The Letters Column
by Our Readers,
and BAR Executive Editor Glen Ford
By far the most recent letters to BAR were generated by our
February 14 article, "Black
Leaders, or Leading Blacks?" by Leutisha Stills, of the Congressional
Black Caucus Monitor. According to Ms. Stills' evaluation of Tavis Smiley's
State of the Black Union event:
"The forum has evolved into an
annual substitute for genuine politics in a Black polity that is bereft of
institutions of accountability. By default, Tavis fills the void with his road
shows and media exhibitions. But Mr. Smiley is not the problem: he is simply a
businessman, who sees a hole in the market where a movement used to
be."
Ms. Stills described the aftermath of the Katrina
disaster as "an indictment of a ‘Black leadership' that lost its moorings when
the Black movement was allowed to atrophy - a failure of epic proportions, for
which putative leadership must be held accountable." The most important lesson learned from the Hampton University
event, which drew 10,000 participants to hear a range of African political
personalities, "was the awesome absence of coherence in a Black politics that
is no longer fueled by a mass movement," wrote Ms. Stills. "Tavis, the hugely
talented impresario, can't fix that."
"With
‘leadership' in tatters, the people become confused, anxious, and angry."
The near-brokenness of Black leadership structures
is the result of no longer reconcilable contradictions between divergent
political currents that, in the past, managed to coexist within the African
American polity - albeit uneasily. Tavis Smiley's forum, like so many Black
events that seek to paper over acute contradictions that are finally "coming
home to roost," leave participants with a sense that the African American
polity at-large is in disarray, when in fact it is a politically polyglot
"leadership" whose voices are, when jumbled together, incoherent.
The unfinished business of the Black Freedom Movement,
the larger goal of which was empowerment and self-determination for the masses
of African Americans, is in open conflict with the Jim Crow-era political
current that embraced the personal, professional, business and political
advancement of every Black individual as a collective victory for "The
Race" as a whole. In today's social-political environment, with hostile,
outside forces actively recruiting Black "spokespersons" and financing Black
"role models," the Jim Crow-era Black worldview is not just obsolete - it is a
formula for disaster.
The contradiction between the two opposing currents - the
Black progressive struggle to transform society vs. celebration of individual
Black advancement within the existing framework - became dramatically apparent
with the advent of Barack Obama's stealth corporate presidential candidacy. The
tragedy also unfolds in the ranks of the Congressional Black Caucus, which in
less than a decade has been neutered as an institution for social change by
relentless corporate penetration.
With "leadership" in tatters, the people - who continue
to hold dear the progressive politics of the historical Black political agenda
- become confused, anxious, and angry. The contradictions that are now coming
to a head are evident at gatherings in every sector of Black America, causing
deep consternation and a general sense of collective failure. Therefore, before
turning to letters directly addressing Leutisha Stills' article on Tavis
Smiley's event, we will share an email from a gentleman in his sixties, long
active in civil rights, who along with his wife attended a recent dinner of an
NAACP chapter in the Midwest. Our correspondent, who shall remain anonymous, wrote:
"I have had uncomfortable
feelings at these meetings seeing large photographs on display of Colin Powell
and Condoleezza Rice as icons alongside those of Martin Luther King and Malcolm
X. I wondered to myself, Is this the NAACP that W.E.B DuBois envisioned?
Are all African-Americans supposed to admire the servants of blood-soaked
imperialism alongside the peacemakers, seeing them as African-Americans of
achievement?
"At this year's...meeting, I heard
the African-American president of McDonald's (a company which produces poison
for food) speak and be honored. I also heard one of the pastors of our
AME church laud BP Amoco for its contributions to NAACP programs. BP
Amoco is known to me as a party just as guilty of launching our war of
aggression against Iraq as are George Bush and Dick Cheney."
The pictures the writer speaks of on the NAACP's
walls reveal a contradiction older and deeper than the organization,
itself - one internalized, to some degree, by virtually every African
American.
So strong is the imperative to embrace personalities
representing all the political tendencies that flow through the
historical Black American polity, the pantheon of notables is crowded with
folks who had good reason to despise each other. We have all witnessed
attempts to harmonize in the same document or event Booker T.
Washington, W.E.B. Dubois and Marcus Garvey, "leaders" whose lives
overlapped but whose political activities were mutually antithetical.
So long as White society was almost uniformly hostile to ALL
manifestations of Black personhood, there was good reason
to reflexively celebrate every individual Black advancement as a
collective victory. However, in the post-Freedom Movement era, when a) Blacks
have achieved the full political rights necessary to choose their own
leaders among contending tendencies, and b) corporate forces are for
the first time in history actively investing in the creation of
"comprador" groupings operating within the Black polity, the
harmonizing imperative has become profoundly counterproductive.
