Georgia State Senator, Regina Thomas, Speaks to YBW

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 12^th 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 2^nd 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 15^th and November 4^th, 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

Don Imus Producers and Contact information

Here is the contact information for the producers of Imus in the Morning. Here is a form letter you can use when you write them via email. Here is an email message you can use to send this information onto your friends who might be interested in joining the fight.

Mail:
[Same as street address]
Phone:Fax:
(212) 613-3800(212) 613-3866
Street:
2 Penn Plz17th FlNew York, NY 10121
Home Page:Email:
http://www.wabcradio.com/webmaster@wabcradio.com


Anderson, Bruce PM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3823 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Bartlett, Rob AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 268-5730 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Bonk, Lisa Advertising Sales Manager (212) 613-3888 (212) 613-3866 lisa.bonk@citcomm.com

Borneman, Steve President & General Manager (212) 613-3801 (212) 613-3866 steve.borneman@citcomm.com

Boyce, Phil News Director (212) 613-3805 (212) 613-3866 phil.boyce@citcomm.com

Boyce, Phil Operations Manager (212) 613-3805 (212) 613-3866 phil.boyce@citcomm.com

Boyce, Phil Programming President (212) 613-3805 (212) 613-3866 phil.boyce@citcomm.com

Foster, Karith AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 268-5730 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Gigante, Robert Late Night On Air Personality (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3866 grant@wabcradio.com

Hannity, Sean PM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 301-3554 (212) 613-3866 hannity@foxnews.com

Imus, Don AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Levin, Mark Late Night On Air Personality (212) 268-5730 (212) 613-3866 mark.levin@citcomm.com

Maldonado, Jack Sports Director (212) 613-3863 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

McCord, Charles AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 268-5730 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Powell, Tony AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 268-5730 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Slender, Leslie Marketing Director (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3866 leslie.slender@citcomm.com

Slender, Leslie Promotion Director (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3866 leslie.slender@citcomm.com

Sliwa, Curtis Mid-Day On Air Personality (212) 613-3872 (212) 613-3866 webmaster@wabcradio.com

Winek, Linda Web Site Contact (212) 613-3802 (212) 613-3866 linda.winek@citcomm.com

Wolf, Warner AM Drive-Time On Air Personality (212) 613-3800 (212) 613-3866 warner.wolf@citcomm.com

Getting Don Imus Off the Air for his racism

Here is a letter you can send to W-ABC, the company that puts "Imus in the Morning" on the air. At this link, you can get the contact information for the producers of the show.

To Mr. Bernard McGuirk, Executive Producer of “Imus in the Morning”, and to all members of the W-ABC staff,

Racially motivated comments and insults by Don Imus are no longer acceptable. Fair-minded Americans everywhere are now engaged in a nation-wide effort to ensure that W-ABC and all of its corporate sponsors are held accountable for the fact that you are supporting racism on the airwaves.

Don Imus has made the implication that black men are more likely to be criminals than other members of our society. His comments about Adam “Pacman” Jones are not only insulting to hard working, honest black men across the country, but to good Americans everywhere. Our progress toward racial equality is regularly hampered by the social terrorism of Don Imus, as well as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, other hosts with your network.

We were disappointed with the fact that you chose to put Don Imus on the air the first time, but we will be even more disappointed if you continue to support him. Don Imus has shown very little remorse for his actions, and feels that African Americans are an easy and available target for his racist attacks.

We won’t tolerate this anymore, and we are not going away. We ask that you discipline Mr. Imus for his actions and strongly recommend that you consider taking him off the air. We are mobilized behind this issue and will strive to find direct and creative ways to get the attention of your corporate sponsors.

Sincerely,

The Your Black World Coalition

Dr Peniel Joseph Talks White Supremacy and Racism

In 1955, representatives of over 29 countries representing over 1 billion people convened in Bandung, Indonesia to craft an alternative vision of global society. Seeking space between Cold War liberalism and Soviet style Communism, radical humanism infused the “Bandung World.” Indeed, it was a glorious moment in recent world history, one that witnessed revolutionary anti-colonial movements sweeping across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. For African-Americans combating domestic white supremacy, Bandung represented the last best hope for dreams of freedom. Liberation movements in Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Angola, and Mozambique emboldened black Americans engaged in their own life and death freedom struggles.

Unfortunately, the heady rush of post-colonial idealism in Africa gave way to the harsh reality of neo-colonialism. Perhaps the ultimate irony regarding these historic liberation movements is that for a new generation the Third Way—once irrevocably tied to the radical non-aligned movement—has come to be defined by the neo-liberalism and free-market ideology of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.

Almost 50 years after Bandung, the World Conference Against Racism convened in Durban, South Africa to discuss old and new issues related to the continuing legacies of slavery, colonialism, and white supremacy. In truth, there were two separate conferences that, at times, contained overlap. The Non Governmental Organization (NGO) forum that took place from August 28–September 1 was comprised of grassroots activists, community organizers, students, labor representatives, and activist-scholars. The more well-publicized UN Forum that took place from August 31–September 7 featured a staged American walkout and enough expensive suits to keep an upscale men’s store in business through the next century. While not possessing the “official” credentials required to participate in the UN conference, I was fortunate enough to attend workshops, meetings, caucuses, and rap sessions as a delegate to the NGO Forum held at Durban’s Kingsmead Stadium and surrounding venues.

