A Spokane, Wash., parade to commemorate the legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and to remember all those who were part of his struggle is apparently so scary that someone or some group decided to relive the horror of the Birmingham, Ala., bombing by planting an improvised explosive device (pictured above) along the route.

Do we know who did it? No. Do we really know what the motive is? No, not yet, although the most popular speculation was that it was -- you guessed it -- racial.

But no matter who did it or why, it is clear that what Dr. King stood for is still a threat more than half a century after he began his teachings.

In our sometimes romanticized historic view of ancient Africa, we can find lands of gold, of regal societies that traded the finest wares on caravans that stretched through the continent and brave warriors defending the southern Nile valleys against attackers from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.

A little more study brings us to the kingdoms of antiquity like Nubia and Kush, and we wonder how they went from among the most powerful in the world to a state fighting to maintain a centralized government in a few thousand years.

At this point, the world watches to see if Sudan can bring democracy to themselves, even if it means splitting the nation to do it.

One of the most disturbing scenes from the ABC miniseries "Roots" was the part where LeVar Burton's defiant Kunta Kinte was flogged until he whimpered in tired breath "my name is Toby." It was as disgusting as it was disturbing, but it brought home the message of how ugly chattel slavery was in Colonial America and thereafter.

No version of the show has ever been changed to satisfy political correctness, so it brings question as to why new editions of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" would be published without the controversial (and too-often debated) 'n-word." The author, Mark Twain, used it and made his meaning plain when he published it in 1885.

This is one brave dude.

Or maybe he's completely bananas.

Either way, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, known on this blog as Soul Brotha No. 1, must be one or both to consider making a run for the RNC's top spot, especially when the GOP's favorite black dude right now is Barack Obama.

But the truth is another run makes sense for him, and here's why:

What's Tim Scott afraid of?

The new Republican representative from South Carolina was the focus of many Congressional watchers after this year's midterm elections in regards as to whether we would be joining the Congressional Black Caucus. His membership would have made him the first Republican in the group since Rep. Gary Franks was defeated in 1996.

While new Florida congressman Allen West who has accepted the invitation to join, Scott has chosen, quite publicly, to decline the invitation extended from the CBC. West promised to "shake up" the group -- whatever that's supposed to mean.

However, Scott, who will represent South Carolina's 1st District, says he won't be joining because "the future is more important than the past."

A couple Saturdays ago, on my normal biking route, I pulled out of the street briefly and began to continue my journey. But as I began to pull back on the pavement, two of New York City's finest pull up and commenced the annoying procedure of ticketing me for riding on the sidewalk.

I pedaled less than 25 feet on the sidewalk, and I'm sure there were many other more serious crimes likely being committed within a two block radius at that time. But one of the officers basically explained to me that my action fit the pattern and my appearance (I was wearing black sweats) fit the profile of criminals in the area.

I thought it was ridiculous, and didn't realize I should be wearing a tuxedo for a morning bike ride, but what could I do other than let the cops run my license for warrants that I've never had, take the $25 citation, and resolve to fight it albeit on principle?

So when I hear that people are just as frustrated about having to submit to scanning and even pat-downs from the Transportation Security Administration, it makes me laugh.

I did it.

I gave in to my curiosity. I read all the blogs, the critiques, the reviews, listened to the arguments, resisted the temptation to pick up a copy from the dude at the store around the corner (mostly because of the recent declining quality of New York bootlegging), scraped up $24 in pennies and bought tickets to see Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls.'

Seeing the film brought me to one conclusion: Tyler Perry is now one of the greatest black women since Mahalia Jackson.

Somehow, Detroit just can't get past the Kwame Kilpatrick soap opera.

For the past several years, there has always been a running street-level rumor in Detroit about a wild stripper party at the mayoral mansion where then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick received a lap dance, but to his surprised chagrin, the then-First Lady, his wife Carlita, walks in and catches the antics in full swing, and commences to issue a beatdown to said stripper.

But it was the beginning of a murder and legal drama worthy of an MSNBC crime show.

There's a lot of irony in the conviction of Rep. Charles B. Rangel of congressional ethics violations by a House panel on Tuesday. The most noticeable is that the drill that the senior statesman has been getting is almost exactly like the one given to his predecessor, Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

But the least noticeable is that Rangel's troubles seem to come as the face of the very district he represents, Harlem, New York, is now almost completely changed from what it had been when he took over, seeming to send a message that his time has now passed.

Just in time for Thanksgiving discussions, across America comes more SMDH news about the black community, including the risk of the Republican resurgence gerrymandering more black folk into political obscurity, an 18-year-old being beaten to death at an Atlanta house party, and the comparatively pointless bantering over Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls.

But now here comes a brand new statistical kicker that will only serve to leave more people shaking their d**n heads and giving ammunition to those who hate us: black babies are now born out of wedlock at a rate of 72 percent.

Okay, scared yet?

The government statistic, echoed by a post the other day here on BV, reflects an increase of two percent over just last year. But when we pull out our skepticism app for our brains, we find that was a loaded statistic then and it's a loaded statistic now that you can't trust.