January 25, 2007 - Issue 214

Readers Corner - Email from Readers
By Nancy Littlefield
BC Staffer

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In the past month, we've received many comments from BC Readers, comments that are much too good to let molder away at the bottom of our electronic Inbox!

Regarding Between The Lines: For A True Fresh Start - Remove The Conviction Box, by Anthony Asadullah Samad, BC Columnist in Issue #208:

I currently reside in Austin, TX. In Dec 2000 I was convicted of Class A Misdemeanor- Simple Assault (30 days jail time). Since then, I've completed college with a Bachelors of Science in Telecommunications (2001), Due to background checks with now what seems to be about 80% of employers these days, I'm unable to find a job. I've been lied to, discriminated against, terminated from employment without cause while on the job. Since the conviction of 1999, I haven't run into any issue with law enforcement; here it is 2007 and I'm continuing to be unsuccessful. The past 7 years have been almost impossible, just to even survive. I was wondering if there is anything that I can do or somewhere I could go to help me to help myself & family. -KR

This, from an Obama supporter, in response to the commentary of Dr. L. Jean Daniels, PhD, Guest Commentator, Can Obama Become the Person Some of Us Envision? in Issue #211:

Look Black Commentator, don't bash Brother Obama about passionate or unpassionate speeches and where he stands on certain national security issues such as the patriot act!

The man has a history in our community when it comes to fighting draconian laws that violate the rights of Black citizens. So that should give you some indication as to where he stands on the patriot act. It is better for him to remain silent for now on certain issues because of (white xenophobia). Remember white folks are scared! So when a powerful, well educated Black phenomenal wonder like Barack Obama speaks about issues of national security, he has to be careful. In his case it's wise to be evasive on some issues. We must remember that as a Black man he cannot afford the presence of a Black bold and brazen militant appearance and dare I say it, be seen with too many high profile Black civil rights figures. Why? Because this will cost him that mainstream democratic white, latino, asian, vote base that you speak of.

For once, there must be a silent alliance amongst Black leadership figures and our people. We must use the stealth and cleverness of Nat Turner, have the intellectual wisdom of Frederick Douglass, and the sophisticated clandestine savvy of our Mother Harriet Tubman. Anything less is failure. We as a people can not afford to let Uncle Tomism or the Willie Lynch syndrome, stand in our way, Black self hatred advocates, like Stanley Crouch, posing questions like is Obama black enough? must be silenced! Men like this pose a danger to our communities' survival.

In addition remember that the issue of Black reparations can and will be presented to the main stream public and a possible compensation settlement could be reached along with a formal presidential apology for the enslavement of our ancestors. I warn you we must do this for our own survival as a people. Black Americans are fooling themselves if they think that Hillary Clinton or any other white candidate will do this.

Vote Obama if you love your Black Mamma! -KJ

Next, reaction and response to Unapologetically Young, Black and Female... To Live and Drive in L.A., by Jasmyne A. Cannick, BC Columnist in Issue #211:

Unfortunately, I see many disturbing and incredible things on a daily basis, living in the Bronx, NY. The level of ignorance amongst many of our people is quite staggering.

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement that not everyone is socially, emotionally or mentally qualified to be parents. From eleven year olds on the streets at 2:00 a.m. to small children playing on subway platforms and near bus stops, I see many instances of child neglect that makes me shake my head to myself.

As soon as we label the parents of children like this as "ignorant", people get deeply offended and always say "lighten up, it's not that bad", but it is that bad and getting progressively worse by the day.

It's quite a quandary to be in:

1) If I move to a "better community" where I don't have to interact with ignorant adults and their equally ignorant children, how will things ever get better, for them or the communities?

2) If I remain in the Bronx, I will most likely lose my mind one of these days, and it is true that we can't "save the world".

I hope things turn around soon for our people, but somehow, I doubt it. -CJH

Regarding A Funny Phenomenon Among White Liberals and Progressives by Dr. L. Jean Daniels, PhD, Guest Commentator in Issue #212:

I just read your article in the current issue of BlackCommentator.com and as a white liberal or progressive I agree with you 117 percent.

I think this is something the "reformer" Left will never get past. They always just re-create the same forms as the right, ones that don't threaten that privilege and prosperity. They want to reform the system...which means, they don't want to overthrow the system. They want to keep the system.

But look at the masthead of The Nation. The supreme being at the top, away from everything else, then everyone else ordered from most to least important. The janitors don't even make the list.

