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Vol. 11 Issue 9…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…February 29, 2008
Intuit's Vibe
Bid 'Em In
By Oscar Brown, Jr.
The sun is hot and plenty bright
Let's get down to business and get home tonight
Bid 'Em In.... Bid Em In
Auctions and slaves is a real fine art
Bring that young gal
here she's good for a start
Bid 'Em In
Here's a real good buy bout fifteen
Her great-grand mammy was a Dahomey queen
Just look at her face she sure ain't homely
Like shapes of the
Bible, she's black but comely
Bid 'Em In
Gonna start at three can I get three
Step up man take a good look
Cause I know you'll want her once
You've seen her ...She's young and ripe
Make a damn good
breeder
Bid 'Em In...Bid 'Em In
She's good in the field
She can sew and cook
Strip her down and let the gentlemen look
She's full up front, got an ample behind
Examine her teeth if
you got a mind
Bid 'Em In
Here's a bid of three for a man that's thrifty
Three-twenty-five can I get three-fifty
Your money aint earning you much in the bank
Turn around gal let
'em look at your flanks
Bid 'Em In...Bid 'Em In
Three-fifty's the bid
I'm looking for fo'
At fo' hundred dollars she's a bargain for sho'
Four is the bid four-fifty five
Five hundred dollars
now look alive
Bid 'Em In
Don't mind them tears that's one of her tricks
Five fifty's the bid now who'll say six
She's healthy, strong and well equipped
Make a find bed
warmer when's she's properly whipped
Bid 'Em In ...Bid 'Em In
Six…Six-fifty, don't be slow
Seven is the bid goin' let her go
Seven she's going once, twice, gone
Take her down boy bring the next on
Bid 'Em In...Bid 'Em In...Bid 'Em In
'Sisters of Selma:
Bearing Witness for Change'
"All the people who'd been hurt that day, they were the body and
blood of Christ. They had walked the stations of the cross ... and they had
been crucified." Father Maurice Ouellet, a pastor of one of
Selma, Alabama's black parishes speaking of the civil rights demonstrators
turned back at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday by mounted police
wielding batons and lobbing tear gas canisters.
Responding to the encouragement of Pope John XXIII to "go where the need
is," Catholic nuns joined the second attempt of civil rights activists to
march from Selma, Alabama to the state capital in Montgomery in March 1965. On
the heels of Bloody Sunday, marchers protested the murder of a demonstrator by
state troopers and the disenfranchisement of black voters.
Director Jayasri Hart reunited the nuns in 2003 to share with them film from
that day. Portions of that footage and interviews with the nuns and others are
part of an hour long documentary, "Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for
Change." On last week, PBS aired the documentary as part of its Black
History Month programming.
Acting on their faith, these nuns and unnamed countless others became agents
for change. This film should be required viewing, not merely as part of Black
History Month, but as an important part of US history.
Ralph Waldo Ellison
(1914-1994)
The younger son of Lewis and Ida
Millsap Ellison, Ralph Waldo Ellison was born March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. An adventurous small businessman, who had served overseas in the US
military and lived in South Carolina and Tennessee before moving to the former
Indian territory of Oklahoma, Lewis Ellison named his younger son after Ralph
Waldo Emerson. After their father's death in 1917, his mother, a political
activist, worked at various jobs to support the family.
Educated in the Oklahoma public schools, early in life, Ellison decided to
become a musician; he studied trumpet and piano. Ellison did yard work and
other odd jobs in exchange for the music lessons he received from Ludwig
Hebestreit, conductor of the Oklahoma City Orchestra. In 1933, he received a
state scholarship and used it to attend Tuskegee Institute in Alabama to study
music.
In the summer of 1936, Ellison went to New York City seeking work; he planned
to return to Tuskegee in the fall to complete his music studies. After meeting
Richard Wright and other major literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance, who
encouraged him to write, Ellison remained in New York. His first review was
published in New Challenge, a
journal edited by Wright. Ellison worked at odd jobs to support himself. In
1938, he joined the Federal Writer's Project and published "Hymie's
Bull," a short story inspired by his hoboing on a train with his uncle to
get to Tuskegee. From 1937 to 1944, Ellison wrote and published more than
twenty book reviews, short stories and articles.
During World War II, Ellison joined the Merchant Marine and served as a cook on
a ship. After the war, Ellison received a Rosenwald Foundation Grant. With the
support of his second wife, Fanny McConnell, who typed and edited his
manuscript, he worked on his first book, Invisible
Man (1952), his magnum opus. Acclaimed and assailed, Invisible Man, explores the theme of the
search for identity from the perspective of an unseen black man living in a
society that ignores those of his hue. Invisible
Man examines some of the most serious and complex issues of US
society from blind ambition and greed to how racist leaders pit black Americans
against one another and reward submissive behavior. In 1953, Invisible Man received the National Book
Award for fiction.
