Posted: Mon 27 Aug 2007 02:33 Post subject: Godfather of Soul; Father Many Times Over
Quote:
August 23, 2007
NY Times
Godfather of Soul; Father Many Times Over
By BRENDA GOODMAN
ATLANTA, Aug. 22 — Callers to a certain Houston residence have lately been greeted by a cheerfully assertive message: “You have just reached the home of LaRhonda Petitt Brown.”
Then, as gospel music swells in the background, “What God has for you, it is for you, so be blessed! Goodbye.”
Ms. Brown, a 45-year-old retired flight attendant, may be forgiven if she places particular emphasis on her last name, or if she seems especially eager to claim God’s gifts. Laboratory tests recently confirmed what she was told by her family for years: that her father was James Brown, the Godfather of Soul.
Since Mr. Brown’s death on Dec. 25, about a dozen people have come forward, asking for their DNA to be compared to Mr. Brown’s, said Albert H. Dallas, a trustee for Mr. Brown’s estate. So far, three tests have come back with positive results, Mr. Dallas said. A woman from Florida and another person have declined to go public.
Ms. Brown, in a telephone interview Wednesday, said she found out on May 1 that a DNA test conducted by the Laboratory Corporation of America, the company that was given a sample of the late entertainer’s DNA for comparative analysis, showed a 99.99 percent probability that James Brown was her father.
“I said, ‘Yes! Yes!’ and I was crying at the same time because no one had ever listened to me,” Ms. Brown said.
Ms. Brown said her mother, Ruby Shannon, who died when Ms. Brown was 13, had a relationship with Mr. Brown in the early 1960s in Los Angeles. She said she did not know how the two met.
Though she had spoken to her father several times over the years, he would never acknowledge her as his daughter.
“He would say, ‘Me and your mama was friends,’ and I’d say: ‘Yeah, I was friends with my babies’ daddy, too. That didn’t stop me from getting pregnant,’ ” Ms. Brown said, laughing.
But then, more soberly she added: “He had his own reasons, I guess. My daddy didn’t know how to love.”
Lawyers fighting over Mr. Brown’s assets say the news that author of “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine” wrote from experience is hardly a surprise.
“I don’t think anybody had any doubt that Mr. Brown might have fathered other children, let’s just put it that way,” said Robert N. Rosen, a lawyer in South Carolina who is representing Tommie Rae Brown, Mr. Brown’s disputed fourth wife and her son, James J. Brown II.
But the discovery of more potential heirs has further clouded the disposition of the entertainer’s estate, and it is unclear what, if anything, confirmation of James Brown’s paternity may be worth.
A will, signed by Mr. Brown in 2000, left household belongings and personal items to six named children, Mr. Rosen said.
That document also includes language that specifically excludes any other children from a share in the inheritance, said Louis Levenson, the lawyer representing the six acknowledged children.
Tommie Rae Brown, who married the singer in 2001 at his home in Beech Island, S.C., and James II, 6, were not mentioned in the will. She is fighting for half of Mr. Brown’s estate as his surviving spouse.
A circuit court judge in South Carolina has appointed two special administrators to monitor the actions of three personal representatives who were left in charge of two trusts that were intended to hold the bulk of Mr. Brown’s assets.
The James Brown “I Feel Good” Trust was created with the stated purposed of educating poor children from South Carolina. Another fund, the James Brown Family Education Trust, was created to finance the education of Mr. Brown’s grandchildren.
But Tommie Rae Brown and the six children named in his will have argued that the personal representatives who control those trusts have conflicts of interest and have abused their authority.
One of the trustees, David G. Cannon, who was accused of writing himself a check for $350,000 just days before Mr. Brown died and cashing it the day after his death, has resigned and returned the money. The court is set to hear a motion for the removal of the other two trustees, Mr. Dallas and Alfred A. Bradley. Meanwhile, the Rev. Larry Fryer, Mr. Brown’s former pastor, worried that money meant for needy children was being squandered in court battles, has filed a motion to end the legal motions.