Held in the port city of Durban, South Africa’s third largest metropolis, the conference site provided ample evidence of both the hopes and impediments that course through the post-apartheid era. For first-time visitors to South Africa, which included this writer, arriving in Durban was accompanied by a combination of intense euphoria, gratitude and a humbling sense of the historic struggles that made this trip possible. With over 5,000 delegates in attendance the NGO forum was an energetic mixture of political activity that ranged from press conferences and workshops to plenary sessions. Like the masses of people gathered, the schedule was constantly in motion, slightly disorganized, sometimes disappointing, but always well-intentioned. The agendas were diverse as well. On tap was everything from groups against caste discrimination and land rights for South Africans to reparations for African descendants.

Although representing a wide array of local and geographically specific organizations, the delegates converged in connecting indigenous issues to slavery, colonialism, capitalism and white supremacy. More importantly, the delegates held workshops to inform and strategize on behalf of the dispossessed. The final “Program of Action” included the demand for reparations for Africans and African descendants that would take the form of restitution, monetary compensation, restoration, and satisfaction and guarantee of non-repetition. Instructively, these demands underscore the way in which Western Civilization has been built upon the broken backs of black laboring populations and continues to utilize black subordination to thrive well into the 21st century.

Undoubtedly the NGO’s biggest success was in casting a strobe light on the issues of reparations for the entire world to see. In opening up this Pandora’s box anti-racist activists illustrated the myriad ways that white supremacy, racial capitalism, and imperialism continue to marginalize the lives of billions on this planet. By dragging these issues to the center of an international debate, NGOs sought to shame, embarrass, and harass state power into acknowledging continued political oppression and fashion practical solutions. Rather then viewing slavery, colonialism, and international human rights violations as historical artifacts to be studied and debated over, the NGO Forum focused on the contemporary impact of these debilitating practices. The United States’ shameful refusal to discuss reparations speaks truth to the power of this international forum.

The issue of land reform, restoration, and restitution was poignantly played out during the massive protest march held by the Durban Social Forum on August 31. Over 20,000 strong trekked five miles to protest against landlessness in South Africa, the hegemony of free-market ideology, and the consolidation of world white supremacy. Although South Africa’s ANC government had been generally supportive of both the NGO/UN gatherings, this march revealed the increasingly arid political climate of the post-apartheid era. Over the course of this march and throughout my week in Durban I had the opportunity to listen to grassroots South Africans and their generally caustic assessment of the ANC regime. Moreover, hundreds of indigenous Africans were unable to participate in the NGO forum because of the prohibitive (800 South African Rand, the equivalent of $100 US) registration fees. This situation presents a quandary for African-American activists who were pivotal in abolishing the murderous apartheid regime.

As black Americans have come to recognize through bitter experience, black faces in higher places does not necessarily translate into freedom. In many ways, the crisis of nation-state building in Africa bears striking similarities to black political power in the Post-Civil Rights era. The ANC’s assumption of political power sans economic hegemony is a sad story that has been played out from Detroit, Michigan to Durban, South Africa. However, the march and the conference that was its backdrop represented a response and act of resistance that was global in its make-up and outlook. This of course begs the question: Was Durban the sight of a new radical anti-racist international movement for social, political and economic justice?

Though time and history will be the judge of these recent events, I would answer the question with a resounding yes. The NGO Forum provided a center-point for representatives of hundreds of labor, cultural, and grassroots organizations focusing on issues that ranged from incarceration and the death penalty to reparations and Pan-Africanism. As important as these individual agendas are, the thrust of the Forum revolved around articulating an alternative human rights agenda. Of course, such efforts at united front politics have faltered before. However, the fact that the NGO delegates lacked formal political power represented the conference’s greatest strength and weakness. The strength lay in the fact that the absence of formal ties to state power allowed for a lucid and radical perspective on world affairs. Yet this clear-eyed perspective revealed the domination of formal power in the form of political parties, corporate power, the World Bank, the IMF and, ironically enough, the United Nations. Mass marches, political mobilization, and conferences contribute to the global movement for social justice through education, networking and inspiration but, in and of themselves, are not enough.

With the increasing power of corporate interests coinciding with the decreasing effects of pressure groups and mass demonstrations, a new perspective on the relationship between protest, political power, and social change is needed now more then ever. On this score, the international forces arrayed in Durban caught the attention of mainstream leaders of all ideological and political affiliations. Even the NGO Forum was deemed important enough to warrant the presence of Cuban President Fidel Castro, UN Commissioner Mary Robinson, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Like a global March On Washington, the NGO Forum forced the hands of various leaders who were looking for a way to capitalize on the event through association or demonization, and sometimes both.

In contrast to the United Nations’ corporate seminar on diversity, the NGO Forum went beyond sensitivity training and multiculturalism to enact a project that was both descriptive and transformative. The former process involved defining the atrocities that have taken place during modernity and their enduring legacy. This is no small task, and if the NGO Program of Action and Working Draft are any indication, was eloquently handled. This description was controversial only to those who continue to enjoy the ill-gotten gains of slavery, apartheid, colonialism, and white supremacy. The brave new world of the 21st century has ensured that not all of these individuals and nations can be easily distinguished by black/white and east/west binaries. An increasing number of black and Third World descendants are happy to be the beneficiaries of global human rights movements that allow them a measure of prestige, political standing, and wealth. This phenomenon was exemplified by the seemingly incongruous sight of a small number of African nations who, wanting to appease their western masters, disavowed the reparations movement.

