Racism

The Permanence of Racism

In 1992 Derrick Bell he wrote these powerful words in the introduction of "Faces At The Bottom Of The Well" he set forth a proposition, which he believed "would be easier to reject than refute."

"Black people will never gain full equality in this country. Even those herculean efforts we hail as successful will produce no more than temporary "peaks of progress," short-lived victories that slide into irrelevance as racial patterns adapt in ways that maintain white dominance. This is hard-to-accept fact that all history verifies. We must acknowledge it, not a sign of submission, but as an act of ultimate defiance".

The Jena 6 posting illustrates Mr. Bells point. When young black students deify the standing rule and sat under the "Knowledge Tree" on the public school's campus knowing it was reserve for white students only, they met face to face with a ugly history lesson hanging nooses. So there were marches, congressional hearing, and what changed, more hanging nooses at Columbia University.

Mr. Bell challenge our sensibilities in chapter 3 with a hypothetical statue that would advance our nations racial relations and justice promises in the form of a "Racial Preference Licensing Act".

"The act would certainly not a return to the segregation policies granted constitutional protections under the stigma-inflicting "separate but equal: standard of Plessy v.Ferguson established roughly a century ago," President insisted and the televised signing ceremony. "Far from being retreat into our unhappy racial past, he explained,:the new law embodies a daring attempt to create a brighter racial future for all our citizens.........Under the new act, all employers, proprietors of public facilities, and owners and mangers of dwelling places, homes, and apartments could, on application to federal government, obtain a license authorizing the holders, their managers, agents, and employees to exclude or separate persons on the basis of race or color. Once obtained, it required payment to the government a commission of tax of 3Percent of the income derived from white employees, white serves, or products sold to white only during each quarter in which a policy of "racial preference" was in effect....... License holders were required both to display their licenses prominently in public place and to operate their businesses in accordance with racially selective policies set out on their license........License fees and commissions paid by license holders would be placed in a "equality fund" used to underwrite black businesses, to offer no-interest mortgage loans for black home buyers, and provide scholarships for black students seeking college and vocational education."


Before you scream.....what the ....... or O.M.G. lets entertain the idea of a "Racial Preference Licensing Act" for a moment. Would the Jana Six be put in jail for attempted murder stemming from the racial tensions of three young black men defiant act of sitting under a white only tree. Would the white students feel the need to assert superiority by hang nooses on the "Knowledge Tree". One just has to look at the exchange of Rep. Steve King of Iowa to see that underpinning of white supremacy and the rage that is felt in the back community. Or we can look at the GOP refusing to attend a debate an historic event at Morgan State University and broadcast live on PBS. We could examine Bill O'Reilly's seeming lighter expression of bigotry. This a complicated issues and does not dissipate, race matters even when you are Justice Thomas. When you review the posting of Justice Thomas 60 minutes interview his anger is quite visible over his perception that he was racially political profiled. Would Black Americans status change if we accepted the reality that racism is permanent? How would a corporations respond? Over the next week take a look at the four postings the "Strange Fruit", "Dear Justice Clarence Thomas" Ingnoring The Black Vote" and "In the Eye of the Beholder" and drop me a line or leave a comment and let me know what your thinking.

Strange Fruit

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit








Nooses Are More than Just Pranks

Posted by: Brotherpeacemaker

What could arguably be the single most evil symbol of African subjugation, a noose hanging from a tree, is dismissed as nothing more than a prank and nothing that warrants any serious attention. Why? White men with nooses have a history of using such weapons of murder on the black community. Such a history is a symbol of white American terror against the black community. Anybody who thinks such terror is funny or innocent needs the same severe response and level of education a person walking into a bank with a toy gun would receive.

Some people look at a noose and dismiss it as little more than a piece of rope. If that’s the case, a gun or a knife is little more than a lump of metal. A bat is nothing more than a piece of wood. But in the wrong person’s hand it can do a lot of damage. In the wrong hands it can kill.

