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In her third studio release, Erykah Badu continues on her path to evolve. So it’s no surprise that Worldwide Underground, her latest CD, has many unexpected changes.

Unlike her last two albums, which focused heavily on the neo-soul sound, Worldwide Underground shows a more creative Badu that allows her to show off more of her funky hip-hop side. Her latest single to hit the airwaves, “Danger,” an ode to her significant other letting him know that she’ll always be there for him, is somewhat of a continuation of her song “Other Side of the Game” off Baduizm. ” We like to keep the cop running/ we try to keep the cop running/ we like to keep the b* tch humming,” she says. This new rawness from Badu continues throughout the whole CD, unveiling a new side of her.

Unlike most CDs these days, the album has only 10 tracks on it, with two of them being the Intro and Outro. The rest of it is an interesting mix of vocal chanting, funky board mixing and long-ending songs. While some of the tracks take a few rotations to get used to, most of the songs are quite catchy, including “Back in the Day,” a song that kind of takes you back to the ’80s, when radio was not afraid to play different songs instead of the same ones over and over all day long. The song has that playback feel that you can listen to whether you’re laying back at home or riding around. It also features sexy Lenny Kravitz on electric guitar, which adds a little edge, making you wish the song were longer than four minutes.

This time Badu decided to showcase her more creative side by writing all but one of the tracks and even doing all of the ink drawings in the liner notes. Involving more of herself may explain why it sometimes sounds jumpy but somehow successfully fits together.

While a few of the songs end abruptly, some drag on through 11 minutes. A good example would be “Bump It,” an eight minute song that has a good flow all throughout, but wastes the last three minutes on vocal chanting (think Jill Scott’s “He Loves Me”). That is cool at first but gets more annoying by the minute. On the other hand, “Think Twice,” a live-sounding jazzy track featuring trumpet player Roy Hargrove gets you into the groove all too easily, only to disappoint when barely clocks in at three minutes. Both songs are definite playbacks, which though, cannot be said for “Love Of My Life Worldwide.” This useless song could not save itself even with Angie Stone and Queen Latifah featured. The track sounds more like a botched attempt for Badu to be more mainstream, while it’s painfully obvious that she’s better creating her own sense of style.

Despite these minor flaws, Badu proves that she can make a quality album without recycling the same producers, such as The Neptunes or Jazzy Pha. While Worldwide Underground may not be saturated with platinum-laden rappers or semi-naked dancers, it does provide you with a broader view of music and style, something that no recording studio can teach you.

Reparations to Black Americans were promised and long overdue

by PAULA BLANTON

For several years African Americans have sought out the possibility of receiving reparations for slavery times. In 1867 senator Thad-deus Stevens proposed a bill to congress by which each black family would receive 40 acres of land to own and also allocated $500,0000 to be used to help out former slaves.
That was 137 years ago; to this day that promise has been unfulfilled. Where is the land that was promised to my ancestors?
Regardless of what other people may think, the U.S. government owes us. They should never have made a promise that they could not keep. Other nationalities, including Japanese- and Jewish-Americans, have received reparations from this country. A total of $9 billion was put aside for individual Holocaust survivors, including people who survived and are not Jewish. Close to $4.8 billion of the money went to Eastern European laborers who were forced from Germany to work. The rest has been invested in education, charitable causes and rebuilding communities that the Nazis destroyed. Before any of this money is distributed, the bulk of the money will go to Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
Japanese-Americans were given reparations in 1979 for injustice done them during World War II. Many Japanese were taken to concentration camps along the west coast and were unable to keep their houses, jobs and property. In 1979 these citizens received legal help to file for applications for reparations. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was used to help speed up the process of paying back those who suffered during that time. The Civil Liberties Act is recognized by Congress, so why can’t they recognize something that a member of theirs proposed? Is it because of the color of our skin? Or is it because Stevens was not well-liked by his congressional peers, especially after he spearheaded the impeachment of Andrew Johnson? Johnson, who was against the anti-slavery movement, thought that black people should always be subordinate to white people. Stevens not only helped draft the 14th Amendment, he also was a major figure in campaigning the Fugitive Slave Act, which passed in 1850. In Congress Stevens even discussed the possibility of dividing the land of slave owners to their former slaves. Stevens died in 1858 and asked to be buried in an African-American cemetery.