None of this has deterred LaRhonda Petitt Brown, who says she is fighting for money from the educational trust for her two daughters. “Oh, I’ll get some,” Ms. Brown said. “The zeal I have in me is all James.”
Posted: Mon 27 Aug 2007 03:06 Post subject: Black illegitimacy rate
Quote:
Starting at 3 percent in 1920 (the first year for which there are national statistics), the illegitimacy ratio rose gradually to slightly over 5 percent by 1960, after which it grew rapidly: to almost 11 percent in 1970, over 18 percent in 1980, and 30 percent by 1991--a tenfold increase from 1920 and a sixfold increase from 1960. For whites alone, the ratio went up only slightly between 1920 and 1960 (from 1.5 percent to a little over 2 percent) and then advanced at an even steeper rate than that of blacks: to almost 6 percent in 1970, 11 percent in 1980, and nearly 22 percent in 1991--fourteen times the 1920 figure and eleven times that of 1960. If the black illegitimacy ratio did not accelerate as much, it was because it started at a higher level: from 12 percent in 1920 to 22 percent in 1960, over 37 percent in 1970, 55 percent in 1980, and 68 percent by 1991.
I'm sure few people want to return to the era when an out-of-wedlock pregnancy was considered something worse than death, but it seems that illegitimacy has become "normal" for poor and working class blacks. (It seems that James Brown, being from an underclass background, kept those values). It's not unusual to meet never-married women with three or four kids by two or three fathers. It seems that among whites a woman might have one out-of-wedlock child as a result of a failed romance, or an older woman might have one due to fear of the biological clock. Blacks seem to start bearing children as teens and it is not unusual to find an unmarried woman in her twenties with three or four kids. This causes a lot of anger in middle-class whites who are worried about being able to afford even one child.
The illegitimacy rate in white America today is around 20%. This is what it was in black America around the time Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote his much maligned report on the state of the black family.
Things progressed to the point they’re at today. The future for white Americans may be similar to black America’s present.
Though increasing illegitimacy rates are a well-documented fact for both Blacks and Whites (though for Blacks it is much higher and I believe it is not necessarily correlated with class, but not sure about that) we are talking about a celebrity here. The peccadilloes of powerful males and the women they attract, and their rather predictable production of out-of-wedlock children isn't really that surprising, is it? I don't even want to think about all of the assorted children that various male celebrities have left behind with the women they have come across. That situation has been around for millenia and probably isn't going away any time soon.
It seems to me that the marriage followed by children paradigm is falling out of favor in general. That aside, my concern is with the lackadaisacal churning out of kids no matter who does it and in what context. Even if you have been married four times and have four different sets of kids that you never see as a father, that is a problem. If you are a middle class single mom and have a couple of kids from your "starter marriage" and continue to make poor relationship decisions that may result in future pregnancies, the only difference between you and an unwed single mother with a couple of kids is the fact that you had a wedding and have been divorced.
....is the anti-black smear campaign tatic some type of confidence booster for the insecure self identified mulatto? Is this what the fight for multiracialism has come down to? This is just one of many threads that I've read from the thread starter with these anti-black undertones.
....is the anti-black smear campaign tatic some type of confidence booster for the insecure self identified mulatto? Is this what the fight for multiracialism has come down to? This is just one of many threads that I've read from the thread starter with these anti-black undertones.
Your doing it again.
Your obviously responding to a particular person, since only 4 people posted
Why don't you break down the content of the post, without attacking the person like they represent all mulattoes or the multiracial movement(s)... Since your enlightened then deal with particular topics as you read them.
There are so many other topics that are the opposite of what you think has anti-black undertones, you only seem to focus on something you consider an attack on your race.
Did you read Free 2 Dance in Ethnicity in America? Or does that contridict your salty idea of this group.