But because the white dominating culture sets the standards for what is and for what is not acceptable behavior in America and because the white community has never been terrorized as a collective with the end of a noose, white people are quick to sympathize with the noose hanger and dismiss the entire affair as little more than a prank. In fact, the white community has always been the one hanging the noose. White people have always been the one standing around a tree, smiling, laughing, and patting each other on the back as a limp African American body hanged from one of the branches. Of course they would prefer not to understand why the black community would react with anger at such blatant racial disdain. To acknowledge the hanging noose as the icon of racial hate is one of the first steps to acknowledging one of the biggest skeletons that continues to hang in white America’s closet.
Continue reading

What Do I tell my Son?

HBO:Bill Maher's RealTime w/Mos Def and Cornel West





I decided to highlight this interchange from the House Judiciary Committee, it was not the most heated but it demonstrates that even congress and this current administration is divided when it come to race.

"Can We Look At This Without Regard To Race"



Rep. Steve King, Iowa: I often spoke of and prayed for the time when we can put this racial division behind us......I actually believe that we will know when we arrive when ca n get to the point and make light of this...then make serious of this.. of course this no time for this in this meeting room today........

Rep. Maxine Waters, California: Its the kind of thinking that goes on in the country by policymake we see things differently...

Some of the questions that were asked:
Were is the federal intervention in the case? Why was no one charged with a heat crime?
If we can appeal to the Federal Government who can we appeal to? Did the hanging of the nooses raise to the level of a hate crime? Is the current hate bill strong enough ? Is not the beating of the student a worse hate crime then the hanging of a noose? Are single parent households the problem because of drugs and no fathers? Could charges been brought. Were are the checks and balances in this prosecution?

The pannel consist of :
Al Sharpton, Brian Moran NAACP Jena, La Chapter President, Charles Ogletree
Harvard Law School, Lisa Krigsten Justice Department Civil rights Division Counsel Donald Washington
US Attorney Louisiana

Hate crimes legislation is really "thought crime" legislation because it penalizes politically-incorrect beliefs, attitudes, and thoughts, rather than actual crimes. FRC abhors violence against anyone, but opposes "thought crime" legislation because it undermines the freedom of speech and religious belief that is at the heart of our democracy. Listed below are several resources produced by FRC that will help you gain a better understanding of this issue:
Continue reading



For those who need more background information:
ESPN:'Jena Six' controversy swirls around football star
Jena 6 defendant released on bail
'Jena Six' teen back in jail after probation revoked
Mellencamp song about 'Jena Six' upsets mayor - CNN.co

Blogs
African American Political Pundit
Acting White: Jena in Review
CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Dear Justice Clarence Thomas

Dear Justice Thomas,

After watching your interview on 60 Minutes I decided to write this open letter. We are all on a journey to seek out who we are. We have all experienced life lessons that sometime scares but if we work very very hard we can transcend the hurt and grow. One lessons I learned from my personal journey to free myself from psychological grips of racism is to acknowledge that I need to love all who are in my tribe. Some may find this hard to do. When a event happens in the black community that I find myself shaking my head I stop and remind myself and say, "I love all my tribe...even Clarence Thomas". Its my touch stone, a reminder, my race-conscious framework, acknowledging that racism is permanent and ones reaction to its insidious claws takes all forms. As I watched your interview I was left feeling great sadness. I know racism is a hard reality to face for all Americans yet alone one who is targeted. I did not experience racism and Jim Crow in same way that you described I grow up in the north. I am acutely aware of how racism can play a toll on ones psychological development, which may cause a skewed view of ones self worth.

Michael Knox Beran, Contributing editor at City Journal writes:

Mary Chesnut, the brilliant diarist of the Civil War, pointed to one of paternalism’s perverse effects when she said of her slaves: “They go about in their black masks, not a ripple or an emotion showing.” The slaves fashioned those masks as a form of self-defense: if they let their true feelings show—their frustration, their indignation, their rage—they would be humiliated, whipped, mutilated, perhaps lynched. The modern paternalism of affirmative action, though its degradations are of course far less severe than those of the plantation, obliges its supposed beneficiaries to present the same sphinx-like facade to the world. They know that every word they utter will be scrutinized for evidence that the quota system has raised them above the level of their real abilities.

