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Interview with Congressional Candidate, Regina Thomas, by Tolu Olorunda.
In recent weeks, Georgia State Senator, Regina Thomas has made some headlines. She is a seasoned-politician in the ‘Peach State,’ who is running for a Congressional seat from Georgia’s 12th District. Her opponent is a fellow-Democrat, John Barrow, who was elected to Congress in 2004. On June 19, 2008, John Barrow picked up a big endorsement from the Democratic Presidential Nominee, Barack Obama. This endorsement came as a surprise to many for two distinct reasons. Firstly, on the account that Barrow is widely regarded as a feckless politician in matters relating to President Bush’s policies. Secondly, noting the fact that his opponent is an African-American Woman, living in a district with a majority black-demographical make-up. Despite this occurrence, Senator Thomas has vowed to remain focused with her sight on the Congressional seat. I had the grand-opportunity to speak with her about this and much more:
Thanks for being with us, Senator. When did your political-career effectively take-off?
It began in 1990, and I ran for the office of the School Board for the 2nd District in Georgia.
What has the journey from Local School Board to U.S. Congress been like?
Well, it’s been a transition; because in 1990 I did not win the School Board seat, but I went on to win a Georgia House of Representatives seat in 1994. My political journey embodies, 2 years as the Deputy Majority Whip of the Georgia House, 4 years as a member of the Georgia House of Representative, 8 years as a Georgia State Senator, and 12 years as a State Legislator.
How did it feel, to have Senator Obama endorse your opponent, John Barrow?
Well, I expected that, so it didn’t have any effect on me. I knew that Senator Obama would do that. He (John Barrow) is an incumbent, and also a Superdelegate, who gave Barack Obama his Superdelegate vote. So in essence, it was ‘payback time.’
In light of that, do you think the Democratic Party is in disarray at the moment?
Well, as a rule, the Democratic Party is not supposed to endorse candidates when there is opposition from within the Party. However, individual Democrats can do whatever they want to do. So, I think that the Democratic Party has been pretty much imitating the Right-Wing, and I feel that we need to remain true to who we are, what we believe, and the people we stand for.
As a Black Woman, do you think Senator Obama’s candidacy is something Black folks should disproportionately support?
Well, that would be for each individual to decide for themselves, and my opinion might differ from that of someone else. So, you look at a candidate’s qualifications, and if that’s who you decide to support, so be it.
So far, how’s your campaign been going?
My campaign is going fantastic, and ever since Senator Obama endorsed my opponent, my campaign has been turned up a notch.
If elected, what are your proposals vis-à-vis revamping the broken down communities across the country?
My plans, when, not if. I don’t know what the word “if” means. So, when I win on July 15th and November 4th, I will address “No Child Left Behind,” and eliminate that unfunded mandate, by taking the funds from “No Child Left Behind,” and sending it to The State on an “at-need” basis. By doing that, the funding will go to the different local school systems. I will also repeal the tax-cut that aids the Big Oil companies, and put that finance into health-care provision, so everyone can realize their access to health-care. In addition to that, I will repeal the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
What advice do you have for young brothers and sisters, hoping to secure a career in politics someday?
First of all, they have to get actively involved in their communities. They also have to be fully aware of the activities of their communities, by attending meetings. They must have input, by registering to vote, and participating in that process. They should try to seek offices on the local levels. They ought to also know, that they are powerful if they work together, and can achieve anything. They have to stay out of trouble, and pick their friends wisely. Education is essential, so they should stay in school. Lastly, they need to work hard, because it definitely will help them in the future.
To contact Mrs. Thomas or to donate to her campaign, pls. visit: http://reginathomas4congress.com/index.html
This interview was conducted by Tolu Olorunda, Staff Writer for YourBlackWorld.com
Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama thundered to long, loud and vigorous applause from a Father's Day Chicago church crowd that black fathers don't engage with their children. A month before Obama made this stereotypical and plainly false assertion, Boston University professor Rebekah Levine Coley, in a comprehensive study on the black family, found that black fathers who aren't in the home are much more likely to sustain regular contact with their children than absentee white fathers, or for that matter, fathers of any other ethnic group. The study is not an obscure study buried in the thick pages of a musty academic journal. It was widely cited in a feature article on black fathers in the May 19, 2008 issue of Newsweek. There was no excuse then to spout this myth. The facts are totally contrary to Obama's knock.
But then again this kind of over the top, sweeping talk about alleged black father irresponsibility from Obama isn't new. In stump speeches, he's pounded black men for their alleged father dereliction, irresponsibility and negligence. Whether Obama is trying to shore up his family values credentials with conservatives, or feels the need to vent personal anger from the pain and longing from being raised without a father is anybodys guess. (Note: his absentee father was not an African-American male but a Kenyan National who never intended to stay in this country). Or maybe he criticizes black men out of a genuine concern about the much media touted black family breakup. But Obama clearly is fixated on the ever media popular notion of the absentee black father. And that fixation for whatever reason is fed by a mix of truth, half truths and outright distortion.
