CEDTalks

Over the course of 25 years, an epidemic has spread throughout North America and caused controversy all over the continent, primarily in the United States. It has caused a decline in creativity and individual thoughts, yet provided some of the funniest moments in recent history. Although it carries many monikers, it is known best as "Co-signing". For those unfamiliar, co-signing is the blind agreement of an action, statement, or trend without forming your own opinion. It is also associated with becoming a fan of a successful sports team without any previous affiliation. Urban legend states that co-signing originated in Lima, Peru, where two brothers close in age would travel the land together.  Young Peruvian Jose Pedro Morales would follow his older sibling LaMiguel (Spanish people have crazy names too) everywhere, even imitating his actions. It is said he would repeat his brother and imitate his actions, including signing LaMiguel’s name, which created the phrase “co-sign”...

Happy Holidays good people; I hope everyone was able to spend time with someone they loved. Grandma Andrews is visiting for the weekend, so I’ve been singing all the Christmas jams in my Smokey Robinson voice. In addition, I made lasagna (with ground turkey, because Malcolm doesn’t get down with the swine) and I feel it turned out well. Shaq and Shaunie, before reality  shows and auto-biographies.  Over the past few weeks, the news has been littered with stories of tomfoolery and chicanery, even more than normal.  While the Air Jordan shopping incident is by far the most absurd story, the most disappointing are the growing number of celebrities filing for divorce. The news resonates with me for a multitude of reasons: reportedly one of the divorces stems from infidelity issues and if finalized, the children of these families become products of a split-parent household. The biggest concern, however, is once again a high profile celebrity is accused of using his power ...

Yesterday was the 105th anniversary of the founding of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the oldest Black fraternity in the land. It gives me great pride to be a member of the "Black and Old Gold"; I was singing like Young Jeezy (105! Yeaaahhhhh, Shorty 105!) When I look back (over my life) and I think things over, I can (truly) say...that I've been blessed; I got a testimooonnny! Sorry, had to finish the line. Being serious, it's great being an Alpha; the fraternity has provided me so many opportunities, networks, and memories that I cannot find the words to fully express my gratitude. Among the values I just listed, perhaps the greatest benefit is the addition of 10 great men to my immediate family. In the fall of 2007, 11 men marched the campus of the oldest Black College in the nation and capped off a long and arduous journey to a enchanting destination known simply as the "House of Alpha". For each of us, it took great sacrifice; Rob, who overcame the strug...

"It's real out here." This is arguably the most common phrase you hear about life after school. As most college graduates/working people will attest, life becomes really interesting after college. Some people focus on the more difficult aspects: limited free time, minimal levels of energy, and the stalker. Many of us know this stalker; he goes  by the name "Bill" (Insurance Bill, Credit Card Bill, Cable Bill, etc.) Despite these trials, there are a lot of positive opportunities that open up from leaving school. In addition to building your career and making adult purchases, you make attempts at "streamlined" relationships. Biz: Are they real or "Just a Friend"? Streamlined relationships are situations that have more long-term potential as opposed to "it's Wednesday and I'm bored" dates. As one legendary philosopher (Biz Markie) said, "We started talking, getting familiar/Spending a lot of time so we ca...

Hello, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and African American Friday (Black Friday). Unfortunately, I had to work on Friday, or so I thought. There's no feeling more bittersweet than driving to work and realizing you have the day off. Black Friday is perhaps the worst day it could occur on. I had a splendid Thanksgiving evening, but prepared myself to work early in the morning. As I neared the empty parking lot around 9 am, I begin to drop expletives like hot rhymes to express my frustration. I couldn't imagine no one calling or sending any notification to a brother that we were off! I drove up to the security booth, just to check and make sure. This doofus sticks his head out and says, "..the hell you doing here?" First off, who you talking to; secondly, that's why you're working, because of your stank attitude. During the last two days, I've had some very interesting events take place; I've had an altercation with my neighbor, enjoyed ...

I hate my favorite football team. No, I'm serious. For nearly half of my life, the Washington Redskins have occupied my heart as the team I root for. My mother hails from Washington, DC, and I have fond memories of visiting my uncles, aunts, and cousins who bleed the burgundy and gold. When my Uncle Charlie passed, they created a display of Skins memorabilia to stand next to his casket (*Lil Wayne voice* It's real). Despite the love and support that myself and fans show the franchise, we have not seen any parts of consistency since the early 90s. I'm 25 years old, the last Super Bowl win was in 1991; I was 5...5, dog.  Lately, it's been the same old same old. We win some games early, people get excited, Wale comes on TV to discuss are the Skins "for real", and then the Hogs let us down. Come on, man! We're tired! We're weary! Every time we lose, the same Trey Songs melody rings in my head; "The things you do...make me wanna cheat on you!" M...

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the founding of fraternity Omega Psi Phi, a historic black greek letter organization (BGLO). Known to many as "Ques", the Omegas (like all BGLOs) are very important to Black College history and Black culture overall. As an Alpha I interact with Omegas quite often, but having three of them as close friends and business partners, we share a unique bond. There are three classic memories that truly cement the previous statement: "The Haircut", Lethal Weapon "Q", and Moss. The Haircut It was three weeks into my freshman year at Cheyney University, and my fade line stood in dire straits. With my 1990 Toyota Corolla "Cool Whip" parked in Morrisville, it became necessary to find a campus barber. Enter Tr...let's use fake names; enter "Clevis". Clevis was the prototypical Omega: husky for no damn reason. I mean just "swoll"; his goatee had  biceps. My hair began to look unkempt, so I finally st...