Issue 104 - September 9 2004

 

 

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Disturbingly on target

A number of readers pass us around to their friends via e-Mail. Last weeks cover story, Bush's Black Attack Dogs, made the list of D. V. Poole. Here's some of what Brother Poole said.

This article from the September 2, 2004 online issue of The Black Commentator (blackcommentator.com) is painfully, disturbingly on target. Given our direct review, discussions and observations, we advised in Spring 2003 that the political Administration appeared to be INTENT upon creating obstacles to anything that would directly raise the Black vote. We believe this to be strategically deliberate, well thought out (and not free of a certain level of malice), and specifically implemented.

The tends to be radical, highly culturally conscious, and African American Centric. Directionally, I tend to agree with their overall observations but tend to take great exception to the final conclusions often drawn. This time, however, they are consistent with my own observations.

Most recently, there have been a spate of stories out of Florida where the Florida State Police have opened files and visited in their homes more senior-aged African Americans (over 50 and up) who have been "seen" as "active" in voter registration and voters' rights activities in Florida....Especially in Dade and Broward Counties where in 2000 thousands of African American voters (1) had their votes mysteriously "thrown away," (2) wound up on the "Former OR Suspected Former Felons" lists that Florida refused to vet before the election, (3) had to navigate past police cruisers to get to designated voting places, and, finally, (4) were steered away from voting places by White officials who pointedly told people, "they are already closed."

With the amount of documentation on these practices, you must understand that the Department of Justice found no cause for a Federal level investigation. Of greater distress to myself and others - who, I will remind you, tend to the Independent Fiscal Conservative in our views - is what appears to be an absence from the field of the top African American politically-oriented institutions in (A.) focusing attention on the need to establish, counter-observation, video-surveillance, and protection for African Americans who wish to vote and (B.) energizing our country to protect the right and power of the Vote in the nature of a free Republic.

Remember, carefully, the hatreds unleashed upon African Americans as a people by first, Reagan's "Welfare Queens," and then by Bush I's "Willie Horton Campaign." Understand that we have not recovered from these "Blows In Blackface." And perceive with great clarity that the Karl Roves of the world actively court, solicit, support, grant favor to, promote, encourage, endorse, embrace, seek funding from, reward, and advise those groups of people who actively to this day seek the harm, hurt, containment, impoverishment and economic destruction of non-European-ancestried Ethnic Americans (particularly Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian American, and Native American/First Nations Peoples). Nothing grieves me as much as finding myself writing these words. However, be advised: If you want to flush out the things under rocks, shine a light under it. No darkness can be sustained under the constant and unremitting light of truth.

So! Bracing for some of the backwash on this, I wish for you to read this with great care. There is way more truth underlying BlackCommentator.com's observations than is remotely healthy for any form of Democracy to indulge, let alone promote. And make no mistake, we find the intent of creating a highly divisive America using Ethnic Minorities as convenient pawns exactly what the political authoritarian manipulists behind the current Administration have done, are doing, and will continue to execute. And if I seem a tad angry, consider that I am far more highly annoyed. And I am distressed to find this country so "happily" embracing tactical policies similar to those espoused in the 1924 political work, Mein Kampf. The unlearned lessons of history are doomed to repetition until we understand the need to be the higher level of peoples in spirit that we were meant to be. This cannot happen when a dominant political party embraces a raison d'etre to alienate selected populations for whatever the reasons. And no democracy or republic can long sustain it.

We are, as are most Americans, simply capable and endowed as BETTER than this. Our real challenge is going to be in seeking out the balance necessary to reach such a goal.

Richard Macintosh is a Radio BC listener.

The Radio BC on the Swift Boat to Nowhere is right on the mark! Exactly!

Thank you.

Our commentary of June 24, 2004 on the Hip-Hop leadership conference brought this reaction from a person known as DPEASEHEAD.