Indeed, the imperative may have become fatal, since the
corporate-funded "line" not only negates the progressive core of the
historical Black Political Consensus, but demands the liquidation of Black
politics, as such (let's call that Obamaism, whether the Senator actually
ascribes to it, or not).
The current corporate entry into Black politics is a
quantitative and qualitative leap from B.T. Washington's corporate-funded
"Tuskegee Machine," which was essentially a client-patron relationship
within the context of Jim Crow. With Jim Crow dead, Obamaism demands that Black
politics be disbanded, and the very existence of a Black polity be denied.
Nevertheless, the Black polity exists, and will continue to
manifest itself. We are witnessing the beginnings of a kind of civil war within
that polity. Like the U.S. Civil War, that's not a tragedy: it is a necessity.
Black Leaders....or Leading Blacks?
Phillip Jackson, of The Black Star Project, in Chicago had
the following response to Ms. Stills' article on The State of the Black Union:
"The session in Hampton was mostly a waste of time. Where is the action? Where
is the plan? Who are the people who will be accountable? Did the 8,000 people
in attendance educate one Black child on this day? We have no more time for
popularity contests. Our leaders win; the people lose!
"Black people in America have
entered into the time of ‘Educate or Die!'"
John H. Elliott is 1st Vice President/ Political Action Chair of the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois NAACP. He
compliments Ms. Stills:
"A good thought provoking article.
I think when we talk about accountability, we can not just place the
burden entirely on our Leaders. Where are the soldiers or the followers?
Dr. King could lead and plan, but he needed people ready to implement. We
talk about Leaders ready to die, do we have followers as in the Civil Rights
Movement who were not only ready to die, but did make the ultimate
sacrifice? We had people who were beaten and died for the right to vote,
but it is hard to get our people out to vote. You can have Voter
Registration Drives and people will not register. If you try door to door
registration some will not open the door.
"The problems we face today is not just with a few frustrated Leaders, but with
the followers. You can have the BEST Plan, but if you don't have the
resources it is hard to implement. Brother Gordon of the NAACP said it
correctly, when he mentioned a question he was asked: 'What is the NAACP
doing?' The questioner was not willing to join or support the organization
in any way. The NAACP is made up of volunteers who sacrifice their time,
energy, family to help others and people who sit on the sidelines doing nothing
still complain.
"You have to remember during the 1960's all people of Color were not supportive
of the Movement or Dr King and others, but they pressed on anyway."
From Washington, DC, Ms. Stills heard from Jonathan Stith,
Lead Organizer for the Youth
Education Alliance.
"Great article on Black Agenda. I
think you are on point about Tavis Smiley.
"I like him and think he is on
point on a lot of issues. However, like Talib Kweli says, ‘we need them,
but rappers just ain't the right leaders.' You can switch rappers with
reporters.
"I agree with your assessment of Black leadership. I wonder if ‘Black
leadership' is another debilitating social construct.
"Nevertheless, Adolph Reed diagnoses the problem and the remedy in an article
titled 'Why Black Radical Politics Has Failed.' The link is: http://www.boggscenter.org/reedjr.htm
"Keep writing and holding leadership accountable."
Atlanta resident Selah Abrams, a Turner Studios production
engineer, is also a dedicated activist. He shared notes with Ms. Stills:
"Great topic, great points. I've
volunteered whenever Tavis comes to town and I agree with everything you said.
I'm focusing on a few areas, and strongly believe that this is where it's at:
* Online community building / social networking for change (GA Progressive
Summit, US Social Forum, Nat'l Conference for Media Reform)
* Male mentoring program at Fulton County (Atlanta) Juvenile Court (10,000 open
cases and 8,500 young African American males coming through the court this
year). Our programs include: entrepreneurship in action, media
literacy/activism, audio/video production, and athletics.
* Microfinance as a means to fund community-based organizations by recycling
money within our own communities.
"I'm considering a financing model
closer to www.prosper.com."
One of the deans of Black economic development, Prof. Jim
Clingman, welcomed the BAR article:
"Bravo! Hooray!
Congrats! Well done!! Outstanding article, sister Stills. I just
sent a note to the Editor of our 'Black' newspaper yesterday
regarding Black Leaders and Leading Blacks. I will be sending your piece
to her today."
Prof. Clingman runs the popular Blackonomics web site and is an
organizer of the Bring Back
Black Campaign, based in Cincinnati.
An esteemed newspaper publisher felt the urge to acknowledge
Ms. Stills' work:
"Just wanted to say you're right on
point. My name is Jerald C. Brantley. I am the publisher of the Iowa Bystander,
the third oldest black owned publication in the United States. We have the same
opinion of our leadership. Thank you for the insight and information. Continue
the learning of our people."
