African American Opinion - Social and Political Networking

Your new link to Black American Opinion, Social and Political Networking

Black American Opinion, Social and Political Networking on the web

Birthdays




Donate To This Site

Our RSS FEED

Translate This Blog


More Afrosphere bloggers



Get This Widget's For Your Blog



Powernomics pt 1

 

HOT Political Blog of The Week! Prometheus6

Search The Internet HERE



Custom Search

Members

  • Larry Grant
  • Gus T Renegade
  • Zambezi
  • THE SOL SURVIVOR
  • Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke
  • Ant Pearson
  • AAPP
  • Philosophical Negro
  • Zara
  • Michelle Roberts
  • harry watley
  • EarthTone
  • Andrea Hosea
  • Farklin Haines
  • Rhonda L West
  • lee w.
  • Lynval Gray
  • nthollamoma2006
  • msladydeborah
  • bfaye53..55
  • Brother Marcus!
  • Dwight
  • Dustin Parker
  • Gabrielle Daniels
  • The Phenomenal Women Group, Inc.
  • Queen Ifama
  • BRUCE GEORGE

Latest Activity

Gus T Renegade added an event
The C.O.W.S. w/ Dr. Stephen Bezruchka at http://tobtr.com/s/744796
November 15, 2009 from 3pm to 5pm
Sunday, November 15th 3:00PM EASTERN/ 12:00PM PACIFIC University of Washington's Dr. Stephen Bezruchka will share his views on the System of White Supremacy. Dr. Stephen Bezruchka has conducted extensive research on the relationship between mistr...
2 hours ago
You're right. Her courage blazed a trail for all of us. Here's the organization she started http://www.rosaparks.org It has a bunch of videos and events going on this year
10 hours ago
Zambezi added a blog post
h/t to todaysdrum.com In Barbados, this tiny eastern-most island of the Caribbean, Ifill’s story is instead the rule that defies notions of Black educational inferiority and underachievement. Barbados graduates 98 percent of its high school studen...
11 hours ago
Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke added 2 blog posts
18 hours ago
AAPP Black Folks Demonstrating at White House - WHY? http://ping.fm/qwtY7
22 hours ago
Hello Philosophical Negro, You said this, “It's about time you said something that I can agree with.” Well, it would have been nice if you could have expressed more than just 11 words. Please tell me why you agree with me. Share your thoughts w...
22 hours ago
It's about time you said something that I can agree with.
23 hours ago
Philosophical Negro added a discussion
I'm sure many of you heard Michael Steele selling auctioning off his behind last night, like some cheap trick, after the Congress passed their version of a comprehensive health care bill. I tell you, those fried chicken crumbs up on Michael's porc...
23 hours ago
AAPP Heath Care Reform Passed, What about Blacks? http://ping.fm/4qD3h
yesterday
harry watley added a blog post
The world of people, but especially White American people could gauge whether Black Americans are acquiring any worldly wisdom what so ever by simply paying attention to their topics. In other words, all topics of Black Americans’ are always abou...
yesterday
yesterday
yesterday
yesterday
Lynval Gray and Camron46 are now friends
on Saturday
msladydeborah updated their profile
on Saturday
on Saturday
Brother Marcus! added a blog post
God willing, this Sunday evening we are going to get into a very relevant topic for our community. The great prophetess, Lauren Hill sings, “It could all be so simple, but you’d rather make it hard…” How do you assess whether you should continue...
on Saturday
AAPP Is The Tea party moving the GOP towards bigotry? http://ping.fm/A5t7L
on Saturday
AAPP Tea Party Bigots? http://ping.fm/Zgm7A
on Saturday
on Friday

African American Political Pundit

Sen. Joe Lieberman Must Go

There is a movement to get rid of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is building steam.





AAPP says: I agree, Joe Must Go!  I have been very clear regarding my opinion of this snake for some time.



Get this, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) plans to join with Republicans to filibuster any health care bill that contains a public option. Alone, the Republicans don't have the votes for a filibuster. So by joining with them, Lieberman would be tipping the balance of power in order to sink health care reform.

We need to push the leaders of the Democratic caucus to take a tough stand against Lieberman. Tell Harry Reid to fire Joe Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security Committee.
Last year, the New York Times quoted an anonymous "member of the Senate Democratic leadership" who said about Lieberman: "We need every vote. He's with us on everything but the war." Apparently Joe lied to the Senate Democrats.
Now is the time for Senate Democratic leadership -- Senators Reid, Schumer, and Durbin -- to stop making excuses for Joe Lieberman. 






 
Continue

African-Americans Demonstrate At White House Protest.

Why are black folks demonstrating against President Barack obama? Is this crabs in the barrel mentality or do black folks have a reason and or right to demonstrate against the first African American president? are they right to say the Government doesn't have our back on unemployment?










According to the news Outlet AFP, African-Americans slam Obama in White House protest.


WASHINGTON — Decrying Barack Obama as "white power in black face," hundreds of African-Americans marched on the White House Saturday to protest policies of the first black US president, and demand that he bring US troops home.

More than 200 people gathered for the first public demonstration by African Americans against the Obama administration since his historic inauguration in January, and slammed the president for continuing what they described as Washington's "imperialist" agenda around the world.

"We recognize that Barack Hussein Obama is white power in black face," civil rights activist Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black is Back coalition which arranged the protest, called into a megaphone as the group marched outside the mansion's gates.

"He is a tool of our imperialist enemies and we demand our freedom. And we demand that Obama withdraw all the troops from Afghanistan right now."

Protesters also called for Obama to order troops out of Iraq and to scrap Africom, the controversial year-old United States Africa Command, and demanded "hands off" Venezuela and ends to the Cuba embargo and the Zimbabwe blockade.

Several demonstrators held up placards bearing messages such as "US out of Afghanistan" and "Stop US war against Iraq."


Charles Baron, a New York city councilman and former member of the Black Panthers, a Black Power movement in the mid-1960s and 1970s, attacked the president for turning a cold shoulder to the plight of African-Americans.

"We're not satisfied with him, and... this hope and change rap has not been a reality for black people," Baron told AFP during the demonstration.

"We are glad that Barack Obama broke up the white male monopoly on the White House, but we were not looking for a change in the occupant of the White House from white to black, we were looking for change in foreign policies and domestic policies," he added.   More HERE

AAPP says:  The fact of the matter is African-Americans are the hardest hit by the recession in America. In fact, African-Americans have been in a recession for the past ten years. If there is a nation wide un-employment rate of 10%, then its 20-30% in our black communities. According to a 2008 report by United for a Fair Economy, a research and advocacy group, from 1998 to 2006 (before the subprime crisis), blacks lost $71 billion to $93 billion in home-value wealth from subprime loans. The researchers called this family net-worth catastrophe the “greatest loss of wealth in recent history for people of color.” And the worst was yet to come. Read More HERE  Now blacks are being hit by a third and fourth wave of foreclosures caused by unemployment. Do black folks have a right to be pissed off. YES! 

The fact of the matter is Black unemployment is now at possibly 20-30% percent, compared with 10 percent for whites. In New York City, black unemployment has been rising four times as fast as that of whites. By 2010, according to Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute, 40 percent of African-Americans nationwide will have endured patches of unemployment or underemployment. Do black folks have a right to be pissed off. YES! 

Should black folks be pisssed off at our President for bailing out some of the country's largest Wall Street firms, who have now set aside billions of dollars for bonuses to executives and traders -- many of whom are the same people whose reckless risk-taking led to the current recession?

What Do You think?




Continue

Ayanna Pressley first African-American woman to serve on the Boston City Council

In my home town of Boston, Massachusetts.


 

















As reported in the wickedlocal.com,  Ayanna Pressley will be the first African-American woman to serve on the Boston City Council. Read more on Pressley HERE

According to the Boston Globe, minorities and women won big on the ballot.



Congratulations Ayanna Pressley!
 

Heath Care Reform, Democrats, High-Fives and Black Folks

As reported by the NY Times, the Chicago Sun Times,  and various blogs. After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220-215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Democrats said the legislation would provide overdue relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance. Read More HERE Check out who voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act.


President Obama made a personal appeal, visiting with Democrats as the House began to discuss the healthcare bill in a rare Saturday session.
Alex Brandon / Associated Press / November 7, 2009

President Obama made a personal appeal, visiting with Democrats as the House began to discuss the healthcare bill in a rare Saturday session.

