Southfield-based  Marcus Glenn is an artist on the move. He is a featured artist at Park West Gallery, and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History has acquired one of his works to be part of its permanent collection.

Glenn, 43, said his mother, herself a landscape artist, was the primary inspiration for his becoming an artist. Other inspirations include Picasso, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence.

He also said his mother always knew he was interested in art, because one of his favorite pastimes was doodling. She encouraged that by keeping pencils and paper in his hands.

His kindergarten teach-er also tapped into his interest in art when he spearheaded a project in which the students made representations of themselves for a parent-teacher conference.

“As the parents would walk into the room, they would see a replica of their kids sitting in the chair,” he said. “We had to bring in our shirts, and we actually made them (the replicas) out of bags.”

Glenn recalled that a lot of the other kids came to him for help.

“It was kind of cute,” he said, adding that his teacher raved about how he took control of the event, and helped his classmates.

The teacher also encouraged Glenn’s parents to nurture his artistic talents.

Asked if he had a preferred medium, Glenn said he took sculpture classes, and loves to sculpture. He added that part of his art is “Flat Life,” which derives from him taking a flat surface and bringing it to life through dimension.

He started out in oil pants, a medium in which his mother had dabbled. He found, however, that oils took too long to dry. Instead, he went to the speedier medium of acrylics.

“You can achieve the same effect with acrylics,” he said. “So at this point in my career, I like working in the acrylic medium with the collage technique. Which, again, I label Flat Life.”

A Flat Life work might have a portion of an otherwise flat surface raised to create a three-dimensional look.

When Glenn first dabbled in the Flat Life technique, he frequented a lot of museums and galleries and studied collage imagery. He also studied the technique of Bas Relief.

That particular style intrigued him, so he initially used Styrofoam when he started doing the Flat Life style.

“I would carve that, and then I would prime it with a texture, and then I would lay fabrics on to of it and glue it to a wood surface,” he said. “At the time, no other artist was doing that particular style of art to that degree. I mean I’ve seen dimensional art in a collage, even to the point where most artists would glue known objects to the surface of the canvas, but for me, I was creating my surfaces.”

“It was different,” he added. “everything was technical in the aspect of not just taking objects and throwing them and gluing them, but actually having an effect on everything that went into the composition.”

A lot of his work features jazz in some way. Glenn said his father was an avid jazz listener.

He also has three older sisters, and said he found women to be an inspiring subject matter in his paintings.

Some painting feature multicolored floorboards. Glenn said they reflect the variety of God’s creations, athat they’re like a spiritual foundation of his art.

Regarding the piece  chosen for permanent display in the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Glenn said because of repairs the museum was undergoing, it’s still in his possession.

“I’m going to have to deliver it to them,” he said, speaking of the Flat Life piece called “Any Man’s Pain.”

A few years ago, Glenn was one of the featured artists at a Park West Gallery Event curated by the museum. Officials there subsequently decided it would be a good idea to have one of his pieces in their collection.

Despite Michigan’s uncertain economy, Glenn said he tries to keep a positive outlook. He added that being with Park West Gallery, which sets up venues in different states and cities, and also has a presence on cruise ships, has helped.

“You don’t necessarily target your market locally,” he said.

Glenn and his wife, Yolanda, travel a lot in order to promote his art. He is not a big lover of travel but she is.

His long-term goals are to continue to explore his creativity as an artist. He also said that what he does in the art community is a great responsibility.

“I feel that I can be a positive role model for up-and-coming artists of all nationalities,” he said. “This is a tough business to crack into, to be able to say that you live, eat and pay your bills solely on your art.”

Glenn has being working as full-time artist for 12 years. Prior to that, he worked at Chrysler, and for a period of about  five years he juggled working at Chrysler and selling his art before he made the decision to focus on being a full-time artist.

A permanent collection of Marcus Glenn’s work is at Park West Galley, which is open, free of charge, six days a week. Visit http://www.parkwest-glenn.com/default.asp for more information.

Who cares about how big your ego is at City Hall? 

Keep that for Kanye West and sing it with him the next time you go to one of his concerts. 

I don’t, and I don’t believe those waiting for needed services after investing their tax dollars care about your oversized egos. 

After all, they hired you to work for them, not to let your importance get in the way of service delivery. You are the servant. 

And what the bosses (Detroiters of every stripe) who hired you want is services — and they want it now. 

So as I watch the drama unfold at City Hall and the imminent tug of war between Lansing and Detroit over the possible  appointment of an emergency financial manager unfold, I wonder if, in fact, those who have been charged with demonstrating fiscal leadership over the finances of this city understand the magnitude of the crisis the city is in.  

Perhaps they do. They are privy to information that I nor any other person will ever be. But maybe what is really keeping them from a sense of urgency is the fat checks they receive from taxpayers. 

How about letting go of the fat checks for two months and let’s see if they’d show a sense of urgency now that they would be hit in their pocketbooks and wallets? 

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing does not own the city. The City Council does not own Detroit, and AFSCME Local 25 does not own the city either. 

The city is owned by those who hired these leaders to go to City Hall and work on their behalf. In doing so they expect that they will put aside their egos, and work diligently  for them as any employer would expect of their employees.  

In any job, your relevance is tied to your level of production and the day you cease performing for those who hired you, you are out the door and the next person comes in. 

