Unbossed
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Vol.
13 No. 36…Dedicated
to the Dialogue on Race…September 6, 2010
Bit
of History
Chancellor Williams (1898-1992)
Few
scholars have had the impact of Dr. Chancellor J. Williams, professor,
historian and author of The Destruction of Black Civilization: 
Great Issues of a Race Between 4500 B.C. and 2000
A.D. Few books that have focused on Africa's antiquity have affected the
consciousness of African people searching for their identity so profoundly and
simultaneously been so uncompromising, controversial and powerful.
Born
the last of five children to former slaves on December 22, 1898 in
His
family moved to
Williams
returned to Howard in 1946 as a social science instructor. Simultaneously, he
pursued a Ph.D. in history and sociology from
Dr. Williams began traveling abroad as a visiting professor at
Returning to Howard, Dr, Williams transferred to the history department, where
he remained until he retired in 1966. Desiring to ensure the publication of his
magnum opus, Dr. Williams mortgaged his home to secure funds. Later, he turned
The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race Between 4500 B.C.
and 2000 A.D. over to Kendall Hunt for distribution in 1971. An amazing
investigation of the history of Africa before the coming of Arabs, Asians and
Europeans to
Encouraged
by such awards, Dr. Williams spent several years expanding and revising the
book before publishing a second edition. He switched to a black-owned firm in
Chicago, Third World Press, hoping to reach a wider black audience. Released in
1987, the second edition received critical acclaim from such notables as
Blind
and in poor health, Dr. Williams died of respiratory failure on December 7,
1992 at
By John Burl Smith
Back then, Mel and Norma Gabler began to "review
public school textbooks from a conservative, Christian perspective."
Today, their effort has grown into a full-fledged movement to censor all kinds
of information out of the knowledge acquisition process under the guise of
religious purity. It is one thing to disagree with an opposing view but another
thing entirely to edit that view out of existence. Moreover,
A
classic example is the Texas Board of Education's decision to exclude Thomas
Jefferson from a prominent role as Founding Father because he was a deist or
agnostic. What is probably more to the truth about their action is that
Another
obvious clash with reality and the facts of history is the effort to change the
historical view of the Confederacy and the cause of the Civil War. Like whites
across the South, who thought they were on the right side of history when,
rather than end slavery, they chose to leave the Union and form the
Confederacy, citizens of Texas find it hard to explain why keeping blacks in
bondage was worth all the death and destruction. Their effort today is to put a
humane face on the brutality of slavery. These same Texans are trying to hide
the truth about the period from the 1890s to 1950s when whites in Texas lynched
over 500 blacks (whites across the US lynched over 6,000) and not one white man
was ever arrested for those murders. Whites in
Then, there is the assault on the Bill of Rights. A part of their effort to
"review public school textbooks from a conservative, Christian
perspective,"
Censorship is a tool that a majority uses against minorities; it is a way of
limiting freedom based on numbers. As a result of efforts during the 1960s,
students became aware of myths, misconception, lies and damn lies in American
history books that occurred when information was not widely known. Today,
The Awful Price for Teaching Less Than We Know
By Michael Winship
Watching
Glenn Beck's performance Saturday at his "Restoring Honor" rally in
Then
I realized it wasn't Gantry of whom I was reminded so much as another Lewis
character, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, the politician who poses as a populist, then, once
elected president, turns the United States into a fascist dictatorship, aided
by an angry, unknowing electorate and a paramilitary group called the Minute
Men.
Read
how Sinclair Lewis described Windrip 75 years ago in
his novel "It Can't Happen Here" and think Beck: "He was an
actor of genius. There was no more overwhelming actor on the stage, in the
motion pictures, nor even in the pulpit. He would whirl arms, bang tables,
glare from mad eyes, vomit Biblical wrath from a gaping mouth; but he would
also coo like a nursing mother, beseech like an aching lover, and in between
tricks would coldly and almost contemptuously jab his crowds with figures and facts
- figures and facts that were inescapable even when, as often happened, they
were entirely incorrect."