 Democrats say the House measure — paid for through new fees and taxes, along with cuts in Medicare — would extend coverage to 36 million people now without insurance while creating a government health insurance program. It would end insurance company practices like not covering pre-existing conditions or dropping people when they become ill. 

Republicans condemned the vote and said they would oppose the measure as it proceeds on its legislative route. “This government takeover has got a long way to go before it gets to the president’s desk, and I’ll continue to fight it tooth and nail at every turn,” said Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas. “Health care is too important to get it wrong.” More HERE.

Only one Republican, Representative Anh Cao of Louisiana, voted for the bill, and 39 Democrats opposed it.

After the vote, Mr. Obama issued a statement praising the House and calling on the Senate to follow suit. “I am absolutely confident it will,” he said, “and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.” Read:With victory in House, health care reform moves to Senate.

AAPP says: OK so Black lawmakers have lauded the health care vote.‎  Yet, as the Joint Center points out, "from the cradle to the grave, African-Americans have poorer health outcomes: African-American infant mortality is more than double that of whites; African-American women make up 70 percent of new HIV/AIDS infections; three times as many black Americans die from diabetes as white Americans; and the life expectancy for whites is 78 years, compared with 73 years for all African-Americans and less than 70 years for African-American males."


AAPP says: "Yes, we need health care reform, I only hope that the current bill passed by congress addresses the needs of affordable mental health care, AIDS treatment, Breast Cancer Treatment, drug/alcohol rehabilitation, stress management and the preventive care needs of our communities. Otherwise, it's nothing more than black elected officials telling black folks what a wonderful job they have done, without any substance."  we also have to ask, will black folks be left out of the newly revised system of health care delivery?


Let's hope the Republican "nut jobs" are wrong and Joseph Cao is right.

What do You Think?



Continue

The Tea Party Bigots are Coming, the Tea Party Bigots are coming!

File this under: The Bigots are coming, The Bigot's are coming!

Well, the Tea Party folks are planning another color aroused event at capitol hill tomorrow. Let me tell you, this is NO Paul Revere event.



Politico.com's Jake Sherman reports that Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is planning a second anti-health care reform Tea Party at the Capitol -- this one scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday -- approximately the time when the House is due to vote on Democrats' public option bill, POLITICO's Jake Sherman reports.

King and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) organized a rally Thursday that drew thousands to the west front of the Capitol, drawing chants of “Kill the Bill.” There were a handful of arrests.

“We can kill this bill and stop the government takeover of health care,” King said in a news release. “We need the help of every American willing to stand up for freedom and liberty. I urge all Americans who oppose this bill to come to Washington tomorrow morning and join us to stop this bill.”  More HERE

 

Birthers and The Republican Party of HATE

Why are Americans allowing extremist like the birthers wrestle the GOP voices into more HATE? 

Have you had the opportunity to read and see some of the extremist images from the blog post by the Center for American Progress.Thank you Matthew Yglesias for the link.




protest1




protest2
  
Hat Tip Huffington Post slide show:

protest3


"OBAMA - Gov't TAKE OVER ... JUST LIKE NAZI GERMANY!" From the Huffington Post slide show:
protest4


Pelosi: "UnAmerican McCarthyite." From MSNBC.com:

protest5


"Maoism is not reform." From the Huffington Post slide show:


protest6

"Obama Listens to Mao, I listen to Fox News." From the Huffington Post slide show:

protest7


"KEN-YA TRUST OBAMA." From MSNBC.com:


protest8

Check out the November 5 post on the rally, the MSNBC.com blog


AAPP says: Now we learn that Obama's own Homeland Security Department which was suppose to target right wing Tea Party Extremists, has let these extremist, along with ex-GOP Leader Dick Armey and other right wing  congressional wing nuts, Hot AIR types, along with lobbyist, come join together to fight with HATRRED ladden images, against our government. 


Some are asking the question, is the Tea Party Gang turning GOP Into a Party of Hate? My response: "The Republican Party has been the party of hate for some time. Now they have a black guy as the head following in the birthers down KKK lane."

Do you agree? Here are some of the more jaw-dropping signs seen at the rally:
  • "Get the Red Out of the White House."
  • "Waterboard Congress"
  • "Traitor to the U.S. Constitution" (Picture of Obama on sign)
  • "I'm the King of the World: Remember the Titanic?" (Drawing of Obama in the mold of the 'Jovial Sambo' from the Jim Crow era doing the Leo Titanic pose." 
Continue

Powerful words from Rihanna.






Thank you blogger "This Sista's Page" for the link and your observations.Rihanna on GMA: “I Feel Ashamed…Eff Love.”


Continue

Mia Love, first black female mayor in the state of Utah

Sarasota Springs, Utah, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A city councilwoman in Saratoga Springs, a 12-year-old fast-growing city in Utah, has been elected the first black female mayor in the state.

Image 

When she takes office, Mia B. Love will be the city's second mayor, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Saratoga Springs was incorporated in 1997 and has grown from just over 1,000 residents in the 2000 Census to an estimated 11,570 in 2007.

"I am absolutely honored," Love said. "I am so excited."


Both Saratoga Springs and Utah are overwhelmingly white, with blacks accounting for about 1 percent of the population. More HERE

Edward Brooke, Congressional Gold Medal, and the black power movement

Here is great political news. A man who I have respected since my youthful days growing up in Boston received an appropriate award last week.


Sen. Harry Reid, left, and President Obama present the medal to former Sen. Edward Brooke on Wednesday.

As reported by CNN, Edward Brooke, the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, was honored last week with a Congressional Gold Medal. "At a time when so many doors were closed to African-Americans, others might have become angry or disillusioned," President Obama told an audience in the Capitol Rotunda, where the ceremony honoring Brooke for Congress' greatest honor was held.




Brooke grew up in segregated Washington and served in the Army during World War II. Afterward, he received a law degree from Boston University and eventually ran for attorney general of Massachusetts. Read more HERE

Check out a bit of history here:


Continue

A list of African-American Firsts: Government

Here is an interesting list of African-American Firsts: Government

  • Local elected official: John Mercer Langston, 1855, town clerk of Brownhelm Township, Ohio.
  • State elected official: Alexander Lucius Twilight, 1836, the Vermont legislature.
  • Mayor of major city: Carl Stokes, Cleveland, Ohio, 1967–1971. The first black woman to serve as a mayor of a major U.S. city was Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly, Washington, DC, 1991–1995.
  • Governor (appointed): P.B.S. Pinchback served as governor of Louisiana from Dec. 9, 1872–Jan. 13, 1873, during impeachment proceedings against the elected governor.
  • Governor (elected): L. Douglas Wilder, Virginia, 1990–1994. The only other elected black governor has been Deval Patrick, Massachusetts, 2007–
  • U.S. Representative: Joseph Rainey became a Congressman from South Carolina in 1870 and was reelected four more times. The first black female U.S. Representative was Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman from New York, 1969–1983.
  • U.S. Senator: Hiram Revels became Senator from Mississippi from Feb. 25, 1870, to March 4, 1871, during Reconstruction. Edward Brooke became the first African-American Senator since Reconstruction, 1966–1979. Carol Mosely Braun became the first black woman Senator serving from 1992–1998 for the state of Illinois. (There have only been a total of five black senators in U.S. history: the remaining two are Blanche K. Bruce [1875–1881] and Barack Obama (2005– ).
  • U.S. cabinet member: Robert C. Weaver, 1966–1968, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Lyndon Johnson; the first black female cabinet minister was Patricia Harris, 1977, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Jimmy Carter.
  • U.S. Secretary of State: Gen. Colin Powell, 2001–2004. The first black female Secretary of State was Condoleezza Rice, 2005–.
  • Major Party Nominee for President: Sen. Barack Obama, 2008. The Democratic Party selected him as its presidential nominee.
  • U.S. President: Sen. Barack Obama. Obama defeated Sen. John McCain in the general election on November 4, 2008, and was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009.     Source: Infoplease.com

NAACP Creates "War Room" For Health Care Reform


I just received a notice that the NAACP, the National Urban League and the Black Leadership Forum have formed a unique partnership in the final days of the health care debate. Hmmm... I guess it is better late than never, but I have to wonder why it took these groups so long to come together? They are asking members and non-members of the NAACP to Join their work in "The War Room." Ouch...
 
