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Vol. 11 Issue 52…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…December 28, 2008
Intuit's Vibe
Hooverville
By The Christians
The doubt of work sends the out of work man,
To city a hope and a home.
One door shuts here another two slam,
Yes he's homeless he's hopeless alone
Row upon row of a
castle in
make up a fool's paradise.
The still born brainchild of a main with no brain,
The ballot box baby
that died.
Oh Hooverville, and they promised us the world,
In Hooverville, said the streets that were paved with silver and gold,
Oh Hooverville, yes they promised us the world,
Crying for the moon.
Dirty faced children sit in the road, in the shanty town shacks they call home
The comfort of knowing they won't be there long,
Is the only comfort they know.
A young scream a young dream is lost in the night,
Along with the young will to live,
Along with the masses, that gave up the fight,
A fight for a reason
to live,
Oh Hooverville, and they promised us the world,
In Hooverville, said the streets that were paved with silver and gold,
Oh Hooverville, yes they promised us the world,in Hooverville,
And as fools we believed every last word they said,
I believed every last
word you said.
Oh Hooverville, and they promised us the world,
In Hooverville, said the streets that were paved with silver and gold,
Oh Hooverville, and they promised
us a roof above our heads,
And as fools we
believed every last word they said,
Their hope is so high, when they arrive,
Their hope is their only possession in life,
Another man dies, another man cries,
Mr Politician open up your eyes,
Open up your eyes,
Crying for the moon.
Hooverville: Great
Depression Homes
Following
the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression, many people were
homeless. Even during the boom of the 1920s, which was characterized by Wall
Street exuberance and a real estate bubble, there were homeless individuals;
hobos and tramps were common sights. However, the ranks of the unemployed and
homeless dramatically increased during the Great Depression. Evictions and foreclosures
escalated as the economic downturn deepened. At its height, an estimated 13
million men were idle or roughly 25 percent of the workforce.
Forced to use whatever means at
their disposal for survival, the unemployed and dispossessed crafted makeshift
homes usually in vacant lots close to urban settlements. People wheeled and
dragged bits of lumber, tin, cardboard, tar paper, composition roofing, canvas,
and other materials to the sites of the nation's new real estate boom. Men
skilled in carpentry constructed fairly solid structures; those less skilled
scraped together packing boxes and other discarded items to provide shelter.
Others were reduced to sheltering themselves inside empty water mains.
Frequently, people grouped their
makeshift shacks to form campsites close to soup kitchens run by charities.
Charles Michelson, publicity chief of the Democratic National Committee, coined
the term Hooverville for these shantytowns in honor of President Herbert
Hoover, who was credited with the economic crisis which began on his watch.
Democrats coined other terms, such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper
used as blanketing) and "Hoover flag" (an empty pocket turned inside
out). "
Throughout the 1930s, Hoovervilles formed on the outskirts of US cities from
coast to coast. In 1930,
In 1932, the Bonus Army, a group of World War I veterans seeking expedited
benefits, established a Hooverville in Anacostia in the
While these desperate folks blamed
Finally, in 1941, a shack elimination program was put into effect, and
Hoovervilles were torn down. Employment levels had begun to rise, which
gradually provided some shelter and security for formerly homeless Americans.
(Sources: www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1642.html,
http://en.wikipedia.org and www.historylink.org/)
By John Burl Smith
Following success with such
productions as I Know I've Been Changed,
I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Woman Thou Art
Loosed and Madea's Family Reunion, Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman shot past the
romantic comedy Hitch in
mid-March of 2005 to become the top-grossing film in the United States.
Catching those in
Having looked down their
collective noses at any project produced by blacks, industry gurus were
speechless, regarding Perry as an overnight success. However, like a dandelion
pushing its way up through concrete, Perry found success by plugging into a
huge untapped audience that movie moguls had ignored for years. Going back as
far as Oscar Micheaux - a trail blazing film maker in the 1920s and 30s - movie
executives told the world that audiences would not pay to see a story told from
a black perspective. Completely debunking this myth, blacks of all philosophies
and psychologies identified with Perry's characters that came directly out of
his "hard knock" life, as they filled theater seats across
Born in
School allowed Perry to create a
make-believe world in which he was the tragic comedic figure. He engaged in
endless antics in class to escape the crushing weight of abuse. Perry found
relief through drawing which brought his fantasies to life, releasing his pent
up frustrations.
