In another case of teachers not knowing how to lock down their Facebook profiles, a Florida instructor may soon be without a teaching license after news of insults hurled at one of her students on the social networking site came to light.

According to Bay News 9, the Manatee County, Fl, Elementary School teacher posted this comment on her Facebook wall:

“I’m fairly convinced that one of my students may be the evolutionary link between orangutans and humans.”

Interestingly, the comment received seven “likes” along with this response from another teacher at the school:

“Please tell me who you are talking about.  This made me laugh out loud.”

The teacher, again having no regard for her position or the way in which social media can burn your career faster than a California wildfire, proceeded to write the students initials, W.W., adding “Does that help?”

Thankfully the school registrar had sense enough to jump in on the convo, writing “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” and the discussion stopped.

The name nor nationality of the teacher has been released, neither has that of the child but since the NAACP is involved I’m going to go out on a limb and say the 8-year-old student she was referring to, who was identified by those initials she posted, is black. And she’s not. Lisa Wade, the mother of the student, told Bay News:

“I send my child to school trusting them to teach him. Not to talk about him. I’m disgusted with how they talked about my child. It hurts.”

Manatee County school district spokeswoman Margi Nanney told Wade and the news station that all teachers involved in the Facebook thread were verbally disciplined and ensured that the district doesn’t condone behavior like that, saying instructors are urged to use “common sense” on Social Media sites. If she had common sense, she likely would have never posted what she did. The principal at the G.D. Rogers Elementary School in Bradenton has referred the matter to the state Department of Education’s Office of Professional Practices though, which will investigate the case, and they do have the power to revoke the instructor’s teaching license.

A representative from the NAACP says the teachers need more than a strict talking to and that the school needs to develop a Social Media policy that will prevent this from happening again. The district representative believes the code of ethics for Florida teachers which basically says “you never want to say anything that’s going to harm, or have a negative impact, on the people that you’re working with — and the students are our most important customers, believes that’s enough. And of course, she doesn’t believe the comment was at all racially motivated, saying:

“I think she just made a poor judgment call in her choice of words.”

Right. I wonder when was the last time she heard a white person referred to as a monkey? Not relying on the school to keep its word, the boy’s mother has retained an attorney and says she wants to make sure at least one person is held accountable in this situation.

How do you think he teacher who made the comment and those involved should be handled?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton attend a rally for Trayvon Martin on Sat. March 31 in Sanford, Fla. (AP Photo/Julie Fletcher)

Oscar Grant and Sean Bell are just two of the slain black men that the African American community has rallied around before Trayvon Martin became synonymous with the struggle of racism.

In each instance, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton used their presence to bring attention to the aforementioned plights. Some call these two race hustlers who only exist to have cameras in their faces. That seems to be the go to attack line when these two get ready to put someone on blast.

There is power when I say, “Don’t make me call the NAACP, Al and/or Jesse!” because some people just don’t want those kind of problems. Al and Jesse aren’t just bringing themselves; there are bringing the spotlight for people of color have gone missing or die before their time. They even motivate this current generation to join the fight. When these two start hustling to bring awareness, the media takes stock of what they’re saying—even if it is only momentary. And sometimes, momentary is all they need to fuel long-term momentum.

It took a month and President Obama publicly speaking about Trayvon’s death before he was afforded coverage in PEOPLE magazine and mainstream sites. Think about it. Some have already begun critiquing why there even needs to be such a national focus on Trayvon and why gun laws need to strengthened. Others have gone as far as claiming George Zimmerman has become a martyr to public opinion.  In contrast, the death of Caylee Anthony prompted Caylee’s Law, and ironically, very few people complained about the rush judgment against the mother who was accused of killing her young daughter.

It should not be appropriate to question Trayvon’s character. Black boys and men are not the enemy of the state who should bear the brunt of stereotypes. I know wasn’t the only one who stood up to clap as Sharpton chastised the media for belaboring Trayvon’s indiscretions as though he was the culprit in his own death.

In the interest of full disclosure, I met Sharpton in 2008 at a church in Philadelphia. I’m quite sure he doesn’t remember being interviewed by a nervous young reporter. I stood before him in a bit of awe. I was jaded about him because he is not frozen in time like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. He has lived to make mistakes, much like Jesse. However, in that moment, it really hit me that if it had not been for his sacrifices and those of so many unsung heroes, my life would be so much different.

Trayvon’s death has exposed the underbelly of racism that was not hidden from view, but neither blatantly in our faces either. For some, the fourth wall has been broken down for a new generation to lay claim to a civil rights struggle which did not end in the 1960’s. We are not in a post racial society.

And, therein lies the rub. On the surface, the cultural landscape of 2012 seems different from a racially explosive 1964 if we were to measure the contrasts through a superficial spectrum. Blacks have amassed more wealth, degrees and prominence, but we’re still on unequal ground. We have borne great fruit from our labors, but the root of inequality is still as poisonous.