Thomas’s detractors have accused him of wearing just such a mask, and of cultivating a sullen, impenetrable reserve. At last, however, he has, in his compelling memoir, spoken out and revealed the brilliance and force of his personality. Though his rebellion against liberal paternalism was punished with what he aptly called a “high-tech lynching,” Thomas is in spirit unbowed. Yet his career remains a poignant reminder of the tragedy that results whenever the country strays from its faith that all men are created equal.
Continue read here.

Mr Beran would have me believe that I should excuse your actions because you wear a mask not to show your emotions as self-defense mechanism . I don't have to tell you that black folk experience disproportionate poverty and systemic neglect, your story illustrates these facts. You know that:

1. Residential Segregation: dysfunctional public school, poor heath care services, unsafe and unhealthier neighborhoods
2. Hostile Law Enforcement: jail, prisons, probation and parole systems
3. Disproportionate Unemployment
4. Lower Mortality Rates: black infants, black men and women are all daily assault on the well-being of the black community.

You know all to well the racial realities and construct of generational social, cultural, political and economical systems that support a separate and unequal framework. Accountability to self and self reliance are the cornerstone of any and all successful persons profile. I would venture to say that your boot straps are probably quite worn. I have no quarrel with your manner its your stance towards affirmative action. Every black person in America knows affirmative action policies are part of the white construct to ease the consciences of good liberal and gives culturally conservative bigots an opportunely to rage against perceived unfairness. Without such remedies are black folks to rely on the kindest of white folks. So all things being unequal I put to you one question, how are poor black folk to succeed without the affirmative action opportunities that were afforded you?

Take Care,
Priscillamusings@gmail.com

60 Minutes - The Justice Nobody Knows Part 1

A Seven day interview with Justice Thomas, he answers questions
about being black, being a trader to his own race and his childhood.




60 Minutes - The Justice Nobody Knows Part 2



Justice Thomas talks about the nomination process to the supreme court
at the age of 43 with a year experience on the bench.

The Monster on the Supreme Court
Posted by Brotherpeacemaker

Mr. Thomas appears to suffer from a form of narcissism that allows him to internalize his own injuries as a black man suffering in a white man’s world but then turns around and helps white men continue their injurious behavior on other black men. Mr. Thomas complains significantly that he is misunderstood but then does nothing to clear up the misunderstandings.

The primary reason Clarence Thomas got his Supreme Court nomination was because he was black and the only black justice on the Supreme Court, the late great Thuroughgood Marshall, was retiring. If then President George H. W. Bush had replaced Mr. Marshall with a white justice it would have negatively impacted the racial diversity of the high court. Mr. Thomas may believe that he got where he is by his own merits. But it should be obvious to anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear or a brain to think that again he benefited from the fact that he was black.

As a black man Mr. Thomas has done well. He is the very personification of what racial assimilation should mean for the black community. His wife is white. His colleagues are white. His circle of friends includes such white political conservatives as Rush Limbaugh. If his decisions and judgments are any indication then Mr. Thomas has truly managed to immerse himself in the illusion that he is a colorless component in a white dominated world. Mr. Thomas probably thinks that being told that he isn’t recognized or viewed as a black man is a compliment. And Mr. Thomas could not appear happier.

Continue reading here

Nobody Knows the Lynchings He’s Seen
By Frank Rich

WHAT'S the difference between a low-tech lynching and a high-tech lynching? A high-tech lynching brings a tenured job on the Supreme Court and a $1.5 million book deal. A low-tech lynching, not so much.

Pity Clarence Thomas. Done in by what he calls "left-wing zealots draped in flowing sanctimony" — as he describes anyone who challenged his elevation to the court — he still claims to have suffered as much as African-Americans once victimized by "bigots in white robes." Since kicking off his book tour on "60 Minutes" last Sunday, he has been whining all the way to the bank, often abetted by a press claque as fawning as his No. 1 fan, Rush Limbaugh.

