VIDEO: John Sinclair: 21st Century Man

Originally Published at Think.MTV.com

For young people in Michigan looking to engage their community and make a difference, there are some perfect home grown examples to follow.

Take John Sinclair for instance. As a young man in his twenties, John Sinclair changed the world as the state's most outspoken leader of the 60s counter culture movement.

Nadir spoke with Sinclair recently about activism in the 21st Century.

VIDEO: McCain's Straight Talk Economics

Originally Published at Think.MTV.com

Nadir's Note: Yes, that's a photo of Barack Obama. Yes, this is a video about John McCain. However, this isn't an example of what McCain calls the media's "Obama Love Fest".

Like other video upload sites, Think.MTV.com's system automatically chooses the photo it will add to the story. The website's bots grab a random frame and drops it into the description. The photo of Obama challenging McCain on economic policy just happens to be the random frame that the program chose, and after much back and forth, Think's webmasters tell me they can't change it.

So this is not an example of McCain falling victim to liberal ObamaMania. Unless the Viacom automatons love Obama more than they love McCain...

John McCain is trying to pick up his game on the Economy.

It's tough enough that the Republican nominee is saddled with the failures of "Bushonomics". McCain has also been forced to distance himself from one of his own advisers, a man who says Americans are "whining" about the economy. But at a recent town hall meeting with small business owners in Belleville, Michigan, the Straight Talk Maverick was up for the challenge, telling voters he has a plan too "fix" the economy.

Obama's Full Court Press in Michigan

Originally published at Think.MTV.com

Just one day after the Detroit Pistons advanced to the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals for the sixth season in a row, another basketball playing Mid-Westerner executed a full-court press to defend against accusations that he can’t put his opponent away, and can’t win the big one. After suffering a 41 percentage point pounding by Hillary Clinton in the West Virginia primary, Barack Obama turned up the heat on his rival with a fast break to Michigan capped by a slam dunk both contenders had prized – the endorsement of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

Read more HERE

VIDEO: Young Detroit for State Rep

Change is a key buzzword in national politics these days, and young people in Michigan are taking that message to heart. At a time when state politics are in turmoil, several young Detroit natives are proactively taking steps necessary to politically engage and take control of their communities by running for the Michigan state legislature. 23 year-old Coleman Young II is running for his second term in the legislature. Leslie Love and Lee Gaddies are also heeding the call of public service.

VIDEO: Michigan Dems Elect Delegates

Originally published at Think.MTV.com

Although there is still no plan to seat their delegates at the Democratic National Convention, Democrats across the state of Michigan convened on April 19 to elect their delegates. The uncertainty of their status created some dramatic moments at Michigan's 14th Congressional District Convention in Detroit. Nadir was there to catch the action.

‘Riot at the Click of a Mouse’: Cedarfest 2008 Behind the Tear Gas

Originally Published at Think.MTV.com

“In retrospect, this entire thing seems like a bizarre sociological experiment.” That’s what Michigan State University (MSU) student Robert Frisk wrote on the Facebook group he founded called I Got Gassed At Cedarfest 2008.

Frisk was referring to the “riot” that developed in East Lansing, Michigan on April 6, when he and 3000 to 4000 of his fellow students gathered for a block party at Cedar Village Apartments. What began as good natured fun on the first warm night of the year, ended with a few bad apples ripping up street signs and throwing beer bottles at East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) officers.

The ELPD responded with tear gas canisters, and 52 arrests, including 28 MSU students. The University has suspended six students so far. MSU officials and the police suggest that more punishments may be doled out as authorities review video of the incident.

The police have the luxury of reviewing their own footage as well as the evidence collected by dozens of partygoers with camera phones who have preserved the event by posting video online. YouTube videos show students anticipating, even provoking the inevitable as they taunted the police with cries of “We want tear gas! We want tear gas!”

East Lansing has endured a series of alcohol induced civil disturbances since the late 1980s, and according to Frisk, the legend of campus riots past fueled the frenzy this time. The Michigamme, Michigan native and I discussed the events during an online chat.

Click HERE to Read The Interview

VIDEO: The Silenced Strike - American Axle Strike Injures U.S. Economy

Originally Published at Think.MTV.Com

UAW workers have been on strike at American Axle plants in Michigan and New York since February 25. The work stoppage has forced General Motors to stop or slow production at 30 North American factories, and an estimated 40,000 people have been laid off.

We talked to striking workers about why they walked off the job.

Detroit Public Schools Earn an F Minus

Originally Published at Think.MTV.Com

More bad news from Michigan this week, and this is probably the worst in a recent streak of negative press. Detroit’s high school graduation rate is dead last among the 50 largest U.S. cities at 24.9 percent.

