(REAL TIMES MEDIA)—A couple of years ago I was invited to be a guest on the Jesse Lee Peterson radio show to debate “The Passion of the Christ.” I had written a piece arguing that the movie was a fraud for using White Spanish actor Jim Kaviezel to depict Jesus when historical images show him to be a Black African or a dark-skinned Middle Eastern man. Peterson believed that Black folk should shut up, stop complaining and just enjoy the story, since race doesn’t matter in casting. I always found this to be a funny argument; everyone always says that race doesn’t matter in Hollywood casting, as long as the people who are benefitting are White. That’s one of the reasons why I won’t be supporting the upcoming flick “Avatar: the Last Airbender.”

(NNPA)—Get ready for the next fight as the president and the Democratic controlled Congress attempt to try and fix the mess that nearly brought down the entire economic system that has placed millions of people out of their houses, jobs, savings, etc. Republicans met with banking association representatives recently about the financial services bills working their way through the House and Senate and came away dedicated to defeating them any way they could.

The pain caused by the economic crisis finds most Americans favoring the need for financial services reform, but Republicans have turned on their message machine to fight it. For example, a $50 billion fund was put in the Senate version to have banks pay for their own bailout if they fail, rather than the U.S. Treasury.

(NNPA)—Although the National Urban League has been issuing the annual “State of Black America” report for 34 years, for some inexplicable reason, everywhere you look these days, some group is sponsoring a panel discussion titled the “State of Black America.” Tavis Smiley scheduled one in Los Angeles, canceled it, and then revived it in Chicago. Last Saturday, Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network hosted a televised panel discussion on the State of Black America at its national convention in New York.

(NNPA)—Last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proclaimed April Confederate History Month in his state. In fact, he proclaimed the date on April 7, which is the same day in 1865 that Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee began to negotiate the terms of surrender with United States Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. In some states, this day is considered Confederate Memorial Day, and Virginia is not alone in celebrating “Confederate History Month.” Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have celebrated this month for quite some time. In the last decade or so Texas (since 1999), Florida (since 2007), and Georgia (since 2009) have also instituted celebrations of Confederate History Month. Virginia celebrated from 1994-2002 before the commemoration was revoked.