Emmitt, Jr. erected a mental barrier between his make-believe world and real
life in a way Marvin Gaye never achieved, by legally changing his first name to
Unsure of how to approach the
craft of writing, Perry converted people in his make-believe world into
characters with pseudonyms. The character transformations of Perry's cathartic
musings were adapted to the stage as I Know
I've Been Changed. As fate would have it, Perry began to learn the
price of "manifesting one's dreams cost more than just money."
Living the "starving
artist" scenario, working every piece-of-scrap gig from repo man to sleazy
used car salesman, Perry scraped together $12,000 and produced I Know I've Been Changed. Director,
producer, promoter, star and parking valet for his first weekend run in 1992 at
Bent, but not broken, Perry tried to keep his disappointment from turning into
discouragement. Fortunately, among the 30 attendees at the opening, an investor
emerged that allowed Perry to take I Know
I've Been Changed on the road. Playing the chitlin' circuit, small
venues in the southeastern
Homeless and living on the street
for the most part provided many of the characters that now populate Perry's
cinematic world. Yet, it was a harsh reality filled with users, abusers,
hangers on, predators, doubters, survivors and saviors. "Everyone, even my
mother said I should give up," Perry confessed. "The problem was I
didn't know how to do that. Something inside me just wouldn't let go. Somewhere
in the back of my mine, I kept seeing that little light and hearing Oprah's
words. "
Perry decided on one last roll of the dice, and on a wing and a prayer, he
rented the House of Blues in Atlanta for one final shot at theatrical success
in early 1998. "This was the darkest day of my life. Things could not have
been worse. The heat in the theater went out, and in my freezing dressing room
I was overcome with despair as I put on my costume. I thought this is it. I'm
not doing this anymore. But then, it was like I saw that light coming though
the window into my dressing room and looked out to see where it was coming
from. I saw a block-long line of people waiting to see the show." And the
rest is history!
Most people gloss over what it
meant for Perry to be homeless with nowhere to turn. At those times, one cannot
hide from one's self. One does not need a mirror to see who they are and know
the reality of their life. Having tried suicide once and failed, it was as
though God had left Perry no choice. Dreams have real power. Their ideas can
generate a spirit that takes on a life all their own. When that happens, it is
as though one is directed by the Holy Spirit.
Rising from homeless to become a motion picture icon is truly an inspiring
story. However, most people tend to overlook that period in Tyler Perry's life
because they do not want to be reminded that millions still endure that fate.
Those with dreams that possess the miraculous power that elevates them to
believe in their ability to change their world are special. However, most people
living on that level need a helping hand; they are not all Tyler Perrys.
Homelessness: An American Dilemma
By John Burl Smith
According to estimates of the
These numbers have become all too
familiar to homeless shelters and service organizations across the country.
Shelters have been saying for months that the foreclosure crisis and economic
downturn have increased homelessness significantly, an estimated 12% across the
country in the past year. With unemployment growing, homeless advocates do not
see any improvements in the near future.
Yet, despite this bona fide homelessness crisis, people sleeping in shelters
and on sidewalks have been left out of bailouts being handed out in
The federal government has committed nearly $1 trillion over the past four
months to bail out Wall Street, banks and the auto industry. A coalition of
non-profits, churches, and synagogues held an evening candlelight procession in
Mayors estimate that the number
of homeless people greatly exceeded the number of emergency shelter and
transitional housing spaces. Moreover, there are few or no shelters in rural
areas of the
The nations Mayors also looked at access to housing assistance for the homeless
in the surveyed cities and found long waits. Applicants must wait an average of
20 months for public housing (down from 24 months in the 2003 survey) and 35
months for Section 8 Vouchers (up from 27 months in the 2003 survey). Over half
of surveyed cities had stopped accepting applications for at least one assisted
housing program due to the length of their waiting lists.
There are other disturbing statistics associated with homelessness including
58% reported at least one problem with getting enough food to eat during a 30
day period. Moreover, 44% of homeless have jobs that do not pay enough to keep
a roof over their heads, 25% of the homeless nationwide are employed,13% of
singles and unaccompanied homeless youth are employed, and 17.4% of members of
homeless households with children are employed. Mental health problems were
reported by 39% of homeless people interviewed, whereas 1 in every 5 homeless
person has a severe or persistent mental illness.