The Nation or anything like it can't teach me anything about democracy. They know nothing of democracy. Those of the Left are always creating these organizations and web sites and putting themselves at the top rung. "Founder and Big Cheese." They confuse activism with resume building. Activism can't be about the self.

Anyway, I have been thinking about race in a certain way and have a question for you about identity and race. I think that when we caucasians call ourselves "white", we are defining ourselves in opposition to "Black" people. If so, then racism would be at the core of our identity, somewhere near where it gets formed. The solution would entail unraveling ourselves almost all the way back to where identity is formed, where race is introduced, where "difference" is recognized. (If that's possible, assuming I'm right about my theory.)

The next generation might have it easier if we changed those references. I can't tell anyone else how to define themselves, but I can call myself something more appropriate (or accurate), such as caucasian or European, or German.

Interesting point: when I first wrote the previous sentence, I added, after the word "German," the clause; "....which is my background." I used "background" instead of race or ethnicity because it was difficult for me to even consider that I have race or ethnicity, since I am "the norm." It's others who have race and ethnicity.

By the way, I sometimes recognize how and when my subconscious influences and even directs my decisions, but not always. That little undetected influence, however, is probably what causes those Liberals to keep making those decisions that keep that privilege intact. -FWC

Thank you for your article about white liberals/progressives and racism. As a white male I realize that by virtue of gender and color I am among the most privileged in this society, not because of who I am but because of what I am. This could only be possible by the application over centuries of institutionalized racism and oppression. Therefore I have always felt that I had an obligation to fight against both racism and oppression.

This cannot be done from above by white liberals and progressives for they have never been the victim of institutionalized racism and so could never understand what it is like to be an African American in this country today. Yes they may have the best intentions and can quote statistics and the historical record but neither of these alone qualifies them for leadership. African Americans must determine the character of and lead the struggle and whites must be able to understand and support this struggle because it is far from over.

Hurricane Katrina and the shooting of Sean Bell laid bare for all to see that despite voting rights, desegregation and affirmative action, African Americans still suffer from racial disenfranchisement. Only by accepting this reality and their place in it can whites be effective in helping to bring about change. Not by avoiding but by confronting the uncomfortable truth. -SC

Very good piece in BC. Coming on the anniversary of Dr. King's birth, and this evening my local group (the Sierra Club here in Portland) cosponsored a panel of New Orleans and Portland people on what has been happening in N.O., reading your article reminds me yet again that yes, it really is happening NOW. New Orleans has once again become the staging point for the dispersal of a community -- that painfully assembled itself from the fragments of post-Civil War America, the legacy of Congo Square and the disparate pieces of the Caribbean Diaspora. Being a white American myself, I continue to observe the denial of many that this could be happening.

Darryl Wellington puts this in the context of the "right of return" in his excellent article last year in Dissent: And I recall once again that Dr. King said that peace is not the absence of conflict but instead the presence of justice. -FH

Carl Bloice's Left Margin commentary, More Blood for Oil in Issue #212, elicited this comment:

Terrific piece on the Black Commentator Web site. It seems that “insurgent” has become frequently misused. One definition of insurgent: a person who revolts against civil authority or an established government.

When the US or other country goes into a foreign land and overthrows the government, any citizen of the occupied country who resists this action is labeled an “insurgent”. This is an interesting play on words. -PB

Many readers wrote to tell us their thoughts on Dr. Martin Luther King's speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, Riverside Church, New York City, 4 April 1967, reprinted in Issue #212. Can't you just hear his voice?:

Once again, your site has given me an enlightened look at war. I'm always glad to click into The Black Commentator, because there are views and perspectives I can't get anywhere else. I appreciated particularly the Dr. Martin Luther King speech on the Vietnam war. I was amazed to find that we had supported with money and arms the French fight against Vietnamese independence. Even my husband, a Vietnam Vet, didn't know that.