Why does everything that America does have to be related to "War" ?

Any-who, the NAACP is asking that you Join their War Room — from your home or office — by taking 2 minutes to call your Member of Congress today and let him or her know that you support health care reform with a strong public option.



My question to the NAACP is "what does a strong public option mean"? what specific proposal has the NAACP created and put out their for the public to review?  Just a question....

Have the answer? Please share...








GOP the "Taliban Ticket" Wins in Virgina

A reported in the Washington Post, U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) also likened the Republican ticket in Virginia this year to Afghanistan's radical Taliban movement in comments broadcast Sunday by WAMU radio.

At a get-out-the-vote rally in Fairfax County, Moran said: "I mean, if the Republicans were running in Afghanistan, they'd be running on the Taliban ticket as far as I can see."

So... Don't hate me, I'm just agreeing with  U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.).

Yes, I'm talking about Republicans Robert F. McDonnell who is now Governor Elect, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and state Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, who is now Attorney General, Elect. As the washington post noted, "by some accounts, the three represent the most conservative Republican ticket to run in Virginia in many years."


Look out blacks, Gays and Lesbians. We may be going back in time with these three stooges. 


 

Police used a Taser gun to restrain a resident outside of his home as it burned


As a posted in the Dailykos, a man tased as his house burned - No kidding!

According to Sarah Steimer at at Kent News Net the resident, Mike Bartlett, said he was returning from downtown for his cell phone when he noticed his sister's room on fire. He ran in to make sure she was not there and continued to find his friends in the basement and alert them of the fire. He said his cousin's girlfriend was sleeping upstairs so he went back in the house to retrieve her.

"As I was running downstairs, I could hear the window glass popping because of the heat," Bartlett said.

When he went got outside, Bartlett said police officers were at the end of the driveway. He said he approached them for help, but they dismissed him. As he walked toward one of his friends, he said the officers tackled and restrained him with the Taser gun, giving them no reason for their force.

According to the Kent City Police levels of resistance report, Bartlett used psychological and physical active resistance to avoid arrest. The report stated he was both combative and intoxicated. No one from the Police Department was available for comment.

Bartlett said he was not offered medical attention by the officers. Instead, he was taken directly to the police station. Bartlett went to the hospital following his court appearance Sunday. He said he was treated for first- and second-degree burns. Read More HERE


AAPP:  Get this, the Kent City Police said that Bartlett used psychological and physical active resistance to avoid arrest. Why was this man arrested for saving people's lives? Don't you think the police are out of control with these tasers?



I have had enough of the tasering of our children, teens,  the disabled, pregnant mothers, handicapped, and the blind. Join us on December 4th as we bring people of all backgrounds together on this issue. "Stop Taser Torture, blogging for Justice." as we raise awareness and trigger a global discussion. 

Contact us at: stoptasertorture@gmail.com to register your blog.

Don’t forget to support the petition to the United States Congress calling for public hearings on the systemic human rights violations occurring with Federal funding for the use of Tasers® against American citizens.
As Micheal Jackson wrote. It does not matter if your Black or White.


We all must come together and become activist on this issue of Taser Torture in Barack Obama's home town of of Chicago and across America.


We are hoping you will join the movement.


Related blog posts:

- Police State: Cop Caught On Camera beating special education student for not having his shirt tucked in
- Police State: Florida cop attempts drive-by Tasering, runs over suspect
- Police State: 14-Year-Old Girl Tasered In The Head
- Police State: Cops Taser a 76-Year-Old Tractor Driver in Parade
- Police State: Mother Watched Son Tasered To Death
- Police State: Cops pepperspray, taser mentally challenged, deaf man, while using the toilet
- Police State: Cops Taser Child 19 Times Leaving Him in a Coma
- Police State: Cop Tasers Mom In Front of Her Children
- Unedited Dash Cam Footage of Grandmother Being Tased
- Taser use to obtain DNA not unconstitutional: NIAGARA COURTS RULING
- Prison officer zaps children with 50,000-volt stun gun ‘to show them what a day at work is like’
- Top cop fired for allegedly using Taser on wife
- Ex-NFL Player Tasered For Pointing At Cop

Continue

The Atlanta Election in Black and White

The City of Atlanta will hold municipal elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3 in an effort to fill the offices for Mayor, multiple City Council seats and the Board of Education. The incumbent mayor, Shirley Franklin will be ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits on her office. As a result, the mayoral campaign has been left wide open and has led to a hotly contested race. More HERE

Now the big question is will a veteran City Council member (who is white), who hails from the largely white neighborhood of Buckhead be the next mayor of Atlanta?
Is this post-racial politics in Atlanta? No I don't think so. But as reported by The LA Times, Norwood's success among black voters has become the most important dynamic in the closing days of the contest to succeed second-term Mayor Shirley Franklin.

In a poll Thursday of registered Atlanta voters conducted by local firm InsiderAdvantage, Norwood received 45% support overall. (A SurveyUSA poll showed her with 46%.) Among the African Americans polled, Norwood received 34% support in the InsiderAdvantage poll -- a narrow plurality.

The black support has helped place Norwood far ahead of three other serious contenders, all of them African Americans with impressive resumes. Her closest competitor is Reed, a former state senator, who had 25% overall support in the InsiderAdvantage poll.

As reported in the Atlanta Journal, For months, Franklin refused to say which candidate she supports. She's been clear she wouldn't endorse the front-runner, Councilwoman Mary Norwood. Franklin wrote a blog entry on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Political Insider column last week saying that Norwood has not demonstrated "vision, competence or integrity in her public life."

The mayor has also been critical of Norwood for not voting in June with the majority of the council in favor of raising taxes, which Franklin said was necessary to end furloughs on police officers.

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - During an Atlanta Mayoral debate today, candidate Mary Norwood dismissed critical comments made by outgoing Mayor Shirley Franklin. More HERE



As reported by The LA Times, Norwood's commanding lead in the polls has raised the possibility that she may win more than 50% of the vote, obviating the need for a runoff. Her success has also prompted a new line of attack from foes, including Reed, who have accused her of being a closet Republican in a Democratic-leaning city.


AAPP: At the end of this day we will see if Atlanta will experience a post racial moment and elect its first white mayor in over 35 years. I can't wait to see the results, can you?




Continue

Man with his hands on a squad carTasered on his neck by Minneapolis Police

The Minneapolis Police Department is again defending itself against accusations that an officer went too far during an arrest. 

Video given to WCCO-TV late Monday night shows a man with his hands on a squad car when an officer uses a Taser on his neck.

Attorney Albert Goins is suing the City of Minneapolis on behalf of his client, Rolando Ruiz. They're asking for $75,000 and that the officer involved be reprimanded. 


Minneapolis Police Dept.


The video given to WCCO starts only seconds before the Taser is used on Ruiz, not what led up to the incident. But in that time, no struggle can be seen before the officer used his Taser on Ruiz. What is seen is Ruiz with his hands on the hood of the officer's car.

The dash camera of the squad car was rolling when the officer approached Ruiz with Taser in hand.  see Video HERE


Another reason why you should join the stop taser torture movement. We need to stop Police Taser Abuse








Black Folks and American Color Issues - No Change Since 1963

We are in no better position than we were in 1963. 

President Obama gives a speech. 
 
Politico and other news outlets are reporting that despite America's decades-long struggle to achieve racial equality and the election last year of the country’s first African-American president, Americans remain hopeful but highly skeptical that race relations will significantly improve in the near future, according to a new Gallup Poll. More HERE

In the survey, 56 percent said they believed that race relations would “eventually be worked out,” an almost identical result as the 55 percent who answered that way in 1963, Gallup reported. 


“In short, despite all that has happened in the intervening decades, there is scarcely more hope now than there was those many years ago that the nation’s race-relations situation will be solved,” the company said.


Blacks remain much more pessimistic than whites that race relations will eventually improve, the survey found. More HERE


NAACP Calls for Federal Investigation into Use of Tasers

The Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP calls for a federal investigation into the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department’s use of tasers and into the deaths of three inmates who died while in custody over the past five months.
“There is a need for an independent investigation of a higher authority with subpoena powers in order to get to the bottom of why so many people are dying while in police custody. A due process should take place to hold offenders accountable, but it shouldn’t result in a death sentence before even making it to trial.  It raises grave concerns that all three died "after" being tasered,” stated Wendy Byrd, President of the Modesto/Stanislaus NAACP.