The latter process is what the Post-Durban International Movement must now actively engage in. This process must begin with the dissemination of first-hand knowledge from those of us who actually attended the WCAR. Not surprisingly, the amount of disinformation and outright distortions circulated in the American media have been legion. Conference attendees have a counter-narrative that should be shared with friends, families, colleagues, and especially poor communities of color. Young people, who were a welcome presence at the conference and convened their own Youth Conference in Durban August 26–27, should be told how their counterparts across the world are engaged in heroic struggles against racism and white supremacy. If the torch is to be passed, information—both historical and experiential—will be crucial in this endeavor. The warm personal and political relationships that were created, and sometimes renewed, during the NGO Forum represent international and humanistic possibilities that are unlimited. If our efforts in Durban are to prove successful we must ensure that history’s dark days have proceeded for the benefit of the bright nights of a not too distant future where humanity, far from being the reward of the few, will be extended the world over.

Black Fathers More Engaged than White Fathers: Study Shows

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).

Keith Olbermann Defends Michelle Obama against Baby Mama Attack by Fox

Keith Olbermann at MSNBC weighed in on Fox's attack on Michelle Obama. In their story, Fox tagged Mrs. Obama as Barack's "Baby Mama", which Olbermann defined as racist and yet another smear by Fox News.

The video is below:

Black Bloggers Protest Against Duane "Dog" Chapman And A&E

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.

Michelle Obama Called a "Baby Mama" by Fox News

Michelle Obama is referred to as a "Baby Mama" by Fox News. The black community is outraged over this statement and considers it to be an insult. This is not the first time that Fox has insulted the black community. It has allowed Bill O'Reilly, one of it's most prominent talk show hosts, to refer to actually lynching Michelle Obama. Additionally, it has paid many African American commentators to say degrading things about the black community.

Michelle Obama and Barack Obama haven't responded to the statements, but many in the black community are concerned about the racism terrorism used by Fox News in this election.



The video is below.

Black Blogger Coalition Protesting the Return of Dog the Bounty Hunter

Do you remember Dog The Bounty Hunter of A&E’s popular television show, and his extremely racist and derogatory rant caught on tape last fall ( here’s the short version of the recording if you don’t recall: http://www.tmz.com/2007/10/31/dog-chapmans-hate-filled-tirade/ )
We’ll A&E quickly pulled his show for damage control, and as I predicted at the time (http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/racist-dog-chapman-continues-to-lie/); it was simply a ploy to let the dust settle, pretend like they did something, and then bring him back.Well, that’s what they’re doing this summer, despite that Dog never owned up to what he actually said, but instead went on t.v. and lied about it despite us having the tape (as detailed here: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/racist-dog-chapman-continues-to-lie/), and hence has made no real amends for what he won’t even acknowledge he did: that he and his crew of convicted criminals regularly used the word “nigger” with derogatory intent. He has not admitted that when his son began to date a Black woman, Dog verbally savaged her simply for being Black and for no other reason.

We in the Afrosphere Action Coalition do not believe that Black folks should stand for this type of derogatory behavior, and that they and others of like conscious certainly shouldn’t have our money support companies who support this demeaning behavior towards Blacks in the popular culture.Therefore, we’re inviting you to participate in a concerted campaign to derail Dogs ability to profiteer off our consumer dollar while harboring such vile feelings and intent towards us. Further, we want to continue to establish dignity for Blacks as paramount in the market place.This is not a one shot action. It will be a sustained action that continues what Bloggers previously accomplished in successfully challenging BET on it’s Hot Ghetto Mess (http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/07/bet_hot_ghetto_mess/); and we will be active in challenging media and corporate America on its respect of all citizens going forward.
Here’s the plan for this immediate specific action. Will You Join? Comment and let us know.

Current Plan:

A letter to A&E and its advertisers will go out this week.

B. This will be followed next Wednesday with a the Day of Blogging for Racial Justice In Media to incite our readers to support the position of the letter, and to ask our readers to take action to contact the A&E and it’s advertisers.
You need not be a blogger to participate, you can also do this through email to your in box.
Also, there will be a press release to the media that goes out the night before.

C. Depending on response from A&E and it’s advertisers, a next action will be announced.
YobachiAfrosphere Action CoalitionLead Coordinatorwww.BlackPerspective.net

Does The Church/Christianity Keep Blacks Weak?

Does The Church/Christianity Keep Blacks Weak?
Does Church/Christianity Keep Blacks Weak?
By E. Lee Sullivan

If someone is kicking your ass up and down the street everyday and you choose to accept “their” philosophy and religion which is not originally your own, that is to turn the other cheek and love them, then you will always be their slaves.Like the Bible where certain books were intentionally left out like, The Book of Mary, The Book of Peter, etc., perhaps they intentionally omitted certain passages of the Willie Lynch Papers, such as, give them the religion of Christianity, make sure they accept it and live by it, even though you won’t. The homosexual King James originated his version to control the minds of the people and as we all know, where the mind leads the ass will follow.