In 1955, Ellison went to Europe to lecture. He wrote the essay A New Southern Harvest in 1957 and
returned to the US in 1958, accepting a position at Bard College teaching
American and Russian literature. He lectured at many colleges and universities
on the subject of the black American, including Rutgers University and the
University of Chicago. In 1970, Ellison became the Albert Schweitzer Professor
of Humanities at New York University, a position he held until retiring in 1980.
Ellison continued to publish articles and essays and work on a second novel. He
published the essays Shadow and Act
(1964) and Going to the Territory
(1986)
A charter member of the
Fellowship of Southern Writers, Ellison received many awards for his work on
the black experience and his love of music, including the National Book Award
(1953), the Russwurm Award (1953), the Academy of Arts and Letters Fellowship
to Rome (1955-1957), the Medal of Freedom (1969), and the Chevalier de l'Ordre
des Artes et Lettres (1970). Elected to the American Academy for the Arts and
Letters (1975), his hometown of Oklahoma City honored him with the dedication
of the Ralph Waldo Ellison Library. In 1984, Ellison received the New York City
College's Langston Hughes Medallion. He received the National Medal of Arts in
1985 and numerous honorary doctorates.
An accomplished sculptor, musician, photographer and college professor, Ralph
Ellison died of pancreatic cancer on April 16, 1994. Posthumously, Flying Home: And Other Stories (1996), Juneteenth (1999), his second novel,
"The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison"
(1995), "Boy on a Train"
and "I Did Not Learn Their Names,"
which appeared in The New Yorker magazine (1996). "Flying Home and Other Stories,"
written between 1937 and 1954, were published. (Sources: www.levity.com/corduroy/ellison.htm,
www.aaregistry.com, and http://en.wikipedia.org)
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro acts as though he is in hibernation. Unless absolutely necessary, he does not come out of the bat cave. On Tuesday, we found him buried beneath the covers snoring before six. Awakened from a deep sleep, he did not appreciate attempts at conversation. Pressed for a salient salvo for his loyal fans, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro yawned, “Pretend I’m not here.”
By John Burl Smith
Giants are such conspicuous,
towering and obtrusive spectacles. In life, one cannot help but notice their
imposing presence. On February 16, 2008, one such individual, whose efforts
loomed large over most of those that claim to have played major roles in the
civil rights movement, Reverend James Edward Orange passed away in Atlanta,
Georgia. Described as a "behind the scenes activist" by those that
eulogized him, Rev. Orange was anything but a behind the scenes or out of sight
kind of man when I met him in 1968.
Rev. Orange was initially given the task of recruiting the Invaders as marshals
for the Poor People's Campaign by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But, following
the March 16, 1968 Memphis striking sanitation workers' march that ended in a
riot, the media blamed the Invaders. Dr. King was concerned about our
commitment to non-violence and wanted reassurance. Rev. Orange brought Rev.
Hosea Williams to my apartment to talk with us and set up a meeting with Dr.
King on his scheduled return to Memphis on April 4. Rev. Orange had a reputation
for being straight up with people, and when he gave his word, he stood behind
it. So, we accepted him as a go-between.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 29, 1942, he was Calvin and Ida's fourth
of seven children. He joined the movement in 1957. Determined to end
segregation in Birmingham, Orange organized students and led them in protest
marches in 1962. Turning out high schools was a tactic Rev. Orange shared with
the Invaders to ensure Dr. King had massive support for the March 16, 1968
Memphis march.
Hired by Dr. King as one of the first field staffers, Orange was instrumental
in mobilizing youth for the civil rights movement. Always engendering strong
loyalty, while organizing in Alabama, he was arrested. During a demonstration
that followed, Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed by an Alabama state trooper.
Jackson's death was the catalyst for the Selma-to-Montgomery march that ended
in Bloody Sunday. That incident impacted passage of the Voting Rights Act of
1965.
Ordained a Baptist minister in
1967, Rev. Orange's career with SCLC ended in 1977. He joined the campaign to
organize J.P. Stevens textile and clothing factories by the Amalgamated
Clothing and Textile Workers Union. He was assigned to the AFL-CIO Industrial
Union Department until 1996, then to the southern regional office of Field
Services in Atlanta.
At the "Battle in Seattle," which protested policies of the World
Trade Organization in1999, Orange mobilized the AFL-CIO march of 60,000 trade
unionists, environmentalists and community activists. Becoming co-chair of Jobs
with Justice in Atlanta, Rev. Orange credited his new level of militant
activity to two things, "A more 'dynamic leadership' at the top of the
AFL-CIO and a growing recognition in the ranks of the need for fighting back.