In light of the deaths in association with tasering, the NAACP will now file a formal complaint with the Department of Justice and the Stanislaus County Grand Jury to thoroughly investigate this matter.  The National Office of the NAACP has also developed a new Rapid Reporting System that allows citizens from any state to submit information directly to the national office.  Go to www.naacp.org for more information.
-----
NOTE: Amnesty International says that between 2001 and August 2008, 334 Americans died after Taser shocks. The stun gun was deemed to have caused or contributed to at least 50 of those deaths, Amnesty says, citing medical examiners and coroners. Most suspects were unarmed, and many were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks, according to Amnesty. The human rights group has called for governments to limit the use of stun guns or suspend their use. In November 2007, the UN Committee Against Torture released a statement saying “use of Taser X26 weapons, provoking extreme pain, constituted a form of torture, and… in certain cases, it could also cause death.”

Join us on December 4th. “Stop Taser Torture, blogging for Justice.” as we raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

Contact: StopTaserTorture@gmail.com to register your blog.

Don’t forget to support the petition to the United States Congress calling for public hearings on the systemic human rights violations occurring with Federal funding for the use of Tasers® against American citizens. The United Nation’s Committee against Torture has declared that Taser use can constitute a form of torture, while USA: Amnesty International has an on-going concern about the use of tasers on American citizens. More HERE

Have a question? Need additional information? Want to participate? Register via email: StopTaserTorture@gmail.com


Continue

"I'm Not Taking the H1N1 Flu Vaccine."

Yes, I said it.  This black man will not be taking the H1N1 flu vaccine." Yes I know about the dramatic impact the pandemic appears to be having on black folks as Swine flu kicks into higher gear. I'm not going to listen to the white conservatives on this issue either. More HERE



I'm one of the 48 percent of black old schoolers who, Despite the risk, won't be getting a flu shot. No I'm not a senior yet, but the fact of the matter is black folks who are in there 40's 50's and 60's won't be getting a full shot any time soon.


Some believe that the reason black folks, particularly black men won't be getting flu shots is due to a lingering distrust of public health inoculation programs, and the wacked 1932 Tuskegee syphilis studies of black men. Yes I don't particularly trust public health inoculation programs. do you?


There are many people in the black community, particularly black men, who don't trust public health inoculation programs. Take for instance Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, who questions the H1N1 flu vaccine claiming it was made to kill people, according to UPI. More HERE



But he is not the only one questioning the H1N1 flu vaccine. As noted in the Examiner.com article, if you've been following the controversy over the H1N1 flu vaccine you may already be aware that Farrakhan is not alone in his observation that the vaccine is considered unhealthy and not necessary for everyone; even the scientists who helped develop the smallpox vaccine say they are not going to take the vaccine and urge their friends and family not to take it either. More HERE




Continue

National Wave of Privatization Scandals and Disasters Ignored By Media

Source: Black Agenda Report


the real vandals 













A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Bruce Dixon


The total absence of local journalism in many markets, and the fixation of what news reporting there is on a handful of crime and celebrity stories helps conceal from the public the real price of global empire and the Wall Street Bailout, or how the privatization measures widely undertaken by state and local governments to relieve their financial pressure have been a cavalcade of corruption, a cascade of scandal and failure that make the rich even richer and the rest of us... well, you know...Read More HERE

Another reason why I'm for the death penalty... in some cases

Here is just another reason why I'm for the death penalty. This is a picture of pure evil.

Anthony Sowell
Anthony Sowell

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Women claiming to have been attacked by Ohio convicted sex offender Anthony Sowell,are coming forward to share their horrifying experiences, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.

Cleveland police search the porch at the home of Anthony Sowell, where bodies have been discovered Friday, Oct. 30, 2009.

Two women told Fox 8 Cleveland that they believe Sowell, 50, would have killed them and said they feel lucky to be alive.

"He was gonna kill me," one alleged victim said.

"I have scars on my neck and nerve damage. I couldn't leave the house for months. I was afraid to go to the store. I could not sleep."

The alleged victim told local reporters that when she turned down an offer from Sowell to drink beer with him, he "punched her in the face and dragged her to his house," according to Fox 8 Cleveland. Also read Ohio Cops Find Multiple Bodies At Rapist's Home

She managed to escape from his house and flag down police, Fox 8 Cleveland reported. Sowell was arrested for rape, kidnapping and robbery — but the case never made it to court.

Other women weren't as lucky as these alleged victims. Police found six decomposing bodies at Anthony Sowell's Ohio home last week, four years after he was released from a U.S. prison after serving 15 years for a rape conviction.


Two dead bodies were identified by county Coroner Frank Miller as black females and one death was ruled a homicide. No race or gender was determined for the others. Autopsies were performed on all six bodies.

On Saturday, the coroner's office confirmed that all six bodies were female, and most of them appeared to have been killed by strangulation, according to Fox 8 Cleveland.

Police spokesman Lt. Thomas Stacho said Sowell was arrested as he walked down the street on the east side of Cleveland. Sowell initially denied he was the man authorities were looking for but admitted his identity as officers began fingerprinting him, Stacho said.

Police established a command post in the neighborhood to take missing-person reports and additional information on outstanding missing persons in the neighborhood.

Teresa Hicks, 48, was among the neighbors who said they were relieved about the arrest but left with a heightened fear of crime. She said she has known Sowell since high school.

"He was crazy," she said from her porch. Read More HERE

AAPP: OK, after reading about what happened in this case, are you for the death penalty... in this case? Or should we let the prisoners deal with him?

Either way he is a dead man walking.

Continue

Wichita NAACP Blog

CALLING ALL MINORITY CONTRACTORS - Minority Outreach 'Meet & Greet' planned for Nov 19th to discuss the Mid-Continent Airport project



The Wichita Airport Authority and The MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council have partnered together to host the Airport Authority Minority Outreach Meet & Greet on Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm. The event will be held at the Wichita Airport Hilton, 2098 S. Airport Rd.

This networking event has been specifically designed to aggressively target minority firms for contracting opportunities on upcoming Airport projects. Prime contractors, Women, Disadvantaged and Minority Business Enterprises are encouraged to attend. A formal presentation on the upcoming Terminal and other construction projects will begin at 6:00pm. Light snacks and refreshments will also be provided.

The following resource partners will be onsite to answer any questions about business development resources and/or subcontracting opportunities.
  • Wichita Airport Authority Staff
  • AECOM – Program Management Staff
  • MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council Staff
  • Small Business Administration – Wichita Division Staff
  • Kansas Department of Transportation – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise
  • City of Wichita – Emerging Business Enterprise Program Staff
For additional information contact Wichita Airport Authority representative, Linda Turley at (316)946-4716 or the MAMBDC Office at (316) 303-1703. Online registration is available at: www.mambdc.org

Registration deadline: Monday, November 16, 2009.

This is it! - US House of Representatives set to vote on Health Care Reform TOMORROW 11-7-09



Tomorrow, Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on health care reform. The future of health care for you, me, and every American hinges on this historic vote. So now is the time to make your voice heard.

Please send an e-mail to your representative today and ask him or her to support a health care reform bill with a strong public option.

Unless we pass a strong bill, the color of your skin, your ethnic background, and where you live will continue to influence your access to health care, as well as the quality and cost of your care.

Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus came by the War Room today to urge us to help them pass real health care reform with a strong public option. With your help NOW, we can end discrimination in health care coverage and ensure access for every American.

Click here to send an e-mail to your representative in Congress and tell him or her to support health care legislation with a strong public option requiring all individuals to have insurance.

So, this is it. Let us ensure that Congress stops a system that delays, denies and defends the lack of care.

Click here to listen to a personal message from Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee. Then, send a letter to your member of Congress now to urge him or her to support real health care reform with a strong public option when the vote takes place tomorrow.

Be Heard: US Department of Education proposes changes to Civil Rights Data Collection - accepting Public Comment through November 10th!



The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has proposed significant changes in Civil Rights Data Collection. The Department's proposal includes a biennial survey of roughly half the nation's schools (over 7,000 districts), with new requests for data on:

  • Bullying/harassment of students in violation of civil rights laws
  • Use of seclusion and restraint
  • School-related arrests and referrals to law enforcement
  • Expulsions under zero-tolerance school disciplinary policies
  • Student retention
  • College-preparatory courses, International Baccalaureate programs, and SAT and ACT test participation
  • Pre-kindergarten programs
  • School counselors
  • School finance
  • Teaching experience

The proposed changes provide that the data collected be disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, special education status (pursuant to IDEA and Section 504), and LEP status.