There was a story about Rev. Dollar, the preacher of a mega church here in Atlanta on the front page of a major newspaper, Tavis Smiley said he was to speak at his church one Sunday, when they begin to take up the collection, saying to the congregation, “give more than you gave last week and you’ll be blessed more” he left, without speaking.T. D. Jakes influenced his members to vote Republican. Some for decades have seen the church as an instrument to keep Black folks on their knees. I’m sure that there is good in the church, but this article is to focus on how it keeps us weak, defenseless, ignorant, unchanging and selfish.

Our original faith and lifestyle is Neterian and Yogic, practicing the 42 principles of MAAT, but like they say in The Nation of Islam, you got hit in the head. Farrakhan says that a chastisement is coming, because we are fearful, envious of each other and refuse to unite.Watching the episode of Boondocks that Aaron McGruder wrote about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., having been in a coma for 30 years, awakening, saying, turn the other cheek in regards to 911 (by the way view www.let’sroll911.org and www.thepowerhour.com for some truth), he was condemned and called a traitor by the mass media. At the end he referred to us as the ‘n’ word, looking at how we are today, asked, “Is this what I took all those ass whippings for?”I thought no one felt that way but me. We continue to party, discriminate against one another and act as if someone is suppose to give us something for nothing, i.e aggressive pan-handling.

We continue our immoral behavior, producing babies for the incarceration system and U.S. military forces and we continue to go to church each Sunday, as Malcolm said, “The most segregated morning in America,” meaning the segregation of each other, (maybe the continual loss of jobs and the gas company telling us to “bend over” will help unite us).


As truth keeps revealing itself because of the age of Aquarius, The Bible Code, The DaVinci Code and the like, we will need to choose truth over tradition, research over believing what we are told, selflessness over self centeredness, our origins over American “his-story” our natural spiritual selves over tampered with Christianity and the modern day church.E. Lee Sullivan is a web columnist for www.afromerica.com a self-published author of two comedies All Men Are Down On Getting Sexed and Damn! Why Did I Get Saved?

Contact Lee at leesullivan2004@yahoo.com(c) 2007 els

American Idiots Who Promote Racism: Bill O'Reilly are You Listening?

The Human Rights Watch has the global community watching the United States. Apparently, the ignorance and racism of our country has gotten the attention of everyone except for those who watch The O'Reilly Factor. Here is a copy of the report.

Hip Hop Star Vigilantee Releases Freestyle for Civil Rights

NAACP CHAPTER SUSPENDED FIGHTING FOR MUMIA ABU JAMALS LIFE

SUNDIATA SADIQ

May 27, 2008
As the former president of the Ossining NAACP for 8 yrs and now vice president under chapter suspension I felt compelled to write this letter after being received in Paris, France by common by dignitaries attending the unveiling of a new street called Rue Mumia Abu Jamal. Naming a street for Mumia Ab-Jamal who they believe is innocent. I was also with Harry Belafonte when he made the video that was played saluting the people of France for this historic event and stating he believed in Mumia’s innocents.


For a little bit of background for the readers let me say. Our chapter is located in a racist town called Ossining New York the home of Sing Sing prison. From the late 1800’s New York State has executed 695 people 9 of them women. Sing Sing prison has executed 615 of that total. Some innocent. The Ossining NAACP started a youth program in the prison whereby youth could actually dialogue with inmates who would have been executed if the death penalty had not been outlawed in the mid 60s in New York State. My I say the last execution was that of an African American male. Our of that program came Steven Hawkins a well known former NAACP Legal Defense Fund Lawyer, Death Penalty lawyer and former lawyer for Mumia Abu-Jamal. So it was a natural thing for our chapter so support Mumia and submit the result ion over many blockades that were set up


After demonstrating at the NAACP national convention, in 2004 in Philadelphia Pa. along with members of the International Concerned Families and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and other organizations A resolution was passed by the national organization supporting a new and fair trial for Mumia and called upon all its units nationally and internationally to support that call.
The only thing that has happened is that the Ossining chapter of NAACP, the chapter that brought the original resolution was suspended on bogus charges that stem from the resolution and demonstrations at the national convention(NY times Sunday 7/17/ 2005) According to the Amsterdam News article by Hope Clive 2/9/05 When she called Julian Bond he said knew nothing about the suspension by Hazel N. Dukes president of the New York Conference of branches. We never got a hearing or chance to explain our side of the story.

The case of Mumia Abu Jamal has now been put on a fast track and the Fraternal Order of Police and their Uncle Toms and Tomasina's have gone on a campaign to kill Mumia. We wrote to Julian Bond asking for a meeting with the national leadership. The response we got back from Dennis Hayes the general counsel of NAACP was they were too busy ,but would meet soon with Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania about the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

While in France a French government official invited us to sit in on an action session that Dennis Hayes and other NAACP officials were attending. The French were trying to find out how to handle the uprisings in the Afrikan community. We could not because of prior commitments. Anyway the NAACP delegates had no answer because they are out of the loop just as they are in America.

We wanted to tell the NAACP leadership that Governor Ed Rendell has always been a rabidly pro-death penalty person. When he was DA and Mayor of Philadelphia Rendell’s offices oversaw and validated the frame-up of Mumia. Rendell in his campaign for Governor vowed to sign the papers to execute Mumia if he were elected. Rendell was the DA during the first attack on MOVEs house in 1978.