Entirely incorrect. In its despair and confusion, a large segment of
the American populace is prepared to believe anything it's told, in part because
we are a country less and less educated, increasingly unable to tell fact from
fiction because we are so unschooled in basic essential knowledge about
I
remembered a conversation my friend and colleague Bill Moyers
had with journalist and author Susan Jacoby on "Bill Moyers
Journal" in 2008, just after the publication of her book, "The Age of
American Unreason."
She cited a 2006 National Geographic-Roper Survey: "Only 23 percent of
college-educated young people could find
It's
not much of a leap from there to the
The
jump in the "Obama is a Muslim" numbers is sharpest among Republicans
(and a new Newsweek poll finds a majority of Republicans also believe that it's
"definitely" or "probably" true that "Barack Obama
sympathizes with Islamic fundamentalists who want to impose Islamic law around
the world"). But as New York Times blogger Timothy Egan noted in an entry
headlined, "Building a Nation of Know-Nothings," it's "not just
that 46 percent of Republicans believe the lie that Obama is a Muslim, or that
27 percent in the party doubt that the president of the
Back
when Moyers spoke with Susan Jacoby about "the
ignorance and erosion of historical memory that makes serious deceptions
possible and plausible," she cited as an example that, "If we don't
know what our Constitution says about the separation of powers then it
certainly affects the way we decide all kinds of public issues."
According to a survey conducted last year by The American Revolution Center, a
nonpartisan, educational group, more than half of American adults
"mistakenly believe the Constitution established a government of direct
democracy, rather than a democratic republic," a third don't know that the
right to trial by jury is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and "many more
Americans remember that Michael Jackson sang 'Beat It' than know that the Bill
of Rights is part of the Constitution." (Sixty percent knew that reality
TV's Jon and Kate Gosselin had eight kids, but more
than a third did not know that the American Revolution took place in the 18th
century.)
So, is it any wonder that many Tea Partiers are equally unknowing of the fact
that much of their grassroots movement is bankrolled by fat cats with ulterior
motives like billionaire libertarians David Koch and his brother Charles, who,
as a former associate told The New Yorker's Jane Mayer, seems to have
"confused making money with freedom"? Or that continuing tax cuts for
the rich while supporting deficit reduction are inherently incompatible
concepts? Or that raging Islamophobia plays right
into the hands of radical terrorists who use our bigotry to incite and recruit?
Or that Beck just says whatever craziness pops into his head?
"It's
one thing to forget the past, with predictable consequences, as the favorite
aphorism goes," Egan wrote on the Times web site. "But what about
those who refuse to comprehend the present?"
Years
ago, I attended a rally protesting government cuts in funding for education and
the arts. One of the speakers suggested that we boomers may be the first
generation to teach the next generation less than we know. That often willful
ignorance may turn out to be our final, fatal mistake, the greatest American
tragedy of all.
Flying the Flag; Faking the News
By John Pilger
Edward
Bernays, the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, is
said to have invented modern propaganda. During the First World War, he was one
of a group of influential liberals who mounted a secret government campaign to
persuade reluctant Americans to send an army to the bloodbath in
The American tobacco industry hired Bernays to
convince women they should smoke in public. By associating smoking with women's
liberation, he made cigarettes "torches of freedom." In 1954, he
conjured a communist menace in
Bernays was no rabid right winger. He was an elitist
liberal who believed that "engineering public consent" was for the
greater good. This was achieved by the creation of "false realities,"
which then became "news events." Here are examples of how it is done
these days:
False
Reality: The last
False Reality: BBC presenters and reporters have described the departing
False Reality: It is not known how many Iraqis have died. They are
"countless" or maybe "in the tens of thousands." Fact: As a
direct consequence of the Anglo-American-led invasion, a million Iraqis have
died. This figure from Opinion Research Business is based on peer-reviewed
research led by
False Reality: The British economy has a deficit of billions, which must be
reduced with cuts in public services and regressive taxation, in a spirit of
"we're all in this together." Fact: We are not in this together. What
is remarkable about this public relations triumph is that, only 18 months ago,
the diametric opposite filled TV screens and front pages. Then, in a state of
shock, truth was unavoidable, if briefly. The Wall Street and city of
Within a year, record profits and personal bonuses were posted, and state and
media propaganda had recovered its equilibrium. Suddenly, the "black
hole" was no longer the responsibility of the banks, whose debt is to be
paid by those not in any way responsible: the public.