Barbara BF, currently of Minneapolis, Minnesota, used to
live in Prince George's County, Maryland, the most affluent majority-Black
county in the nation, but one unfortunate to be represented by Congressman
Albert Wynn, a prominent Black member of the corporatist Democratic
Leadership Council. Barbara BF laments that she once wasted precious time
supporting misleaders.
"Well, the article is really depressing,
but needs to be read. Am sending copies to my siblings and friends. Didn't like to be reminded of how I
voted for Clinton and the first thing he did was NAFTA. Didn't do so well
with supporting the black candidate for Congress in Maryland either. I
remember going out in the snow, wind, storms, rain, anything and standing in
long lines every time just to vote for him. Unfortunately years later, he was
one of four members of CBC to support the invasion of Iraq. And he was a
Democrat! When I called his office to ask him not to support Bush and
Company, I mentioned the report Scott Ritter had done, and his assistant
started actually SCREAMING AT ME on the phone. Saying something like no
one cares what Scott Ritter says. Years later and I don't know how many
thousands dead in Iraq, I got a recorded message from him when he was up for
reelection again, apologizing for his support of the invasion of Iraq.
Too little, too late!"
Louis Starks offers Ms. Stills an "Amen
Sister":
"I agree with every word of your
critique, a critique which is long overdue and in need of increased amplification. Continue
your rigorous monitoring and tell it like it is. [Former CBC chairman] Mel
Watt is a chump and an empty suit. He has no leadership skills. When
Time, Newsweek, and mainstream media began a timid debate on race and class
post-Katrina, where was he or the CBC? After all those years running away
from issues of import to Blacks and progressives, he and so many others failed
to step into the meager crack of opportunity Katrina presented and ratchet up
the discussion. What happened to T.D. Jakes, Jesse Jackson, Sharpton, and
so many others? (I would throw John Edwards in the mix but we're talking
about Black folk now.) I guess they were to busy getting their
money-groove on.
"I really need to pick-up or purchase Robert Charles Smith's We
Have No Leaders. Unfortunately, the title resonates with me,
seemingly, daily."
Some
of the letters we are sharing with you were sent directly to the author, others
to BlackAgendaReport.com's blog, BlackAgendaReport.net. The
blog, unlike our dot.com, allows readers to argue with each other. Mark S.
Allen, associate editor of Chicago's South Street Journal Newspaper and
co-founder of The New Black Independent Media Coalition, got the blog
discussion started.
"These Tavis forums are what Dr. King called ‘The Paralysis of
Analysis.'"
"I have been in public service for 30 'straight'
years on local, state and national levels, including 7 years as a national
staff member to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Please visit the website of The Chicago Urban League and
examine the ‘next generation' message and agenda of its new President/CEO,
Cheryle Jackson. The model that she sets forth can be the example for us to
follow in majority Black communities across the country. If Tavis convenes a
meeting to act on this model, then we can begin to ease the pain for all the
Black men who are going to jail versus college. We would have finally begun to
address the economic problems, which is the underlying reason that most Black
people are in jail. Trying to use the illegal drug activity because Black
leadership has not provided enough legitimate economic opportunities and left
job creation to every other ethnic group except Black people.
"These Tavis forums are what Dr. King called
‘The Paralysis of Analysis.' And while we are talking, everybody else is buying
the land and using the ‘minority' access programs and funding to build and
rebuild the Black community. This makes our new generation slaves when we have
to depend on somebody else to produce while we keep consuming.
"If Black wealth is directed at adopting the
Chicago Urban League model, we can immediately begin to have black owned and
operated entities accessing the land in majority Black communities, and
accessing the capital for existing and new Black business development.
"Right
now, the Tavis forums are providing more symbolism than substance. Lets get
started, get the Chicago Urban League position statement and Black Economic
agenda, adopt it, amend it, and let's show our people that we have the ability
to bring real answers home to the Black community, that they can see."
A
brother who goes by the moniker of "Deadbeat," responds:
"Mr. Allen is still living in a fantasy that
somehow the expansion of Black Capitalism will be the savior of the black
community. This is reactionary and the fact that blacks pay taxes means that
blacks need to make DEMANDS in order to change their situation.
"Why won't black capitalism work? Because the
white power structure will use its power to dismantle any such accumulation.
Until blacks and other minorities can revolutionize the system such that the
authoritarian power of the system cannot be used against blacks then such
capital formation cannot work.
"Otherwise Mr. Allen basically desires to have a
few negros in high places that can reassure the ruling class - the head nigger
in charge syndrome that was clearly expressed by Jesse Jackson. In fact it has
been this head nigger in charge paradox that lead Jackson to dismantle his coalition
after his 1988 run because he has been against the organic development of
grassroots leaders.