No one is irreplaceable, and that includes those at City Hall. 

In the last couple of weeks I have heard some leaders from City Hall say either the mayor has not reached out to them, or they are waiting to be called, or haven’t decided yet when to meet with the mayor. 

One labor leader was initially quoted in very casual terms as basically saying they expect to meet with the mayor. But his remarks carried no sense of urgency. 

In pure political parlance, ring kissing is the name of the game that is being played. You have to acknowledge the power of those you need to be your allies. You have to show deference to how important they are, and in most cases say what they want to hear. But that’s politics. 

Detroit’s fiscal crisis does not need political gamesmanship. Take the politics out of it. It needs leadership that is tenacious, honest and pragmatic in tackling the crucial issues facing the city. 

City Council, check your ego at the door of the planning meeting and get to work with the understanding that you were sent there to do the people’s business. 

Don’t wait for the mayor to be the first to reach out. If he doesn’t reach out you are obliged on behalf of those who sent you to work for them to reach out to the mayor and address this financial tsunami that threatens to forever alter Detroit as we have known it. 

If the mayor doesn’t respond, then hold a press conference and tell the inform the citizenry of your effort to meet with  the mayor. 

The lives of so many thousands of families are on the line daily as political posturing, power playing and egocentrism take the place of real brainwork on the life and death issues in this city. 

Thousands more continue to hang in the balance every time our leaders come out to announce they haven’t hashed out a plan yet. This is even more painful in this holiday season when many families don’t even know what to do, keeping their fingers crossed and bracing for that painful and dreaded news: “You are laid off.” 

I opposed the council plan of just laying off 2,500 employees, which means putting thousands of families in hardship and complicating their ability to deal with the foreclosure crisis, and more. I don’t believe this plans makes sense. In fact, I doubt if the plan was clearly thought out. I believe the plan offered by council was just a way to counter what the mayor was offering and show for the record that council is not standing by idle. 

Bing opposed laying off 2,500 employees because he believes it won’t solve the budget crisis without opening up the labor agreements and having labor members make significant concessions to help save the city financially. I agree with the mayor. Adding 2,500 more people to the unemployment lines in an already precarious city is not the answer to the fiscal crisis. 

There have many comparisons of the city to the auto industry crisis by those supporting the “cut, cut, cut” mantra. Some have argued that the automakers and the UAW have made many concessions to help the auto industry make a comback. That is true and, in fact, they had an equivalent of an emergency manager appointed by the Obama administration to oversee the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler. 

But let’s also remember  that both automakers also received billions of dollars in taxpayer loans to get back on track. 

Detroit is not expected to receive a dime when it gets into the hands of an emergency manager. The analogy does not fit Detroit’s current fiscal crisis because the Obama administration is  not going bail Detroit out with a billion-dollar loan. 

Egos aside, leaders at City Hall need to come together and look within the structural bureaucracy of city government, trim the fat and save money. The city’s chief labor leader, Al Garrett, was present at the press conference last week as a show of solidarity. He talked about being hopeful. Garrett understands that he holds most of the cards in this crucial time. History will judge how he handles these negotiations. 

It’s one thing to display the kind of fiery rhetoric we heard at the press conference. There is nothing wrong in reasserting the right to self-determination. That philosophy has always guided how different communities  have operated to position themselves for forward mobility. 

But beyond the rhetoric and the refrains lies the challenge of putting aside differences, political posturing and get down to business. The common agenda should be saving Detroit. 

For once, let’s show that Detroit’s elected leadership has a united plan. Show us that you understand that this city’s long and often troubled political history beckons you to step up and do something meaningful. The people have heard enough talk. They want action, immediately. The city’s leadership should also be looking at ways to enhance revenue for the city and create jobs.  

With the city’s dwindling population and declining resources, we cannot be in denial about the grim socioeconomic realities. We either face up to the facts or we’ll be run over. 

Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle and the author of a six-part series on the Obama presidency including “Obama and Black Loyalty” published last year. His latest book is “Obama and Christian Loyalty” with an epilogue written by Bob Weiner, former White House spokesman. His upcoming books in 2012 are “Obama and Jewish Loyalty” and “Obama and Business Loyalty.” Listen to him every Thursday, 11:30 a.m. on WDET 101.9 FM Detroit and every Sunday 9 to 10 p.m. “Obama Watch” program on WLIB 1190 AM-New York.  E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .   

Just like the King and Crockett contest, revenge was the call of the day. In the PSL Division 2 title game the Henry Ford Trojans had beaten the Frederick Douglass Hurricanes 27-26 in a stunning comeback from a 26-0 deficit.
 
However, at Ford Field the home of the Detroit Lions, Douglass reversed the early season outcome jumping out to 14-0 halftime lead and hanging on this time to win its first PSL championship with a convincing 28-0 victory.
 
Sporting the nickname of the legendary college football Miami Hurricanes and the same colors, too, Douglass (8-1) put the foot to the medal and showed all that this is a team to be reckoned in future PSL seasons.
 
“We had a lot of adversity this year,” exclaimed Douglass first year coach Al Demps. “Sure we got out to a 14-0 first half lead, but I made sure they remembered what happened the first time we met. To the kids credit they listened and came out in the second half, kept their focus and did not take their feet off the gas.”
 
The adversity coach Demps was referring to was just before the start of the season, it was determined Douglass' field was unplayable, thus denying the team any home games.
 