The received media wisdom of this "necessity" is now a chorus, from
the BBC to the Sun. A masterstroke, Bernays would
surely say.
False Reality: The former government minister Ed Miliband
offers a "genuine alternative" as leader of the British Labour Party. Fact: Miliband,
like his brother David, the former foreign secretary, and almost all those
standing for the Labour leadership, is immersed in
the effluent of New Labour. As a New Labour member of Parliament and
minister, he did not refuse to serve under Blair or speak out against Labour's persistent warmongering. He now calls the invasion
of
Of
course, the good news is that false realities often fail when the public trusts
its own critical intelligence, not the media. Two classified documents recently
released by WikiLeaks express the CIA's concern that
the populations of European countries, which oppose their governments' war
policies, are not succumbing to the usual propaganda spun through the media.
For the rulers of the world, this is a conundrum, because their unaccountable
power rests on the false reality that no popular resistance works. And it does.
By Brian Stimson
One
year after releasing the Urban League of Portland's State of
Midge
Purcell, Public Affairs director for the league, says lawmakers need to address
these issues. "Doing nothing will make these matters worse," she
said.
In
education, dropout rates improved for students, except for African Americans.
As justice policies have shifted to allowing more earned time for nonviolent
offenders, blacks still are jailed at nearly six times the rates for whites.
This trend is also evident in schools, where black students are nearly twice as
likely to be expelled or suspended as white students.
In
housing, blacks had the highest rate of home foreclosures from 2007 to 2009.
Blacks were twice as likely, even when looking at people of similar economic
backgrounds, to receive high-cost, high-interest loans. In income and
employment, the gap between wages earned by whites and blacks has grown and
data suggest that unemployment for black men is increasing.
CEO Marcus Mundy calls the responses and solutions inadequate. "Many have
questioned the legality of addressing disparities within a specific minority
population," he said. "We welcome the opportunity to navigate these
challenges and call on government to work with the Urban League of Portland.
Year after year, unemployment, incarceration, poverty, and health numbers speak
to an inherent inequity in business and government; only bold changes will
offer redress."
The
league suggests several solutions to each of the disparities. The Urban League
is proposing that:
•
the City of Portland, Metro, Oregon Department of Transportation and other
related agencies that oversee new development, including American Reinvestment
and Recovery Act projects, devote a percentage of each project's workforce to
those who are disproportionately affected by un/underemployment; and that the
City of Portland set up a city-wide task force to conduct an equity assessment
and propose recruitment and retention strategies;
•
that the state legislature preserve and expand Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) to slow economic spiral
threatening families struggling to find work and meet their daily needs;
• that Portland Public Schools approve and implement a plan that allocates
resources according to need; utilize culturally competent staff , targeted and
sufficient resources as first steps towards narrowing the achievement gap;
• that hospitals, county health departments and the state set targeted health
disparity reduction goals, using culturally competent strategies and equity
tools to implement and assess improved health outcomes;
•
that the state legislature require preparation of
racial impact statements for any proposed laws that would affect the racial
composition of
On The DISH
By Dot
The
DISH (Dot's Information Service Hotline) began as a way to keep our community
of family and friends informed about conditions and situations in our community
and the world beyond. After more than a decade, its subscribers have grown to
encompass individuals and groups worldwide that appreciate our views and news.
While
The DISH has amassed a significant following, it has also garnered its
detractors. In a society and at a time in which the views of minorities, the
poor and disenfranchised are neither respected nor protected, those who would
prefer we never produced another issue can and do wreck havoc with our efforts.
As a result, we have faced a number of challenges over the years. Several
Internet Service Providers (ISP) that categorized The DISH as spam, because
some anonymous person complained, abruptly ended our service.
The
last time this happened we were fortunate to have lucked upon Ga.Net, which
offered to host our Dishlist at no additional charge.
This relationship remained stable for a number of years. That is, until
recently, when their business office decided to alter the relationship and
demanded thousands of dollars more per year for the service. We cannot afford
to pay so dearly.
