| �We 
                      realized at a very early point in our development that revolution 
                      is a process. It is not a particular action, nor 
                      is it a conclusion�This process moves in a dialectical manner 
                      and we understand the struggle of the opposites based upon 
                      their unity.� -Huey 
                      P. Newton, To 
                      Die for the People �If 
                      history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future 
                      without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize 
                      new possibilities by disclosing those hidden episodes of 
                      the past when, even if in brief flashes, people showed their 
                      ability to resist, to join together, occasionally to win.� -Howard 
                      Zinn, A 
                      People's History of the United States The 
                      politicos of the extreme right wing are nothing if not consistent 
                      in their historical revisionism and distortion 
                      of the struggle of everyday Black, White, Brown, Red, and 
                      Yellow people, past and present, nationally and globally. The 
                      fascination on the part of the extreme right wing with historical 
                      revisionism, distortion, and obfuscation is what a colleague 
                      of mine recently and correctly referred to as historical 
                      �necrophilia.� And that is precisely what it is, as demonstrated 
                      by their latest sordid attempts to distort the legacy of 
                      Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ongoing people�s 
                      struggle in this nation. 
 The 
                      legacy of the people�s struggle against oppression, waged 
                      by the likes of Denmark Vesey, John Brown, Nat Turner, Tecumseh, 
                      Harriet Tubman, Mary Harris Jones, Joe Hill, Fannie Lou 
                      Hamer, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Dr. Martin Luther King, 
                      Jr., and so very, very many other Black, White, Brown, 
                      Red, and Yellow people, attests to the dialectical, 
                      absolutely essential, and ongoing nature of 
                      the people�s struggle in this nation, and indeed throughout 
                      the world. No amount of right wing or extreme right wing 
                      historical revisionism can or will change this reality. In 
                      the name of restoring �America� to its supposed past �honor,� 
                      the right wing and extreme right wing exhibit a morbid fascination, 
                      akin to necrophilia, of shamelessly revising history to 
                      suit their own skewed agendas. They know that the dead cannot 
                      speak, but they forget that their legacies can. As 
                      they seek to smear and distort, for example, the memory 
                      and struggle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they disfigure 
                      and discredit all that they themselves claim is �America�s� 
                      �honor.� They attempt to raise the memories of the dead 
                      in their own warped, racist, and greedy images. They dare 
                      to commit historical necrophilia. As 
                      critical thinkers, political activists, and organizers, 
                      our task is to ensure that the true historical legacies 
                      of our freedom fighters be taught and passed on. We must 
                      not be distracted or thwarted by these right wing 
                      and extreme right wing mockers of the dead, for even as 
                      they mock the dead they are, in so doing, mocking the living. 
                      This is most fitting, since in reality, what the right wing 
                      and extreme right wing have to offer is fear, manipulation, 
                      and death; nothing else. Also, 
                      let us not be lulled to sleep by the liberals and pretend 
                      �progressives,� who in essence actually facilitate and 
                      accommodate the right wing and extreme right wing by 
                      their dismal failure to stand up to the corporate / military 
                      backed Obama /Biden regime.  We 
                      must utterly reject the vultures of the right and 
                      extreme right wing, as well as the vampiric corporate 
                      / military bloodsuckers of the Obama / Biden clique.
 The 
                      legacy of people�s struggle in this nation, as in other 
                      parts of the world, is alive and well, as so wonderfully 
                      delineated in Howard Zinn�s book, A 
                      People's History of the United States. We must continue 
                      steadfast in the foot steps of this legacy as we uncompromisingly 
                      engage in and wage the people�s struggle. Coming 
                      columns will give specific examples of some of the ongoing 
                      political struggles being carried out throughout 
                      this nation. We�ve 
                      much work to do. Onward my sisters and brothers! Onward! BlackCommentator.com 
                      Editorial 
                      Board Member, Larry Pinkney, is a veteran of the Black Panther 
                      Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of 
                      New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American 
                      to have successfully self-authored his civil/political rights 
                      case to the United Nations under the International Covenant 
                      on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political 
                      organizing activities in opposition to voter suppression, 
                      etc., Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally 
                      televised PBS NewsHour, formerly known as TheMacNeil/LehrerNewsHour. 
                      For more about Larry Pinkney see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and 
                      Thinker, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard 
                      Zinn]. (Click 
                      here 
                      to read excerpts from the book). Click here to contact Mr. Pinkney. |