The Department of Education will accept comments on the Civil Rights Data Collection submitted on or before Tuesday, November 10, 2009. We urge you to submit recommendations and comments; your input is essential to securing collection of this critical data. The DOE has already received comments in opposition to the breadth of the proposed changes.

Materials on the proposed modifications can be found on the web at: http://edicsweb.ed.gov. Click "browse pending collections" and choose #4127. The most relevant documents are labeled "B-4" and "B-5."

Comments should be submitted by e-mail to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.

By way of example, the Dignity in Schools Campaign has drafted comments addressing the disciplinary changes in the proposed Civil Rights Data Collection; a Word version of the comments is available at http://dignityinschools.org.

Thank you for your input, and your continued work and leadership in providing high quality, inclusive schools for all the nation's schoolchildren.

"Good Enough" isn't good enough...



Wichita Branch and Kansas State Conference President KMyles spoke to a group of 20 young men at Northwest High School today. What was supposed to be a 15 minute talk stretched out to nearly an hour on the need for young black men to start thinking critically about their futures. Several of the young men indicated that they now plan to join the NAACP Debate team while others requested additional tutoring or educational assistance. The focus of the talk was on the fact that being "good enough" simply isn't good enough, mediocrity is for the mediocre and we should all strive to be excellent...

Action Alert on the Heather Ellis Case



We received this message from our good friends in the Mar-Saline Branch of the NAACP out of Marshall Missouri - Regarding the Heather Ellis case:

This is a call to action for ALL NAACP Units in the State of Missouri---we are taking it to the streets. There will be a protest demonstration November 16th beginning at 11 AM in Kennett, MO.--- Protest led by the Rev. Bonner, President of the Sikeston NAACP. Do not know the starting point. We will be under the direction of our State Conference President.

Be there and God Bless--- Safe travel.

For more information, contact Mary Ratliff; President of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP

Public Hearing on the Lord's Diner proposed 21st Street satellite set for November 17th




The Wichita City Council will conduct a Public Hearing on the Lord's Diner's proposed 21st satellite.  The Public Hearing will be conducted during the regular City Council meeting, beginning at 9:00am at 455 North Main Street.

At Issue:
Whether or not the the City should sell the old Boys and Girls club building to the Lord's Diner and allow them to establish a satellite feeding center on 21st street.

Proponent's Argument: 
After reviewing data points concerning household incomes, education levels, and free and reduced lunches, the Lord's Diner Board of Directors has concluded that there is an issue with hunger in the immediate area of the old Boys and Girls club. Their proposal is to establish a satellite feeding center at that location. In this proposal, the City would lease them the old Boys and Girls club building for $15,000.00 per year, and at the end of three years, they would have the option to purchase the building for $150,000.00 minus their previous lease payments.

Opposing Argument:
The community has been under a long and intense period of redevelopment. Through Community efforts and in partnership with the City, the 21st area has been turned from one of the most violent and crime ridden areas in the city to one with low crime and new businesses. As a part of these efforts, the City of Wichita developed a much heralded "21st Redevelopment Plan" that specifically talked about using the old Boys and Girls club facility as a hub for a job and skills training program. This proposal represents an abandonment of the 21st redevelopment effort, an abandonment of the promises the City made to the residents and business owners in the area when they developed and publicly released the '21st redevelopment plan', and and a movement that is counter to recent progress by replacing a job training facility with a soup kitchen.

Opportunities for compromise:
The community has been clear that they are not opposed to the Lord's Diner or its mission; they simply want the Lord's Diner to find another building or model. One potential model is for the Lord's Diner to partner with Churches in the area and serve the meals through the existing Churches. This would place multiple smaller satellites throughout the area, closer to the residents who need the assistance. This plan would allow the Lord's Diner to fully satisfy its mission and feed the hungry in the immediate area. AND it would also allow the City to fulfill its promises to the community and to continue working in partnership with the neighborhoods for the economic revitalization of the area. Representatives from the Ministerial League have been open and receptive to the idea and are willing to work with the Lord's Diner to come up with a strategy to make this model work. ALL of the Area's Neighborhood associations are open and receptive to the idea and are ALSO willing to work with the Lord's Diner to come up with a strategy to make this model work.

Obstacles:
The Lord's Diner has thus far been unwilling to compromise or discuss any alternatives. They have thus far indicated that they want to use the model they have proposed and they want to put it on 21st street regardless of the "21st Redevelopment Plan", regardless of the opposition of Neighborhood Associations and community Groups, and without regard for any proposed alternatives. They have the support of a few key City Council members, and they are pushing for a vote.

Our Position:
The Wichita Branch NAACP is committed to finding a "Win-Win" solution. We fully support the alternative model proposed by the Ministerial League, Neighborhood Associations, and Community Groups and we would be willing to recruit and commit volunteers to the effort. We are ready and willing to work with the Lord's Diner, the City, and all groups involved to provide support and resources to the alternative model. We believe that the alternative model would satisfy the spiritual and religious mission of the Diocese and Church communities, it would provide food and assistance to those who need it through Lord's Diner satellite feeding centers, and still allow the community to continue its march toward economic self-sufficiency by placing a job and skills training facility just outside Opportunity Drive as had been promised.

Next steps: 
The Public Hearing will likely be the last opportunity for people to weigh in on the issue. We are asking that all of you who are concerned please email and/or call ALL the members of the City Council AND the Mayor. Let them know that YOU want to see a compromise. Let them know that YOU support the mission of the Lord's Diner and that YOU want to see a Win-Win solution. Let them know that YOU support the alternative model proposed by the Ministerial League and the Community. And last but not least - take the 17th off from work. Plan to be in attendance to voice your support for the compromise proposal.
Continue

"Can you hear us now?" - Congressional call-in for Health Care reform



Think Congress has heard enough about health care reform? Probably not, considering dozens of representatives and senators are still sitting on the fence.

They need to hear from you today!

Join the NAACP's "Can You Hear Us Now" Congressional call-in days. Our goal is to make 88,000 calls to Congress by Thursday, October 29.

Do not leave the future of your health care to chance — call your representatives today to make sure they are working to champion quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

It is easy to call. Just call the number below and you will be connected to your representative's office. We have provided a sample call script for you to follow, and once you are done, let us know what happened on the 880 site.

HOW TO CALL:
Call 1-800-577-1635 to be connected to your Members of Congress.

SCRIPT:
Hello, my name is ________. I live in [city or town] and I am a voter in your district. I am calling you today in conjunction with the NAACP to urge you to enact real health care reform that includes a public option.

We believe that a public option is the only way to keep insurance companies honest, ensure competition and provide quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Thank you.

Please, join the NAACP and call your representatives this week during our "Can You Hear Us Now" Congressional call-in days.

Myles' elected President of the Kansas State Conference of NAACP Branches



On Saturday, Wichita Branch NAACP President Kevin Myles was elected President of the Kansas State Conference of NAACP Branches. The State Conference President works with all Branches to develop and promote state-wide initiatives to advance the cause of Civil Rights and works directly with State Agencies and the Legislature on issues that affect all Kansas communities.

Also on Saturday, Amani Myles was re-elected to a second term as President of the Kansas State NAACP Youth Conference.

This is the first time a Father and Daughter in the NAACP have served as the Presidents of a State Adult and Youth Conference simultaneously.

Before Brown: A call to arms on Race and Education

What follows is the full text of Branch President Myles' address to the 2009 Wichita NAACP Legacy Awards Banquet (October 17th, 2009)


In Church Parlance, this would be the part of the service known as the “Call to Discipleship”. – Where I would stand and exhort all of you to become members of the Wichita Branch NAACP – This is when I should tell you all that we have members of our membership committee standing by outside the door waiting to take your membership and welcome you into the organization, and certainly that is important…

This is also the point in the evening when most Organizations would stand and tell you about all of the accomplishments of their branch. But I don’t want to do that this evening.

Now I could tell you about how the Wichita Branch has doubled its membership over the last year, but I won’t bore you with that.

