Hey, America, now that you've lost your job, you can afford to drive to work again. Neat, huh?

[Source, Source]

According to the US Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for black teens is six times the national average, and almost 300,000 African American kids are actively seeking low-skill jobs for the upcoming summer and beyond. But many black teens looking for work in California have been caught off guard by a harsh new reality: if you don't speak Spanish, oftentimes you aren't finding minimum-wage employment.

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TURNER ON Turner Broadcasting System made No. 1 on Diversity Inc.'s list of the best companies for blacks. McDonalds was No. 3, proving that good companies for blacks are not necessarily good companies. [DINC]

Why are black bodyguards so prevalent both stateside and in Europe, on the arms of white and black celebrities alike? Does having this many large dark men filling such an occupation perpetuate the stereotype that blacks are ogreish and brutal? Is it this stereotype that created the profusion of black bodyguards in the first place? What gives?

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Yesterday marked Day One of the five-part NBC Nightly News series on THE BLACK WOMAN, and it's safe to assume that after viewing it, the average black woman would have nothing to say but "duh." Although, a segment like this isn't supposed to tell black women about themselves, it's supposed to be informing other people about black women. Many of the stats in the piece — that black women outnumber black men in college or that black women have more buying power — were evident already.

The segment, if not particularly informative, was innocuous, except for the fact that, instead of enumerating all of the reasons that black women are doing so well, the focus seemed to be explaining why black men are doing so poorly. They make it seem like black women aren't really making such great strides, and it's just that the system is failing black men. Surely you can't discuss one without the other to some extent — if everything was 50/50 between black males and females this series probably wouldn't exist — but it's unfortunate that positive news about black women must go hand-in-hand with dismal news about black men. Dismal news that also summarily ignores the large number of black men who are college-educated and/or successful.

After the jump, an extended online interview with Essence's Angela Burt-Murray.

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• As you settle down for Thanksgiving dinner, think of Malinda Russell, who wrote the oldest-known cookbook by a black author in 1866. Incidentally, she didn't include any recipes for fried chicken. [NYT]

• If you're black and Hispanic and even thinking about majoring in computer science, do it. Bill Gates wants you to. [IW]

• New Orleans shifting racial population plays out in the new, majority-white City Council. [NYT]

• Ian Smith, the last white ruler of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), is dead. [LAT]

• Critics are saying that Barry Bonds should have an askerisk next to his home run record because of his steroid use. But where are all the asterisks on the records won by the white old-timers when blacks were surpassing them in the Negro Leagues? [USAT]

Looking Associate Producer and interns (final cut experience preferred) for short political documentary on prominent Brooklyn-based, hip hop activist and journalist, Kevin Powell. Associate Producer will oversee research and pursue interviews with prominent hip-hop activists, scholars and politicians. Some knowledge and/or exposure to hip hop culture and activism preferable. Shooting begins late September at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Conference. Please send resumes here with position in subject line, attn: Chana.

[ The spot for occasional job listings of note, because we all know it's hard out here... Email me with tips.]