Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use
Vol. 12 Issue 6…Dedicated to the Dialogue on
Race…February 8, 2009
Hood Notes
By Dot
"Through art we learn to touch our collective soul. We are reminded
when we see art, we are all interconnected" Constance Collins
Marguiles, founder of Lotus House
Lotus House is a women's
sanctuary, a place to restart life without drugs, alcohol, crime or abuse, the
problems that made them homeless. Opened in 2006 in Overtown, one of
On average, women stay at the
shelter for approximately six months. During this time, they learn basic
computer and job-hunting skills. Classes in math, English literary and other
subjects are also offered. The Lotus House clothes closet is stocked with
appropriate interview attire. Residents receive bus tokens for transportation
to and from interviews. Women that leave Lotus House to live independently
receive furniture and other necessities for their new homes, including cooking
utensils.
Art is an important component of the Lotus House rehabilitation program. In
addition to providing shelter for these women and their young children,
clothing and life skills, Lotus House employs art to assist women in reshaping
their lives. The women receive life coaching, day care assistance, prenatal
care, daily meditation and art classes, creative writing, jewelry making,
cooking and yoga. Visual artworks by an array of artists adorn every room of
the facility.
Art also helps pay the bills. Lotus House's $850,000 annual budget is funded by
a mix of private and public money. About 15 percent of its budget comes from
state and local grants. Individual donations, public and private foundations
and the money it earns by selling photography and poetry created by its
residents and other professionals account for the remainder of its annual
budget. Yet, like other efforts that rely on public and private funds, Lotus
House is being impacted by the economic downturn. Food banks that normally
supply its food are depleted, and contributions have also been affected.
For the women and children that
receive vital services through Lotus House, it is a miracle. The most
comprehensive homeless program in
Pictorial Highlights of One Among
Millions
By John Burl Smith
Last week's issue (The DISH Vol. 12 No 5), in One Among Millions, I described for our
readers the wonderful experience I shared with my George Washington Carver High
School classmates at President Barack Obama's inauguration. While there, Irvin
Grice, retired high school principal from
Grice has graciously consented to share all of his wonderful pictures with
These pictures are available for the enjoyment of The DISH's readers and cannot be used
for any commercial purpose whatsoever. Anyone wishing to do so should contact
Irvin Grice at ipgrice@bellsouth.net.
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (1890 - 1946)
Born August 17, 1890 in
FDR brought
Although concerned with rural areas,
For blacks,
By 1941, the WPA had invested $11.3 billion in 8 million relief workers who
built such diverse projects as 1,634 schools, 105 airports, 3,000 tennis
courts, 3,300 storage dams, 103 golf courses, and 5,800 mobile libraries. The
WPA sought to fit tasks to recipients' job experience and to be inclusive. A
Women's Division offered suitable tasks and equal pay for the 12 to 19 percent
of women working for the WPA. The FERA's first relief census reported that more
than two million black Americans (17.8%) were on relief in early 1933 (whites
on relief 9.5%). By 1935, 40 percent of the nation's black families were either
on relief or employed by the WPA.
Harry Lloyd Hopkins, a man who
saw a need and tried to fill it, died in
By Norman Brustein
(1937)
And men's dreams be rudely shattered,
like thin glass struck with a stone.
By greed and war and love of gold
We have worked hard. . .
Centuries have toiled their weary way
Through dusty eras of misty time.
From the days when tyrants ruled,
From the bloody dawn of revolution, the pioneers with nail hard hands
And the statesmen with soft words
Have pushed the
frontier into the sea.
A country nourished on brave men's blood
Thrived on its diet and rapidly grew,
But the dream was
cruelly shattered
When industry burst into revolt
And the seething land burnt in twain.
Songs of triumph and madness reigned,
Blazing fires of sweet victory
Glimmered on the Northern horizon,
The shout of commanding bugle screamed
Its savage joy at the taste of blood dearly gained.
The hot blood was shed, so they said,
To save the slaves from an awful fate;
When victory was won, the slaves were free
Free to starve again.