Our theme is 'defend affirmative action.' It and the Voting Rights Act are the
mainstays of progress for African Americans and both are under furious
attack."
According to Obang O. Metho of Ethiopia, in death, Rev. Orange, chairman of the
Africa/African American Renaissance Festival since 1995, Ethiopians along with
countless others mourn the loss of a great friend and advocate of justice! He
stood up for the Ethiopian people in their time of great need. After the Ethiopian
government massacre of Anuak in 2003, in 2007 he organized a candlelight prayer
vigil in Atlanta for the release of Ethiopian opposition leaders and political
prisoners. Reverend Orange was a genuine believer in God -- a real man of faith
and a strong man of prayer. He passed on to others the "dream" of
justice and equality for all people.
Impacting the world in such a manner, no one with vision, could ever see Rev.
Orange as a "behind the scene activist." Out front whenever it
counted, unlike most civil rights leaders, his style was not that of self
promotion and self adulation. Most so-called leaders chase the spotlight, like
moths to flames; Orange was a gadfly for the poor and oppressed. Those who
write history tend to overlook people like Rev. Orange, whether they are
organizing housekeepers, banquet waiters and laundry-room employees in New
Orleans hotels or across the ocean fighting apartheid in South Africa. Usually,
it is only in death that invisible giants like Rev. Orange are seen clearly and
praised, even by those who closed their eyes to their accomplishments while
they lived!
Rev. Orange is survived by his wife, Cleophus, three daughters, Deirdre, Jamida
and Tamara, a son, Cleon, and two grandchildren. (Sources: www.pww.org,
http://nazret.com and www.library.gsu.edu)
Absentee Owners
By Dot
Behind the mortgage mess lie
rapacious greed and unchecked corruption. With interest rates low and plenty of
paper money to lend, all manner of men and women entered the real estate
business. Brokers, agents and appraisers made out like bandits, just as banks,
mortgage lenders, individual investors, speculators or flippers, all the way up
the food chain to bond insurers profited handsomely.
Thanks to dishonest appraisers, crooked flippers and greedy lenders, people
that did not use their homes as ATMs are left to pay inflated tax bills in
declining neighborhoods. As these crooks artificially drove up appraised
property values, property taxes ballooned as well, a boom for the coffers of
city and county governments across the country. Unfortunately, taxes rarely decline
as rapidly as they rise; so, many homeowners continue to pay property taxes at
inflated rates, while their neighborhoods deteriorate.
In my neighborhood, the vacant houses tell their own sordid tales. For example,
the house across the street has been empty for more than three years. It was
sold repeatedly in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and briefly occupied in 2004. According
to the county tax records, it is owner-occupied, so the owner qualifies and
receives the homeowner exemption, even though the house is empty. The last time
it was sold, this house, which is not exactly in mint condition, was purchased
at an appraised value well above average for this neighborhood.
This property belongs to an absentee homeowner; this is not an isolated
situation. The tax records of several other vacant houses on my street tell
similar stories. As the federal government constructs bailout measures to help
those harmed by the subprime mortgage debacle, and implements regulations to
prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, every effort should be
made to punish the greedy absentee homeowners and other corrupt investors and
ensure they do not profit further from gaming the system.
On an Invisible Black Woman!
By Dot
On the eve of the Wisconsin primary, Michelle Obama proclaimed, "For the
first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just
because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for
change." Of course, she was immediately attacked by the right wing-nuts
that control mainstream media. And, equally predictable, she tried to explain
away her momentary lapse.
Throughout her husband's run for the Democratic Party's presidential
nomination, Michelle Obama has donned a cloak of invisibility. Disguised as
every woman, except a black one, she has been unobtrusive, but eloquent. She pretends in her well-crafted speeches
that race - skin color - does not matter. Yet, over a lifetime, this non-factor
has played a pivotal role in her every endeavor. Her successes and failures
have been colored by it. The first black this, the only black that, it is a
conspicuous history not easily forgotten, particularly in the euphoria of being
once again thrust in the limelight of being the first black woman with a real
possibility of becoming the First Lady of the country.
Someone needs to put Mrs. Obama's statement in proper context, i.e., a black
woman's perspective. The vast majority, if she is not, of black people in this
country are slave descendants. Slave auctions are a part of our history. Are we
- is she - supposed to forget or be proud of that legacy? Or, must we and she
exhibit pride in the other dark sides of US history from its overthrow of
democratically elected governments and support of dictatorial regimes to its
mistreatment of Native Americans? Must we ignore its brutish forays into and
occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan?