2.2 Do not engage in ad hominem. — If you disagree with someone, focus your comments on the content of their message, not their person. Do not attribute motives. Do not ridicule them. Do not engage in any form of ad hominem.
ps I watch enough court tv to know that whites women are doing very much the same as the accusations concerning black women.
Last edited by gemini072 on Tue 04 Mar 2008 02:08; edited 1 time in total
According to many sources around Hollywood Jack Nicholson is known to have many illegitimate kids. But, there’s one that he’s trying to keep out of the headlines with.
Apparently, one of the illegitimate kids is handicapped and Jack is going out of his way to make sure no one knows about it.
In an autobiography about Jack Nicholson named “Five Easy Decades” had this to say:
“There are two other possibles whom those closest to Jack whisper about, including one young man who lives with handicaps brought on by his actress mother’s drug abuse …
These are among the closely held secrets he has generally succeeded in keeping from his fans.”
Jack’s lawyers wanted to clarify the claims about the number of illegitimate children that he has. And according to them the number of children is 4 and not 5 as the claim says.
So, in fact if this is true the child in their eyes in not Jacks.
But, this is Hollywood and you know that everyone sleeps around and I in fact think that this could be Jack’s son.
Even at the old age that Jack is, he had this to say about his promiscuous ways in one of his books:
“I’m interested in sex. I’m preoccupied with sex. I love it,” he once gushed, according to the book. He also panned condoms, saying using them was like wearing a “warm garbage bag.”
Posted: Tue 04 Mar 2008 02:12 Post subject: Re: Black illegitimacy rate
Powell wrote:
Quote:
Starting at 3 percent in 1920 (the first year for which there are national statistics), the illegitimacy ratio rose gradually to slightly over 5 percent by 1960, after which it grew rapidly: to almost 11 percent in 1970, over 18 percent in 1980, and 30 percent by 1991--a tenfold increase from 1920 and a sixfold increase from 1960. For whites alone, the ratio went up only slightly between 1920 and 1960 (from 1.5 percent to a little over 2 percent) and then advanced at an even steeper rate than that of blacks: to almost 6 percent in 1970, 11 percent in 1980, and nearly 22 percent in 1991--fourteen times the 1920 figure and eleven times that of 1960. If the black illegitimacy ratio did not accelerate as much, it was because it started at a higher level: from 12 percent in 1920 to 22 percent in 1960, over 37 percent in 1970, 55 percent in 1980, and 68 percent by 1991.
I'm sure few people want to return to the era when an out-of-wedlock pregnancy was considered something worse than death, but it seems that illegitimacy has become "normal" for poor and working class blacks. (It seems that James Brown, being from an underclass background, kept those values). It's not unusual to meet never-married women with three or four kids by two or three fathers. It seems that among whites a woman might have one out-of-wedlock child as a result of a failed romance, or an older woman might have one due to fear of the biological clock. Blacks seem to start bearing children as teens and it is not unusual to find an unmarried woman in her twenties with three or four kids. This causes a lot of anger in middle-class whites who are worried about being able to afford even one child.
Study: Overall Rate Now Nearly the Same as Natives, Hispanic Rate Higher
WASHINGTON, April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Bush and
others argue that immigrants have a stronger commitment to traditional
family values than do native-born Americans. However, a new analysis of
birth records by the Center for Immigration Studies shows that about
one-third of births to both immigrants and natives are now to unmarried
parents. Illegitimate children are at higher risk for social problems, and
the risk may be even greater for those with immigrant parents because they
need strong families to adjust to life in America.
The full report, titled "Illegitimate Nation: An Examination of Out-of-
Wedlock Births Among Immigrants and Natives," is available at
http://www.cis.org.
Among the report's findings:
-- Births to unmarried women have increased dramatically. From 13 percent
in 1980 for immigrant mothers (legal and illegal) to 32 percent in
2003, and from 19 to 35 percent for native-born mothers.