Even more troubling are statistics on homeless veterans. Consider, 67% served
three or more years, 33% were stationed in a war zone and 89% received an
honorable discharge. Nearly 200,000 veterans may be homeless on any given night
and twice that many veterans experience homelessness during a year. Also,
veterans constitute 40% of the homeless population, while 45% suffer from
mental illness, 50% have substance abuse problems and 25% have used VA Homeless
Services.
Cities that have been hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis, which
has clogged the shelter system and forced vulnerable individuals, some with
long-term illnesses, to sleep outdoors, see a deluge of problems associated
with homelessness. The Bush administration has taken a "head-in-the-sand
approach to the homeless, viewing them as "too lazy to work" or
people who lived beyond their means. Now that Alan Greenspan's housing bubble
has exploded all over the American landscape and "Mad Dog" Madoff's
scheme is revealing the buried bones, some "Fortune 500" residents
may join the ranks of the homeless. With that being the case, homelessness may
now be looked upon as a serious problem in
Katrina's White Vigilantes
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that devastated
More than three years after that
natural disaster, we learn the real criminals have escaped scrutiny and gone
unpunished. According to "Katrina's Hidden Race War" by A.C.
Thompson, an 18-month investigation published in The Nation and can be accessed online at www.thenation.com, "at
least 11 black people were shot by white gunmen in the days following Hurricane
Katrina...and in the three years since those crimes, little has been done by
law enforcement."
As recounted in Spike Lee's
documentary, When the Levees Broke,
The Nation's article includes
the saga of Donnell Herrington, Marcel Alexander and Chris Collins, blacks
attacked by whites as they entered Algiers Point on September 1, 2005. As
Herrington tried to escape, the gun-wielding white men shouted "Get him!
Get that nigger!"
Herrington managed to get away.
Alexander and Collins were told that they would be allowed to live on the
condition that they tell other blacks not to come to
Apparently, the local police is
implicated in Glover's death and the beating of his brother and the stranger
his brother flagged down after Glover was shot. Taken to the police station,
they received a beating rather than assistance, while Glover bled to death in
the backseat of the stranger's car. A police officer drove off in the car soon
afterward. Both Glover's body and the car were found burnt to cinders a week
later. It took DNA analysis to identify his body.
There is a general consensus that these crimes will not be investigated or
punished by
ColorOfChange.org, an
organization devoted to strengthening the political voice of black
On Childhood Poverty!
By Dot
A historically high foreclosure
rate, rising unemployment and a frayed safety net have combined to create an
economic climate that is certain to increase poverty and homelessness among the
nation's most vulnerable population. On Friday, December 16, 2008, First Focus,
a Washington-based children advocacy organization, released its report, 'The
Cost of Doing Nothing,' which analyzes the future economic cost of childhood
poverty.
According to the Census Bureau, 13.3 million children were living in poverty in
2007; that number will certainly rise as the recession deepens. The First Focus
report projects a nationwide future economic loss of more than $1.7 trillion,
if an additional 3 million children are driven into poverty during this
recession, as has been predicted.
The report bases this economic loss estimate on research on the impact of
childhood poverty on lifetime earnings and health outcomes. According to Bruce
Lesley, President of First Focus, "When children enter poverty at a young
age, their ability to achieve the American dream is diminished. They are 13
times more likely to remain in poverty for several years after the recession
ends, leading to adverse effects on lifetime earnings as well as health
outcomes."
On average, a child that spends more than half of their childhood in poverty earns
39% less than the median income and loses approximately a quarter of a million
dollars of 'healthy quality' over their lifetime. Aggregating this long-term
economic loss for the millions of children projected to fall into poverty as a
result of this recession, the report places a high cost on doing nothing to
prevent additional children from falling into poverty.
First Focus, in association with The National Association for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), a Washington-based non-profit, is calling
on Congress to provide emergency funding for the Department of Education's
homeless assistance program for school districts that have experienced an
increase in the number of homeless students and the attendant issues, including
truancy, behavioral problems and failure. While these organizations have
requested $72 million in emergency assistance, more must be done to provide a
safety net for children at risk of poverty and homelessness. In the long run,
the benefits society accrues from rescuing these children will far outweigh the
cost of doing nothing.