He worked with Rizzo and the Philadelphia police to destroy the MOVE house before it could be thoroughly examined for evidence to negate the lies about MOVE.
The NAACP chose to sit down with this devil before sitting down with Pam and Ramona Afrika Dr. Suzanne Ross and Sundiata Sadiq.

We hope the new CEO Ben Jealous will re-instate the 69yr old Ossining Chapter, and put an end to this foolishness and class collaborationist policy of the Association.


The Ossining NAACP is still functioning. Not officially but still we rise The brutality against our children in this town by the police has escalated. We are still on call. We will still stand with Mumia and all our Political prisoners after this suspension is dealt with.
Sundiata Sadiq
NYC Coalition to Free Mumia Abu Jamal
Life member and Former president Ossining Chapter NAACP (in suspension)

Mumia Abu Jamal: Failure of Black Leadership

SUNDIATA SADIQ
10 Madison ave
Ossining NY 10562

DEAR EDITOR
,
Critical Moment for Mumia Abu Jamal and Black Leadership is Silent
On March 29, 2008, hundreds of Black, white, and Latino folk gathered at the Adam Clayton Powell Office Building on 125th Street in Harlem to protest the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision denying Mumia Abu-Jamal a new trial, or even a hearing detailing his trumped-up murder conviction of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in Philadelphia 26 years ago. Congressman Charles Rangel, senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), has his office there.
The Adam Clayton Powell Office Building was chosen after numerous calls were made on the Congressional Black Caucus to reaffirm their 1995 and 1999 support for Mumia. At this crucial time, Mumia needs that support once again.
The executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, Dr. Joe Leonard, directed us to stop calling because the Black Caucus has a procedure to follow. He said he would relay these issues to the proper individuals, and they would get back to us. The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus is Carolyn Kilpatrick; given the attitude Leonard displayed, she probably never even received our request to meet with her. Regardless, no one ever contacted us. She must now hear from all of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s supporters.
Ten months ago, when we contacted the executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, Dr. Joe Leonard, his response was a familiar one. We were given the same runaround over two years ago by the national NAACP’s Dennis Hayes, their national legal counsel and now interim CEO. He wrote us saying the NAACP was too busy to meet with us but instead would meet with Governor Ed Rendell to discuss Mumia’s case. That struck us as odd since Rendell promised to sign the death warrant for Mumia as soon as it came across his desk. This was his campaign promise when he ran for governor. When Tookie Williams was facing execution at the hands of the California authorities, the NAACP visited him in jail and even offered him a job with the national organization. We applaud that move even though it was not part of their national call, as Mumia was and is. Some of us feel that this was a move by the NAACP to drum up membership and donations since there were no serious demonstrations by the organization or a national call to stop the execution. We also wonder why they have not offered a similar offer to Mumia at a time when such pressure could make a difference. Funny, the NAACP could turn out 10,000 folk in South Carolina to demonstrate about the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina capitol building, but not one demo to stop the execution of Tookie. The NAACP also turned out thousands in Detroit to bury the word “nigger,” but not one demo to support Mumia.
Maybe we should have buried some of our Black leadership with the n-word.
Mumia Abu-Jamal has strong support among the rank and file of working-class people and also such notables as former mayor of New York City David Dinkins. He is a lawyer and after studiously reviewing the case of Mumia declared his support for Mumia’s freedom. Support also came from other notables in the Afrikan community such as Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Dick Gregory, Danny Glover, and many others in that same vein.
At the national convention of the NAACP in Philadelphia in 2004, after great pressure from Mumia supporters outside and inside the convention hall, the NAACP passed a resolution urging all chapters of the NAACP at home and abroad to study the case of Mumia and demand a new and fair trial for our brother. What transpired after the 2004 convention was that the only chapter in America (the Ossining NAACP) that brought the resolution to the national convention was suspended by Hazel Dukes, president of the New York State NAACP chapter. Dukes was earlier convicted of stealing money from a dying friend who had entrusted Duke to handle her estate. Strangely enough, after the controversy of her conviction subsided, Dukes was re-elected in 1999 to her former post. Her re-election has long since been thought of by many members to have been rigged.
In 2005, after we made the NAACP nervous at the national convention in Washington, DC, with our demonstration and speaking to the membership, Hilary Shelton, lobbyist for the national NAACP, promised to meet with us. During a visit to his office in Washington, DC, Shelton told us that he would get us an audience with at least a couple of brothers or sisters in the CBC who would listen to what we have to say. Shelton “played us” like his namesake, who “came under fire” during a landing in Bosnia, because we never got a hearing.
We have seen our legislators and lawmakers become frightened by the attacks of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) lobbyist in Washington, DC, whose only purpose is to see that Mumia and other Black people are executed. Congressman Chaka Fattah from Pennsylvania, a Mumia supporter, fell victim to the FOP as did John Street, former mayor of Philadelphia.
If it were not for the working people of these United States and the world, Mumia would be dead by now. Those Black leaders in office that pretend to advocate for justice when we fall in the hands of the injustice system have failed to step up to the plate. The rank and file people must step up the struggle for Mumia’s freedom. We must expose these Black leaders for their cowardice and hypocrisy.
Mumia has spoken about this subject, and they want him silenced. His national radio comments never talk about his case but about the oppressed around America. His comments have been diametrically opposed to some Black leaders’ positions. One such contradiction is in New York and cities where our people are suffering. In New York, we are facing the loss of Harlem to avaricious developers and the Columbia University plan to gentrify what we call our beloved Mecca (Harlem) for Afrikan folk around the world. When we look at who is leading this land grab, we find Hazel Dukes and certain NAACP chapters in support of this ethnic cleansing of Harlem under the guise of redevelopment. When we pull back the covers, we see Congressman Charles Rangel and David Dinkins, along with various clergy, supporting this process that threatens “the village of Harlem as we know it.”
The 2004 resolution in Philadelphia by the NAACP was a move to silence the Mumia movement because they merely meant to throw us a few bones. They had no intention of dealing with the Mumia issue in any meaningful way. This was evident in Dukes’s statement shortly thereafter that the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal was not a priority of the NAACP. The Black leadership took a chapter right out of the counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO), whose predecessor (COM-FIL) carried out infiltration of suspected Communist organizations and individuals. One such person was radical Black leader W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP who created the Crisis magazine. He exposed the lynching of hundreds of Black men and women around America. Finally, the NAACP succumbed to the federal government’s demands and kicked W. E. B. Du Bois to the curb.
In spite of the courts that violate their own decisions and our rights every day, these same Black leaders have not stood up as the NAACP and Congressional Black Caucus and said, hell no, we ain’t lettin’ this brother Mumia go down like this!
Even after Judge Ambro of the Philadelphia Third Circuit Court of Appeals in his dissent on a 2-1 decision said that the decision not to hear Mumia’s appeal around “Batson” was part of a double standard not to hear Mumia out. Ambro’s minority opinion states further that every other “Batson appeal” that was reasonable before that court was granted. Mumia has been the only exception. Mumia’s' appeal went beyond reasonable.
The prosecutor Lynn Abrahams has stated her intent to execute Mumia. Surprisingly, even after this outrageous decision by the appellate court, we have not heard a “mumblin” word from the NAACP, Black elected officials, or the Congressional Black Caucus.
Brothers and sisters, it is time for us to act.
First, let us start holding Black leadership accountable. Call and write these folk as soon as possible and tell them this decision is too outrageous for their organizations or individual political affiliations to stand by in silence while this lynching of an innocent man is playing out before the world.
Rep. Charles Rangel, 212 862 4490
Dennis Hayes, Interim CEO and President, NAACP (National), 410 580 5777
Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick, Chair of Congressional Black Caucus, 202 225 2261
Richard Macintyre, Communication and Media, NAACP, 410 580 5787
Dr. Joe Leonard, CBC Executive Director, 202 226 9776
National Caucus of Black Legislators, 202 624 5457
Or e-mail congressionalblackcaucus@mail.house.gov.
Sundiata Sadiq 914 941 6046
New York Coalition to Free Mumia Abu Jamal
Former President-Ossining NAACP (In Suspension)