I could tell you how the Wichita Branch received two First Place Thalheimer Awards this year, and that the Thalheimer is the highest award that the National Office can confer upon a branch. And I could tell you that the Wichita Branch was recognized for having some of the best Publications and most impactful initiatives in the Country – But I won’t do that…

I could tell you about how our advocacy led to the purchase of additional voting machines for the 2008 Presidential Election, or how our advocacy efforts to have the State come into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1994 have resulted in a streamlined voter registration process both online and at the DMV, but I won’t go into all that…

Or I could tell you about how we began with a handful of our own children – just 5 kids - and our desire to see them involved in a youth program that did more than just give them space to create dance routines or play on the internet… So we contacted and sought advice from Professor Ron Walters at the University of Maryland’s Leadership Institute. And we built a program, based on Chess and Chess principles, and expanded into debate and oratory. And we now have 63 children and a successful model that is being emulated in branches around the Country – but we’ll save that conversation for next time…

No, paradoxically, I want to take these few moments to talk to you all about yesterday and tomorrow… Yesterday because someone far wiser than I once said that ‘Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it’. And tomorrow because another someone far wiser than I once said that ’Tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it Today’.

There is an imporatant lesson in these aphorisms for us… As we embark on our second century in Civil Rights with a keen eye cast towards education, I just want to take a couple minutes of your time to quickly direct your attention to the prescriptive lessons one can draw from the careful examination of our history; and particularly how those lessons can inform our current efforts to achieve our visions of tomorrow.

And it’s important that we do this and that we have this discussion because ‘Those who do not know their history are What? … doomed to repeat it…

Let me ask, by applause, how many of you have had the opportunity to take a look at the exhibits we have in the other room? If you haven’t had the opportunity to view them, please make it a point to do so before you leave here tonight. We have two really fantastic exhibitions, one is a traveling exhibit dealing with the Brown Vs. the Board decision, and the other is an exhibit assembled by our own branch historian Ms. Donna Ray Pearson, which deals with the history of race and education here in the State of Kansas.

One of the things you quickly learn when you begin looking into our State’s history on matters of race is that Kansas has a lot to be proud of…

The State of Kansas was founded in 1854 and by the time it was admitted into the Union as a Free State in 1861, The promise to provide a Quality Education for ALL children was already written into our State’s Constitution.

The City of Wichita was founded in 1870 and in 1871 the City erected its very first school built on the corner of 2nd and Emporia street. Wichita’s very First school, built only 6 years after slavery had ended, and when it opened its doors on it’s very first day, it was - integrated…

90 years before the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, - 90 years Prior – We passed the Kansas Civil Rights Act of 1874! The act prohibited discrimination throughout the State of Kansas on behalf of Race, Color, or Previous conditions of servitude.

In fact, when our Branch President Emeritus Chester Lewis filed the lawsuits that desegregated the swimming pools and desegregated the police department, going on to file some 63 lawsuits to open up facilities and institutions throughout the City of Wichita, he didn't do so on the basis of some piece of Federal legislation. While much of the country was still languishing under highly oppressive systems of institutional and interpersonal bigotry, Chester Lewis was able to fight and prevail in the Courts here in Kansas – perhaps ONLY here in Kansas – because the Kansas Civil Rights act of 1874 had already prohibited racial discrimination throughout the state nearly a century before…

But these accomplishments, these milestones, which were such anomalies for their time, beg a very serious question… If we had more than a hundred year head-start… ??

If we had activists who were progressive and fiercely committed to the idea that Kansas should be a FREE state, people who were willing to fight and shed blood to further the idea that equal rights should be extended to all who would reside here – people who were willing to fight even against our neighbors in bitter border-wars with the State of Missouri earning us the moniker of Bloody Kansas – People who willingly codified their commitment to equality and education in the Constitution of the State almost 150 years ago – People who had drafted a Statewide School code that prohibited separate and/or disparate facilities – HOW then, did we come to this place – 148 years later – in the 21st Century – with a Black Man in the White house – where we have to figure out HOW in the WORLD we’re going to get these children BACK together!?

How did we lose our way? And why do we seem unable to now conquer the forces that we had once so soundly defeated?

We have to ask ourselves these kinds of questions because ‘Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it…’

It’s easy for us to be lulled to sleep by the notion of how far we’ve come and societally we have much to celebrate; but we must be honest with ourselves in acknowledging that in the matter of Education here in the State of Kansas – We’ve gone backwards… Because you see, here in Kansas we NEVER grappled with the question of IF African American’s would be educated or HOW they would be educated – These questions were already settled and codified into law back in 1861. We have Always – and ONLY grappled with the questions of WHERE would African American children be educated - and by WHOM.

WHERE and by WHOM

So when we talk about issues like Busing – Boundary Lines – Experienced Teachers – Community folks in the schools and classrooms – it’s important that we place these conversations in their proper historical context. These are not new conversations. These are not new discussions. We are not being bold. We are not being visionary. We’ve been mired in this very conversation for 130 years – and somehow, we keep ending up back at the starting line…

I say 130 years because it was in 1879 that the Wichita Board of Education first proposed separating its Black and White students.

That year, the Board even passed a Bond Issue that raised money for the construction of 4 new schools – one of which was specifically intended to serve as a school for Black students. But an amendment to the Kansas School Code passed in that same year that Specifically forbade the segregation of students on the basis of race.

The Wichita School board filed suit – asking for the right to separate the black and white students different facilities. But all the way back in 1881 – 28 years before Thurgood Marshall was BORN, the Supreme Court of the State of Kansas upheld the Kansas School Code which expressly prohibited Wichita from maintaining segregated facilities or excluding Black children from predominantly White schools.

How then, did we get from there to here?

Now I know the simple answers – “Society changed and there was a lot of social pressure to segregate”. The only problem with that explanation is that we actually fought a war against the State of Missouri to defend our notions of equality. There was ALWAYS opposition to equality, there was ALWAYS pressure to separate and subjugate – But Kansans once refused – and defended their decision to do so with the lives….

Now others will say “well, the segregation is a function of residential housing patterns, our neighborhoods are segregated and our schools simply reflect that” But the problem with THAT argument is – it was not always so…

You see there once was a time in Wichita when we had a system made up entirely of neighborhood schools, and the Black population was pretty evenly spread between them.

In 1904 there were Black students in attendance in all of Wichita’s schools. 12 at Carleton, 56 at Emerson, 53 at Ingalls, 52 at Irving, 5 at Kellogg, 12 at Lincoln, 48 at Park, 9 at Washington, and 25 at Webster….

The truth is, we didn’t separate our children to allow them to attend schools in their neighborhoods… Our children were separated solely on the basis of their race REGARDLESS of their neighborhood.

The Board of Education here in Wichita fought against the laws of the State of Kansas for 27 consecutive years; passing ordinances, pushing for legislation in Topeka, and taking advantage of Supreme Court decisions such as Plessy Vs Fergussen, before they were able to successfully segregate the students at Park Elementary in 1906. They separated the children into different parts of the building with black students and black teachers on one side, and whites on the other. They even erected a wall to divide the playground like Berlin…

But the Black parents fought back; in 1906, Sallie Rowles filed a lawsuit demanding the right to send her children to her neighborhood school. While she initially lost that case, the community took up a collection which allowed her to appeal her case to the Kansas Supreme Court who ruled in her favor and UPHELD their earlier decisions that the City of Wichita could not legally segregate their students.

Undaunted, the Wichita Board of Education would not give up; they collected 5,000 signatures on a petition to the Legislature to allow segregation in the schools. And in 1909, the same year that the NAACP was founded – exactly 100 years ago – after 30 long years of fighting - the President of the Wichita School Board, Rudolph Hatfield, led a sucessful effort to pass Senate bill 250 which REPEALED the State laws which forbade segregation and a New educational era was born in Kansas…

In 1911 the Wichita School Board proposed a bond issue – They sold the measure by saying that this was an effort to address overcrowding – and when it passed, two new schools were built – but these schools were built specifically for the purpose of educating Black children. And in 1912, the first "Negro Schools" were officially designated.

Now they had nothing to do with where the Black community was actually located – at that time we were scattered throughout the city. Families with children looked for housing near their schools and their places of employment so while there were certainly concentrations, as I noted before our children had been represented in ALL of the schools in Wichita.