Then on Sept. 26, the Douglass locker room was vandalized and a large amount of their equipment was stolen. Donations were made from area schools like Birmingham Brother Rice and Plymouth, and from Lions players Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best, among others.
 
“Through adversity the team has rallied together and created something special this season,” Demps said.
 
Leading the way for Douglass and doing his best Calvin Johnson impression was receiver and defensive back Delcory Williams. He latched onto two spectacular touchdown passes and added an interception for good measure.
 
“This is Ford Field and I was trying to be like Johnson,” Williams said with a giant smile on his face. “This is my senior year and early in the season I asked coach to start throwing the fade and Alley-Oop and he did.”
 
Coach Demps said that since they have been targeting Williams and the addition of a new offensive coordinator the offense have shined. The Hurricanes have been averaging 35 points per game in the last half of the season.
 
Douglass quarterback Kory Peterson did not complete many passes, but what he did he made it count. With Ford’s defense putting pressure on Peterson, he was sacked three times before he completed a pass, but when the line finally gave him time it resulted in a 70-yard catch and run to Demetrius Stinson.
 
Peterson followed that up with 33-yard and 13-yard touchdown passes to Williams. Stinson closed out the fourth quarter scoring with a 37-yard touchdown run.
 
“As a team we stepped up and made plays just like our coaches told us if we wanted to win a city title,” Peterson said. “We had a win mindset and we all remembered what happen when we played Ford earlier. We were determined to not let that happen again.”
 
Douglass’ defense was also spectacular in the rematch with Ford. They snatched three interceptions – Williams, Omari Taylor and Denzel Hawthorne all had interceptions that kept Ford off the score board.
 
Leland Stein can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Twitter @LelandSteinIII

IndyCar racing will once again rev up Detroit’s Belle Isle with the announcement that Chevrolet has inked a multi-year agreement with the Penske Corporation and INDYCAR to bring professional motorsports back to the Motor City.
For the first time in four years, the popular racing series will make its way back to the city under the title of the first Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix held June 1-3, 2012 at the picturesque 2.1-mile raceway at Belle Isle Park road course.
“Chevrolet has a long, storied history in IndyCar racing,” said Mark Reuss, president, GM North America. “This year we celebrated the shared centennial of Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500. We’re excited to see that history continue with the help of Penske Corporation and INDYCAR bringing back open-wheel racing to Detroit in 2012.  This city is a natural for racing — it put the world on wheels — so the roar of engines is something that simply belongs here.”
Detroit’s Belle Isle Park will host four races during the three-day event, including: 
• The Chevrolet Indy Grand Prix presented by shopautoweek.com, where Chevrolet’s new twin-turbo V-6 race engines will compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series
• The Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Challenge where Chevrolet Daytona Prototypes and Camaros will compete in the first GRAND-AM Rolex Series race held on Belle Isle
• The Cadillac V-Series Challenge at Belle Isle, where Cadillac CTS-Vs will compete in the second Pirelli World Challenge series race held on Belle Isle
• The Firestone Indy Light Series race, featuring the rising stars of open-wheel racing  
“Chevrolet has been instrumental in bringing motorsports back to Detroit,” said Penske Corp. Chairman Roger Penske. “The Grand Prix will draw international attention and visitors to Belle Isle, which is one of the most-scenic race venues in the United States. We believe the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will be one of the most-popular races in the IZOD IndyCar Series and will play a major role in continuing the renaissance of Detroit.”
IndyCar racing has developed a global audience. The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series, which concluded Oct. 16, included 17 events in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Japan, reaching an estimated television audience of 191 million people in 200 countries.
    The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix was last held in 2007 and 2008. According to estimates from the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, those two events combined attracted more than 200,000 visitors, and brought more than $100 million into the Detroit Metro economy.
    “We are thrilled to be able to bring the Detroit Grand Prix back to Belle Isle,” said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. “Thanks to the support of INDYCAR, Penske Corporation and Chevrolet, we will once again host one of the world’s most prestigious motorsports events.”