As
you know, we do not charge our subscribers. This has never been a money-making
endeavor. Beyond John's book,
As a fact of life, ever so often, we expect to have to make changes in the way
we do things. We were hoping to delay the inevitable with regards to the Dishlist. But change is here and you may experience some
delay in the delivery of your weekly issue of The DISH as we fine tune our new
delivery system.
If
you have suggestions on how we can economically accomplish the weekly
dissemination of The DISH, please feel free to provide them. Likewise, since we
are not techno-savvy, any technical assistance, as well as kind words, well
wishes, donations and prayers will be greatly appreciated.
Disgruntled feels: Dumb-downed! The most recent issue of AARP Bulletin
contains an article by Betsy Towner called Banned! It basically lists books
that have been banned by schools, libraries, religious groups and conservatives
for reasons ranging from too political to offensive. The banned books include
everything from biographies to fictional classics such as The Grapes of Wrath
and The Scarlet Letter. Even Harry Potter has its detractors who would rather
see it burned than read by our children. In fact, there are some strait-laced
people out there who would rather our children not read at all for fear they
will no longer accept their daily lies and propaganda. It is all about keeping
them dumb-downed, so they are pliant and passive!
Disgruntled says:
The new unemployment numbers were published on Friday. As expected, the
unemployment rate rose to 9.6% with the bulk of the rise due to declining
employment among black Americans. The stock market ended up this week,
discounting the weak employment data. In fact, the numbers, according to some
pundits, show improvements in the labor market, despite the up-tick in the
unemployment rate. And, so we are supposed to ignore all the negative data from
home foreclosures to the rising cost of living and say to ourselves, "we
are in the midst of an economic recovery." Just in time for Labor Day, the
government laid off more temporary Census Bureau workers. I am certain these
newly unemployed do not believe the economy is in a recovery.
Disgruntled wants to know: American tennis player Andy Roddick angrily
dissed a linesperson on his way out of the second
round at the US Open. Some folks thought he behaved badly and should have
apologized for his behavior. You will recall that Serena Williams was punished
last year with the deduction of a point on match point and severely fined (the
largest in tennis history) for verbally abusing a linesperson. In her case, the
call was wrong, a fact that was never mentioned in the brouhaha over the
incident. In Roddick's case, the line call was
correct, yet there is no discussion of a fine for his behavior and no point was
deducted from his score during the match, which he lost. Now, the question one
must ask is, why the world of difference in treatment
accorded these two American tennis players?
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email
www.huffingtonpost.com Rahm
Emanuel's 'F--k The UAW': White House Pushes Back On Account In Rattner Book, UAW Prez
Responds....By Marcus Baram...The White House is forcefully
pushing back on former car czar Steve Rattner's
upcoming book about his time in Washington, specifically the allegation that
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once blurted "Fuck
the UAW" when told that tens of thousands of autoworkers' jobs were at stake
in the restructuring of the auto industry. In "Overhaul", as first
reported by Huffington Post on Thursday, Rattner offers an insider's account of the Obama
administration's rescue of the auto industry, pulling no punches when it comes
to describing the foibles of such heavyweights as Emanuel, Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner, economic adviser Larry Summers and FDIC
chair Sheila Bair. While not specifically denying that Emanuel uttered those
words, a White House aide rejected the implication that the chief of staff
wasn't looking out for workers toiling at GM and Chrysler. "Throughout the
entire process that saved the auto industry, Rahm
tirelessly defended and advocated on behalf of the auto workers," the aide
said. "Any suggestion to the contrary is simply ridiculous." And UAW
President Bob King doesn't seem to be offended. "If it wasn't for Rahm Emanuel,... if it wasn't for
President Obama and the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, we
wouldn't have an auto industry. Millions of more people would be out of work
today," King told CNBC on Friday morning.
Email
www.ilo.org ..Economic
Recovery Strategies must Prioritize Job Creation, Says Un Labor
Agency...Although the global economy is on the cusp of a fragile recovery,
governments must take concerted action to create jobs to spur growth and
development, according to the heads of the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). "A job-centred growth strategy
should be our number one priority," said ILO Director General Juan Somavia, ahead of a high-level conference on 13 September
in