Black slaves suffered for over 300 years in the field and in massa’s house. Many owners even raped their female slaves and then enslaved their own children to create more slaves! If this in not human cruelty, then I don’t know what is. Any government that tortures it’s own people and promises something in return should be held responsible
For some reason, others tend to think that we received reparations from the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. How is this? Of course I’m not opposed of the act, which did alleviate some problems, including the discrimination against women, handicapped persons and all people on the basis of their age, sex, nationality or religion. But this is by no means payback for the debt owed by America.
Reparations do not have to be in the form of money. There’s no way that the government can give money to every black person. Instead, how about giving every black child four free years of college education or first-time home buyers a free mortgage for a year?
When people say that we’ve already been paid back by the passage of the Civil Rights Act, it angers me because we had to fight to even get this passed. Ever since the end of the Civil War, African-Americans have been discriminated against in jobs, schools and neighborhoods. We have been raped, hanged, mutilated and dragged to death. When I see old footage of us being attacked by dogs or hosed down by firefighters and city leaders, it makes me wonder, how could anyone let this go on? These things happened after the Civil Liberties Act was passed and because of overt racism against us. Slavery and all of its present-day, ongoing results are wrong and inhumane. How could the Civil Rights Act be paid reparations? It did help prevent these atrocities from happening but in no way paid us back. The United States government needs to recognize what they promised us and give it to us.

by PAULA BLANTON

Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton star together in a 1960′s mystery remake. Regina Lambert played by Newton, comes home to an empty house and soon discovers that her husband has been murdered. His secret agent lifestyle leads Joshua Peters (W ahlberg) to try and save her life. Lambert and Newton soon discover that three of her dead husband’s friends are out to collect 6 million dollars that he conned them out of. For Lambert and Peters this is bad luck, the three will try to get their money by any means necessary. Meanwhile a host of confusing twists and turns occur when the French police and American FBI agents get involved. Mr. Bartholomew played by Tim Robbins becomes Lambert’s personal spy and informs her that her newfound friend may not be as innocent as she thinks. By the end of the movie the search for the missing money leads to an attraction between Lambert and Peters. It is easy to see why the original is called Charade. It was so confusing at times that it was a liitle hard to follow. The movie, which was shot in Paris relied heavily on the original movie starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn that the director even used the same character names. Without the modern day cars and other backgrounds some would even think that the movie seemed a little dated. Viewers not only have to sit through the slow paced movie but also tolerate hearing Newton fake a French accent.
Some of the DVD best features are filmographies from both Newton and Wahlberg as well as several deleted scenes and the making of the movie. Fortunately, they kept the mediocre scenes out possibly from time constraints. However, the best feature is located on the other side of the disc. The original movie Charade is on there in its entirety and digitally remastered. For people who admire Hepburn and Grant this is something that they cannot do without. Newton seems to do a good job playing Regina Lambert, but she cannot outdo Hepburn who shown her grace and beauty all through the movie. Grant also did an excellent job playing the gentle but handsome leading man that Wahlberg failed to completely capture. For viewers who don’t mind having to think a little while watching a movie I’d recommend this one.

by PAULA BLANTON

The KCMOSD is once again in the spotlight, only this time it’s neither about desegregation nor accreditation of their schools. The debate is over a school name.
The policy committee, consisting of four members of the school board approved a recommendation for the school, located at 6330 Swope Parkway in KCMO to be named after Dr. John Henrik Clarke. Clarke who was from Alabama grew up in the South, eventually went to New York during the Harlem Renaissance to pursue his life long career as a political and national activist who focused on African-American issues in the 20th century. Clarke was also a scholar who taught at Cornell University and contributed to writing several short stories and articles. In 1998 Clarke passed away after a heart attack.
Following a public meeting in late January, a few school board members were upset about the renaming, stating that Clarke wrote anti-Semitic remarks regarding the relationship between African and Jewish Americans. In an opinion article dated several years ago in the New York Times, Clarke wrote controversial statements about Jewish businessman using the African slave trade to their advantage, as well as possibly owning a few slaves. Clarke also thought that people of Jewish descent were no different than other Europeans who wanted to oppress non-white persons. The article sparked national attention from other prominent African-American figures such as Henry Louis Gates Jr. who responded against his ideas.
Chairman of the policy committee Joel Pelofsky, who is Jewish, first approved of the naming had received the article and decided to delay the process until further research had been done.
Horace Peterson, the other person whose name was considered was founder of the Black Archives of Mid-America, Inc. Peterson spent most of his life in Kansas City and contributed to many issues regarding minorities on the national and local level. Currently Peterson’s numerous contributions to the area are on display in a single room at the American Jazz Museum inside The Blue Room near 18th and Vine. Some of the committee members argue that Peterson was a better choice than Clarke because he was a local community leader who focused on African-American issues and it would only be fitting to name a African-centered school after him.
“You go with the local person who has local experience” Ingrid Burnett, member of the committee said.
In fact, Clarke already has his achievements on display at the world- knowned Schomberg Center for Research of Black Culture in Harlem.
On Feb. 18, the committee voted 3-1 to send a recommendation to the full school board members for their decision at a public meeting scheduled for Feb. 25th. All of the committee members, with the exception of Burnett approved the recommendation.
If the vote is in favor of Clarke, teachers and parents involved with the school agreed to collaborate and communicate some school projects with the Jewish Academy of Kansas City.