I hope that our country will turn back to the philosophy of Dr. King and quickly retire from the war-mongering that has led us into Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. -JM

Thank you so much for putting this piece of artwork on the web [29's drawing of Dr. King].  I'm grateful that artists are willing to share their passion with the rest of the world.  I will be using this piece on an agenda for a Service Unit Meeting for Girl Scouts. -CM

Regarding Bill Fletcher's Cover Story in Issue #212, Reconsidering "Black Politics":

Regarding the piece on Black politics: its appropriate that this essay appeared during the week of MLK's birthday/holiday. In that regard it is instructive to consider MLK's politics when we try to discern just what "Black politics" really means. As a starting point, let us consider the contextual parallels of MLK's ascending politicization in the late 60s to current conditions. Dr. King called out the connection of the U.S. imperialist/racist incursion in Vietnam with the ongoing exploitation of Black and other poor Americans. Now consider the striking parallel of the Iraq tragedy and the growing economic inequalities in the U.S. which of course disproportionately affect people of color - post-Katrina New Orleans is just the most glaring example. Like Dr. King, we must structure Black political thought around a critique of a system that invades, oppresses, enslaves, & exploits to further its interests. Assimilation into that system is not an [integral part of] Black politics at all, in fact it is the antithesis of the tradition of Black political thought from Nat Turner to Frederick Douglass to W.E.B. DuBois to Dr. King to the Black Panthers to Cornel West. Can we honestly say that Condaleezza Rice or Barack Obama or Colin Powell embrace anything close to "Black politics"? Here in Ohio it was none other than former secretary of state and republican gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Blackwell who systematically disenfranchised thousands of African American voters to help G. Bush steal the 2004 election. He's another Black politician, but is he even close to subscribing to "Black politics"? Genuine Black political thought is that which is grounded in the rich historical context of the Black struggle for liberation. Anything short of that is a capitulation to the racist/classist/sexist domination system. -PEF

I wanted to thank you your penetrating article on the importance of Reconsidering "Black Politics". The fact is - a fact that unfortunately most Americans (Black, white, Latino et. al.) don't appreciate, is that when Black folks - back values, back priorities, and back leadership catch a cold, the country gets really sick.

Today we really are a sick country which points to serious confusion (and worse) within the Black body politic. Indeed, we've only really been well from about after the death of MLK to 1980 when Ronald Reagan uncorked the old stupid white genie that has run amuck domestically since 2000 and is now running amuck around the world. That means we were only "good" for a very short period of time and are back to our old ways.

My point is that not only are you right in describing the phenomenon of a ..."politics that [is] at the service of Black people [worshiping] at the alter of the Republican idols of privatization, aggressive war, tax cuts for the rich, and racist oppression..." - but that unless and until this issue is turned right side up - the country is in danger of permanently flushing itself down the toilet of history. -AJR

and Bill's response:

Thanks so much for your note.  I have been pleased with the responses that I have received.  I agree with your basic thesis.

The challenge that faces us is actually moving from reconsidering Black politics to reconstructing it in ways that will be quite different than we experienced in the past.  This begins with the immortal notion of "Who are your enemies?  Who are your friends?" -Bill Fletcher

from another BC reader, on the same Cover Story:

Don't you think that the ascension of five African-Americans as House committee chairs, as well as the defeat of Steele, Swann, and the Rep candidate in Ohio whose name I forget, will settle the issue of which party represents Blacks, at least for awhile?

Anyway, this is a very old issue. In the 19th century, the Democrats and even the segregationists could always find some Black man to front for them, just as the Republicans could find an Irishman or Democrats a northern Protestant clergyman. Your class angle is interesting, but as, e.g., Michael Dawson's "Behind the Mule" shows, few A-A's even now feel secure enough to separate by class in politics. -JMK

I read with keen interest your expose on the on-going conflict within the Black Community in America, in relation to the politics surrounding the whole evolution of Black renaissance as it were. While I am no expert myself in American politics, there is a striking similarity between the phenomenon you highlight and the struggles countries like Zimbabwe are facing today, and here is my rationale:

Right wing politics has successfully repositioned to try and look 'in touch ' with the needs of Blacks of Africa, for example - particularly Zimbabwe. In so doing the so-called growing middle class in this country has been psychologically trapped into thinking they can be the torch-bearers for 'democracy' and other similar ideologically skewed views of the right. In the process, funds have been channeled to the extent of funding 'opposition parties' whose sole raison detre would appear to be the exacerbating of the gulf between the Black mass and the selected 'few' middle-class Blacks who ferment trouble for the cause of the right wing agenda.

The results are are all there for the world to see - economic embargos on the poor Zimbabwe, sustained demonization of R.G. Mugabe, and other forms of repression that are intended to create strife in this country so that those God 'ordained' to permanently rule over us can reinstate their vision with little or no questions from the mass. Meanwhile the mass are misled into thinking that there is Black advancement going on through a handful of ineffectual commercial positions that do not translate into any meaningful power and authority for decision-making.