BLACK MAGIC--Sonny Stitt - Lover Man

Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lot of ghetto liquor stores. At their feet I embraced the love of knowledge, and through their tutelage defined self-worth in my own terms.

These were the “Eulipians”—writers, poets, musicians, hustlers, and uncommon drunks—shade-tree philosophers, who contemplated the fungus between the toes of society. And without apology, these visionaries danced with reckless abandon, unfettered by formal inhibition, through the presumptuous speculation of the ages.

While these obscure intellectuals stood well outside the mainstream of academy, I watched with astonished delight as they and their students sang, scat, and scribed the thrust of their philosophy into the mainstream of human knowledge. And as one such student, I fully embrace and promote their creed, that knowledge is free, and thus, will transcend attempts to be contained through barriers of caste and privilege, leaving man's innate thirst for knowledge, free to someday overwhelm his lust for stupidity.

Meet Sonny. He wasn't all that big on bling, but he damn sure knew how to keep it real.

Eric L. Wattree

Black Magic--Miles Davis and John Coltrane--SO WHAT - LIVE

MILES

We knew him as Miles,
the Black Prince of style,
his nature fit jazz to a tee.
Laid back and cool,
a low threshold for fools,
he set the tone
of what a jazzman
should be.

Short on words,
and unperturbed, about
what the people thought;
frozen in time, drenched
in the sublime,
of the passion
his sweet horn
had wrought.

Solemn to the bone,
distant and torn,
even Trane could
scarcely get in;
I can still hear the tone
of that genius who mourned,
that precious note
that he couldn't
quite bend.

Eric L.Wattree

Black Men, Black Leaders and Black Scholars: Being Strong, Black and Educated

by Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.com
www.YourBlackWorld.com

I got a phone call today. I get a lot of calls from “observers” (translation: supporters and haterologists), and I appreciate every single one of them. However, being as busy as I am, I usually don’t have time to call anyone back. I call my mama back and if my daughter would call me, she would be at the top of my list. I also call my grandmother. That’s enough to fill the free time at airports or on the way to the office.

If I call you back, I am returning the call because I either love you or respect you. I don’t return calls just because I think the caller is a “big shot”. In this business, everyone is into networking and butt kissing so they can meet this important person or that one. I’ve always felt that life is too short for that crap. For example, my homeboy Marc Lamont Hill at Temple University (one of the top black scholars in America), Al “The Inspiration” Duncan (an amazing public speaker and youth advocate) in Atlanta and Bill Thomason (a top black money manager) are brothers I always call back immediately because I respect their integrity. It’s really that simple for me.