On Sunday, President Obama stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with grace to dedicate the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial that honors the civil rights leader and international icon whose work and speeches changed the world.  In  special dedication, we are printing excerpts from some of King’s most famous speeches.
    ‘I Have A Dream’
    “In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, Black men as well as White men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.  Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’
    “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
    “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
“Letter From A
Birmingham Jail”
    “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his Black brothers of Africa and his Brown and Yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice.
    “If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march, let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall, let him go on freedom rides, and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence. This is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: ‘Get rid of your discontent.’
    “Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter, I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’
    “Was not Amos an extremist for justice: ‘Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.’ Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian Gospel: ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.’ Was not Martin Luther an extremist: ‘Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.’ And John Bunyan: ‘I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.’ And Abraham Lincoln: ‘This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.’  And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’
    “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?”
“Why I Am Opposed To The War in Vietnam”
    “For nine years following 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam.
    “Before the end of the war we were meeting 80 percent of the French war costs. Even before the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, they began to despair of the reckless action, but we did not. We encouraged them with our huge financial and military supplies to continue the war even after they had lost the will. Soon we would be paying almost the full costs of this tragic attempt at recolonization.
    “After the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva agreements. But instead there came the United States, determined that Ho should not unify the temporarily divided nation, and the peasants watched again as we supported one of the most vicious modern dictators  — Premier Diem.
    “The peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly routed out all opposition, supported their extortionist landlords and refused even to discuss reunification with the north.
    “The peasants watched as all this was presided over by U.S. influence and then by increasing numbers of U.S. troops who came to help quell the insurgency that Diem’s methods had aroused. When Diem was overthrown they may have been happy, but the long line of military dictatorships seemed to offer no real change, especially in terms of their need for land and peace. The only change came from America as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept and without popular support.
    “All the while the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy  and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us — not their fellow Vietnamese — the real enemy. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move or be destroyed by our bombs. So they go — primarily women and children and the aged.”
“The  Birth Of A New Nation”
    “Oh, my friends, our aim must be not to defeat Mr. Engelhardt, not to defeat Mr. Sellers and Mr. Gayle and Mr. Parks. Our aim must be to defeat the evil that’s in them. And our aim must be to win the friendship of Mr. Gayle and Mr. Sellers and Mr. Engelhardt. We must come to the point of seeing that our ultimate aim is to live with all men as brothers and sisters under God and not be their enemies or anything that goes with that type of relationship. And this is one thing that Ghana teaches us: that you can break a loose from evil through nonviolence, through a lack of bitterness. Nkrumah says in his book, ‘When I came out of prison, I was not bitter toward Britain. I came out merely with the determination to free my people from the colonialism and imperialism that had been inflicted upon them by the British. But I came out with no bitterness.’
    “And because of that this world will be a better place in which to live. There’s another thing that Ghana reminds us. Ghana reminds us that freedom never comes on a silver platter. It’s never easy. Ghana reminds us that whenever you break out of Egypt you better get ready for stiff backs.
    “You better get ready for some homes to be bombed. You better get ready for some churches to be bombed. You better get ready for a lot of nasty things to be said about you, because you are getting out of Egypt, and whenever you break a loose from Egypt the initial response of the Egyptian is bitterness. It never comes with ease.
    “It comes only through the hardness and persistence of life. Ghana reminds us of that. You better get ready to go to prison. When I looked out and saw the prime minister there with his prison cap on that night that reminded me of that fact, that freedom never comes easy. It comes through hard labor and it comes through toil, it comes through hours of despair and disappointment.”
“Speech At The Great March On Detroit”
    “My good friend, the Rev. C. L. Franklin, all of the officers and members of the Detroit Council of Human Rights, distinguished platform guests, ladies and gentlemen, I cannot begin to say to you this afternoon how thrilled I am, and I cannot begin to tell you the deep joy that comes to my heart as I participate with you in what I consider the largest and greatest demonstration for freedom ever held in the United States. And I can assure you that what has been done here today will serve as a source of inspiration for all of the freedom-loving people of this nation.
    “I think there is something else that must be said because it is a magnificent demonstration of discipline. With all of the thousands and hundreds of thousands of people engaged in this demonstration today, there has not been one reported incidence of violence.”
    Bankole Thompson is the author of the new book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” that will be released soon. He is a member of the “Obama Watch” roundtable program, Sunday evenings, on WLIB-1190AM-New York which is simulcast in New Jersey and Connecticut. E-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Throughout the years I’ve read scores of comic books. Countless outstanding and not-so-outstanding comics have been created over the decades. With so many notable comic books that have graced the racks, it can be difficult to choose a favorite. However, after much contemplation, I’d put Batman comics on the top of my list.
Why the Dark Knight? When I was young I wanted to be like him (a part of me still does). It’s the notion of doing what’s right, putting away evildoers with prevailing justice, as all superheroes do. But I knew I would never fly or halt moving locomotives like Superman. I could never stick to walls like Spidey or produce unbreakable, metal claws from my hands like Wolverine.
    Batman, however, is different. Him I could be like, or almost if I really tried. Any person could because unlike his hero counterparts, Bruce Wayne has no super powers. As a hero who is merely a man, Batman, in some ways, is an expression of the pinnacle of human achievement. His body is conditioned to a peak physical state. He has trained in the Far East, becoming a master of several martial arts and a formidable warrior. He has even made a full comeback after having his spinal column broken (see the Knightfall saga).
In terms of mental fortitude, the Dark Knight has a superior intellectual shrewdness and will. Many of his cases are solved due to his astute detective work and knowledge of criminalistics. Being well prepared, he has contingency plans for almost any situation. For example, he carries a Kryptonite ring in his utility belt just in case he has an altercation with Superman (yes, Batman and Superman fight on occasion).
Of course, none of Wayne’s exploits could be achieved without financing. Although he was born into money, he has surpassed his father’s wealth and keeps his billion dollar empire successfully running despite his utter dedication to fighting criminal scum. Most of us aren’t born into money, but it is possible to attain a fortune akin to Bruce Wayne’s. Just ask Robert Kiyosaki.
Although Bruce Wayne is an overachiever, his humanityComics legend Frank Miller’s classic retelling of Batman’s gritty, formative days makes its full-length animated debut in “Batman: Year One,” which is now available on Blu-ray combo pack and DVD, On Demand and for download.
    “Batman: Year One” is based on the landmark 1987 DC Comics titles from 12-time Eisner Award winner Frank Miller and illustrator David Mazzucchelli. The film depicts young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City in his first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante. The playboy billionaire chooses the guise of a giant bat to combat crime, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon (who is already battling corruption from inside the police department), inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps to bring down a crooked political system in Gotham.
    Primetime television stars Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Ben McKenzie (“Southland,” “The O.C.”), Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) provide the core voices for “Batman: Year One.” Three-time Emmy Award winner Cranston gives voice to young Jim Gordon, while McKenzie makes his animated voiceover debut as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Fanboy favorites Dushku and Sackhoff fill the roles of Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Detective Sarah Essen, respectively. Alex Rocco (“The Godfather”) is the voice of crime lord Carmine Falcone.
    Animation master Bruce Timm is executive producer of “Batman: Year One.” Directors are Lauren Montgomery (“Superman/Batman: Apocalypse”) and Sam Liu (“All-Star Superman”) from a script penned by Academy Award nominee Tab Murphy (“Gorillas in the Mist,” “Superman/Batman: Apocalypse”).
    “‘Batman: Year One’ offers fans and newcomers alike an animated perspective on one of the true benchmark works in Batman comics history,” said Hersin Magante, Warner Home video marketing manager, Family & Animation. “Bruce Timm and the Warner Bros. animation team have gone to great lengths to realize Frank Miller’s groundbreaking, influential vision. ‘Batman: Year One’ stands tall as the next DC Universe animated original movie.”