-- The rate for immigrants is higher than for natives in Arizona, New
Jersey, New York, and North Carolina.
-- The modest nationwide difference disappears when teenagers, who have
the highest illegitimacy rates, are excluded. There are relatively few
immigrant teenagers because immigrants tend to arrive older. Without
teenagers, the rate is about 30 percent for both immigrants and
natives.
-- Hispanic immigrants have seen the largest increase in illegitimacy --
from 19 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2003. This matters because 59
percent of all births to immigrants are to Hispanics.
-- In addition to the 42 percent rate for Hispanic immigrants, 39 percent
of births among black immigrants are to unmarried women, 11 percent
among Asian/Pacific Islander immigrants, and 12 percent among white
immigrants.
-- There is no indication of improvement over the generations. The
illegitimacy rate among the native-born is 50 percent for Hispanics; 30
percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders; and 24 percent for whites.
-- 2003 is the first time that the absolute number of illegitimate births
to Hispanic women (immigrant and native) outnumbered illegitimate
births to black women (immigrant and native).
-- Out-of-wedlock births are highest for those with the least education;
among immigrant mothers who lack a high school diploma, 45 percent of
births are illegitimate.
-- The country is currently debating whether to legalize illegal aliens
or, alternatively, to enforce the law and cause them to return home.
Since 60 percent of illegals lack a high school diploma and 80 percent
are Hispanic, legalization would likely contribute to the illegitimacy
problem by enabling illegal aliens to remain in the United States.
"Some want to see immigrants as paragons of virtue, others view them as
morally deficient in some way. When it comes to family values, neither view
is correct," said Steven Camarota, the report's author and the Center's
Director of Research. "Immigrants are subject to the same social forces as
everyone else. Thus, the idea that immigration will reinvigorate
traditional family values is unrealistic."
Other findings:
-- The children of unmarried immigrants often have to overcome their
parents' very low levels of education as well. In 2003, 56 percent of
illegitimate births to immigrants were to a mother who also lacked a
high school diploma; for natives the rate was 33 percent. For Hispanic
immigrants specifically, the rate was 65 percent.
-- There is no evidence that illegitimacy is related to legal status. It
is common in many sending countries, regardless of how their immigrants
arrived here. According to the UN, 38 percent of births are
illegitimate in both Mexico and Canada, 73 percent in El Salvador, and
86 percent in Jamaica.
-- The high rate for Hispanic immigrants also seems unrelated to legal
status because only one-fifth of non-Mexican Hispanic immigrants are
illegal aliens, yet their illegitimacy rate is 45 percent. This
compares to 41 percent for Mexican immigrants, fully half of whom are
illegal.
-- The high levels of out-of-wedlock births among native-born Hispanics
also suggests that cultural factors play a significant role in
explaining high illegitimacy among that group.
-- Another reason to think illegitimacy is more related to cultural
factors than legal status is that college-educated Hispanic immigrants,
only a small share of whom are illegal, still have triple the rate of
illegitimacy as college-educated natives.
-- Birth records used in this study count all births, unlike Census Bureau
surveys that are more likely to miss poor and less-educated immigrants,
who have the highest illegitimacy. Thus Census Bureau data tends to
understate family problems among immigrants, and does not specifically
report illegitimacy.
-- Looking at family structure with Census Bureau data shows that 75
percent of the U.S.-born children of immigrants live in a household
headed by a married person, compared to 70 percent for natives. The
rate is 70 percent for Hispanic immigrants and 79 percent for white
natives.
-- Among teenagers, who are at the greatest risk for getting into trouble,
there is less difference -- 70 percent of U.S.-born teenagers with
immigrants parents live in a married household, compared to 68 percent
for those with native parents.
-- Like the birth records, the Census Bureau data show that neither
immigrants nor natives can be said to be exemplary when it comes to
marriage and children.
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Is this what the fight for multiracialism has come down to? 
This is just one of many threads that I've read from the thread starter with these anti-black undertones.