Between 1912 and 1952, the battle raged on – With Black Parents and the NAACP fighting to end legalized segregation and the school district fighting to maintain it. And as more and more people from the Black community moved away from the Downtown area and towards the Northeast, the School board responded by changing and re-designating schools to mirror the migrating population.

And in 1952, after 40 years of struggle – yet still 2 years before the Brown decision – The Wichita School Board passed a resolution to end Dejure segregation by allowing black parents to enroll their children in their neighborhood schools. But of course by that time - 73 years since the District began its efforts to segregate our children – 43 years after the laws forbidding segregation were repealed – and 40 years since the creation, designation, and manipulation of Black schools and black boundaries, Negro wards, and the like – The Black schools had BECOME the neighborhood schools…

In Just 2 years would come the Brown Decision and not long after that, the Wichita Branch filed suit against the district – recognizing that we’d been hoodwinked – bamboozled – led astray – run amuck etc…

But Ladies and Gentlemen, I told you all of that, to tell you this…

As we continue our talks about diversity in the schools, busing, and boundary lines, and neighborhoods, I want it to be said that We had it right to begin with - but at some point, we gave in.

We gave in to the forces of intolerance, we gave in to the forces of bigotry, we gave in to the evils of racism, and we IMPORTED the very system that we had so ardently defied.

We need to remember and to teach our youth that Here in Kansas, the issues of busing, and Integration, and Desegregation were not the products of a court decision in 1954, These were not simply the products of the Civil Rights movement, or some strategy born of the 1960’s – THESE questions are about the Fundamental character of WHO WE ARE – This is Kansas...


The Legacies of slavery, separation, segregation, and subjugation: those were not our legacies… We were born a FREE state – Not because the Union deemed it so, not because the laws demanded it, no – the People of this State demanded that it must be so. We once fought to defend that ideal; many bled and many died for it. And we wrote these guarantees into our laws and constitution.

The oldest Black township in America is STILL in existence, right here in Kansas – Nicodemus – where a group of escaped Kentucky slaves first settled, because here they could buy land, own property, start business, and attend schools – They founded the City of Nicodemus in the 1860’s and it remains populated to this very day.

But we gave in…

At our inception, we recognized that there is nothing moral, or just, or fair, or natural about separating children on the basis of their skin color. There is no scientific, or biological, or natural justification for doing so. It’s not based on the best interests of Children, its not based on necessity, and its not based on GOD!

This is Kansas – Ladies and Gentlemen… We didn’t wait on Brown Vs the Board of Education – We outlawed Segregation in our schools back in 1861!

But we gave in…


The tide turned with a petition to segregate signed by only 5,000 people – Ladies and Gentlemen – there are more than 5,000 people in Town East Mall RIGHT NOW! – but still we listened, and we became something else…

We imported the Hatred, the discrimination, the segregation, the intolerances, and the bigotries of the South. We caught the Separation Virus. All of us – Until eventually, you even had folks in the Black Community arguing that Separation and segregation was good for us..

But it was Frederick Nietzsche who said “Those of you who battle with Monsters should be careful that you don’t become one, for when you gaze long into the Abyss – The abyss gazes long into you…”

Mr. Superintendent, members of the Board, Brothers and Sisters... This is not who we are, This must not be our Legacy. We should not be having discussions about building more Black seats for Black kids in Black schools and telling ourselves that it’s ok - IT IS NOT

We are better than this – This is Kansas...

Now some will say, well the segregation in residential housing patterns makes it impossible for us to fix this – But of course we can fix this – we created this… But we must recognize and acknowledge that there is a Principle at stake. This is about who we are. We should be as bold in UNDOING this as the Board of 1879 was in creating it. And in doing so we honor our history.

Some will undoubtedly argue that all of this is irrelevant because we should instead be focusing on the Achievement Gap…

But that too is indicative of a misreading of history – The argument against segregation in Brown Vs the Board wasn't that separate schools couldn’t be made comparable or couldn’t reach some measure of Equity… They argued that there is a psychological and a spiritual consequence in telling Children that we would rather build separate facilities, even with all the Bells and Whistles, sparing no expense... We would rather duplicate the buildings we already have, then to be burdened by your Presence… There are real consequences for doing so that are borne only by the Child, and that is why Separate can NEVER be Equal.

“Well what about the Hispanic Children? They are segregated into certain schools aren’t they?” But when a people freely choose to cluster together to maintain a Culture or language that is one thing, but when a group of people are clustered together so that they may be avoided – that is another thing entirely…

Understand that Black families didn’t crowd themselves into the Triple A Area because we wanted our children to be educated in those few schools… - By the decree of a mere 5,000 people – we began a 43 year process of herding them there….

Ladies and Gentlemen – I am here today to tell you that a time has come when we should no longer mince words. We are faced with large and consequential decisions and it is time that we owned them. We must be clear and forthright knowing that our actions today will outlive us all; impacting the educational and life experiences of several generations to come – We have a choice to make….

We have two competing and contradictory Legacies before us and we MUST choose – One is a legacy of segregation and separation now disguised by quaint conversations about ‘Neighborhoods’ and ‘Equity’, and the other is a Defiant, unapologetic and even revolutionary Legacy of Equality – disguised by NOTHING. The former is the sweet and easy path of acquiesance that challenges nothing except our vocabularies and our ability to rationalize. And the later is the difficult and uncertain path of change; one that requires equal measures of vision and courage to shake off the excuses and to lead once more...

I know where I stand..

As the President of the Wichita Branch NAACP - I know where WE stand…

We stand with the JayHawks.

We Stand with the Kansas Supreme Court who struck DOWN segregation in 1881.

We stand with Jacob McAfee – Grand Father of Mr. Charles McAfee who went to the Legislature to fight for Equality.

We stand with Sallie Rowles who filed suit in 1906 rather consent to sending her child to a segregated school.

We stand with Branch President James Douglass and School Board member Hugh Simms who led the push which finally ended legalized segregation Wichita back in 1949.

We stand with Branch President Chester Lewis who filed 63 lawsuits to desegregate institutions throughout the City.

We stand with Ron Walters, Galyn Vessey, Prentice Lewis, Joyce Glass, Lequita Glass, Daisy Blue, Arnelle Ruffin, Ron Newby, and all of the other members of the NAACP Youth group of 1958 who conducted the Dockum Sit-In.

We stand with Mayor Bob Knight who led the National League of Cities to deal with the issue of Racism head-on.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This is where we stand. And all I ask of you tonight… - is that you come on back – come back home with us – to Kansas…

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your continued support in these difficult economic times...

Thank you for your courtesy and attention…

And thank you for listening…

NAACP President and CEO throws Yellow Flag on Rush Limbaugh



NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous today, had a conversation with NFL Commissioner Goodell to discuss Rush Limbaugh’s intentions to buy the St. Louis Rams.

“The NAACP was very clear in our conversation with the NFL Commissioner—we will not stand for a potential owner, of any race expressing the kind of hatred that Rush Limbaugh continues to spread,” stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP President and CEO. “Commissioner Goodell was very supportive of the NAACP’s concerns and we both pledged to work together to expand opportunities throughout the NFL. The NAACP fully supports the NFL and the NFLPA and we were pleased to see the Commissioner standing up for the players and condemning the remarks made by Limbaugh,” added Jealous.

A source has since told ESPN that Rush Limbaugh will in fact be dropped from the bid.