A related development that points to this phenomenon is the recent directorship appointments made by institutions like Barclays and others - where Black participation is virtually non-evident as if to suggest we do not have either the qualities or the acumen to perform at the pinnacles of these organizations. And yet if anybody dared look closely at these companies they would realize that they (companies) are awash with Black talent. I could go on and on but I do not want to bore you.

The bottom line here is there are are those among us who think that the very ideals that our forebears set out to achieve belong in history, and what matters is what they can get from this repressive right wing regime that is at the helm of every evil in this world now. From a Black person's viewpoint, our struggle has only begun. More than ever we need to revisit our own values and rally around them if we are not going to defeat the purpose for which our predecessors of Black struggle so tragically tasted demise. Their vision has to be carried over with a view to furthering our fair share of economic power and not be at the whims of skewed agendas that use us for cheap vote-buying political maneuvers.-NB

On Jane Stillwater's Sidetracked piece, Section 8 Housing - An important issue for African-Americans in Issue #212:

I'm a sociologist teaching race, gender, and social movements at the University of New Orleans. I woke up this morning before dawn and thought "Today is the day, it's time to start chronicling the heroic efforts of housing project residents and grassroots organizations to resist HUD's latest decision to demolish 4 housing projects in New Orleans." I've been reading about HOPE VI in an effort to understand what is happening to this already beaten up city, and sat at my desk most of the day trying to start to pull it all together.

Then I received "The Black Commentator" post, scrolled down to your article, and when I saw that you live in Berkeley (I grew up there and spent much of my life there) decided on a whim to write you. I'm going to try to contextualize all the recent federal nonsense and brutality about public housing in the history of federal housing initiatives, but am in over my head as I'm no public policy expert. There is just so much incredible organizing happening on the ground here, and I don't want it to get lost. So this message is just a hello, and a thank you for writing about Section 8. I'm going to have to look back over past issues and see if you've written other columns on housing. -RL

Jasmyne Cannick's column, Unapologetically Young, Black and Female... The Nightmare on My Street, Issue #212, brought us these comments:

What are your suggestions for the situation? Like you, I'm moving from my neighborhood to one nearby with a slightly higher rent and in a predominately White area. My current apartment is in a neighborhood that has some of the same problems you cite. Prostitutes and drug dealers transact business openly at a nearby corner. A crack-house is located down the street from me. We can't stop the activities of the thugs, and the local law-enforcement has been indifferent to the problem. I seriously would like some thoughts on what can be done. -GH

I read your article in BC on your neighborhood dilemma. I wanted to share my empathy and hope that I am able to offer you some encouragement with my own words. I grew up in New Orleans in a neighborhood that sounds all too familiar to yours. I grew up with the crack house on my block and the white neighbors who are regentrifying. I want to tell you to stay put and buy a house in your neighborhood, but if you are afraid for your safety then you must do what you feel is best to protect your life. Self-preservation is the number one rule in the jungle (not that a city boy like me would know what a jungle looks like). Here is my advice to you. If I were in your situation, I would buy a home wherever white people are regentrifying. This is a sign that the real estate is low and the market is rising. Buy low/sell high.

Now as far as the crack house is concerned... I am not being sarcastic, but I would get to know my neighborhood junkie. I am not suggesting that you invite them over for dinner, but rather make sure that they know you and they need to know that you know them and are not afraid of them. In my neighborhood for example, I would play football with their children being sort of a big brother to their kids. My neighbor went as far as buying their children coats for Christmas. It is more difficult to hurt someone who has been good to you than it is a complete stranger. But please keep something in mind. Our actions were calculated. I wasn't playing football with the kids in a "Leave it to Beaver" all is good with the world type manner. I was very rough and ignorant sometimes with these kids so that they would get the point, and when my neighbor gave his presents it was made clear that his actions were not to be taken for a weakness. Now, my neighbor and myself are both men and because of this fact, we were probably able to convey a sense of threat and retaliation that really wasn't there. But here is the point: we knew their names, and so they chose to rob people who didn't know their names. They chose to rob the white lesbian couple next rather than the Black family who they suspected of being "gansta", if you will.

Once when I was a cab driver, I met this woman who told me that the neighborhood crackhead stole her air-conditioner. I asked her what did she do, and she told me that she told the neighborhood crack dealer. The neighborhood crack dealer proceeded to whip the crackhead's ass and she got her air conditioner back. Now I know sister, that you shouldn't have to go through all of these extremes, but in the meantime in between time, until you are able to get your little piece of Black paradise, I hope that you will find my words to be sincere and encouraging. But if you move, I wont be mad at you and I will certainly understand. Good luck sister, stay strong and don't give up on your Black brothers. There are a few us of still left who haven't given up. -JA

Excellent article by Ms. Cannick in this week's Black Commentator. I have two daughters and two grand-kids in these type neighborhoods. I worry about their safety and security. Like Ms. Cannick, I'm trying to assist my daughters into moving to more secure regions.