While I agree that there is no legitimate hip-hop leadership currently in existence, and that a lot of hip-hop is foolish, self-hating minstrelism, I do have problems with the established civil rights leadership. Whom, I ask, allowed the vacuum to form within the Black youth community in which forms of gangster "culture" have thrived? After hundreds of years of the same thing, why wasn't the Civil Rights establishment ready for the election shenanigans in Florida or in any other state where the possibility of scamming Blacks exists? Why hasn't it been more effective in preserving Black-owned farmland, in gaining justice for Black farmers or in combating a racist "criminal justice system" gone mad?

I think that there are too many naive people in the Civil Rights community who trust American (White dominated) institutions to do the right thing in spite of their history of almost never doing the right thing, and in spite of their real interest in maintaining Black disadvantage. I believe that there are too many reactionaries in the Civil Rights community who hate and fear Black youth as much as the White racists whom they allegedly oppose.

I think too much time is spent celebrating incomplete victories, leaving youth and others to deal with the consequences and realities of those long ago and incomplete victories. Hip-hop "leadership" is not our biggest problem.

Having read the Think Piece in our September 2, 2004 issue, "The Continuing Miseducation of the Negro" by Edward Rhymes Ph.D., Blogger Sondjata found numerous problems with the information presented and called his very interesting critique "Cosby on the Brain".

I'm not sure if Bill Cosby has ever gotten so much midshare among AA's since the heyday of The Cosby Show. It is most disturbing to see how otherwise educated and informed people choose to demonize Bill Cosby on the basis of incomplete reporting and a whole mess of supposition and innuendo. The Black Commentator, whom has had some of the best "progressive" black writings found on the Web, has continued to sink into the quagmire of Cosby hating, and has employed numerous others ( white even) to continue to pile garbage on Cosby. After a two week reprieve BC came back with more vitrole in the sideways commentary of one Dr. Edward Rhymes. Now after Dr. Rhymes' last guest column on that site I sent him a copy of my original commentary and we had a pleasant exchange where we ultimately agreed to disagree on the specific subject that some blacks equate being eduucated as being white. Now we are all entitled to our own opinion, but as a Dr. and teacher, Dr. Rhymes knows that he should be able to present alternative arguments or at least indicate that such positions exist. To begin his latest commentary Dr. Rhymes says:

It is the relative ease in which we as a people appear to believe the worst about ourselves. While a great deal of time and dialogue has been spent, lately, on our presumed sociopathic behaviors, we have ignored something even more sociopathic – our disturbing tendency to demonize ourselves.

I must agree. In fact just today I had to respond to someone online who insisted that blacks were inherently intellectually inferior to whites and possibly everybody else on the planet. Their "proof" being the apparent lack of "known" geniuses" and "accomplishments" in the hard sciences. So on this point I must agree with Dr. Rhymes.

Rhymes continues:
It appears that if we hear something negative about ourselves we are quick to take ownership. “Black people are drugs addicts and drug dealers,” and our response? “Yep, that’s us.” “Most Black folks are lazy and on welfare,” and our response? “Yep, that’s us.” It seems that we don’t challenge, we won’t question and we do ourselves a great disservice.

I'm not sure who Dr. Rhymes is talking about. Certainly I have not heard any black celebrities (including Dr. Cosby) make any claim that most black folks are lazy (though the argument could be made, but not the way it's being set up here). Nor have I heard any black "leader" or "celebrity" (including Dr. Cosby) claim that blacks make the most of the persons on welfare. Most of the blacks that I know, who are critical of black behavior themselves, will quickly point out that whites make up the majority of the welfare cases regardless of what the TV tells us. So I would like for Dr. Rhymes to at least substantiate his claim by pointing out which celebrity has made such claims and when.

Rhymes continues:
Nowadays I can rarely turn on my television or radio without hearing some African-American analyst defending affirmative action (almost apologetically) as if we, as blacks, have been the greatest beneficiaries of it. This just isn’t the case. Although ethnic minorities have greatly benefited from affirmative action policies, white women, statistically, have benefited more than any other group from affirmative action.

Again, Dr. Rhymes has it right when he says that blacks have been the main defenders of Affirmative Action. He is also correct when he states that white women are the main beneficiaries of such programs. Again, I would like for Dr. Rhymes to provide us with the names of Celebrities or leaders who have been saying that blacks are the main beneficiaries. From my perspective the leadership, celebrities and educators that I know of, all decry the fact that Affirmative Action has been diluted to be a "diversity gimmick" rather than a true repairative tool for African-Americans.

