes from a great legacy of the Black Theatre. Karamu House here is a historic landmark

I anticipate the Supreme Court this week will rule granting immunity to Trump against prosecution. It will destroy the federal documents case. We will see the naked truth about the lengths the conservative movement will go to for power. No one is above the law will be dissolved. The sanctity of the judicial system is a lesser concern than the acquisition of power. For centuries the court ruled against “all men are created equal” without concern about the sanctity of the constitution. While it will create chaos and a crisis, the power of the executive branch is worth the jeopardy.

Anne Pasternak, has been a friend of mine for almost 20 years. This attack on her home is a violent attack of ANTI SEMITISM on par with a burning cross warning from the KKK that your life is in danger. As a Black man from the South, I understand that is a terror attack and not a protest. The irony is that as long as I’ve known her she has been pro- Palestinian and supportive of justice for marginalized people worldwide. We met when she produced our production of WAITING FOR GODOT in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans destroyed by Katrina, killing hundreds, a commentary on the loss of humanity and ineffective bureaucracy that contributed to it.

In my industry, 33% tax credits are given to Hollywood studios to bring production to Louisiana, Georgia, and many other states. Oil companies are given subsidies to develop and drill for oil. TAX DOLLARS GIVEN AS CORPORATE WELFARE. Yet a private investor wants to invest in Black women investors with private equity and the racist agenda of the right wing seeks to destroy any economic development in the Black community. As a businessman, that’s a violent personal attack. Venture capital denied by the court.

A private investment firm the Fearless Fund, has been blocked from investing in businesses owned by Black women. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, sided with a challenge to the grant program, arguing it violated a Reconstruction-era civil-rights law, known as Section 1981, that prohibits discrimination in contracts. The law was put in place to protect former slaves from discrimination. Edward Blum, an opponent of affirmative action, has argued its text means that race can’t be considered at all in contractual relationships. Private funding blocked by the courts. NOT TAX DOLLARS.

Eulogy for Amos E. Pierce, Jr.

This is the most profound, difficult, challenging, sacred, ethereal, painful and spiritual moment of my life. I had years to prepare but nothing prepares you for the loss of a father……… I loved him deeply but over the last 11 years the love grew as I heeded my mother’s death bed wish, “Wendell I’m dying. Hold my hand. Stay close to your brother, and take care of your Daddy.” Tee I did my best and now I deliver him back to you and God.

A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that an individual or group (like the NAACP) are NOT allowed to sue states for violating the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. This ruling destroys almost 60 years of precedent in U.S. federal law. THERE IS BLOOD ON THAT BALLOT BOX. From the emancipation to the passage of this landmark bill 100 years later thousands of Americans were murdered, lynched, tortured, abused and violated by fellow Americans as they try to exercise their constitutional right just to vote. THERE IS BLOOD ON THAT BALLOT BOX.

This is not an isolated incident. This is the result of a culture of fascism that gives white nationalists and Nazis room to thrive. Political leaders who say “ there are good people on both sides”. Officials who downgrade the horrors of slavery with miseducation of Black history

https://twitter.com/cnn/status/1695572834779529230

We are expected to enter into a state of denial that these murders are NOT a part of the racist rhetoric spoken as policy in this country. It is not coincidence that Black judges, District Attorneys, and prosecutors are receiving death threats without any condemnation.

Warning Maui Fire Victims: As a victim of Katrina, we saw the criminality begin at this point of the disaster. 1) Insurance companies will abandon you after years of paying premiums. 2) If insurance companies do pay out they will collude with banks and pay off your loan, not you. 3) Commissions & Coalitions will be put together with government & corporations without your best interest at heart. Demand you are included in the process of rebuilding.
4) Beware of those attempting to steal and expropriate your property. 5) Beware of no bid contractors

Immigrants coming to NY, either on their own, or bused in as political pawns, should be openly welcomed. It’s less the 1.5% of the population. We have the resources. SL Green, the largest commercial property management has almost 8000 buildings with over 50% empty post COVID. Immigrant labor always represents about 20% of a robust economy. Any community that desires a strong economy welcomes immigration. Immigrant and migrant labor GROWS JOBS AND THE ECONOMY. The immigration lie is that they replace our jobs or take or resources.

We are at a dangerous moment in the American experiment. For centuries we were in denial of the lies we told ourselves. Liberty and justice for all, as we committed genocide of indigenous people, and enslaved another. America’s written promise of redemption to “form a more perfect union” would be the only salvation. The recognition that our constitutional system will amend to rectify injustices and anything that doesn’t support the ideal that “all men are created equal”.

There is Blood on the Fields. Centuries of slavery now being reduced to “personal benefits” for Black folks. Black women raped continuously. Black peopled tortured, branded, and murdered. Amputations. Mass graves of towns destroyed. Revisionist history that blasphemes genocide. There is Blood in the Fields were my family was robbed of their freedom and stripped of any dignity of life and humanity. Anyone that embraces the idea this was a grace for Black folks confirms a special place in hell for you. It confirms that the values of America are a lie.