EAST LANSING — In one of the more important games in the Michigan State and University of Michigan rivalry in recent memory, both state of Michigan universities met with the Big Ten Legends Division lead on the line.
    Coming into the big rivalry, U-M sported a formidable 6-0 record and MSU entered the contest with a 4-1 record in the fight for state’s rights. After the Spartans had outlasted the Wolverines 28-14, that left them with only one blemish on their 2011 season — a loss to Notre Dame in South Bend.
    Michigan State entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense, and its defensive line gave U-M quarterback Denard Robinson problems all day. Cleaning up the leftovers from the d-line’s pressure was linebacker Chris Norman. The former Renaissance High player led MSU’s domineering defense in tackles with 10.
    With the Spartans’ impressive victory at home they jumped from 23th in the national polls to 15, U-M fell to 18 from its high of 11. The Spartans have now won four straight against Michigan for the first time since 1959-62, equaling Michigan State’s longest streak in the series.
    Michigan State took the field in special green-and-bronze Nike Pro Combat uniforms. In a surprise move, Michigan showed up in “legacy” uniforms by Adidas that included pants that were white instead of the usual maize. All of that increased the hype of the game.
    “It’s a big win, a program win,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “To do that a fourth straight year says a lot about our players. I said all along I thought this is a winner-take-all type of game.”
    Said Norman: “We are happy about our recent success over U-M, but this was a new year and we knew we had to prepare and work hard to continue what we started. Our game plan helped us win, but it was the emotion and passion that comes with playing Michigan that kept us focused. The Michigan game was the biggest game of the season. We were playing for bragging rights, recruiting and all my people back home.”
    MSU’s defense held Robinson to 78 yard rushing and Michigan to 14 points.
     “This is what we expected from our defense,” Norman said. “Coach has been on us since the Notre Dame game to step our effort up and we have.”
    The previous week’s 10-7 defensive gem at Ohio State highlighted that the Spartans might finally be over the loss of starting linebackers Greg Jones (New York Giants) and Eric Gordon (Cleveland Browns). Norman, as the only remaining starting linebacker returning to the co-Big Ten champion Spartans, knew more was expected of him. With the offense not quite in sync, the defense has been stepping up and in the middle of it all is junior linebacker Norman.
     “We lost some senior leadership in linebackers Jones and Gordon,” Norman said. “So in the off season I tried to take myself to a different level. I worked in the weight room and put on another eight pounds. Physically and mentally I tried to get myself better as a person and player. Also I wanted to come in and help be a leader.”
    After six games Norman, a former high school All-State, SuperPrep and PrepStar All-American, is second on the team in solo and assisted tackles. He knows he and his teammates will have to keep it up to harness the explosive Wisconsin offense.
    Norman said the Detroit Public School League (PSL) prepared him well.
    “The PSL gets a lot of flack because it is in the city of Detroit,” he said. “But I’m thankful for my experiences in the PSL. The toughness that it gave me got me ready for Big Ten football and MSU academics. People talk about character, but I have three former high school teammates on this team and we are all good people. We all want to represent the PSL at MSU.”
    Leland Stein can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Twitter @LelandSteinIII.

So many things are said about age. That it’s “nothing but a number.” That “you’re only as old as you feel.”  We’ve heard them all.
    And lately it’s been popular to espouse the new realities of what age means: You know, “50 is the new 40,” “60 is the new 50,” etc. Which makes sense considering the fact that people live longer today, work with as much zeal as in years past, take care of themselves, look good and do not  think of themselves as out of the mainstream.
    Each birthday is a blessing, age notwithstanding.
    It is surprising how many people in the entertainment industry have reached  the big 4-0, or maybe that should be “the big 4-oh!” And they are still going strong, and showing no signs of slowing down even a little bit anytime in the near — or distant — future.
    This week we are putting  the spotlight on some of the performers who reached the 40 milestone this year, meaning they were all born in 1971.
    Remember when ALFONSO RIBEIRO, as a little boy, was featured with Michael Jackson in those popular “Pepsi” commercials, wearing a red leather jacket just like Michael’s? His birthday was Sept. 21.
    Forty sure looks good on MARY J. BLIGE (Jan. 11). She started out as a very rough-edged singer with a lot of personal problems, and became “the queen of hip-hop soul” along the way. Today she has herself together and is one of the music industry’s most glamorous stars.
    One of hardest-to-believe “new 40s” is the diminutive EMMANUEL LEWIS. There is a tendency to think of the “Webster” star — the show ran from 1983 to 1987 — as still a  kid because he is so small, but on March 9 Lewis celebrated his 40th birthday.