"Where blacks have to look for guidance, is
Latin America. That is the hope for blacks in the United States. Black leaders
in the U.S have diluted black aspirations in liberalism such as electoral
politics. Latin America has show how their militancy is bringing about real
change. Only when Blacks regain militancy can there be a real challenge to the
white ruling class
An
avowed cultural nationalist contributed his views on the subject. The writer
calls himself, "The Strategist."
"Here's the deal: these State of the Black Union
forums have become nothing more than annual events - like the Super Bowl, NBA
All-Star game or the president's State of the Union address. There are always a
few speakers between the two-three panels every year who get it right in terms
of what Black America MUST do. Dr. Hare this year was one of the few. Everyone
else however is calling for this and calling for that but never telling the
audience and Black America how to achieve this; perhaps because they really
don't have a clue. Their calls for this and that reads like a wish list and
that's the problem with the best-selling text, ‘The Covenant with Black
America.' There are some good ideas put forth in the book, however most of it
is dependent upon what white America does or thinks. That's not empowering us.
I wrote THE most definitive review of the Covenant book last year and most
who've read it agreed with my assessment. See, Black America though unsure of
exactly how to get out of this collective dilemma we're in, has grown tired of
the pontification and excessive analysis by some of the regular panel guests
year after year.
"Claud Anderson, Ed.D., president of the Harvest
Institute and author of ‘PowerNomics:
the National Plan to Empower Black America,' has put forth the most
straightforward and comprehensive plan this decade for how Black America can
become an independent and competitive group within America. But will you ever
hear Tavis acknowledge his work or implement any measure of it in his Covenant text? Nope!
"It ain't gonna happen because quite frankly,
it's too Black! Yes I said it and can prove it.
But all in all, if Tavis wants to engage a larger segment of Black America,
he'd bring on more within the Black cultural nationalist community - those who
aren't celebrities but largely unknown but who are everyday raising the
consciousness of Black people in America. Anderson is one but there are many
others that Tavis is aware of as well who are much more capable of speaking to
Black America than a tight suit wearing black Marxist quoting Greek philosophy.
"That's long been my problem; the fact that this
is not a game or show yet the likes of Tavis sees it as such. Ms. Stills was
nicer than I am on this but to them it's all a rappin' contest to see who has
the nicest mic skills and who can get the biggest applause from the audience.
If it wasn't then why in the hell are they on a stage before hundreds of
millions instead of behind the scenes strategizing? Answer that someone!"
For
the record, BAR has vehemently denounced Claud Anderson's backward and
politically destructive tirades on immigrants. (See "The
Black Latino Future: Finding a Way to Solidarity, October 25, 2006.)
When
Barack Obama transmitted his regrets for not attending the State of the Black
Union event, some in the Hampton University auditorium crowd hissed and booed.
But Pierre Clark believes Obama deserves Black support.
"A very insightful article. I think the major
problem with black leadership today is their inability to define and articulate
the classic issues of the 60s in terms that fit and move today's 21st century
agenda. Too many of our so-called leaders are using terms and strategies that
have been co-opted into irrelevance by over 40 years of usage. You can't fight
21st century fights using tactics that played out in the 60s. That is why I
think Obama's candidacy will resonate with 21st century voters - he is using
the language of today to frame issues that have been classic and intractable
and using that language to unify broad coalitions around those issues. Too many
of our leaders don't know how to fight the old fights that still need to be won
in this new millennium. Moreover, our so-called leaders, many of them 60, 70
and 80 years old, are not in tune with the new generations coming forward and
diss the hip-hop generation without understanding where they are coming from,
why they express themselves the way they do, and what we can learn from how
they use language to connect with and move people today, for good or ill.
There's lots more to say on this and I look forward to reading future articles
on the site."
Pierre
was kind to us, so we will be kind to him. But not to Obama, who is getting
plenty of kindness, elsewhere.
Putting Black Faces on Imperial Policies
Our February
14 article raised the question: What does the world think of African
Americans after six years of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as Secretaries
of State? Do we really want U.S. imperialism ravaging the planet in black-face?
"African Americans, who care so
much for image - some, to the exclusion of all else - should contemplate what
the ascension of a Black face to the Oval Office will mean to world perceptions
of Black Americans as a group. Would Barack Obama be a worse international
criminal than Hillary Clinton? My guess is, they'd function identically, as
stewards of empire. But a Barack Obama presidency would leave an unindelible
impression on the planet: The Blacks of the United States have arrived! They,
too, are ‘ugly Americans.'"
A
reader named Wa'il sees the drift into African American identification with
imperialism, as inevitable.
"In a society whose governmental mechanisms are
based upon representation as opposed to participation, its easy to see how our
people fall into a ‘cattle'-like mentality, even lemming-like political
decisions. It also speaks to the depth at which People of Color must compromise
truth, integrity, morality and justice in order to fit into the mainstream
institutions of America. One cannot be successful in America and avoid being
complicit in its unadulterated imperialist policy dreams."