Trayvon’s death can’t be in vain or the cause du jour. He is arguably the Emmett Till of our generation.  The dog whistles and criticisms that there’s been too much of a fuss validate why we need more of us on the front lines to push back. We need more ‘hustlers’.

Stephanie Guerilus is a writer and author. Follow her on Twitter at @qsteph.

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Friday night during the 43^rd annual NAACP Image awards there were very few surprises when it came to the evening’s big winners -including Viola Davis’ Outstanding Actress victory for “The Help” – but the tribute to Whitney Houston was the most memorable.

Unlike Jennifer Hudson’s beautiful but truncated homage at the Grammys, the NAACP dedicated a considerable amount of time to Houston courtesy of gospel star Yolanda Adams. The singer, who was friends with Houston, delivered a breathtakingly stirring rendition of “I Love the Lord” that ended with a standing ovation. Houston belted out the same hymn on the soundtrack of 1996′s “The Preacher’s Wife” with the help of the Georgia Mass Choir.

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A black woman in Flint, MI, is not taking her home robbery lightly. The woman, who appears to be personally offended by the home invasion, spray painted the words, “This house is a reflection of ignorant n***as,” on a piece of plywood on her porch in an attempt to send a message to the community.

The woman, who has two children in college, told ABC News she intended to use the house to help the homeless. Instead, thieves took it upon themselves to vandalize her home by ripping out the windows so they could get scrap metal.

“They’re hustling out here,” said. “It’s a domino effect and yet we sit back and do nothing in the community.”

Some neighbors empathize with the woman. “I can understand just how frustrated the lady is. Somebody stole my pipes out of this house before I got here,” said neighbor Ladale Woods.

Others felt her frustration was misguided. “It’s ignorant of anyone to write that,” Martin Beard, a resident on the block, told Mlive.com.

The local NAACP Chapter President Frances Gilcreast agreed, saying the sign was a greater display of ignorance than the robbery.

“That’s a word that has long been offensive. I’m just appalled that in 2011 these things continue to happen.”

While the woman eventually spray painted over the n-word because people were offended by it, she takes the media attention as proof that her actions were successful.

“Evidently I got my message across because you guys are here,” she told ABC. “Well done. I did what I was supposed to do.”

And for people who believe her actions were ignorant, she said she disagrees. “I know who I am. I know where I’m going so the word does not define me. Not at all.”

You can view a video of the live report here. What do you think about this woman’s actions? Do you agree that she proved a point with her sign? Or did her actions send the wrong message?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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(BET) – North Carolina needs more Black federal judges, the NAACP says. In an effort to secure more African-American officials for positions on the federal bench, North Carolina’s largest civil rights organization is calling on the state’s two senators to nominate them. On Monday, leaders of the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, along with allied groups, kicked off a campaign aimed at securing the nomination of a Black judge to the Eastern District of North Carolina, where roughly half the state’s African-American population resides. The campaign, whose initiation took place outside the federal courthouse in Greenville, urged supporters to call the offices of U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr. Both are responsible for suggesting names of judges to be considered as nominees.

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By Charlotte Young

While the historic US civil war may have ended hundreds of years ago, Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry’s battle with racial insensitivity is only beginning. Last weekend he raised eyebrows when the news discovered that the name “Niggerhead” appeared on an old Texas hunting camp his family used to lease. This week, the Associated Press reports that Perry is not only a supporter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, he once opposed a mass movement to remove Confederate symbols in government buildings across the South.

The movement, which took place 11 years ago, was an initiative of the NAACP. At the time Texas’ Supreme Court building proudly displayed two bronze plaques with confederate symbols. Then lieutenant government Perry recommended that the plaques remain where they were as Texans “should never forget our history.”

As with many southern government officials looking to gain local and state votes, Perry has always supported confederate legacy concerns. But when it comes to the national setting, it may be in Perry’s best interest to turn down the civil war pride.  His rival Herman Cain, the only black Republican in the race, is already using the camp situation to cast Perry as racially insensitive.

So what’s the next uncomfortable, racially charged issue heading Perry’s way? Texas will soon decide on whether or not to create a license plate featuring the Confederate flag. The idea was proposed by Perry’s old buddies, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and one of Perry’s appointed state boards will make the decision.

While Perry’s campaign spokesman, Mark Minor, did not respond to the AP’s questioning, Granvel Block, the Texas Division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans did. Block told the AP that he appreciates Perry’s stance on the Confederate legacy as “honoring your ancestors is something that the Bible teaches.” The organization hopes that the Confederate flag waving license plates will help raise the money needed to pay for markers on the graves of Confederate soldiers.

Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP’s Washington Bureau , told the AP that the NAACP’s fight against “the romanticism around the Old South,” is ongoing.

“It’s a view of history that ignores how racism became a tool to maintain a system of supremacy and dominance,” she said.

(BET) — The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has extended its help to Black Florida voters seeking to defeat a proposed law that allegedly discriminates against African-Americans.  The LDF filed a motion Tuesday seeking to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and African-American voters to prevent Florida from implementing a law that would bring significant changes to voting schedules and registration requirements that the plaintiffs say will elbow Blacks out of the polls.

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I turn on the television and see Jesse Jackson marching with Walmart workers, Al Sharpton is doing the 24-hour news circuit, and the leader of the New Black Panthers is somewhere defending young black boys against the latest outrage de jour.  As nice as that seems, every protest is centered around the plight of black men, to address the racist penal system, or complain about government entitlements, unequal education, lack of jobs–the list goes on.  There are marches and picket lines for the latest offense, but virtually none of them directly involve the mistreatment of black women through rape and sexual abuse that happens more and more often these days.  Most of the offenses are perpetrated by the boys and men they love and know–many who look like them.  No longer is the bogeyman without. He is within.

(AJC) — The Georgia and Fayette County chapters of the NAACP have joined 11 Fayette County voters in a lawsuit against the county’s board of commissioners and board of education, alleging that its practice of at-large elections is disenfranchising black voters.  The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday also lists as defendants the Fayette County Board of Elections. According to the 2010 Census, Fayette County is nearly 73 percent white and 21 percent black. The lawsuit says that because of the practice, no black candidate has ever been elected to the county’s board of commissioners or board of education.  ”Plaintiffs assert that Fayette County’s at-large method of electing members to these boards, given the levels of racially polarized voting, guarantees precisely this result,” the lawsuit reads. “Elections in Fayette County show a clear pattern of racially polarized voting. Although black voters are politically cohesive, bloc voting by other members of the electorate consistently defeats black-preferred candidates.”

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By L. N. Rock

The anger and hostility between the NAACP and the so-called Tea Party movement started back in 2010, at its annual convention in St. Louis; the NAACP passed a resolution denouncing the “racist element” within the tea party movement.

The 2010 resolution said the Tea Party members have used “racial epithets,” have verbally abused black members of Congress and threatened them, and protestors have engaged in “explicitly racist behavior” and “displayed signs and posters intended to degrade people of color generally and President Barack Obama specifically.” At the time, Ben Jealous head of the NAACP, specifically pointed to signs at rallies portraying President Obama as a witch doctor, and to claims made by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., that Tea Party protestors opposing health care reform hurled racial slurs at them.

Then in October of 2010, The NAACP, organized (a poorly organized and poorly attended protest) march in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2nd, billed as the next step in building momentum against the Tea Party. Since the failure of the march, the NAACP has been largely quiet about the Tea Party, and has been trying to rebuild its name as a relevant player in 2011.

Black American Tea Party loyalists held their first rally outside the 102nd NAACP National Convention in Downtown Los Angeles to challenge the racism allegations against the so-called Tea Party movement. The Black Tea Party members denounced the NAACP as “morally bankrupt.” Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, organizer of the South Central L.A. Tea Party, and no stranger to name calling had some choice words for the NAACP:

“The NAACP is a partisan tool of the Obama Administration. For decades, this group has supported left-wing polices which have created dependency, destroyed black families, and hurt race relations.”

Rev. Peterson also made the following allegations.

NAACP spreading lies about the Tea Party. NAACP has made numerous false allegations of “racism” against Tea Party groups, but has yet to provide a shred of evidence backing up their baseless claims.

The NAACP is a partisan tool of the Obama administration. The group blindly supports Barack Obama’s out-of-control federal spending and bailouts.

The NAACP has remained silent on black on black violence. And they refuse to address recent news of black thugs attacking whites and flash mob crimes across the country—but NAACP President Benjamin Jealous says he’s “deeply concerned” with the lack of black news anchors on Television.

The NAACP has aligned itself with the United Federation of Teachers to block 22 of the worst performing schools in New York City from being shut down. More at hinterlandgazette.com

Black conservatives are really taking big media heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. As an example, as reported by The Root, Charles Butler, a black, Chicago-based conservative talk show host, has been in shouting matches and called a traitor to his race because of his affiliation with the largely white Tea Party movement.

I’m not sure how the Black Tea Party organization can be successful at engaging the NAACP in a conversation when they are having issues working within their own organization. It will be interesting to see how the so-called Black Tea Party confronts the NAACP in the future. It should make for interesting entertainment, seeing that both groups are more interested in showboating and grandstanding.

L. N. Rock is a management consultant, Democratic strategist, and 2008 credentialed blogger at the Democratic National Convention. He blogs at African American Pundit