Rhymes continues:
We are portrayed as oversexed or lascivious and yet the porn and adult entertainment industry is dominated by whites. Luke Skywalker, R. Kelly and Snoop Dogg are mere drops in the bucket compared to Hugh Hefner, Larry Flint and the Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy empires. Nevertheless, it is African Americans that get accused of being rampant, sexual beasts, unable to control our urges, unable to keep our legs crossed, unable to keep it in our pants. And do we take a stand against such flawed and misleading characterizations? No, on the contrary, we are more than willing to accept full title to them.

Well we all should know about the source of sexual anxiety in white America. But, ummm, has Dr,. Rhymes been studying the porn industry? I mean, I want to know? what kind of research has he been doing? Well ok.. I'm kidding. I just wanted comic relief.

Rhymes continues:
It also seems that we love to decry the notion that our young people can tell us what the words are to the latest rap album, but can’t tell us who James Baldwin is. My beautiful brothers and sisters, allow me to let you in on something: I have taught more white students than I have black students and I know a great many white students who cannot recite the preamble to the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence and can’t tell you who William Lloyd Garrison is, but can tell you the lyrics to the latest Ludacris song. How come they don't come under the same condemnation as our African-American students? Once again, a shortcoming that is prevalent in society becomes a specific black identifier.

I was going to save this one for last but I'll touch it now. Again, I don't believe that a single celebrity or leader has stated that black people have all the problems and whites don't. If I'm wrong I would invite Dr. Rhymes to provide us with specifics as to who said what and when. The issue with many of us "self critiquers", especially those of the Garveyite strain, is that while "all have fallen short" what we do has a larger impact on us than those of whites. One common comment I hear among my peers is that a white youth who wants to act a fool in school can decide later in life to straighten out and take advantage of tha racial preferences afforded him in hiring, housing etc. Not that it's fair or right, but that it's an option, and option often taken. However when black youths squander their time in school, the sysem is so crafty that they may find themselves at a permanent extra disadvantage. When a group has as many disadvantages on it, such as those detailed in the Urban League's numerous reports, it should be understood why blacks who want us to "rise up" would be extremely critical of negative behaviors of certain black youths. It is a mistake to then imply that by being so critical we are overlooking the dumb behaviors of whites. I believe that this is the point missed by Dr. Rhymes and, unfortunatly, The editors of The Black Commentator.

Dr. Rhymes continues:
We are crossing the dangerous threshold where myth is becoming reality and reality is becoming myth (this is increasing with each passing day). We have cloaked ourselves in the stereotypes of the most contemptible aspects of this society and have treated them as if they are unique to our culture and identity. Makes no difference to us if the majority of drug dealers and users are white, makes no difference if the “typical” criminal is a white, non-Hispanic male or that black males are less prone to abuse their partners than whites.

Dr. Rhymes puts out questionable information here. The Department of Justice in a report entitled Violence By Intimates published in 1998 showed that while Blacks have shown the greatest decrease in incidences of murders by intimates, the rate of murders by intimates are 3 to5 times the rate of white males/females. So while it would be correct to state that blacks have been putting in work to decrease the rates, the fact is that at the end of the day we are killing each other more often than whites. Also according to the same publication poor people, regardless of race, have up to a 7.8x rate of domestic violence than those making $75,000 or more. So, for instance, when Dr. Cosby directed his attention to "the lower economic people" and asking them ( the men) to stop beating on the women, he was dead on target. Of course we can argue that all people should stop domestic violence, but as stated earlier we, my peers, are concerned with what blacks are doing.

Similarly, with the issue of drug dealing: It would be agreed that most drug dealers and purchasers are white. But what does that really matter to those in housing projects and other places where the black drug dealers are killing their kids and making thier neighborhoods unlivable? They are concerned with the black drug dealers and users they have to face each and everyday, Why should we NOT address those individuals? Again, this doesn't negate the facts of use and dealing it merely puts them in a context.