And when this madness sank to sleep,
A babe was born, a giant in the cradle,
Who cheerfully fed on oil and steel
And spat out railroads and trusts.
The infant grew as no child has grown
And thrived on gears and coal and wheels
Until he held the shivering land
On the tip of his dirty fingers
And squeezed it in
his oily black palm.
We worshiped the men who fed this giant,
The builders of iron and shapers of steel,
As heroes returned from far flung wars,
Bringing their loot to enrich the land.
They lapped our love with eager tongues
And carefully spun their golden webs
Of silken strength and insinuating power
To enmesh the foolish flies
And cast away the empty husks
After sucking out their money juices.
The news of prosperity reached the millions,
Of taxed and
tyranny-ridden
They flocked to the gilded shores
Of what they thought was Utopia--
Food for the giant that eats the world.
Some were beginning to think their dream fulfilled
When again the tiger awoke and roared
And the dream was abruptly shattered:
Again we loved the march of men
The stiffened strides of trained machines
Again we sang the maddening songs
Of triumph and joy and reddened glory.
The sumptuous beat of martial music
A song of hatred in glorious tones, lured to a horrible death
the men who thought they fought for Peace
"To save the
world for democracy."
This time the madness did not die; its fervor waxed and flamed anew.
We danced and played and rowdily sang,
and feasted our surfeited eyes on the supple rhythms of taxi dancers.
Reason fled to another planet; a money madness seized the nation;
the idols of gold with speechless lips, with ruddy jewels shouting their cost ruled
the speculators out of their wits
and led the dance of the foolish flies
into the meshes so carefully made.
The beautiful bubble suddenly burst;
scattering
speculators to the winds
And dark claws of sinister want slid into merry lives
A ghostly hand from out of the darkness
gripped the warm hearts of the people:
Fear . . . a nameless unholy fear of the future
Fear of want, fear of retribution, the pitiful idolaters of gold
Running madly out from their holes
to clasp for sure protection
The broken clay feet of their idol
were crushed by the falling bust,
A sacrifice to the
god they had made.
About
Me:
For Those Who Have Forgotten or
Never Knew
By John Burl Smith
George W. Bush and Republicans in
Congress chose to fight two wars on credit and gave tax cuts to the wealthiest
Americans. This piled over eight trillion dollars of debt on the backs of our
children. Caught in the grip of the worst economic crisis since the Great
Depression, now spendthrift Republicans refuse to support President Barack
Obama's efforts to stimulate the economy; they say the cost will burden the
next generation. Republicans today are like those in power during the 1920s,
whose policies bankrupted the country.
For those who have forgotten or
never knew, following the stock market crash in 1929, and collapse of the
American economy, conservative Republican President Herbert Hoover refused to
intervene with a fiscal stimulus and conditions worsened. Unemployment shot up
to 24.9 percent and 8 to 15 million Americans were unemployed in 1933 when
Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office.
Millions of homeless Americans
wandered the country in search of jobs. Shanty towns sprouted like weeds and
dotted the landscape across the nation. Hobos rode the rails with only the
clothes on their backs and thousands went hungry for days.
Unlike conservatives, FDR put
artists to work along with everyone else. Nicknamed "Federal One,"
Federal Project Number One was created in 1935 to extend New Deal relief to
artists, actors, writers, and musicians. The Arts had never been high on FDR's
list of priorities, but Eleanor Roosevelt felt strongly that American society
had not done enough to support the arts, and she viewed Federal One as a
powerful tool with which to infuse art and culture into the lives of Americans.
Federal Project Number One had five elements: Federal Art Project (FAP),
Federal Writers' Project (FWP), Historical Records Survey (HRS), Federal
Theatre Project (FTP) and Federal Music Project (FMP). The Federal Art Project
(FAP) employed 5,300 visual artists and related professionals at its height in
1936. It had a murals' project that painted over 2,500 murals in hospitals,
schools and other public places. Individual artists, sculptors, graphic artists
and photographers produced scenic designs, architectural models, posters,
stained glass and many other products for buildings, parks and educational use.