It's a terrible tragedy to watch some Black communities disintegrate into chaos and crime. -MS

Dr. Rose Brewer, PhD is currently at the World Social Forum, 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya. Her initial article, Is Another World Possible for African Peoples? in Issue #213, brought these thoughtful comments:

I read your recent article in the Black Commentator and found it of interest - especially the question raised as to what the meaning of this forum will do for the African continent and its peoples. As a Black man in America I am interested in the plight of my brothers and sisters on the continent as well as here at home. -FMA

Yes, another world is possible for African people. I am advocating an African World Summit to bring together African leaders from all over the world to come up with a Strategic Economic Framework for the economic development of the continent for the benefit of the African people all over the world.

It is believed that African Americans control in excess of $600 Billion dollar economy and if a part of that can be invested in developing the African continent, it would turn Africa into a major economic power of the 21st century. The biggest market for African American cultural products is Africa and African Americans must be encouraged to tap into that market place. There is a new scramble for Africa and the Chinese and Indians understand it. African Americans can not stand-by while these other nations are positioning to reap the riches of the continent. I have always believed in the biblical story of Joseph and that prophesy has come to bear. African Americans have proven themselves ready in acquiring wealth and wisdom and it is time to focus on the continent. New advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) give us the opportunity to run and manage businesses in Africa without leaving the USA. -SB

My heart bleeds for Africa, a new revolution may be necessary to unsit the forces of neoliberalism that seem set to further consume the little that remains of Black African people - both of those on the continent now and in the Diaspora. It is inconceivable that those of us in the Diaspora still struggle to feed our immediate families because one does not enjoy the same equal opportunity as anyone else in Europe by reason of being Black African, and yet our closets are running over with qualifications that we were made to believe would usher in a new era of competitiveness and opportunity. It is a shame to note that despite occasional utterances of political correctness on the part of our former colonial masters and their fellow right wing plunderers, the conditions of the majority of Black Africans on the continent [are such that they] have to endure hardship while their wealth continues to find its way to lands so far away. It is patently obscene to see the number of poor Black Nigerians losing their lives trying to [eke out] a share of the only precious resource they should rightfully claim a stake in without having to shed a single drop of blood - oil!

The traditional cycle of aid to Africa has been an instrument of expropriation of Africa. Those who dare question the right wing agenda - like the Mugabes of this world, are demonized to oblivion in a manner that seems to want to send a clear message to would-be followers that 'hear no evil, see no evil' in what the 'God-ordained' masters choose to do.

And I am saying, let this forum come up with practicable ways by which Africa can start to be independent again on its own terms. I am ready to be a useful member of mass action that is aimed at reasserting Black Africans' rightful place in contemporary sociopolitical economy -NB

Regarding Roots of Latino/Black Anger: Longtime Prejudices, Not Economic Rivalry, Fuel Tensions by Tanya K. Hernandez, Guest Commentator, Issue #213:

I deeply appreciate Professor Hernandez' article. As a diversity consulting practitioner, I have spent the last 16 years sitting in discussions about race. While I know from experience that there is plenty of 'color ism' among Latinos, this article provides solid documentation. I also found her article ( a pdf file) on the internet "Latino Inter-Ethnic Discrimination and the "Diversity Defense" which has all the citations for the research data. I am very grateful that Black Commentator has published this pivotal article. -MB

Please thank Prof. Hernandez for her fine and important article. We are going to use it in several courses at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution of George Mason University. -RER

Lastly, a British tourist sent us this:

I have read a couple of your articles in the above magazine which are both very interesting and informative. As a British tourist who is a fan of Blues, its related genres, together with the some knowledge history of African Americans, I am very concerned of the lingering of racial attitudes of which are seen almost everywhere in the South.

Be aware that there are also many fair minded whites in the UK who have a social consciousness who support the stance of Black Americans, I for one on my last visit to Memphis signed a petition to remove the statue of NBF [Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest - ed] in Confederate Park, and was shocked at the plight of those displaced (and still are) from Katrina. -AC-C

Your comments are always welcome. Click here to reach Nancy Littlefield.

 

Your comments are always welcome.