Dr Rhymes Continues:
Where was the “well done” for our young black sisters when the press release from the National Center for Health Statistics (dated December 17, 2003) stated that teenage pregnancy had gone down by 30 percent in the past decade and that the sharpest drop of any group was African-American teenage girls – 40% in the last decade and 50% since 1991? Where was the collective “bravo” for our young people when the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of the Census acknowledged that the African-American dropout rate (as of 2001) was at 10.9% - the lowest it’s ever been? Also, it was almost identical to the national average (meaning all students) of 10.7%. Most of us appear to be unaware of this information – so it appears that our youth aren’t the only ones who need to study more. Yes, I’d love to see the dropout rate down to 0%; but that shouldn’t preclude us from celebrating what we have achieved. I think it would be wonderful if none of our young women became pregnant in their teenage years, but I am proud of what they have done. The high-profile prophets of black negativity, who are so geared up to impugn our youth, could not be found to herald their triumphs just as enthusiastically.

Again, like he did in the reporting on domestic violence, Dr, Rhymes gives us a partial picture of teen pregnancy in black communties. The Guttenberg Institute released a report entitled U.S. Teen Pregnancy Statistics shows that while it is indeed true that the rate of black teen pregnancy has dropped dramatically, black teen pregnancy rates(15-19 yoa) is almost twice that of whites (71.4/1000 vs. 154/1000). In fact, the same report shows that in every state that kept records, the black rate of pregnancy is always higher than that of whites. However it must be noted that in raw numbers whites teens get pregnant more than black teens, except in New Jersey and New York (a focus area of Bill Cosby). Now I won't get into the philosphical argument about whether teen pregnancy and abortion is right or wrong. Nor will I say that the drop in the rate is not to be commended, but clearly, if teen pregnancy is an issue of concern, then the rates are still an issue of concern.

On the drop out rate, I question these numbers. While it may be true, and I stress may because according to the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University the governments' ' official census data of high school graduation rates is obtained from surveys of individuals who self-report their own education status. Furthermore, the US Department of Education surveys take in only about half of school districts nationally. Many of the non-reporting districts are in areas with high dropout rates; that the drop out rate in high schools are 10.7% nationally. The graduation rates tell a way different story. In 1998 the average graduation rate of black ( and you must graduate to move onto university) was 56%. If only 10% are dropping out, what happened to the near 40% that did not graduate? Did they drop off the planet? To all the Cosby criticizers I have pointed these things out to, none, not a single one has presented information to the contrary. If Dr. Rhymes has information to refute these claims I would surely give him the space here at Garvey's Ghost to present that information.

Dr. Rhymes continues:
Further evidence of this need to falsely indict ourselves, are the comments Spike Lee made on the Tavis Smiley Show (Thursday, July 22) when he insinuated that blacks don’t embrace and support dramas as much we should – citing the lack of turnout for movies such as Antwone Fisher. Interestingly, Denzel Washington (producer & director of Antwone Fisher) was on the program the following day. Tavis put the question of whether or not blacks supported dramas as they should and Denzel’s answer was: “Well dramas, first of all, don’t do as well, period. Black or white, they don’t do as well.”

I've heard this debate and I've listen and watched Spike Lee talk about this topic a number of times. First lets say this: Spike Lee's recent movies have not been that good. I say this as a Spike Lee fan. It's been pretty much down hill since Malcolm X. But I think the true discussion about black drama has been around black historical drama. When I've had this discussion the movies that come up are Daughers of the Dust, Get on the Bus, Bamboozled and Oprah's Beloved. The issue has actually centered around blacks supposed desire to see "positive" role models and films "relevant" to their history but then fail to give mass support to the movies mentioned.

Rhymes continues:
After watching the interview I decided to research to ascertain which claim was true. I found that of the top 100 highest grossing movies of all-time, there were only 6 dramas (and a few of those were not what I would call “true” dramas – Titanic, Gladiator, to name a couple). I also looked at the top grossing dramas that were released during the summertime (summertime being important because that’s when dramas usually do the worst – studios like to roll out the action flicks) since 1982. Out of the 59 dramas that were listed, 9 were either produced or directed by African Americans (Do The Right Thing, Boyz-N-The Hood, Mo Better Blues – if you haven’t noticed, two of these movies are Spike’s); had a predominately black cast (What’s Love Got Do With It) or one or more of the leading roles were portrayed by African Americans (Corrina Corrina, Courage Under Fire, 187).