REGINA KING (Jan. 15) first came to our attention as the charming and funny Brenda Jenkins on the sitcom “227.” She has since developed into one of the finest actresses in Hollywood, turning in one outstanding performance after another.
There was a time when all rappers were in their teens or early twenties. Not anymore. Nostalgia (“old school”) rap concerts are now common. Hard-core rapper SNOOP DOGG will be 40 by the time most of you read this (Oct. 20).
    From the female rap world comes MC LYTE (Oct. 11). To look at the rapper/actress today, you would never believe she is the same person who became prominent in the early ’90s. She is now beautiful, as we saw when she was a regular on the TV series “Half  & Half.”
    Joining her is MISSY ELLIOTT, who said goodbye to 39 on July 1. Appearing on the national charts for the first time in 1997, Elliott has the distinction of being the only female rapper to have six albums certified Platinum by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).
    SHAWN WAYANS (Jan. 19) is, of course, part of the first family of comedy. There must have been a lot of laughter in the Wayans household. He was introduced to the public by way of “In Living Color,” the long-running comedy sketch show created by his oldest brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans.

No one could ever accuse JADA PINKETT SMITH (Sept. 18) of riding on the coattails of her husband, megastar Will Smith.  She had already made a name for herself long before they married. She is an outstanding actress and has mastered film producing and directing as well.
    TAYE DIGGS (Jan. 2) was profiled in last week’s edition as one of the most talented and consistently employed actors in Hollywood, Black or otherwise. He has many and varied movie, television and stage roles to his credit. He is currently a cast member on the popular series “Private Practice.”
    ERYKAH BADU, who emerged in 1997 with an attention-grabbing album titled “Baduizm,” has always known that she is not like anyone else and the public learned that quickly. She marches to no one’s band but her own, and  that certainly includes her creative attire and often-startling hairstyles. Her birth date is Feb. 26.
    From 1992 into the early 2000s, one of the most popular female groups was TLC, who enjoyed a impressive string of hits, including  “Creep,” “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” and “No Scrubs.” One of the members of the trio, ROZONDA “CHILLI” THOMAS, turned 40 on Feb. 27.
    Among others sure to remember 1971 at the year they entered their 40s are rock/rap star KID ROCK, actor and former “Soul Train” host DORIAN GREGORY, actress TASHA SMITH (most recently seen in “Jumping the Broom”), actor and former model JASON LEWIS (“Sex and the City”), actor EWAN MCGREGOR, actress and former beauty pageant star KENYA MOORE, Latin singing sensation RICKY MARTIN, rapper/actor FREDRO STARR and actor and former rap star MARK WAHLBERG.