Obama commits the cardinal error that every critic from the legions of sociologists, family experts, politicians and morals crusader Bill Cosby who have hectored black men for being father derelict have made. He omits the words "some," "those," or "the offenders" before black fathers. Instead, he makes, or at least gives the impression, that all, or most, black men aren't in the home, and are irresponsible. That being the case ipso facto they are the cause for the much fingered crime-drugs-violence-gross underachievement syndrome that young black males are supposedly eternally locked into.
Obama presents absolutely no evidence to back up this devastating indictment. The worst case estimate is that slightly less than half of black children live in fatherless homes. But that's only a paper figure. When income, education, individual background, and middle-class status are factored in the gap between black and white children who live in intact two parent households is much narrower.
This points to the single greatest reason for the higher number of black children who live in one parent households. That reason is poverty. A 2007 study noted that a black father's ability to financially contribute the majoor support in the home is the major determinant of whether he remains in the home. That's no surprise considering that despite changing gender values and emphasis society still dumps the expectation and burden on men to be the principal breadwinner and financial provider. Put bluntly, men and the notion of manhood are still mainly defined by their ability to bring home the bacon. A man who falls short of that standard is considered a failure and loser.
The chronic near Great Depression levels of unemployment, not to mention rampant job discrimination, endemic failing public schools, and stigma of a criminal record virtually condemn many young black men to wear the tag of societal failures as men and fathers. Obama in his rap against black men as fathers says nothing about the economic devasation that drives many black men from the home or prevents them from being in the home in the first place.
Obama, undoubtedly is well intentioned in his criticism of black family problems and certainly doesn't mean to slander all, or even most black men, as derelict, laggards and slackers as fathers. Obama, as Cosby and others who beat up on black males for alleged father dereliction, would almost certainly publicly bristle at criticism that he takes the worst of the worst behavior of some black men and publicly hurls that out as the warped standard of black America.
Yet that's precisely what he's done. And since every utterance by him is instant news and is taken as fact by legions of supporters and admirers, that makes his fan of stereotypes about black men even more painful.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Ethnic Presidency: How Race Decides the Race to the White House (Middle Passage Press, February 2008).With the recent announcement by the network company, A&E, of the scheduled return of the TV show, “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” some black bloggers and activists are relentlessly pursuing the agenda to prevent this action. For those who are unfamiliar with the incident that led to the termination of the show, here’s the rundown: Once gang member and street-criminal, Duane Lee “Dog” Chapman - turned bounty-hunter and Bail Bondsman - used the n-word profusely in a taped phone-call made to his son. Mr. Chapman, who is white, seemed to be irate by the idea of his son dating a black girlfriend. Following the release of the phone-call, Chapman made few TV appearances to purge his name of the new reputation he had garnered. One of those was an exclusive hour-long interview with white-supremacy apologist, Sean Hannity. Following the decision by A&E to renew the show, certain activists have risen to the occasion, and are actively campaigning against the motion. One of such activists is D. Yobachi Boswell of BlackPerspective.net. He is a writer, spoken word poet, hip hop artist, social activist and political-watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I had the pleasure of interviewing him earlier today. This was the exchange:
Thanks for joining us, Bro. Yobachi. We really appreciate it. For how long has this campaign been going on?
It’s been in the planning stages for about three weeks. I initially said on my blog back in ‘07 when they first pulled the show, that they were just waiting for the dust to clear and they were going to bring ‘Dog’ back; and that we need to act then to make sure that didn’t happen (http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/dog-chapmans-a-racist-liar-and-hes-not-fooling-me/). Well, I got distracted by other campaigns and didn’t come back to this until I saw news reports that they were starting to film the new season. We started organizing a few weeks ago internally within the “Afrosphere Action Coalition;” debating how to frame the action, where to go with it, etc.; and once we got things together internally, we just announced it publicly on, Monday, the 9th.
What is the short-term and long-term objective in your fight against Duane "Dog" Chapman's return to TV?
The short-term goal is to see that the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” program is pulled, if and until Duane Chapman makes meaningful amends for his words and attitude; and demonstrates that he’s done anything to change who he is in regards to his attitudes towards Black people.
When the tapes first came out, Dog initially just blamed the Black woman, Monique Shinnery, who his son was dating for what he said; and tried to disparage her character to justify himself, even though on the tapes he clearly says the only reason he doesn’t want her around is because he didn’t want to chance “some f-cking nigger” hearing “us say nigger” and turning them into “the enquirer.” All ‘Dog’ has done since then is claim that he meant “nigger” in a friendly way. He’s - not only - not owned up to his racist animosity; he’s surely done nothing to change from it if he won’t even admit to it.
Long-term, we want to forge a bar of integrity against defamation of all races. This is not a one-shot campaign. It actually continues work that’s already been done with getting BET’s “Hot Ghetto Mess” off airs, Brave New Films “Stop Spreading the Virus Campaign,” and what, “YouBlackWorld” is doing vis-à-vis Fox Advertisers.
