May 30, 2008Pitts has captured America's attentionI've never met Leonard Pitts, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who uses words as both a salve and a scalpel. But like millions of readers who see his column each week in newspapers across the country, I've come to know him. The Miami Herald columnist writes from the soul -- as he did on the morning of 9/11, when he crafted a defiant open letter of American solidarity to the terrorists who attacked this country but not its resolve. He can be loving as when he penned an anniversary column about surprising his wife with a new car. Or blunt, calling Paris Hilton a "skank" when many of us were thinking just that. And fearless, as when he discredited white supremacists' foolish take on a heinous crime. Pitts, the man who provokes a nation to thought with his words, will be the keynote speaker June 6 at the NAACP banquet at the Hotel Roanoke. May 25, 2008We must discuss market openlyToday, I want to use this space to call for an end to the factors stymieing the future of the Roanoke City Market Building. Most everyone agrees that downtown's signature marketplace building needs a serious makeover. But the suspicions and the inability to communicate between the people running the building and those making their living in it have stalled the renovation. May 22, 2008Blacks guided to bright futuresThe crisis of the black male is our crisis ... -- Sen. Barack Obama According to the National Urban League's 2007 State of Black America, more than half of the nation's 5.6 million black boys live in fatherless homes. In many inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school. In 2004, 72 percent of black male high school dropouts in their 20s were jobless. The incarceration rate for black men from ages 25 to 29 is 8 percent, compared with 1 percent of white men. Yet, in a society in which his gender and race mark him as an endangered species, William Fleming High School senior Adrian Ambrose forcefully declares, "I am not a statistic." May 18, 2008What do you think, sweetie?I don't know what's worse: Feminists having hissy fits because Barry Obama called a Detroit TV reporter "sweetie" or 90-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela on U.S. terrorist watch lists. Do tell. A follow-up on our informal game of Democratic VP roulette: VaGuy weighed in saying that HairBoy (John Edwards) would be a poor choice, citing HairBoy's less-than-stellar veep run four years ago. He floated the name of Sam Nunn, the retired senator from Georgia. s Brutality crops up in silence at homeA week ago, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, a 29-year-old Roanoke man was shot to death as he stood in front of an apartment building on Hunt Avenue. Hours later, in an incident believed to be related to the shooting, a 50-year-old woman was attacked at a convenience store on Williamson Road. When an off-duty police officer spotted the suspects in the attack, he was viciously beaten and left unconscious. He remains paralyzed. The absence of values instilled at home is bleeding into America's streets in the form of a vicious and cold-hearted violence. May 15, 2008That's what I like about ya'llYou're not afraid to essentially ask, "Shanna, what 'chu been smokin'?" Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton? What was I thinking!? Granted, I knew Barry would have to toss his principles (and probably his cookies) to pair up with Hill if he wanted any real shot at the White House. But it wouldn't be a first. I saw a report recently on PBS that chronicled folks who didn't like each other but served together as prez-vp. (All of the pairings escape me now, but JFK-LBJ and Eisenhower-Nixon were among the examples cited.) But no, wait a minute....It's a bird, it's a plane....it's JOHN EDWARDS to the rescue of the Democratic Party to save it from itself! This campaign has more twists, turns and cliffhangers than an episode of The Young & the Restless. All I can say is stay tuned....and dare I put forth a Barack Obama-John Edwards pairing!?