We are always at a crossroads with race in America, and so here we are again. The rollout of Justice Thomas's memoir, "My Grandfather's Son," is not happening in a vacuum. It follows a Supreme Court decision (which he abetted) outlawing voluntary school desegregation plans in two American cities. It follows yet another vote by the Senate to deny true Congressional representation to the majority black District of Columbia. It follows the decision by the leading Republican presidential candidates to snub a debate at a historically black college as well as the re-emergence of a low-tech lynching noose in Jena, La.

Perhaps most significant of all, Mr. Thomas's woe-is-me tour unfolds against the backdrop of the presidential campaign of an African-American whose political lexicon does not include martyrdom or rage. "My Grandfather's Son" may consciously or not echo the title of Barack Obama's memoir of genealogy and race, "Dreams From My Father," but it might as well be written in another tongue.

Continue reading

Update: Justice Says Law Degree 'Worth 15 Cents'

Ignoring The Black Voter

I do not image that the white and black races will ever live in any country upon an equal footing. But I believe the difficulty to be still greater in the United States than elsewhere. An isolated individual may surmount the prejudices of religion, of his country, or of his race, and if this individual is a king he may effect surprising changes in society; but a whole people cannot rise, as it were, above itself. A despot who should subject the Americans and their former slaves to the same yoke, might perhaps succeed in commingling their races; but as long as the American democracy remains at head of affairs, no one will undertake so difficult a task; and it may be foreseen that the freer the white population of the United States becomes, the more isolated will it remain....

Alexis de Tocqueville,

Democracy in America (1835,1840) Vol-1

-Race and Politics-

BOB HERBERT
New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist

September 25, 2007
The Ugly Side of the G.O.P.
By BOB HERBERT

The Republican debate is scheduled for Thursday. But Rudy Giuliani, John
McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have all told Mr. Smiley: "No way,
baby."

They won't be there. They can't be bothered debating issues that might be
of interest to black Americans. After all, they're Republicans.

This is the party of the Southern strategy ?the party that ran, like
panting dogs, after the votes of segregationist whites who were repelled by
the very idea of giving equal treatment to blacks. Ronald Reagan, George
H.W. (Willie Horton) Bush, George W. (Compassionate Conservative) Bush ?
they all ran with that lousy pack.

In one of the vilest moves in modern presidential politics, Ronald Reagan,
the ultimate hero of this latter-day Republican Party, went out of his way
to kick off his general election campaign in 1980 in that very same
Philadelphia, Miss. He was not there to send the message that he stood
solidly for the values of Andrew Goodman. He was there to assure the bigots
that he was with them.

"I believe in states' rights," said Mr. Reagan. The crowd roared.

In 1981, during the first year of Mr. Reagan's presidency, the late Lee
Atwater gave an interview to a political science professor at Case Western
Reserve University, explaining the evolution of the Southern strategy:

"You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Nigger, nigger, nigger,' " said Atwater.
"By 1968, you can't say 'nigger' ?that hurts you. Backfires. So you say
stuff like forced busing, states' rights, and all that stuff. You're
getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all
these things you're talking about are totally economic things, and a
byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites."

In 1991, the first President Bush poked a finger in the eye of black
America by selecting the egregious Clarence Thomas for the seat on the
Supreme Court that had been held by the revered Thurgood Marshall. The fact
that there is a rigid quota on the court, permitting one black and one
black only to serve at a time, is itself racist.

Mr. Bush seemed to be saying, "All right, you want your black on the court?
Boy, have I got one for you."......
Continue reading here

PBS: GOP Debate at Morgan State University

PBS: GOP Debate at Morgan State University
September 27,2007

Meet the Press w/Tavis Smiley, Pat Buchanan,
David Greorgy and Dan Balz

Chris Mathews Show w/ Katty Kay, David Brooks,
Cynthia Tucker and David Ignatius

Ignoring the Black Vote
The Daily Show Comedy Central

In The Eye Of the Beholder

Are we all the same?
If we are all the same, why would we Bill O'Reilly make such statements in the first place? Why would NBC devote air time to the topic if white folks believed we are all indeed the same?





Tip of the Hat to Crooks and liars for the video



Daily Show's Jon Steward decided to answer the question for himself, so he sent a reporter to Harlem USA






John Ridley
Countdown w/Keith Olberman