iZania Blogs

They say the wife is always the last to know when her husband is accused of some unthinkable crime.  So is that, in fact, the case with the wife of Bishop Eddie Long? 

Vanessa Griffin Long has remained silent since news of the scandal broke--although she stood galantly beside her husband at Sunday service when he spoke publicly for the first time.

One has to question what she knows.  One has to believe she has asked--perhaps grilled her husband--about the allegations.

And if she does know something, one has to question why she continues to remain silent.  Silence can also be conscrued as a form

Suicide rates for middle-aged people are on the rise-- particularly for white men without college degrees -- and a combination of poor health and a poor economy may be driving it, according to a new study.

Sociologists from Rutgers University in New Jersey and Emory University in Atlanta found that suicide rates have climbed since 1988 for males aged 40-49 years, and since 1999 for females aged 40-59 years and males aged 50-59 years.

Men and women with a high school degree or less are more likely to commit suicide. Rates in men with a high school diploma went up 11.7 percent in the 40 to 49 age

In case you haven't heard, a fourth lawsuit has now been filed in the scandal that appears to be cracking the foundation of the New Birth Missionary Baptist church its the larger-than-life Bishop.

Today, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Spencer LeGrande suing Bishop Eddie Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The lawsuit alleges Breach of Fiduciary Duty; Negligence; Fraud; Infliction of  Emotional Distress and other Counts based on Sexual Acts by Bishop Long against this young male church member.

Rumor has it that there are more young men planning to come out of the woodwork.

On Sunday,

Bishop Eddie Long is listed as one of Atlanta's 125 most influential leaders; Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta's Legacy Award, 1999; Academy of Outstanding Leaders Award; Positive Image Award; Honorary Deputy Sheriff's Award, DeKalb County, GA. But today he stands accused of the unthinkable: homosexual encounters in the church AND with teenage boys.

As expected, Bishop Long has denied these allegations and only time and the evidence will tell what the real truth is.

Three lawsuits have been filed against the Bishop-all alleging he used his influence as a clergyman to persuade young

To this day I believe the main reason I did not get accepted into Howard University is because I was darker than a paper bag.  This was a practice used years ago to keep darker-skinned students from being admitted.

These days Hollywood and the media have another test they use to tell everyone what is the acceptable skin tone for black women.  If you're complexion is like Cicely Tyson's, you are doomed unless they can figure out a clever way to lighten your skin so you don't appear to look like a mammy. 

That brings me to Gabourey Sidibe's photo on the cover of Elle Magazine.  She looks

Not long ago I received an email from BlogTalk Radio indicating they had deposited some money into my Paypal account as a part of the revenue sharing program I signed up for back in 2008. Why am I sharing this with you? Because this is a way to make a little passive income while spreading the word about what it is you do.

How does the revenue sharing program work?

1.If BTR brings in the advertiser and/or sponsor for your show, they will share 35% of revenue with the hosts/publisher.

2.If you-- the host brings in the advertiser and/or sponsor for your show, they we will share 50% of that revenue

Nine years ago today thousands of people lost their lives in an attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It has been called the worst terrorist attack in our nation's history.

There's no doubt that what happened was a tragedy and should never be forgotten. But what we ought to forget are the bigots and other idiots who have used this day to fuel the flames of hatred against others: Folks like Terry Jones, who calls himself a Reverand in Florida. For the past couple of weeks, this man has generated tons of media coverage for threatening to burn the Quran--a man with a congregation of

If you're someone looking for media exposure, there's no better place to turn than HARO. I think what Peter Shankman has done with the HARO site is nothing short of phenomenal. But Peter can only do so much. He can get the word out for you but then it's up to you to do the rest.

This brings me to the purpose of my blog post today. A few months ago I put out a request for panelists for the Second Annual Social Media Summit (sponsored by BAMMedia. I was inaundated with emails from all over the country and Canada. That's a good thing, however, what was disturbing to me was the fact that some