This illustrates my point. Boyz in the Hood, Mo Betta, Do the Right Thing were all contemporary movies that with the exception of Do The Right thing didn't even begin to touch the deeper levels of racism in America. 187, which is one of my favorite movies, is fiction and has a lead black character that could have easily been white. In fact the movie itself was written by a teacher, though I do not know the race of that teacher (and don't particularly care). So again, while Rhymes is correct in his surface analysis of Spike Lee's comment, I believe that the observation is out of context. After all if, movies such as Beloved had as strong a suport as Baby Boy, then we'd have seen more movies like it.

Rhymes concludes:
Why should I have to answer questions about the supposed deviant behavior of the black community, when whites do not have to do the same? The minute I answer one question, I am saying: “I am inferior.” For me, it is absolutely that simple. Do we, in the black community, have real concerns? No doubt about it. Can we do better? Yes, most definitely. Misconceptions, miseducation and misleading stereotypes do not offer any real answers. The Christian scriptures tell us that “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” As we, as a community, declare war on irresponsibility, ignorance, crime, poverty and the vast number of concerns that we face; we must be circumspect. I would think that we, who live in present-day America, would know exactly what it means to declare a war based on flawed and unproven information.

Let's answer that last question. It's the same as my previous discussion on black behaviors. In reality I don't have to answer to whites for black behavior. In fact in "mixed company" I refrain from doing so for the very same reason that Dr. Rhymes does. However, these issues can, should and are brought up by blacks to other blacks ( as was done in Cosby's speech) and we should be answerable to each other. Isn't that how community works? One does not inferiorize oneself by asking and answering questions asked by the community. Only if the charges are false is it an inferiorizing act to claim such charges. Unfortunatly Dr. Rhymes falls victim to the same Misconceptions, Mis-education and misleading "stereotypes" he attempts to refute. In his quest to, as the Yoruba say, to not let good be the enemy of best, he gives us a few half truths and uses them to smear unnamed and unverified "leaders" ,"reporters" and "celebrities." Fortunately for us there is the internet where statistics can be found by any and everyone who takes the time to look up the information.

Peace.

Regarding Black dropout rates, we agree that they are far higher than reported. Otherwise, we're in far greater accord with Dr. Rhymes on most of the points discussed.

And, if the media would stop pushing Cosby in our faces, would not have him on our brains.

A reader named Haki had his hackles raised by our comments on Armstrong Williams.

I'd like to thank you for your expose, putting it mildly, on the brilliantly deceptive, outrageously opportunistic, postal boy for the conservative elite.

This man's ability to evade discourse, render caveats is truly unparalleled in the history of a people.

Your article merely exposed what most Afrikans know: a person without knowledge is a person ripe for exploitation.

We've commented on the activity of Williams a number of times. If you ever want to find out if we have written about something, please visit our Google powered search page to locate anything on BlackCommentator.com.

On July 22, 2004 the Freedom Rider column by Margaret Kimberley entitled, "No Civil Rights in Kentucky" prompted a response from Amos Jones, a former Lexington Herald-Leader journalist who filed suit against the paper. Jones says the Herald-Leader has a lot of answering to do.

The Lexington Herald-Leader is garnering praise nationally for having published a July 4 clarification expressing regret for the Kentucky newspaper’s failure to cover the Civil Rights Movement in Central Kentucky.  But what reporters Linda Minch and Linda Blackford left out of their long and unnecessary story is that the newspaper is the subject of a damning race-discrimination lawsuit revealed nationally on the editorial page of The New York Amsterdam News only last month -- a lawsuit filed by a grandson of the leading civil rights strategist in Lexington from 1940 to 1968!