On this day, I had some free time. I was driving to the office and I had a message from a woman named Karen. Karen’s family is full of Syracuse alumni. Honestly, most calls and emails I get from Syracuse alumni are not all that favorable. While I get cheers from the black and latino alums, the reality is that Syracuse has not had a strong historical black and latino presence. This is doubly true on the faculty, where a tenured professor of color is incredibly rare.

But I respect everyone, and I decided to use my free time to call Karen back. I was a little nervous, since I really wanted to talk to my grandmother. The risk was that I would miss a great conversation with grandma just so another alum could yell at me for being an outspoken black man.

But Karen was worth the investment because she was super duper cool. It also turned out that Karen is the daughter of the greatest alumnus in Syracuse University history, the great Jim Brown.

Jim was not amazing for what he did on the field. Yes, he had super human strength and was such an outstanding athlete that they changed the rules to find ways to stop him. But that doesn’t impress me, for black men have always possessed amazing athletic ability. Jim’s intellect impressed me far more than his athletic ability, for he is every bit as intelligent as he was athletic. But truth be told, while his intellect impressed the heck out of me, it didn’t impress the HELL out of me. Don’t get me wrong, he was a smart brother, but there are a lot of smart black male athletes, in spite of what the media tells you.

What impressed the HELL out of me was Jim Brown’s COURAGE. That is what left his mark on the university, and that is what will leave his mark on the world. While he may not be perfect, his strength inspires me as a black man to focus and overcome all that lies around me.

I have a Trinity of strength when it come to my black male “adopted fathers”. In this trinity, there is Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown. I adopted these men many years ago when I saw my intelligent, highly educated, rich, famous African American predecessors selling out in droves. It seemed that the only black men rising to prominent positions in American society were the ones who most readily allowed themselves to be fully emasculated. Sure, these men might speak big behind closed doors, but out in public, there was a degree of weakness, cowardice and commitment to self-preservation that made me shudder. These were the men who would tell me that speaking out in favor of the poor would get me into trouble. They would tell me to leave behind the brothers in prison and the kids in the educational system because it might jeopardize my chance to drive a Jaguar one day. While I listen to such men respectfully, I found myself having a midlife crisis at the age of 25, wondering if there was a way to have a more meaningful existence.

I miss the days when athletes used their platforms for something other than another McDonald’s endorsement. It is most sad and ironic that the athletes with the most wealth and greatest power also happen to be the least educated and the least willing to become educated. Individuals such as Michael Jordan become about as politically-neutral as a can of spinach, all so he can turn his $200 million dollar fortune into a $300 million dollar fortune. I have always been of the opinion that black prosperity and social activism can go hand in hand. We can all continue Dr. King’s work, whether it is on the streets or in the board room. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

I connected with Malcolm just because he was Malcolm. Malcolm X was clearly the greatest leader in American history. I connected with Muhammad Ali because he is from Louisville, my hometown, and also my second cousin. He taught me that a black man does not have to hold his head down in shame and weakness when the cameras turn on. I connected with Jim Brown because his spirit lives on my campus, Syracuse University. Jim created the path for me to do what I do today, and it was his ability to endure the firestorms of Syracuse controversy that remind me to stay focused in my endeavors.

The great shame of our generation is that someone convinced us that our existence is about one person. It is important for all of us to remember that we are part of something greater, and the greatest gift you can give to future generations is to clear a path for someone else to run through. Malcolm gave his life, Muhammad gave the prime of his boxing career, and Jim risked his life so that my generation could walk through doors that had been previously closed. I plan to march through that door with dignity and open another door for those behind me.

That is what scholars and intellectual leaders are supposed to do.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?” For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.

A Black Conservative Who Truly Loves Black People

By John Eidson

Their living conditions could only be described as tragic. Of the seven adults who shared the badly dilapidated rental unit in a rundown area of southwest Atlanta, not one held a job. They eked out a dead-end existence for themselves and the two children who lived with them by pooling government benefits, including an $852 monthly Section 8 housing subsidy. When I described their heartbreaking living conditions to a liberal friend, she replied in all seriousness, “That’s what you conservatives want, isn’t it?”

My brother in law is also a liberal. Last August, I forwarded to him an email I received earlier in the year about the interracial double murders that had just occurred in Knoxville. Using Wikipedia, he found that the press had since backed off initial reports that the white victims had been horribly mutilated by the black defendants. Without checking to see if I was aware that the reports had changed (I wasn’t), and apparently convinced I was a willing participant in a sick attempt to promote racial animosity, he sent a terse reply that I should “stay off the neo-Klan blogs”.

Here is where I stand on race and poverty:
* For the last twenty years, I worked as an executive recruiter in the graphic arts industry. When I saw that managerial positions at most printing plants were filled almost exclusively by whites, I actively sought minority candidates to present to my clients. Some of the highly qualified individuals I found jobs for were the first African-Americans to ever hold positions of responsibility at their new employers.

* A few years ago, I risked my personal safety to chase down a robber who stole the purse of an elderly black woman in a crime-ridden area of downtown Atlanta. When I returned the purse to its tearful owner, she told me it contained her just-cashed Social Security check, all the money she had to her name. It never entered my mind to not help her because she was black and poor.