Johnny L. DuPree, current mayor of Hattiesburg, Miss., and its first African American mayor, is on a historic journey and if the political tide is in his favor, DuPree will become the first African American governor of Mississippi.
Already DuPree, a Democrat, has made history by being the first African American nominated by either party for the governorship of a state that sits at the heart of the dark days of Jim Crow. He defeated Clarksdale attorney and developer Bill Luckett in a Democratic primary runoff to face current Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant in the Nov. 8 general election.
But the question remains whether Mississippi can redeem itself from its sordid past by electing DuPree to become the first Black to be named chief executive officer of the state. DuPree said it is more than a redemption question. It is about who can do the best job for the citizens of Mississippi.
“I think Mississippi is ready for change. I think Mississippi is ready for the person that can come in and help effect a change in the state,” DuPree said in an exclusive interview with the Michigan Chronicle during a recent stop in Detroit to galvanize support for his November battle. “I don’t think that people are sitting around saying ‘you know I think I want an African American governor. People are sitting around saying I want a job. I want a house. I want my children educated. If he happens to be Black, hallelujah.”
However, DuPree laughed when asked if his election to the top post in Mississippi will be a public relations coup for the state because of how it could change the perception of outsiders about the southern state’s long and troubling racial history.
He replied, “I would think so. The reality is reality. History is history. There hadn’t been an African American statewide elected office holder although we have more African American elected officials than any other state. There has been a barrier that has not allowed us to be a statewide elected office holder.”
With the sweltering economy and its devastating impact on the lives of ordinary people, DuPree said he wants to make an improvement to people’s lives, and that he is going to go to Jack son to do just that.
“Although I’m proud to be African American, I can tell you that. I’m proud that Mississippi residents chose me to be the Democratic nominee,” DuPree said. “I think Mississippi should be proud. I believe they saw through all of this, the sordid history.”  
DuPree said the current state of affairs in Mississippi shows  that the state has fallen short on his platform of jobs, education, health care and small business development.
“We are struggling to balance the budget. That is why over the last five years the state has cut education by over 300 million dollars. That should not be cut,” DuPree said. “We have to find ways to increase revenue in the state.”
He said as mayor of Hattiesburg he’s running on executive experience because “states are just a mirror of cities.”
He cited, for example, that his city has gone through devastating economic times including Hurricane Katrina but “we haven’t laid off anybody and we didn’t raise taxes either. That is because we went through every department and found creative ways to sustain and increase services.”
According to DuPree, his state is slipping on the economic index as a job creator and he wants to bring in more small businesses that will help create jobs.
“We have to make sure small businesses, which are the backbone of the economy, get our support,” DuPree said. “These are the businesses that pay the taxes. They stay in our state and they don’t take the jobs out of town.”  
DuPree had a stint in corporate America working for Sears and he understands how and why corporations get all the incentives and tax breaks.
“We have to do a better job of giving incentives to our small businesses,” DuPree said adding that the Occupy Wall Street protests ongoing in New York signal a sense of urgency to tackle education, the economy and other hot button issues that are affecting people.  
He said a key priority for him when elected will be to ensure that companies that come to his state hire Mississippi contractors and businesses. That, he said, is the way to get the economy of the state sustaining and keeping jobs in the state rather than the jobs being exported.
Given the uniqueness of the gubernatorial campaign, it’s unclear if Democrats in Washington are seizing on the opportunity of the governor’s campaign in a place like Mississippi.
“I’ve spoken with DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. We have a good relationship and she has pledged to do what she can,” DuPree said.
Even though his opponent has a bigger campaign war chest than he does, DuPree said that’s always been his advantage.
“During the primary my opponent spent well over a million dollars and we spent about 400,000 dollars,” he explained. “We received more votes. What we do have is people who believe in a message. We have people who believe that I can’t do worse.”
 He said his campaign is a people’s campaign because on the campaign trail voters are looking for somebody trustworthy and with good judgment who will identify with the bread and butter issues they are dealing with.
“We have people who believe it’s time for a change so they voted for us. So I think they are going to vote again. Money is important and I don’t want to downplay that. That is why I’m in Detroit. If I tell people money is not important, they’ll take the check home.”
Yet DuPree’s campaign has been about volunteers and ordinary people who have trust that he will be a different kind of candidate.
Coming as the first Black to be nominated by a major party in Mississippi since Reconstruction, DuPree has a unique story that gets people’s attention and has endeared him to many voters.
“I’ll never forget my first job. I worked as a newspaper carrier for Ms. Lillie’s Newspaper Stand, who worked for the Hattiesburg American. Ms. Lillie claimed that I was one of the most dedicated paper carriers she had,” he recalled.
 “I don’t know if I was the best carrier, but I do know that I tried. I left for work every day wanting to be the best paperboy that Ms. Lillie had, mainly because I was aware that I was representing her. It wasn’t just my reputation that was on the line. If I didn’t perform well, not only did it look bad on me, but it would also be a poor reflection of her and the company that she was trying to build.”
He continued,  “Her slogan, ‘Rain, shine, sleet or snow, Lillie’s papers gotta go,’ became a powerful lesson for me, and this slogan has guided many of the decisions that I’ve made throughout my life. No matter the circumstances, I had to be determined to do my best, whether I was mowing yards, bagging groceries, washing cars or working at the slaughterhouse.”