So far, in this specific battle, what have been your notable accomplishments?
Well the campaign in essence just started, so we are not at the point of assessing any benchmarks yet. Nonetheless there’s been great response to our announcement of the campaign from the public; and many people have signed up to join in.
Have you been contacted yet, by Network Executives from A&E?
Not yet, but our letter to them just went out this week.
What kind of media exposure has this campaign been favored by to-date?
Again, we just started even going public; the press release doesn’t even go out until next week, just ahead of the “Day of Blogging for Respect in Media,” which is the event we will direct the media to: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/help-defeat-the-return-of-racist-dog-chapman/The ACC was in the Dallas Morning News just today, though, on another initiative: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/061308dnmetbloggers.25e4de6c.html
Are you working or networking with any other Grassroot Organizations to solidify your attempt in preventing Mr. Chapman's return to TV?
As the Afrosphere Actions Coalition is an open-coalition where anyone of like-mind is invited to join the actions we conduct; we tend to get a wide range of individuals who just jump in and join the actions.
What was your perspective on the "n-word" before the 'caught-on-tape' rant by Mr. Chapman, and did it in any way influence your philosophy afterwards?
Hearing another person such as Dog Chapman say it, didn’t change anything for me. It’s nothing new and hardly surprising. My opinion on the N-word - in all its forms before the tape and now - is that it needs to die a permanent death at this point.
I was once an active practitioner of flinging “nigga” around between fellow Black folk; the real problem to me is that far too many Black people felt that somehow it was even appropriate to do this in mixed company; thereby giving permission to white people to do the same as long as they change the “nigger” to “nigga” (a ridiculous notion). Some Black folks even think it’s cute, or a sign of racial progress to allow white people to call them “nigga.” This is ridiculous; it’s demeaning to those who were lynched and brutalized under that word, and fought so Black folks could walk the streets of America without being denigrated as “niggers;” and it is unacceptable.
‘Dog’ used this usage of the word by Black folk as an excuse for how he thought he was cool enough with Black people to use it. We know it is just a B.S. excuse as the way in which he said “nigger” and referred to Monique as a “f-cking nigger;” that he didn’t mean it in any sort of friendly or benign way, and him making this claim was just another one of his justifications; which is why he must still be held accountable. Yet, our ‘open- public-mixed-company,’ blatant use of the word and perpetuation in keeping it alive; gives cover for people such as ‘Dog’ to denigrate us and then claim he was ‘just using it in the street way like Black people do.’
Do you suspect that A&E will hearken to your call, and are you prepared to take further action - if need be?
A&E, having been given cover by racism apologist and accommodationist, Nigel Innus, surely believes they can point to the ‘house boy’ and say, “well he says Dog’s okay” and he’s Black; therefore all is settled.
‘Dog’ is A&E’s number 1 show, so I’m sure they’ll put up resistance. As I stated, I pointed out that this was their plan all along. The primary concern seems to be their bottom line, and that’s what they’ll default to; but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt - that being show of disregard of people of color by bringing this program back - that they can ultimately be persuaded to do the right thing.
But in the meantime we’re going to lean on their advertisers and their bottom lines to help push A&E in the right direction. Economic power is the tool. Black people must learn to exercise their power, and not just accept degradation in the public square. If Dog had said something even a tenth as benign about Jewish people, he would never work in the entertainment industry again; because they don’t put up with this sh--; but we do. They get respect because they stand up for themselves. Black folks far too often excuse and accommodate everything, so we’re not too respected. There’s a new guard of Black activism out here, though, that is determined to see this changed.
In your assessment, what is the biggest challenge facing Grassroots today, and what is the most progressive way of meeting those challenges?
Apathy amongst the masses is certainly the biggest challenge. It can often be like banging your head against the wall for a grassroots activist to get the people you’re trying to help or represent to believe that they’ve got power and can stand up and make things change.
Determined activism is the best way to meet this challenge. Those who do have the inclination just have to keep plowing away, and can’t stop just because it’s hard and frustrating. A few of us have to stand up, and when others see us, over the long-haul they will join us; and as Barack Obama is fond of saying, a few more will stand up, and then a few hundred, and then a few thousand.
I wrote two pieces about this: “Determined Activism Versus Naysaysers: There’s Always A Critic” and “Determined Activist Versus Naysayers, PT 2;” which can be seen here: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/determined-activism-versus-naysaysers-theres-always-a-critic/ and here:
http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/determined-activism-versus-naysaysers-pt2/
What is the contact information, for those willing to join you in this fight?
They should come by my announcement post and let us know if they will blog or email the action next Wednesday, which they can do at http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/help-defeat-the-return-of-racist-dog-chapman/. Or, they can email me, but the former is preferable unless they have a personal or private message. That’s Yobachi at lionrunner777@yahoo.com
Once again, Thanks Bro. Yobachi.