* I do not have an iota of hostility towards black people, poor people, or anyone else. Although I was not enlightened enough at the time to take part in the civil rights movement, I recognized long ago that Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of our country’s greatest heroes. In short, I have nothing but best wishes for a people subjected to the terrible injustices of slavery and segregation, just as I do for all people who have yet to lift themselves from poverty.

The absurd insinuations about me from a friend of forty years and a man I have been related to for an equal time were not intended as personal attacks. They were merely a profound reflection of the twisted way two people I have known for decades have been indoctrinated to view conservatives: when it comes to race and poverty, conservatives are downright evil, even when they are long-time friends or close relatives.

My friend and my brother-in-law are not alone. For the last four decades, the Democratic Party has conducted a campaign to stereotype conservatives as mean-spirited racists who couldn’t care less about the suffering of others. Legions of rank-and-file liberals have been brainwashed into believing that their political opposites are morally-defective bigots who have a sadistic desire to starve children, kick old people out of nursing homes and disenfranchise minorities of their hard-won rights. Such charges are patently false.

Bumper stickers that express open contempt for the charitable instincts of conservatives are common in many blue-state areas of the country: “Better A Bleeding Heart Than No Heart At All”, “The Moral High Ground Is Built With Compassion”, The Road To Hell Is Paved With Republicans, “Republicans Are People, Too – Mean, Greedy, Selfish People”.

Given the realities of charitable giving by party affiliation – as a group, conservatives are demonstrably more generous than liberals -- it’s beyond ironic that so many liberals cast their ballots with an unfounded air of moral superiority. The right is routinely portrayed as greedy and uncaring, yet liberals do exactly the same as conservatives when it comes to personal charity: give a small fraction of what they have to the poor, while selfishly hoarding the lion’s share for themselves.

Neither liberals nor conservatives give until it hurts, but not because no one cares about human suffering. People of all political stripes have simply observed that continually giving money to people whose hands are always up does little to help them turn their lives around. That makes it hard to understand why anyone would support giving them an endless stream of government money.

Over the last four decades, the burden of caring for the poor has been politically shifted from the private sector to government. In doing so, we have created a weakened society where millions of citizens who ought to be working instead rely on public assistance. By giving the poor benefits they have not earned, the federal government has become a giant enabler that doles out just enough to extinguish the willingness of many recipients to make it on their own. As Bill Cosby accurately observed, welfare kills the human spirit.

Liberals are due full credit for being the first to recognize that something should be done about poverty. No conservative can argue that the war on poverty initiated by LBJ and a Democratic Congress was not well-intended. But, after forty years of massive welfare programs, the number of destitute citizens in the world’s greatest country remains appallingly high, particularly in urban areas. Our misguided compassion has contributed to the virtual disintegration of the black family, with generations of innocent children born into lives of hopelessness.

The tragic plight of the nine African-Americans in the Section 8 duplex is all the evidence I need that on-going welfare is a cruel hoax to inflict on anyone but the severely disabled. Burgeoning welfare programs may attract votes, but they also cause grievous harm to millions of the very people they are intended to help. Open-border advocates claim that illegal immigrants do the work Americans won’t do. Many of the unemployed poor don’t do such work because welfare provides a far less strenuous alternative.

The way out of poverty is self-reliance, a lifestyle that welfare does little to encourage. From food stamps and Section 8 housing to WIC payments and Medicaid, government programs for the poor discourage work, reward idleness and make it easy for children to be thoughtlessly born into desperate conditions. Some of the chronically poor are where they are due to circumstances beyond their control. Many more have simply forfeited the chance to succeed in the greatest land of opportunity on earth, thanks in no small part to the initiative-destroying assistance of an enabling government.

No, we cannot declare cold turkey on the welfare-addicted, but we should do far more to actively encourage them in the other direction, not for our benefit, but for theirs. For too long, our national answer has effectively been to consign them to a dead-end existence while the rest of us live in comfort as far from the projects as we can get. In the process, we are robbing them of the only thing of value they have -- the chance for a better life.

Black Police Officers Charge NYPD with Institutionalized Racism

Statement from the National Black Police Association

Senator Eric Adams, Attorney Norman Siegel., 100 Blacks and Law Enforcement, National Latino Officers of America, Grand Council of Guardians, and the National Black Police Association. Have called on Commissioner Kelly for swift punishment of the two undercover police officers whos actions was disrespectful towards Three –Star NYPD Chief Douglas Zieglar.

Chief Zieglar in his briefing to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, said that the two cops, who are white, had no legitimate reason to approach his SUV with guns drawn. Even after he gave them his NYPD ID the two didn’t believe that he was who he said he was.

The Sean Bell verdict has given Law Enforcement a legal alibi that a Black man can be unarmed, shot , killed, and still be a legal threat just by the color of his skin. As Black Law Enforcement Professionals we now have to be extra cautious when we react to situations when we are off duty or as plain clothes officials less we fall into the same situation as out brother Detective Ridley or Sean Bell. It’s unfortunate that the only time we are truly recognized as law enforcement is when we don the blue uniform. Until perceptions of Black males are changed in the institutional thinking of policing, the Back Law Enforcement community and the Black community at large in New York will remain at a disadvantage.