Monish R. Chatterjee reviews the article from a South Asian
perspective:
"I cannot sufficiently praise your
insightful article on the emerging ‘Black face of American imperialism.'
"I consider it a must read for all my thoughtful friends, and for all concerned
humans worldwide, worried about the genocidal American imperial agenda that is killing,
mercilessly, thousands upon thousands of defenseless human beings (of color,
for the overwhelming part) around the world, and condemning millions to abject
wretchedness in this country as well.
"You are absolutely correct that people around the world (I can speak for myself
as an Indian, who even as a young boy admired MLK, Paul Robson, Harry Belafonte
and Frederick Douglas as great representatives of the historically persecuted,
enslaved, butchered people of African origin in this continent of runaway
imperial hubris) considered the black population as very different from the
‘Ugly American,' as you rightly describe the ‘other' American image.
"I have always had the greatest skepticism about the very notion of a ‘Black
Republican' - an oxymoron of grand proportions. It is, to me, not too
far-fetched from, say, even imagining a black member of the KKK!
Therefore, I have always had great misgivings about the likes of a Colin
Powell, and certainly the contemptible Condi Rice (‘con' being the operative
word) - not to mention the loathsome Clarence Thomas. Time has only
proven all my misgivings many times over. As a matter of fact, imperial
America could not stand Bill Clinton, because, as Tony Morrison put it, he was
the ‘first black President.' Let me also caution, incidentally, that I am not an inveterate Clinton admirer - in fact, since the ascension of the current
genocidal regime, their actions have been as close to the American imperial
establishment as imaginable. Going back to the black Republicans, I would
like to say that like some of the African American athletes, these crass
opportunists and unscrupulous ‘house slaves' (as Harry Belafonte put it) do not
remotely represent the black people, or people of color anywhere.
"American imperial attacks upon Hugo Chavez and other progressive figures
everywhere are part of the same agenda of domination, profiteering and the
associated brainwashing.
"Therefore, it has occurred to me, too, many, many times, how ironic it is that
a Colin Powell presented America's monstrous, bloodthirsty face to the world
under the mega-killer occupying the White House right now. In retrospect,
even Powell was less offensive a figure to terrorize the world than the
less-than-human Condi Rice.
"I hope fellow Indians feel a sense of solidarity with your views, which truly
extend far beyond the narrow confines of this country (in some respect, I
consider the U.S. as one of the most narrowly confined nations/cultures in the
history of the world, reflecting the dark side of Rabindranath Tagore's vision
of freedom in Where the Mind is Without Fear). Please continue your
honorable work on behalf of oppressed people and human dignity."
Anthony Ware
weighs in, with the biting insight we've come to expect from this brother.
"The white ruling class is happy to create and elevate
Blacks that aspire to direct US Imperial military adventure."
"I just read your edifying article. Its clear Barack Obama, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are imperialists. Surely, the NAACP gave
Rice an Image Award because she embodies their imperial views as Secretary of
State. Furthermore, the politics that Emil Jones espouses is growing and Bob
Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Harold Ford, Cathy Hughes revel being ugly Americans.
It was no accident that Sean Hannity received an NAACP
Image award from the Kentucky chapter. The white ruling class is happy to
create and elevate Blacks that aspire to direct US Imperial military adventure.
Without John Malone, Bob Johnson wouldn't exist and without members of high
finance in the Republican party Radio One wouldn't exist.
"It's foreseeable that an Obama
presidency would send troops to Somalia and other parts of Africa under the
guise of democracy, better known as: corporate oil conglomerates. In addition,
such a presidency would loose final solution Israeli aggression in Gaza,
Lebanon and maybe Iran if the Bush cabal is thwarted by congress.
"Fascism doesn't discriminate on the
basis of color, in this case Black faces."
Black America's Real Problem with Barack Obama
BAR
Managing Editor Bruce Dixon's February
14 piece, an audio of which is also available from Black Agenda Radio,
blasts those who raise the wrong questions about Barack Obama's presidential
candidacy:
"The spurious claim that Black
Americans oppose Barack Obama because of his white mother, African father, and
Harvard Law degrees is a racist slur against Black Americans by the mainstream
news media, designed to trivialize and divert attention from real issues
African Americans care about, but which are not addressed by Obama supporters
OR their Republican opponents."
The real problems with Obama, writes Dixon, are his
political policies and practices:
"In many quarters of black America there are sane, solid and
sensible reasons for black voters to question whether Barack Obama will
represent them at all. Many remember that his first act as a US Senator was to refuse to stand
with the Congressional Black Caucus and California Senator Barbara Boxer in
opposition to Ohio's nullification of hundreds of thousands of black votes.