Chancellor tackles color-blind politics   

Dr. Curtis Ivery, who has turned Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) into an education nest where leadership is cultivated since his appointment in 1995, is not your typical education administrator who normally sits at the top of an ivory tower giving administrative directions on how to run the day to day affairs of a college. An encounter with Ivery will reveal a man who in many ways is an education agitator, one who is deeply concerned about the sorry state of affairs in our educational system and wants to see structural and evidentiary change in the system.
    That explains why Ivery, who is used to running large institutions such at the Arkansas Department of Human Services which he headed as a member of former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton’s cabinet, has made Wayne County Community College District more than just a regular college. More than the classrooms and administrative buildings that make up the site of the District.
    As Michigan’s largest community college, WCCCD is a lifeline for the 70,000 students it serves, most of whom come from Detroit. From high school graduates and international students to  single parents  and struggling young people seeking a better future by arming themselves with an education from WCCCD, the college is the center of gravity for these students who will be charged with driving the ship of state tomorrow.
    That passion to make a difference is why Ivery has co-edited a new book with Joshua Bassett titled  “America’s Urban Crisis and the Advent of Color-blind Politics,” a collection of essays that focus on education, incarceration, segregation and the future of multiracial democracy in the U.S.
    “I’ve always been an inquisitive soul. I have always loved and appreciated the power of words and I remember telling my mother when I was nine years old that I would write a book. She often said that is a dream I shouldn’t let die,” Ivery said in an  interview last week. “Ultimately my first degree was in journalism. So I’ve always been comfortable with words. I felt the need to encourage and have some conversation about race. Because often it’s the five thousand pound gorilla in the room.”   
    Ivery said the purpose of the book is to get a constructive dialogue going around issues that are tied to race in America.
    “You can’t say to me that the decisions we make today are not informed by some of the social construct we are confronted with on a daily basis,” Ivery said. “For example, what we see on television, the media defines our standards, the criminal justice system, etc. We have a disproportionate number of young Black people incarcerated. If we don’t talk about  it, some are going to assume that it is a genetic trait.”
    “We have to believe that conscious Black people and White people will join together and talk about what’s good for our children. I think the book does that.”  
    Ivery said while there are multiple issues in the Black community that need to be dealt with, incarceration is one of the major ones that must be tackled if we are to see any real advancement in our community.
    Striking a tone that is familiar in the political debate around incarceration, Ivery said it is time we look at whether  first time drug offenders should be given jail time rather than treatment, the latter being what criminal justice reform advocates have always sought.
“We know that if you come from a prosperous community or family with resources, you probably would have gone and sought out some type of counseling as opposed to the criminal justice system,” Ivery said. “Now that the issue is here, would it not be better to talk about those young men we are releasing now, because they have to have somewhere to go. They have to have employment.”   
    Can higher education do anything to help or service the incarcerated population?
    “Maybe it might be identifying employers and saying we have 20-60 ex-offenders and we will provide training for them and are you willing to place them in the job market?” Ivery said.
    He noted that in order to create transformation we must begin to think outside the box.
    Education in Detroit, he said, must be seen as “a form of constructive urgency, that every decision ought to be one of urgency.”
    That sense of urgency means involving “the community in a big way” in decisions that affect the education system in the city.
    “I know that it’s difficult. Sometimes we don’t feel that people are listening. They don’t understand when we say we’ve got to close X number of schools. Most parents are not interested in that aspect of education economics,” Ivery said. “Their sense of urgency is what is going to happen to their child? Will their child be safe in school? Will they have good teachers and the opportunity to go to college?”   
    He said as educators “we have to begin to answer those questions for any parent. The first I’m going to do if I’m moving, to this area as a parent I’d like to know about the school system.”
   But he quickly pointed that Detroit is not the only city with a poor school record, and that what is happening here reflects a national pattern.
    “I don’t think you are going to go to Chicago and get a better school  system in the inner city,” Ivery said, adding that is because “we are talking about one common issue and that is poverty.”
    He said the “unholy trinity: unemployment, under-employment and under-served” account for what is facing our community and why some are unable to get a good education.   
    “The common denominator is poverty. It’s always going to be how we help others lift themselves up and ensure that they have a way out,” Ivery said.
    WCCCD, he said, has offered hope to thousands of young Detroiters and students from around the world who otherwise would have not the kind of grounded education the college provides.
    “We’ve always said to people if they come to the college, we’ll make them proud and feel good about themselves,” Ivery said. “We are going to treat you with  civility and honor your dignity. We are going to take you where we find you and help you move to the next level.”
    While doing all it can to help students prepare for bigger roles in the future, the WCCCD chancellor made it clear that the college will offer no “crutch” to any student.
    “We cannot give you a crutch. We will not make this an entitlement community. We cannot make this an entitlement educational setting. We want you to compete,” Ivery said. “We want you to be mentally and psychologically tough.”   
In an era of globalization, Ivery said it is key for students from not only from WCCCD, but other institutions in and around Detroit to experience global exposure, along with an understanding of how the world is evolving, and why students in China, Japan, India, Africa and other places excel and are at the center of global education.
    But the value of education and seeing it as a weapon to fight poverty, according to Ivery, starts at home.
    “So much of it and who we are has to start at home,” Ivery said. “For instance, by the age of three you’ve got a young person with a personality. You are not going to change that personality after three years of age.”  
    He said at age six children begin to develop an early self-concept that education is key and that is when they should be taught the value of education at home. Otherwise, the children risk falling through the cracks and coming into contact with the criminal justice system by the age of 15.
    “By the time they are 18 years old their experience has been with the criminal justice system,” Ivery said explaining further that when those young people, who fell through the cracks come out of prison their only value system is what they learned behind bars. He called the result  “a critical mass of dysfunctionality” because most of them are not really rehabilitated behind prison walls.
    “Somehow we have to intercede as education advocates,” Ivery said. “Every single day I get up I’m thinking about how to make life better for another person because to be seriously under-educated is a major problem.”
    It’s one thing to say what needs to be done in a community where young people for the most part do not necessarily take their cue anymore from their parents, but rather from the glaring and incessant messages of the mass media.
    Does Generation Y, the iPod, BlackBerry generation have any obligation to the past or is it the reverse?
    “We owe it to our children to give them a better opportunity,” Ivery said. “I think for me it’s a question of whether we are going to be able to deliver a world that will be good for our children and generations yet unborn.
    “Are we going to say that now that we elected a Barack Obama that we’ve arrived and no longer should we continue to work hard to create a stronger community and stronger family in a culture we can be proud of? At some point everything I do is about what I’m going to leave behind.”
    Recently, Ivery was named to the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, an initiative supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Kresge Foundation to craft a bold vision for community colleges. The Commission, serving more than six million students and 1,200 institutions, will issue a report on how to attain high quality education.
    “America’s Urban Crisis and the Advent of Color-blind Politics” should be read by college students,  high school students seeking  to enter college and everyone who wants to make a change.    
    Chronicle senior editor Bankole Thompson’s latest book on religion and politics is titled “Obama and Christian Loyalty,” with an epilogue written by Robert S. Weiner, former White House spokesperson under President Bill Clinton. The book, with a forward written by Bishop P.A. Brooks, guest chaplain of the 102nd Congress, will be launched Nov. 12, 10 a.m., at the Wayne State University Spencer M. Partrich Law School Auditorium. Thompson is a member of the “Obama Watch” roundtable program, Sunday evenings, 9-10 p.m., on WLIB-1190AM-New York which is simulcast in New Jersey and Connecticut. E-mail him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .