Manning Marable: Rest in Peace

The NYT did an obituary, but there is much more to be said and by people who actually knew from whence he came in life and intellectually. He was scheduled to be promoting his Malcolm X book today, the anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.

Prof. Charles Ogletree from Harvard sent me this note: "It breaks my heart.He was the quintessential scholar activist,and blazed a trail that we will faithfully follow. R I P. Tree"

A friend, Debra Robinson, said: "He did a lot with his time on earth. You were lucky to know him."

Face Time and Fried Chicken

Thanks to Facebook, I’ve reconnected with a few friends from my past. Here’s a note I received from a friend responding to a piece I did for The Root on IHOP’s “discovery” of fried chicken and waffles.

“IHOP should know that barnyard pimp has been wedded to a variety of foods. I personally have never had chicken and waffles. For years I had an aversion to fried chicken which stemed from eating it so much growing up. I had a distaste for it along with watermelon. So their aha moment with the waffles is a bit late. I am sure they will soon add other things that are already being served.

“When they serve fried spam with pancakes, etc or grits and salmon croquettes; I'm sure they will really rock and roll. Remember bisquits in brown bags that were greasy when we were in school? How we didn't want anyone to know we had bisquits? Tried our best to hide them and folks would see you anyway? We will kill for a bisquit now! Tails of oxen that were cheaper than dirt are now a much prized food along with neck bones, pig feet, chitterlings,pig ears. Theyr'e no longer a po' man's food. Might as well buy lobster.”

Happy Birthday to Ya!

Check this out from the NYT: This marks the anniversary of the map that laid out the street grid system made Manhattan. But, of course, like no one tells us that 125th Street in Harlem is on an earthquake fault line, nothing on this 200-year-old map indicated that life was worth acknowledging up town. We didn't make it onto the map when"Nieuw Haarlem" was "a suburb for the wealthy." As Sam Roberts reported in the NYT about what was then "Nieuw Haarlem": "No streets were initially laid out on the Heights North of Harlem because planners thought no one would build there for 'centuries to come'. It now holds some of Manhattan's densest neighborhoods."

Black Men Behaving Badly

Barry Bonds and steroids. Lawrence Taylor and sex with a minor. Neither is a role model despite their many accomplishments on the field.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Give it up. Turn off the whole darn thing. So many actors seriously injured. Director fired. Choreographer fired. Ticket prices ridiculous. Save your $100 or so, my friends. Go to BAM in Brooklyn or uptown in Manhattan to Harlem (www.harlemonestop.com). Go to other plays on and off Broadway. Spider-Man is for folks who want to see disaster.

War in Libya

I don't get it, Mr. President. How many wars can we wage? "It is U. S. policy that Qaddafi has to go," you said yesterday. There are a whole lot of tyrrants out there, Mr. President. How do you pick and choose among them? I'd much prefer that you waged war on poverty and illiteracy here at home. Any way: here's an editorial in today's NYT.

R I P

Drew Hill, former pro football player in Atlanta.

J.T., found dead in my Fire Island neighborhood. My favorite bartender.