Were you excited when BET first launched? I was.

Coming from the Caribbean twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, it took a while before our little country got cable television. One of the channels I was most excited about was BET along with MTV. Music was always my passion.

Do you still feel that enthusiasm for BET and its programming in recent years? I don't.

And what do you think of BET's recent statement about its refusal to air the Million Man March 20 year reunion held in Washington, D.C. on October… Read more

Today I am sharing this very moving piece by one of my dearest friends, the talented Duane Ferguson.

Justice for Trayvon Martin!

I am..... Keep Your Hood Up
Developed, produced, and directed by Duane Ferguson. RIP Trayvon Martin.
(C) 2012, Baba Soul, Ent?.

(With my band in Japan, wearing our hoodies for Trayvon and for justice)

 I don't know what is worse - that in 2012, a young, innocent black boy can be pursued and shot to death by a self-righteous, racist, self-proclaimed vigilante, or that, despite the growing evidence, witnesses and public outcry, the police not only fail to arrest the shooter, but even make excuses for him.

It is deeply troubling that parents still have to teach their children - sons especially - that they must be careful, that… Read more

It is still difficult to accept the passing of Whitney Houston. The loss is compounded by the fact that it was so untimely - she was only 48 years old - and the fact that she was in the middle of a comeback. I, like countless other young children, sang to Whitney Houston in front of the mirror, or in front of the TV screen watching her on MTV, dreaming of the day when I, too, would be on the stage.

I don't want to think only of the sadness, however. This post is meant to focus on the happy news that we… Read more

(http://news.yahoo.com)

It has now been two years since the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, which killed over 300,000 people, injured countless others and destroyed the infrastructure of the tiny Caribbean island.

Here in Japan, we can have special empathy for the people of Haiti, having experienced a terrible earthquake and even worse tsunami in 2011.

Unlike Japan, however, Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the Western hemisphere. The earthquake also destroyed Haiti's government and… Read more

When I reflect on 2011, the word "explosive" comes to mind. On an individual and on an international level, it was a year of transformative events.

As the fire of protest swept the Middle East, then Europe, water inundated the United States, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. The tsunami in Japan which claimed so many lives was followed by an ongoing nuclear disaster; both have affected me personally.

Yet out of the ashes, Japanese and other nationals have come together to help the victims and to… Read more