Obama's second, third and fourth significant acts were when he declined to ask any
difficult, pointed or revealing questions of Condoleezza Rice and two of the
president's disastrous Supreme Court nominees, and he actually voted for two
out of three of these. Obama's sixth and seventh important acts as a senator
were to vote for a bill that made it nearly impossible for ordinary people to
sue giant corporations who rob, defraud, maim or kill, and another vote to
renew the hated Patriot Act which he vigorously campaigned against. And though
Senator Obama now claims to oppose the war in Iraq, he remains an advocate of bombing
Iran to start yet another."
Richard
Levy joins the consuming subject of this week's Letters Column: Who and What is
a Black "leader"?
"Viewed through these black eyes, the phenomenon
that is Barack Obama is merely the latest in a continuous line of ambitious,
talented, successful, though self-serving and tragically disappointing black
public figures. He shares with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson, Tiger
Woods, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, Will Smith and the vast majority of black
politicians of either party, a spineless reluctance to speak societal truth, at
the risk of imperiling their lofty economic and societal standing in the eyes
of white America.
"Having achieved enormous crossover success,
they feel no special obligation to speak out forcefully on behalf of blacks or
against the chronic racial injustice experienced by fellow Black Americans.
Unspoken is that their Faustian contract dictates the removal of their tongues
in order not to offend white sensitivities and endanger the flow of income
provided primarily by their largely white clientel, sponsors and fans.
"To be fair, none - apart from Obama and Jackson
- claim to be black leaders, although the pretentious Cosby fancies himself to
be a black role model, the insincerity of his judgmental diatribes against
blacks being fittingly revealed by the exposure of his extra-marital hypocrisy.
All of these black icons are ostensibly polished, articulate, educated, highly
successful and thus are seen by whites as ‘nice', non-threatening, apolitical,
upstanding citizens, 'not like the rest of them.' Since the death of the
visionary Martin Luther King, Black Americans have been yearning for the
arrival of the next Black Hope. A powerful, passionate and persuasive leader to
finally speak out compellingly, a leader with the quality to rise to a position
where they affect positive change and improve the lot of blacks in a country
that has frankly shown nothing but cruelty, hostility, abuse and utter
disregard for them. Malcolm X had the passion and the intelligence, and though
he excited blacks with that passion, he strongly offended whites with his
expletive-laced, provocative diatribes and thus the poignancy of his messages
was able to be dismissed by whites because of the insulting, highly-charged
manner in which they were delivered.
"Barack Obama clearly is not that Black Hope. He
is, what he is, and you dare not expect more. His views expose him as an
elitist and an opportunist. Clearly, he aspires to be president not because of
any burning ideology, fresh ideas or a desire to address the rampant
corruption, evil and dysfunction that is America. Rather, Obama wants to be
president for the same simple reason that a John McCain, a Joseph Biden or a
Hillary Clinton want to be president. These concave individuals, lacking
conscience or purpose, seek only the power, prestige and historical legacy
inherent to the office of the presidency. In their hunger for power for its own
sake, they - like the aforementioned black icons - fail to acknowledge or
accept their unique societal position that proffers upon them also the
responsibility to right societal wrongs, irrespective of their own privileged
position under the status quo. Theirs is an abject failure of conscience and
humanity, accompanied by shamelessness in perpetuating and being wholly
unconcerned for the suffering of others.
"The Oprahs, the Tigers, the Colin Powells, the
Cosbys, the Condoleezza Rices, the Michael Jordans of America, through their
silence in the face of colossal injustice are complicit in the continuing
horror that is the fate of Black America. Abominable living conditions,
deficient educational prospects and an absence of equitable employment
opportunities amongst American blacks is America's shame. Combined with a
predatory military recruitment program that expressly targets poor black youth,
blacks of America continue to pay the steeped price in blood for America's
corrupt and aggressive military policy, for the exclusive benefit of its
corporate and political ‘elite.' The deafening silence of politicians of all
parties and the evil words and actions of the shameless Powell and Rice has
directly led to the ongoing spilling of black blood (along with other primarily
poor American soldiers) and to untold numbers of Iraqi civilian wounding and
casualties in the lie that is the present occupation of Iraq; while Obama,
Bush, McCain and others chatter about the need for a troop ‘surge,' with the
knowing complicity of a criminally corrupt American media.
"Make no mistake about it, the media along with
the Republicans and Democrats (who are two sides of the same crooked coin) have
no desire to change a status quo from which they benefit so richly. They are,
in fact, the morally bankrupt keepers of that status quo and Barack Obama is
one of them. Accept that fact, divest yourself of any urge to make an emotional
investment in Obama's prospects for changing America and see him for what he is
- the latest media-savvy, ethically challenged opportunist. Trust me, it's
wiser to save your votes and your energy for someone who actually cares."