Lea hopes to elevate influence on councilSherman Lea is poised to be a BMOC, Big Man on Council Not the BMOC -- that's Mayor-elect David Bowers -- but a voice of leadership. It's about time. Since his election four years ago to Roanoke City Council, Lea has been seen as a toady for his running mate and fellow council member Brian Wishneff. Earlier this year, Lea cut ties with Wishneff and joined ranks with Mayor Nelson Harris as the two sought re-election in last week's municipal election. Harris didn't retain his seat, but Lea was the highest vote-getter, with 6,562 and will become vice mayor July 1. He will become the longest-serving member on the council. If Lea's runaway victory showed anything, it showed he can stand on his own. Without Wishneff, without Harris. Continue reading "Lea hopes to elevate influence on council" » May 14, 2008Gift of lifeMonday, I saved two lives. I didn't pull anyone from a burning building or talk any despondent soul off a ledge. My action was as unexciting as it was routine -- but no less important. I donated blood at St. Philip Lutheran Church on north Williamson Road. May 11, 2008The end is nearNot THAT end, folks. The end of Hillary's sense-of-entitlement, self-annointed ascent to the presidency. Here's what I think. Obama can't beat McCain. Hillary has made sure of that with all of her talk about working-class whites not voting for him. (In case Hill hasn't noticed, blacks aren't exactly lining up to push the touch-screen for her, either.) If by some miracle that the superdelegates lose their minds and make Clinton the nominee, she can't beat McCain, either. (see above paren. That won't change in the general.) So here goes the regurgitation of the "dream-team" talk floating out there in cyberspace: A Obama-Clinton ticket in the general. Such a ticket would clean McCain's clock, because all segments of the Democratic base would have a dog in the fight. But I don't think Hill wants to be the No. 2 of the man she has trashed --- and intensely --- for the past several months. She's not going to play second-fiddle to a perceived newbie interloper. What do y'all think? Loving court case took laws off loveAubrey and Michelle Wright embody the typical boy-meets-girl American love story. On Thanksgiving Eve 2002, she was out with her friend Susan at Corned Beef & Co. in Roanoke. He was out with his brothers. The couple met, and they hit it off immediately. They made plans to meet at the same spot two nights later. Eight months later, they married. "It was love at first sight," Michelle said with a smile one evening last week as she recalled meeting her husband. One thing, however, distinguishes their love from most American couples. It reaches across racial lines. Aubrey, 32, is black. Michelle, 33, is white. May 10, 2008It's unclear if Bowers can walk the walkThe sixth time was the charm for David Bowers. After defeats in his last five political outings, the former Roanoke mayor and councilman captured the mayor's office in this week's municipal election. Once considered the Bill Clinton of Roanoke's black community, Bowers became 2008's Comeback Kid on Tuesday night. Bowers seized on sources of residents' discontent and exploited those to victory. He rallied to the side of firefighters disgruntled over budget cuts, Forest Park Elementary parents unhappy about the pending closure of the school and dismayed Mill Mountain advocates who are fighting a proposal for a restaurant in the park. He also pledged to oppose an amphitheater on the old Victory Stadium site. Candidate Bowers made a slew of promises. But can Mayor Bowers deliver? Continue reading "It's unclear if Bowers can walk the walk" » Mailbag is full of kudos, criticismsAfter almost eight months, the mailbag overfloweth on subjects as varied as Jeremiah Wright, Boones Mill, former city Councilman Alfred Dowe, a restaurant on Mill Mountain, the Roanoke police department and parental responsibility. Before I get to the electronic mail, I'll share a recent voicemail I received from an anonymous caller annoyed by my column citing the need for any restaurant on Mill Mountain to have a view: Miss Flowers, pack up your rent-to-own furniture and move to Pittsburgh. I don't rent my furniture, but it's probably time to buy something a little more up-to-date. My basement, with its dated white, overstuffed leather sofa and chair, looks like a throwback to the disco era. As for a move to Pittsburgh, don't tempt me. It's a very cool city. May 4, 2008Kids need help when they move schoolsThe deed, as we expected, is done. Forest Park Elementary School will close in June, and its 265 students will be dispersed to three other elementary schools this fall to make room for an overage academy. Impassioned parents and their advocates condemned the proposal in a show of support for the school during a meeting Wednesday evening at Lucy Addison Middle School. But the next morning, school officials approved the measure. With a divided 4-3 vote, the Roanoke School Board elevated the proposal to policy. Now, for the sake of the children, let the healing begin. May 1, 2008Relish the prom; just don't regret itDear promgoers: Elsewhere in this paper is the tragic, life-changing story of a young, underage drunken driver. Kids and booze. Booze and kids. They don't mix. Oh gawd, how many times have you had to listen to that? But just hear me out, particularly as many of you kick off prom season this weekend. Let's be real: There's something about tuxedos, prom gowns, bracelet corsages and rented Hummer limos that make some of you forget your home training. |
About this blog In her signature plainspoken style, Michigan native Shanna Flowers peels away the layers and gets to the heart of the issues. No pretense. Just straightforward perspective. Shanna writes about local people whose circumstances reflect decisions made as near as City Hall or as far away as the halls of Congress. Other times, she weighs in on a topic because it is incredibly ridiculous. Or heartening. Or fascinating. Read Shanna's column three days a week, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, at roanoke.com
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