Booker Rising.net

11/9 Quote Of The Day

"As I began to subject the apartheid system to more careful scrutiny [during the 1960s, as an anti-apartheid activist], it seemed to me that it was a system that had more in common with a communist state than with a free capitalist society. Apartheid controlled every facet of black people’s lives from the cradle to the grave. Among other things, consistent with the policy of racial segregation, it decreed where black people could be born, where they could live, where they could carry out limited subsistence trade with all sorts of restrictive conditions, it denied them property rights, mandated where they could get the legislatively prescribed form of education, where they could work and what form of work they could do, which hospitals and amenities they could use, how and when they could move from place to place and even where they could be buried. In fact, blacks were effectively nationalised by the apartheid government. Apartheid, a ubiquitous and omnipotent system, was, like its communist cousins, economically unsustainable, politically tyrannical and morally reprehensible; but, as with communism, the few who benefited vehemently rejected this characterisation of the system. For me, then, the fall of the Berlin Wall brought home some very important truths: that people value freedom above all other ideologies; that the system that fails to acknowledge this definitive attribute of human nature will eventually succumb to pressure, however long that might take; that the system that operates on the basis of what human nature is and not what it ought to be will unleash the spirit of enterprise that runs across all cultures and all nations....My understanding of the history of the Berlin Wall, the circumstances surrounding its historic breach on 9 November 1989 and its subsequent destruction by popular demand has fundamentally contributed to my own ideological metamorphosis. For me, the history of the Wall symbolises the truth that a free society, based on private ownership of the means of production, best delivers what people want. May I add that, for Africans, faced with a plethora of trade barriers and protectionist measures which impede the free flow of their products to Europe, it may seem that, while the Wall has gone, the fortress mentality still lives on in Europe in another guise. The Berlin Wall of tariff protection impedes the free flow of mainly agricultural, but also other African products, from reaching the European markets. That wall should also be broken down." — Temba Nolutshungu, libertarian director of the Free Market Foundation of Southern Africa (South Africa), on the fall of the Berlin Wall's significance for Africans

News: Centrists In The Congressional Black Caucus

Rep. Artur Davis Votes Against Health Care Bill

On Saturday night, and the moderate Democrat was the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus to do so
. He was one of 39 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who voted "no" in the 220-215 vote to pass government-run health care reform.

As Booker Rising readers probably know, Rep. Davis (D-Ala.) is looking ahead to his statewide race for governor next year. He seeks to become Alabama's first black governor in the heavily Republican state.

Sanford Bishop Casts Vote For Health Care Reform

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), a moderate-liberal Democrat and member of the Blue Dog Coalition, had expressed concerns about whether the Obama administration-backed plan provided enough protection for rural hospitals and health care providers. But by the weekend vote, he was satisfied and voted to support the measure
. “During my town hall meetings on health insurance reform last August, I said that we have a moral obligation to ensure that all Americans receive the health care they need to live healthy and productive lives,” Rep. Bishop said. “I have long been concerned about the poor health indicators among my constituents, and this evening I cast a vote that I believe will have a significant impact on improving the lives of Southwest Georgians now and into the future.”

Rep. Scott Votes To Extend Unemployment Benefits, Homebuyers' Tax Credit

Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) voted to stimulate the local economy and provide stability to families hit hardest by the recession by extending unemployment benefits, the homebuyers’ tax credit, and tax relief for military families. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act will provide immediate assistance to millions of families. “This is another crucial step to provide immediate relief to struggling Georgians who have lost, or are on the verge of losing, their unemployment benefits and get our economy moving in the right direction,” the moderate-liberal Democrat said. “The families who receive these benefits will be putting money right back into our local economy - buying groceries, filling their cars with gas, and making their mortgage payments on time.”

The legislation will provide families with 14 weeks of additional benefits, and six more weeks to the 27 states with the highest unemployment rates. The bill includes an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010 and provides a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current residence for five years or more.

News: European Bookeristas

France: UMP Party: "Rama Yade Is An Asset For Our Party"

The center-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) party is backtracking after almost two weeks of attacks against their party's best-liked politico and France’s most popular politico, with even Prime Minister Francois Fillon stating that the former human rights minister's days were numbered in the administration (article in French). Yeah, a national poll - released yesterday, which Booker Rising highlighted - will do that. The poll found that more than 2/3 of the French public doesn't want Rama Yade, the outspoken Secretary of State for Sport and moderate-conservative, to be forced to resign even though some of her positions are at odds with the ruling center-right government.

Frederic Lefebvre, the UMP's spokesman, said "the question of Rama Yade's departure is non-existent", adding that the UMP would like to "bet" on her. "Rama Yade is an asset to our political family, she shows it every day, and as a treasure, I hope and wish that the UMP goes all out in the regional election battle as a collective. That's what she intends to do and we're all very happy, "he said. "The French love acting ministers, ministers speaking, ministers giving their opinions and therefore Rama Yade, like many others, embodies this desire", he added.

Dominique Paillé, a deputy spokesman for the UMP, stated: "Why would she quit the government? We called Rama Yade a few days ago, a few weeks to be more of a team player. She responded immediately. She is now a team player. This is no subject".

Britain: Helen Grant: Insufficiently Conservative?

Helen Grant, 48, attorney and the Conservative Party's parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and the Weald, still faces hostility after surviving controversy last year when it emerged she was once a member of the Labour Party. Conservative Party activists who complain that the A-lister was "foisted" on them by the party's leadership predicted that some local Tories will not campaign for her but will instead help Tory candidates in neighboring seats. Donal Blaney, a Tory activist and blogger, said: "There are a number of people in the association, activists who go out in the pouring rain, that are upset and a lot of them have said they will not campaign to help Helen. They will help Greg Clark or Damian Green, people who have a track record as Conservatives. "Parachuting people into safe seats and imposing them is a disservice to activists. Part of the bitterness that has arisen over Liz Truss [a candidate whom many Tory activists oppose on their A-list, because she had an affair with a married Tory MP while she was married] and Helen Grant is that activists have been labelled the 'Turnip Taliban' when they are the people who have kept the Tory party afloat and are now being denigrated."Continue

Just Damn....

When I first saw the ghoulish far right photo of former baseball star Sammy Sosa at the Latin Grammys a day or two ago, I assumed that it was a Photoshop job. This is real?! According to one of Mr. Sosa's friends, Mr. Sosa's appearance is a result of an elective "rejuvenation process" to cleanse his skin and the Dominican-born athlete was "surprised" at his much lighter skin under the bright lights of cameras.

Yeah, right, Sammy. We know that you're lightening your skin a la Michael Jackson, to go with those green contacts. Don't try to front. I agree with liberal writer David Love's assessment of Mr. Sosa's self-hatred and the role that rampant colorism in Dominican culture plays in it.

Stanley Crouch: "'Precious' Humanity Avoids Minstrelsy And Heals Us All"

The moderate columnist gives a thumbs up to the new movie: "There is a radical humanity to the new film 'Precious' that is equaled by the radical humanity of Tyler Perry. As you should know by now, 'Precious,' directed by Lee Daniels, is a film about an eggplant-dark literal whale of a teenager who we discover is more than just a 300-pound barrel of blubber impregnated twice by her own father. Like so many of the vulgar, obnoxious and hostile young inner-city kids, she is actually no more than a blowfish. The name comes from the marine creature that blows itself up into a terrible, distorted sight, hoping to frighten things that terrify it. Precious blows herself up into an apparently dangerous force in order to spook those who have successfully frightened her."

Mr. Crouch continues his commentary about the movie: "That she learns how to deal with the things that have traumatized her into self-pity and insipid fantasies, and being hypnotized into emotional paralysis, is what the film is about. It is successful because, for all its rawness, it does not exploit all of the terrible things in the movie for nothing other than profit. In short, it is not a hip-hop movie of brittle minstrelsy. It does not dehumanize by exploiting vice and violence for cartoon displays intended to open the way to the bank. 'Precious' avoids all of that because everything is human, be it good or bad. It is a criticism told in terms so infused with humanity that its deeply Negroid style becomes universal. Universality is achieved only by communicating things we know so well or believe so deeply because they are so human in their portrayal. 'Precious' could only happen in our time, but it is an old fairy tale of a girl prevailing through the cruelties of a mother close to being a witch and a world close to being hell. What makes it so important is that it underlines the importance of literacy."

More: "Precious gets through because those who actually want to help her have the will necessary to change the way she thinks and the way she lives. They do this by showing her the only thing we can ever show children trapped in the barrel: actual feeling and actual concern for them. That is why [Tyler] Perry went to [Oprah] Winfrey about the film. It is actually about one of the few things both of them know works: love so tough it reminds one of how anybody, family or not, stands up for a child in danger."
 
 

About

AAPP AAPP created this social network on Ning.

Create your own social network!

Badge

Loading…

Links To AfroSpear Nation Bloggers


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Welcome to the AfroSpear!

The Cost of War

Cost of the War in Iraq
(JavaScript Error)

Photos

Loading…


Stat Counter



Technorati

Fav this blog and we will fav you back. Just send us and email message after you fav our blog.

Add to Technorati Favorites

State Counter



The N Word Documentary - Part 2 of 2

Marvin Gaye

Video of the Day: "Market for Ni$$as"



 

© 2009   Created by AAPP on Ning.   Create Your Own Social Network

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service