Is Dennis Kucinich the ‘Black' Candidate?
Back
on December
20th, 2006, Bruce Dixon compared Dennis Kucinich's progressive
credentials with the best of the Congressional Black Caucus. The Ohio
congressman and presidential candidate passed with flying colors:
"Like Cynthia McKinney, and unlike
most Democrats in the Congress, Kucinich has acted the part of an opposition
legislator. And like McKinney, he often seems to stand alone because Democrats
have long ceased to be an opposition party.
"The potential appeal of Dennis
Kucinich to black voters is not limited to his stands on foreign policy.
Whether it's health care, Social Security, the environment, the record of the
congressman from Cleveland matches the best of the Congressional Black Caucus
across the board."
A
reader called the "BS Detector" - who detected none from Bruce Dixon - agrees:
"Which Democratic Candidate for President has
said that Bush and the members of his administration of War Criminals who have
violated international law will be held accountable? Obama? No chance. Hillary?
Fugeddaboudit. Edwards? Not a chance!
"Dennis Kucinich has said that they WILL BE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE."
The
"BS Detector" recommends this site:
http://www.dailymotion.com/CTBob/video/x18rvj_qanda
Racism: The Growth Engine of the American Prison Gulag
We introduced our February
21 lead article, this way:
"The U.S. prison system is
projected to suck up 200,000 additional bodies between now and 2011, half of
them African American. The burden of the Gulag, which has grown eightfold since
1970, is unbearable for Black America, whose institutions and dreams have for
two generations been ravaged by a public policy of mass Black incarceration.
The very existence of the American Gulag - the largest and most pervasive
prison system in the history of mankind - presents a clear and present threat
to U.S. society at-large, as the Bush men scheme to assassinate the
Constitution in their bogus War on Terror. Over the past two decades, an
infrastructure of social death has been constructed, that may ultimately become
the tomb of American freedoms. It is past time to place a cap on any further
expansion of the American Gulag, lest it swallow us all."
Wallace
Nixon expounds on the theme:
"If you add up homelessness, exclusion
from the work place, and mass incarceration the result will be genocide. It is
a creeping genocide but a very definite one. The think tanks have devised means
where our demographics are being diminished in no uncertain terms. The U.N.
calls any deliberate attempt to harm in whole or part a group genocide! Your
claims must be spread far and wide, loud and clear. Otherwise we will passively
witness crimes against humanity."
Bernard
J. Berg is employed in the "belly of the beast," and knows of what he speaks:
"Full disclosure: I worked at a prison (NJ State
slammer for women in Clinton) for 14 years as an R.N. One day a black inmate
came up to the cage, looked around, yawned and said: 'Oh my God, another day in
the joint. Ya look around and all you see is black faces.' Then she looked at me
and said, 'Well, except Bernie there, and, hell, he aint even white.' I took it
as the highest (but really undeserved) complement I ever got short of my wife
saying ‘I do.'"
Franklin
D. Williams is glad we make it our business to keep mass Black incarceration at
the top of our issues list:
"Right on Brothers! This is the single most
important issue facing African-American Men in America. I just made a $52
donation to help keep you going. I want to 'CHALLENGE' at least 1,999 more
African-American men to give $52 yearly to your news outlet. We must learn to
PAY for the TRUTH!"
We
are, of course, grateful for brother Williams' financial, as well as moral,
support.
Freedom Rider: America The Stupid
Margaret Kimberley's February
21 edition of her Freedom Rider column rejects the idea that corporate
media poisons otherwise sane Americans minds, leading them to support criminal
policies at home and abroad. The real root of evil is simpler to find, she
says: "Belief in American superiority and particularly the superiority of white
people, will always win the day and will always keep the nation ignorant."
BAR
reader George De Stefano, agrees:
"Great column - stupidity does indeed run amok
in America today. ‘American Idiot,' to quote rock band Green Day, is a fitting
epithet for so many who hold power in this country, from the clueless dolt in
the White House to Texas legislators to the supine public anesthesized by 'American Idol' and the depressingly mindless and all-pervasive
celebrity-infatuated ‘culture.'"
Ms.
Kimberley is Editor and Senior Columnist for BAR. The previous week, February
14, she put current questions about medical experimentation into historical
context, in a piece titled, "Medical
Apartheid":
"From the gruesome experiments
on Black slaves in the pre-Emancipation South, to the infamous Tuskegee
syphilis study, to drug ‘research' in the present day, American society remains
all too willing to treat Black minds and bodies as less than human.
"...in New York City in the 1990s,
100 boys, all African American or Latino who were diagnosed with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, were used to test the now banned drug
fenfluramine. They were chosen because they all had older brothers in the
juvenile justice system. The tests were conducted to detect biological markers
for 'anti-social' behavior. It is a question never posed about white
people, who are capable of being quite anti-social.