The findings of the report, issued by a group called America’s Promise Alliance, weren’t particularly surprising to me. I still can’t forget the Detroit Public School (DPS) billboard that shocked my wife, Akanke, and I when we first moved to Michigan from Nashville in 1999.

The billboard said: “‘C’ IT NOW, OR WE’LL SEE YOU THIS SUMMER – Sponsored by Detroit Public Schools.”

Click HERE to Read the Story

Can Michigan Get a 'Do-Over'?

Originally published at Think.MTV.com

Michigan voters are literally out in the cold when the subject of the state’s confused Democratic primary comes up.

A dozen or so dedicated supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama alternately marched and huddled outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit on a freezing 12 degree February afternoon. The group shivered defiantly as they rallied for the state’s Democratic Party to establish a caucus that would settle the fate of Michigan’s 156 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“We’re pretty upset about the way the primary election was conducted, and the fact that [Obama] wasn’t on the ticket,” said Lawrence Garcia, explaining why he and other members of the grassroots political organizing group Obama Democratic Future were willing to endure these frigid conditions on a Friday afternoon. “Now folks are talking about making those votes count, even though that was not a valid election.”

The decision to stay on the Michigan ballot has turned into something of an ace in the hole for Clinton. Supporters of Obama and former Senator John Edwards encouraged Michiganders to vote “Uncommitted”, but in the resulting confusion, Clinton walked away with 55% of the primary vote.

Garcia and his group are asking for a new caucus in Michigan. If they can’t get one, they don’t want any of Michigan’s delegates to count.

“It wasn’t a fair race,” Garcia contends. “Common folks like us didn’t have any say in moving that primary to January 15^th.”

[To learn more about Michigan’s January 15 Democratic Primary check out “Uncommitted: Michigan’s Democratic Primary Fiasco”.]

Though Obama supporters want a ‘do-over’, the prospects aren’t likely. Michigan’s Democratic governor, Jennifer Granholm, has said there isn’t enough time and it isn’t practical to pull a caucus together.

“So far I haven’t heard any meaningful or trustworthy plan that would indicate to me that we’re going to have a ‘makeover’ or ‘do-over’ caucus,” Jeff Souza, chairman of the Washtenaw County, Michigan Democratic Party says. Souza suspects that Michigan and Florida may be out of it until the last minute.

“I believe that when a clear leader is established, the Michigan and Florida delegates may be seated just as a formality, as a gesture to the people of those two states so that they do have a voice of some sort,” Souza says.

“But the damage has been done. If [the race for the nomination] is tight, it’s going to be very contentious, and you’re going to see a lot of fireworks and it’s going to become extremely unstable,” Souza fears. “It’s going to be a free for all,”

Indeed, after eleven straight primary victories, Senator Barack Obama has taken a commanding 1371 to 1274 lead in the delegate count and the hunt for the nomination. That’s if Michigan and Florida votes are not counted. If the two prodigal states are included, Clinton moves ahead with 1466 to Obama’s 1443 declared delegates, making for a much tighter race.

All discussion about what to do with Michigan’s delegation has been biased, with each side working to gain an advantage for their chosen candidate.

“The Clinton supporters believe they have a built-in advantage,” Souza explains, “and so I don’t think they really want to have a do-over caucus, especially with the congressional districts’ conventions [on March 29] determining the allocation of [delegates].” There’s a strong possibility that uncommitted delegates who are actually Clinton supporters could be elected, and presumably they would vote for Hillary Clinton at the convention.

Conversely, Obama supporters believe a ‘do-over’ caucus would eliminate the confusion by allowing the rank and file of Michigan’s Democratic Party to determine the state’s choice once and for all. “They feel that they need to make it official and take away the wiggle room or the ability of Clinton supporters to get those uncommitted delegates and make sure that Obama supporters are officially elected by the people,” Souza observes.

Michigan state representative Coleman Young II is an Obama supporter who helped organize the February 22 rally outside the building that bears his father’s name. “At first I wanted to move the primary up,” Young admits, “because I wanted the presidential candidates to come here and tell us what their plan was to stimulate the economy, especially here in Michigan with all that we’re going through. There are a lot of different issues that we have that need to be addressed and should be addressed.”

“Our most valuable asset that we have in this country is our democracy, and our right to vote,” Young exclaims. “I think we’re being disenfranchised, and I think one person being disenfranchised is one too many. That’s why I personally believe that we need to have a redo. The citizens of Michigan were robbed horribly in this process.”

“My vote should count,” marcher Cassie Williams says. “For me to be told that my vote doesn’t count, or that the delegates from Michigan won’t be seated, that’s not okay. That’s not the American way. That’s not what democracy is about.”

“For all of our lives we’ve been told, ‘get out and vote, your vote counts, you matter, you have a voice’,” William continues. “Then to be rendered voiceless, that’s a problem. That’s a serious problem.”