Sure, there are things of which to be proud, including its founding principles,
which it has yet to fully realize. An objective observer can readily point to
the Electoral College as evidence more needs to be done in that arena. And, to
Cindy McCain, who quipped, "I have, and always will be, proud of my
country," that statement just goes to show either you are ignorant of your
country’s history or dishonest.
Even though Mrs. Obama has tried
to explain away her momentary lapse in an effort to escape back into her shell
of black invisibility, I understand exactly what she meant at that moment.
Looking at the multi-racial support her husband is receiving across the
country; this is an historic moment in her lifetime. And, I, too, am awestruck
by the outpouring of support for her husband's campaign for change and message
of hope. Despite the many reasons for pause, hope is a powerful thing. I just
hope we are not being duped again like the gullible protagonist in Ellison's
Invisible Man.
Obama's Money Cartel
By Pam Martens
Wall Street, known variously as a
barren wasteland for diversity or the last plantation in America, has defied
courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for decades in
its failure to hire blacks as stockbrokers. Now it's marshal-ling its money
machine to elect a black man to the highest office in the land. Why isn't the
press curious about this?
Walk into any of the largest Wall Street brokerage firms today and you'll see a
self-portrait of upper management racism and sexism: women sitting at
secretarial desks outside fancy offices occupied by predominantly white males.
According to the EEOC as well as the recent racial discrimination class actions
filed against UBS and Merrill Lynch, blacks make up between 1 per cent to 3.5
per cent of stockbrokers - and this after 30 years of litigation, settlements
and empty promises to do better by the largest Wall Street firms.
The first clue to an entrenched white male bastion seeking a black male
occupant in the oval office (having placed only five blacks in the U.S. Senate
in the last two centuries) appeared this month on a chart at the Center for
Responsive Politics website. It was a list of the 20 top contributors to the
Barack Obama campaign, and it looked like one of those comprehension tests
where you match up things that go together and eliminate those that don't. Of
the 20 top contributors, I eliminated six that didn't compute. I was now
looking at a sight only slightly less frightening to democracy than a Diebold
voting machine. It was a Wall Street cartel of financial firms, their
registered lobbyists, and go-to law firms that have a death grip on our federal
government.
Why is the "yes, we can" candidate in bed with this cartel? How can
we, the people, make change if Obama's money backers block our ability to be
heard?
Seven of the Obama campaign's top 14 donors consist of officers and employees
of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with looting the public and
newly implicated in originating and/or bundling fraudulently made mortgages.
These latest frauds have left thousands of children in some of our largest
minority communities coming home from school to see eviction notices and
foreclosure signs nailed to their front doors. Those scars will last a
lifetime.
These seven Wall Street firms are (in order of money given): Goldman Sachs, UBS
AG, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit
Suisse. There is also a large hedge fund, Citadel Investment Group, which is a
major source of fee income to Wall Street. There are five large corporate law
firms that are also registered lobbyists; and one is a corporate law firm that
is no longer a registered lobbyist but does legal work for Wall Street. The
cumulative total of these 14 contributors through February 1, 2008, was
$2,872,128, and we're still in the primary season.
But hasn't Senator Obama repeatedly told us in ads and speeches and debates
that he wasn't taking money from registered lobbyists? Hasn't the press given
him a free pass on this statement?
About Me: Read Obama's Money Cartel: How
he's fronted for the most vicious firms on Wall Street in its entirety www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/16601.
Ms. Martens, who worked on Wall Street for 21 years, can be reached at pamk741@aol.com.
Disgruntled feels: Ignored! Senator Barack Obama rejected an invitation to
address Tavis Smiley's State of Black America audience. Senator Hilary Clinton
accepted the invitation. Ironically, Senator Obama, like most Democrats, is
counting on blacks to overwhelmingly vote for him, even as he ignores them. He,
like most US politicians kowtows to the Jewish lobby; he met with a group of
Jews on Monday to swear fealty to them and allegiance to Israel. The Obama
treatment of blacks and Jews is par for the course in Democratic and Republican
Party politics. Blacks are the invisible Democratic Party base held at arm's
length and ignored more often than treated as party faithfuls.
Disgruntled wants to know: Famed
plaintiff attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is scheduled to go on
trial at the end of March, along with several associates for their role in an
allege conspiracy to bribe a Mississippi judge. Two days before Dickie's
indictment last November Mississippi Senator Trent Lott unexpectedly resigned.
Dickie is the former senator's brother-in-law. Lott may be implicated in the
conspiracy. Is this the real reason for his resignation?
Disgruntled says: I have said it before.
Senate Democrats and others that routinely sign off on whatever Bush wants must
have closets filled with skeletons! And, with Bush's warrantless spying, he
knows every one of them.