"If New York at the end of the 20th
century offered the same treatment as Alabama in the 19th century,
then white supremacist ideology, and medical apartheid, are alive and well. We
can add health care to the long list of items that are ordinarily beneficial
but may not be for people of color. Take a dose of paranoia and call your
lawyer in the morning."
Ms.
Kimberley got a letter from "Field Negro," who is alert for experimentation on
African Americans.
"Nice post! I live in a region of the country
where there are many pharmaceutical giants such as Merck, Smith Kline, etc. And
I always see the ads in the black newspapers looking for medical guinea pigs
for pay.
"This practice must stop; and more attention
needs to be paid to this subject. Thanks again for bringing it up."
Interview with Bobby Seale
BAR contributor Rhone Fraser shared with us his excellent
interview with Black Panther Party co-founder and former chairman Bobby Seale,
on January
16. Derrick
Gibson, a newcomer to BAR, is appreciative:
"Mr. Fraser - Thank you so much for providing us
with this interview; and of course, to the Honorable Mr. Seale thank you for
all of your revolutionary work over the years. I was a little delayed in coming
to read this interview on the Black Agenda Report, but the content was well
worth the wait.
"I was in San Francisco around April/May last
year visiting some friends and heading over to the Museum of the African
Diaspora; I took some time to visit a museum that had an exhibit at the same
time, a photographic history of the Black Panther Party. I can barely begin to
describe the feelings that coursed through me, when I saw those photos of my
sisters and brothers - really my aunts and uncles - standing so proudly before
the world and demanding the recognition of their rights, saying that I felt
proud is a great understatement.
"I felt inspired, I felt thrilled, I felt happy
and I felt sad. I felt sad because so powerful a movement has dissipated away
to just a faint whisper. Well, I just picked up a book by James Foreman, so I
will have to read it so I can learn how to spark that passion again; I know the
pilot light still burns within even this generation of Black people.
"Also, a friend of mine has encouraged me to
bone up on Marx . . .
"Love the site!
Again, it took me awhile to find it but that just means I have some
catching up to do!"
The Fallacy of Racial Superiority
San
Francisco Bay Area writer and educator M Quinn was kind enough to contribute
his piece on the historical context of racism, for our February
14 issue. The article got a reader named "Blynn" thinking:
"Perhaps I am getting old, but I still think that
America's racial problems are largely American in origin and that 'blackness'
and 'whiteness' are cultural constructs. I think I can safely absolve the
Ancient and Classical worlds of spreading this disease. The Romans were among
the least prejudiced people who ever succeeded at being bloodthirsty
imperialists. The arch and regular bathing (for which I thank them) were about
their only original ideas, and they knew it. They were cultural sponges, not
only subject to fads and cults from everywhere, but even embellishing their own
traditional pantheon and mythology with the far spicier personae of the Greeks.
"Both the Greeks and the Romans had dealings
with Africans. Alexander conquered Egypt, and the Romans fought three wars with
Carthage. Yet I can scarcely ever remember seeing the question of skin color
arise in any ancient works of note. Sometimes hair color is mentioned in
passing (Achilles and Dido were blonds). That most important of ancient works,
the Bible, never mentions eye or hair color, and only vaguely refers to skin
color, and never implies anything negative about any shade. Slavery in the
ancient world cannot be compared with New World practices. It was a low status
to which anyone could fall because of debts, crimes, or bad luck. It was a status
out of which one could rise also, with little lasting stigma, at least compared
with common free people.
"While race-based slavery existed all over the
Western Hemisphere, the legacy of that crime has not been the same. Black
Cubans who come here find themselves much worse off than Cubans who are
identified as white, when both are treated similarly in Cuba. I have heard that
in Brazil there is no bright line in status between the races, or should I say,
among them, since there are many variations there. This is not to say that
there is no racism in those places. To the contrary, status all over the West
rises as skin pigmentation decreases, but it is a trend, not a certainty. They
never had a 1/32 rule, and no one has to ‘pass.'
"I look most askance at the science of genetics,
or, rather, the way people have misused genetics. There has been no shortage of
misery inflicted in the 20th century because of beliefs about eugenics, but the
mischief predates by decades WWII. In fact, Darwinism itself, seemingly the
anathema of conservatives today, has since the rise of big business been a
guiding principle justifying capitalism when it brings misery (to others). Mind
you, I would not blame science itself, any more than I would blame a cliff
because someone got thrown over it. Rather, I blame those who attempt to use
science to justify before and after the fact what they do: exploit others."
We apologize to those writers whose letters did not appear.
The fault is all mine, and has more to do with periodic disorganization than
any other factor. Please bear with us - and keep writing.
BAR Executive Editor Glen
Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford (at) BlackAgendaReport.com.