If it is to establish its journalistic authority on racial matters, then the current leadership of the Lexington Herald-Leader, including publisher Tim Kelly (who has been there for years), will have to answer many nagging questions about the newspaper's treatment of blacks, questions whose answers I have yet to receive from Executive Editor Marilyn Thompson but which were addressed by white Herald-Leader managers in the lawsuit last year.

For instance, why did Acting Copy Desk Chief Peter Mathews, after months of mistreating the only black-male copy editor in the history of the Herald-Leader, place on the intranet statements Mathews made falsely linking him to sadomasochism and bondage with a white woman colleague in her fifties, later testifying under oath that his conduct was "appropriate for the workplace"?

Why does the Lexington Herald-Leader still employ Mathews?

Why did a black editor and a black reporter write memoranda exposing Mathews’s having “hollered at” this copy editor as if he were a black slave?

Why did former Executive Editor Amanda Bennett then call a racially segregated meeting in which she singled out blacks and disclosed confidential personnel records of the black victim, later affirming and condoning her actions in sworn, recorded testimony?

Why did Knight Ridder, which owns the Lexington Herald-Leader, subsequently promote Bennett to Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer?

Why did the Lexington Herald-Leader offer buyouts to 22 percent of its black journalists in 2002?

Why were at least two Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints of racial discrimination recently filed against the Lexington Herald-Leader?

Why did two black Lexington Herald-Leader journalists file affidavits last year detailing years of discrimination at the newspaper?

Why does the Lexington Herald-Leader, which claims to embrace diversity initiatives, employ the services of and pay tens of thousands of dollars annually to the 100-lawyer firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park LLP, all of whose lawyers are white, according to statistics the firm provided recently to the National Association for Law Placement.

I would advise Stoll, Keenon & Park LLP that this is not 1897, the year in which they were founded, and that it’s time for them to enter the 21st century and hire a minority attorney.  If they are opposed to having a Negro, then they could at least try a qualified Native American, Hispanic, or Asian-American.

And I would advise the Herald-Leader to come clean, repent, and atone for their atrocious actions.  There is no other way to establish their credibility in racial matters after decades of abusing Lexington’s black citizens and journalists. 

A former Knight Ridder National Scholar, Amos Jones is a second-year student at Harvard Law School.  Reach him at [email protected].

13-thousand faces will never feel another Spring rain

U.S. military deaths in the Iraq campaign passed the 1,000 milestone Tuesday, September 7, 2004 with more than 800 of them during the stubborn resistance that flared after the Americans brought down Saddam Hussein and pirate President Bush declared major combat over. The tally was compiled by The Associated Press based on Pentagon records and AP reporting from Iraq.

General Tommy Franks of US Central Command has said, "We don't do body counts". Why not, are Bush pirates not proud of killing about 12-thousand civilians in Iraq? After all they weren't born again Christians. Perhaps the lack of a body count exists because even to the insane pirates it would reveal the racist truth and conflict with our goal to "liberate" the Iraq people and make them free. Please don't miss reading the cover story in this issue of for an analysis of how a Bush victory accelerates the redlining of American in the rest of the world.

It's only 9/11 stupid!

While the Kerry campaign fights to ignore peace, jobs and justice (see our cartoon of last week), Dick, the Bush attack dog, has made one thing perfectly clear. VP Cheny issued a warning in Iowa this week about voting for Kerry. The Dick said if we make the wrong choice on Election Day we face the threat of another terrorist attack.

In case you missed it

This is a new No Fools Allowed feature that will list a bunch of noteworthy items we feel you did not want to miss.

  • This week in Popular Bluff Missouri, Bush said, "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
  • Michael Moore says he won't submit "Fahrenheit 9/11" for consideration as best documentary at this year's Academy Awards. Instead, he's going for the bigger prize of best picture.
  • A closer look at the August census figures on poverty show almost half of poor Americans live in the suburbs. A report in The Nation by Peter Dreier says, "Today, 13.8 million poor Americans live in the suburbs--almost as many as the 14.6 million who live in central cities. The suburban poor represent 38.5 percent of the nation's poor, compared with 40.6 percent of the total who live in central cities."

Keep writing.

Question of the week

Will enough progressive voters turn out on November 2nd to defeat Geoge Bush?

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