Learn more about the report and research on childhood poverty and homelessness
at www.firstfocus.net.
Disgruntled feels: Outrageous! Thousands of
American families face foreclosure in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage
debacle and a weakening economy. The unregulated financial market, which was
primarily responsible for the real estate bubble, is being bailed out by the
government using borrowed dollars, since the country is basically broke.
According to the Associated Press, the top executives of the banks, mortgage
and insurance companies that are getting government handouts received nearly
two billion dollars in salaries, bonuses and other benefits in 2007. Unlike the
automobile industry executives, the financial institutions that received
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds did not have to testify before
Congress or justify their business plans to anyone. There was no government
demand that financial service employees take pay and benefit cuts or executives
work for a buck. This is outrageous!
Disgruntled
says: The fat cats have been paid. Bush, Bernanke and Paulson made sure
the elite Wall Street wolves were fed. Now, Obama and Biden are making big
promises of a middle-class rescue. All this talking is making me dizzy. My head
is spinning trying to figure out how the next stimulus is going to trickle down
to the folks that are penniless. Talking heads estimate the package will be
close to a trillion, but nobody is saying anything about how this will benefit
the millions on the bottom of the economic ladder; seems like this segment of
the country just doesn't matter. Penniless, homeless, jobless and lacking
health care, we need a government bailout, but nobody seems to care about the
natives living in Bushvilles. Yo! Uncle Sam, since you handing out a billion
here and a billion there to the folks making mad cheddar, you can spare a few
dollars for folks that can't afford spam. After all, you’re just printing
Benjamins!
Disgruntled
wants to know: Thus far, I have eschewed mention of O.J. Simpson, his
memorabilia escapade and the resulting courtroom drama. Frankly, I feel sorry
for black men like O.J. Despite having achieved a certain level of success,
they still need white approval for completion. They must travel in white
circles, have a white wife, live a white life. They seem to say to themselves
and the world at large, "I am somebody, if accepted by whites." Even
acting the part of a black buffoon among whites, i.e., the only spot in certain
places, trumps being black and proud in a sea of black faces. These men are
fools; they think they can hide their skin color behind greenbacks and a bit of
white tail. But, truth be told, even fools deserve justice. The punishment
meted out to blacks and whites alike should fit the crime. Clearly, the
sentence O.J. received in the memorabilia escapade did not fit the crime, when
white men have done far worse, even committed murders that have never even been
investigated. In a nation that prides itself on the rule of law and for being a
nation of laws, what is wrong with such a skewed picture, especially given the
notion that we have moved beyond race in
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Phone Calls
Email aharlib@earthlink.net ...Subject:
Bush's ownership society scam exposed by the NY Times...Comment: Re the
article...By Shayne Munger: "I told you so!" Back before the 2004
election I was saying that the tremendous growth in GNP was due to consumers
borrowing against the equity in their homes and spending, spending and
spending. The rosy pictures of the economy painted by the Bush Administration
and their talking heads with no savings by US consumers....none!!! had nothing
to do with real growth of creating "things" (wealth) in our
manufacturing sector. The supposed wealth was in the false growth of housing
values that were bound to collapse. It was nothing but a giant Ponzi scheme
brought to you by the Rethugs. The problem was also that spending was on
foreign products. Countries like
Email custerstand@gmail.com ...With economy
in shambles, Congress gets a raise...By Jordy Yager...A crumbling economy, more
than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and
congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to
freeze their own pay. Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting
to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional
salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it. Steve Ellis, vice
president of the budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, said Congress
should have taken the rare step of freezing its pay, as lawmakers did in 2000. Member
raises are often characterized as examples of wasteful spending, especially
when many constituents and businesses in members' districts are in financial
despair.
Email www.businessweek.com ...The Subprime
Wolves are Back...By Chad Terhune and Robert Berner...Thousands of subprime
mortgage lenders and brokers - many of them the very sorts of firms that helped
create the current financial crisis - are going strong. Their new strategy:
taking advantage of a long-standing federal program designed to encourage
homeownership by insuring mortgages for buyers of modest means. You read that
correctly. Some of the same people who propelled us toward the housing market
calamity are new seeking to profit by exploiting billions in federally insured
mortgages.