Hundreds of teachers were employed by the Art Teaching Division in settlement
houses and community centers. Many black artists such as
The Federal Music Project
employed around 16,000 musicians at its peak. Federal Music Project ensembles
-- orchestras and chamber groups; choral and opera units; concert, military and
dance bands; and theater orchestras -- presented an estimated 5,000
performances before some three million people each week. Music projects had
local cosponsors -- schools, colleges, government or civic groups -- and small
admissions charges helped defray costs. The Federal Music Project also provided
classes in rural areas and urban neighborhoods. In 1939, an estimated 132,000
children and adults in 27 states received instruction weekly. Black composer
William Grant Still and folk singer Charles Seeger were a part of the FMP.
The Federal Theatre Project employed 12,700 theater workers at its peak. State
units were established in 31 states and
The Federal Writers Project employed 6,686 writers at its peak in April 1936,
with active projects in all 48 states and the
For those who have forgotten or
never knew, Republicans fought FDR in the 1930s just as they are fighting
President Obama's efforts to stimulate the economy today. Looking back 60 plus
years, everyone readily acknowledges that the New Deal saved the country. If we
follow the Republicans, rather than Pres. Obama, one must wonder, will there
even be a country 20 years hence? It really isn't about the money, it’s
about black, you know that!
A Secretary of Arts
By John Burl Smith
Last November musician Jaime
Austria was listening to an interview of musician, composer, music producer,
songwriter and arranger extraordinaire Quincy Jones by John Schaefer, WNYC
talk-show host of "Soundcheck" in
A growing number of high profile artists have signed the petition, which now
has over 228,098 signatures -- goal is a million. The Arts community needs this
and the country needs to develop a new millennium perspective on the Arts.
Music, dance and other creative expressions should be on par with writing in
public schools. Although this statement will draw howls from some, hip hop, a
creation of young black artists, is sweeping the world. Along with blues, jazz,
soul and rock n' roll, hip hop is an American creation that is generating
billions of dollars. So this idea makes economic sense. Owing to its origin,
hip hop has been pushed to the back of the bus and must use the back door when
entering polite company, rather than being judged based on content.
Art in
I signed the petition because I believe this will be a way this nation can get
over itself. It has had a "white folks" only mind-set since the 3/5
Compromise was added to the US Constitution. There is no way
The economic crisis it is facing
will require everyone to pull together to emerge a better and stronger nation.
Disgruntled says:
There is a old African maxim that says, "In the presence of leadership I
follow, but in its absence, I lead." When considering the present economic
crisis in the
Disgruntled
feels: Hubris! On Monday, President Barack Obama forthrightly declared
that mismanagement by the financial system was so pervasive that the losses
cannot be calculated. Under the circumstances even more banks are likely to
fail before the system achieves any semblance of normalcy. The president's
assessment of the financial situation, which echoes that of economists
worldwide, comes on the heels of an unprecedented government bank bailout in
the billions. Even with a carefully crafted fiscal stimulus package, conditions
are not favorable for a swift economic recovery. Monetary policy is largely
sidelined, given historically low interest rates at which banks do not appear
to be lending. In fact, banks are tightening lending standards in the face of
already tight credit markets, a situation the Troubled Asset Relief Program
(TARP), i.e., the bank bailout package, was supposed to rectify. According to
an investigative report by the Associated Press, the major banks that received
TARP bailout funds requested thousands of visas for foreign workers over the
past six years to fill high-paying positions. And, to cap off this high-handed
hubris, the bailout did more to aid foreign investors than the folks at home.
Disgruntled
wants to know: On Tuesday, militants blew up a bridge in northwestern
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
Email www.msnbc.com
...Mass layoffs across almost every line of business catapulted the nation's
unemployment rate to 7.6 percent in January and lent more urgency to
Email www.ap.com
...Commission gets grim report on wartime spending...By Richard Lardner...A new
commission examining waste and corruption in wartime contracts got a grim
report from government watchdogs who say poor planning, weak oversight and
greed combined to soak US taxpayers and undermine American forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Stuart Bowen, the inspector general for