Currently Michigan Democrats are in political purgatory. The state’s delegates have become a pawn in this game but they may never be played. Because state party leadership chose to cut line, Michigan Democrats are forced to watch from the sidelines as the most exciting race for the nomination in fifty years has played out everywhere else around the country.

If the state’s party favors one candidate over another and holds a do-over caucus, it could create even more disention in the Democratic Party ranks. If it fails to act, or it seats the delegates in a close race, which could effectively hand the nomination to the other candidate, full-scale riots could break out at the convention. Come November, frustrated Michigan Democrats in this traditional battleground state may turn to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain who has been accused by conservatives of being too liberal.

“It’s quite a mess,” Souza sighs. “It’s almost like Iraq. There’s no good solution at this point.”

VIDEO: Loving Detroit, Leaving Detroit: Part 1 - Detroit's Daughter

Originally published at Think.MTV.com



In January, the Detroit News reported that Michigan lost 90,000 residents in 2007. This was three times the population loss in 2003, the first year economists identified Michigan's one state recession.

The city of Detroit has been steadily losing residents for years. Native Detroiters who love the city feel compelled to move in search of better opportunity elsewhere.

This is the first in a series that explores why so many residents who love Detroit feel they must leave Detroit.

Kwame Kilpatrick IS Hip Hop

Originally published at Think.MTV.com

Whether you like it or not, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick IS Hip Hop. The 37 year-old chief executive was famously dubbed “The Hip Hop Mayor” at the beginning of his first term, and while the title was meant as an insult, he embraced the image, and the moniker stuck.

Though he stopped sporting a diamond stud in his left ear during his second mayoral campaign, the former captain of the Florida A&M football team still dons the style and swagger of the hip hop aesthetic. Even the scandals that follow Kwame around like members of his entourage – wild parties with strippers, SUVs, luxury resorts and spas in Cali, infidelity and text messages – seem more akin to the typical lifestyle of a platinum-selling rapper or an NBA All-Star, than it should the mayor of the nation’s 11th largest city.

But Kwame Kilpatrick is Hip Hop. He typifies the young Black man who came of age listening to the sound of the boom bap. As glass ceilings in corporate America begin to open for the men and women who were once called Generation X and those of Generation Y to follow, the nation’s corporate style is changing.

Apple’s Steve Jobs turned heads among the suits over a decade ago by striding confidently through the halls of power in blue jeans and a sport coat. In 2007 former drug dealer Shawn Carter resigned his post as CEO of hip hop’s most storied multi-million dollar brand, Def Jam. For better or worse, Kwame Kilpatrick is the brash, young political leader who has symbolized this shift for the past six years.

Those who have grown up with and love Hip Hop celebrate its triumphs, and are embarrassed by its missteps, and Kwame Kilpatrick is Hip Hop. He is applauded for helping to improve the city’s downtown, for encouraging economic development and working to attract much needed business to the struggling municipality. Beyond the lifestyle scandals, the mayor has been criticized for instituting a $300.00 fee for trash collection in the nation’s second poorest city. He has been accused of providing money for beautification projects in higher income neighborhoods while neglecting less affluent parts of town.

Still it is Kwame’s baller status that makes headlines in a materialistic, hip hop driven media climate. His policy decisions – both good and bad – are overshadowed by his love of bling, money and women.

To his detractors, Kilpatrick represents everything bad about hip hop and everything bad about Detroit. Comments on one message board label the lawyer and former state legislator “a thug”, “a goon”, “a street person”, and “a scum bag”. He is compared to another infamous figure in hip hop, Death Row Records chief Suge Knight.

Among many of his supporters, however, this pejorative language is nothing more than thinly-veiled racism, or still another dose of anti-Detroit Haterade. The animosity of outsiders adds to the feeling among Detroiters that the city is always being dumped on. “Kwame is one of us”, they say, and “good or bad, we’ll stand behind our own.”

Kilpatrick matured during his second term as mayor. His attempts to keep his personal life on the down low have been thwarted by a media intent on digging up dirt that can sell newspapers, drive web hits and attract eyeballs in a competitive news environment. The text messages that were leaked to the Detroit Free Press were created during his first term. The aftermath, plotting to cover up a secret settlement with the cops who were fired for investigating his activities and lying about his affairs under oath, show an older, wiser man trying to hide the mistakes of his carefree youth.

This latest Kilpatrick scandal won’t automatically end the mayor’s career as many of his critics hope, but it has added another layer of tarnish to his tailored Teflon suit. Kwame may survive this row because many of his constituents and supporters are hip hop just like he is. The question that remains is: Will the Hip Hop Mayor chill out and stop flossing so much as he matures, or will he continue to live large like the baller he is?