Unbossed and
unbought news and information you can use
Vol. 14 No. 16…Dedicated to the Dialogue on
Race…April 18, 2011
Intuit's Vibe
Let
By Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Let
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(
Let
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was
O, let my land be a
land where
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who
left dark
And
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's
mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's,
Who made
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
O, yes,
I say it plain,
And yet I swear this oath--
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make
By John Burl Smith
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton spoke at the US-Islamic World Forum (4/12/11) during its gala dinner
highlighting efforts "to 
try
and help bridge the difference between the
The goal of the annual meeting, held in
Completely overlooking the US role in bankrolling most of the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and North Africa whose behavior she now condemns, Clinton said "Where the regional balance of power was once measured in tanks and missiles (supplied by the US), Middle Eastern policymakers now have to factor in 'connected, organized and frustrated' citizens who want economic opportunities, political freedoms and an end to corruption. In the 21st century, the material conditions of people's lives have greater impact on national stability and security than ever before."
Secretary Clinton cited unemployment, poverty, corruption and a lack of women's and minority rights as factors holding back the region. She outlined assistance the US is providing to help transitional democracies in the region, including $150 million for Egypt and $2 billion to encourage private investment across the Middle East and North Africa, particularly for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Secretary Clinton's speech to the
US-Islamic World Forum is viewed as "a tale of two speeches" by black
Americans when comparing 
her
speech to the one given by President Barack Obama at the 20th Annual Convention
of the National Action Network (NAN), a black civil rights group based in
Between clever jokes and name-dropping to church-like applause, Mr. Obama let
the
Now, it's also true, though, the unemployment rate for African Americans is
almost double what it is for other groups. It's also true that those with the
least have been sacrificing the most during this recession. What's also true is
that even before the recession hit, too many communities were marked by
structural inequalities in health and education and employment that made it
profoundly difficult for too many people to get ahead. I've seen the
frustration and the wounded pride in the eyes of folks who've lost their jobs
or a father who has to go home and tell his kids that we might not have enough
this month, might be losing our apartment this month. I've heard the stories of
struggling families who are doing everything right and still at the end of the
month don't quite have enough to pay the bills."
Obviously, after such statements and acknowledging such grim realities of life
in the African American community, one would expect the President of the United
States of America to do as Secretary Clinton by offering help to "bridge
the difference" with specific programs and funding to address the myriad
problems that he recognizes. Unfortunately however, Mr. Obama did not reveal
one dime his administration plans to spend to alleviate problems specific to
the black community as he is spending to help people in foreign countries.
The black community could certainly use $150 million of direct aid or $2
billion to encourage private investment in small- and medium-sized businesses.
Instead, blacks were served dribble about "nearly 2 million jobs created
in the last 13 months but few blacks were among that 2 million. Neither
"expansive" nor "comprehensive" in his remarks while
patting himself on the back for so-called Wall Street reform to combat
predatory lending practices and saving the American auto industry, the
President offered no rescue efforts for black people. The absurdity of this
tale of two speeches is the fluffy yarns spun about tackling poverty with
"Promise Neighborhoods" and expanded "Earned Income Tax
Credit," while making sure our civil rights and anti-discrimination laws
are enforced. Mr. Obama made no mention of any efforts to address the millions
of black men and women in prisons across the
A speech filled with dubious claims to say the least, the next time Mr. Obama's
handlers send him to talk to black people he should come with more substance
and less folksy ghetto-ism. Black voters, what this trip back home was really
all about, like everyone else, detest condescending "bullsh**t."
Black people have enough comedians getting laughs and being paid for doing so
at their expense. They need a president who takes them and their problems
seriously. For this lifetime member of
The Shifting Zeitgeist of the 'Arab Spring'
By Mark LeVine
The problem is, of course, that
the West clearly has little interest in fostering real democratic development
across the Arab world (the glaring silence in the face of army 
violence
in
This system has not only generated trillions of dollars in profits for corporations but created a geo-strategic environment that has, remarkably, become more stable as a source of profiteering and military activity the more unstable it has become. The power, and because of that, the danger, of the Arab pro-democracy revolts of the last four months lies precisely in the threat they have posed, not just to local rulers, but to the entire international system in which they are thoroughly enmeshed.
It is clear that neither the
Western alliance nor powers like
Such a move would have to start with demanding the UN Security Council end the veto power of the five permanent members and a reformulation of the global financial system that has for decades (in fact centuries) worked to ensure an increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of local and global elites as the majority of the earth's people live in near or absolute poverty.
Second, there would have to be a collective opting out of the international
debt-for-pseudo development system ruled by the World Bank, IMF, and larger
financial industry-led Washington Consensus system by the developing world. A
century and a half ago, a debt and finance-dominated global economic system
helped destroy both the already weakened
The people of the Arab world have
begun to do their part. What is necessary now is for citizens in the West to
join the fray by taking on their militarized and finance-dominated governments
with the same passion as their counterparts from
Finally, using force to aid a
violent uprising, while supporting the violent repression of non-violent
protests in other countries (most notably
About Me: Mark LeVine is a professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher.
Blacks and the Economics of Voting
By Raynard Jackson
How long will the Black community
continue to allow the Obama administration and the Democratic Party to insult
them and then 
blame
it on Obama not wanting to be perceived as a "Black" president?
Let me give an example. You have invested in a business project, Obama Inc. There were 4 classes of investors: class W, which comprised 74% of the total stock; class B, which comprised 13% of the total stock, class H, which comprised 9% of the total stock; and class G, which comprised 4% of the total stock.
How would you respond to the CEO of Obama Inc. if he says the rate of return (ROI) payout would be as follows: those who invested in class W stocks would be paid first, followed by, class G, then class L and the last to be paid back would be class B.
Well, any sane businessman would expect to be paid by order of the largest to the smallest investor. If you were part of the class W stock (74%), you should be paid first and work your way down to the smallest investor. This is normal and logical in the world of business.
Only in politics and with the Black community is this standard not adhered to.
In my above example, the class W stock represents the percentage of white
voters from the 2008 presidential election (74% of the total electorate, of
which Obama received 43% and McCain received 55%); the class B stock represents
the percentage of Black voters from the 2008 presidential election (13% of the
total electorate, of which Obama received 95% and McCain received 4%); the
class H stock represents the percentage of Hispanic voters from the 2008
presidential election (9% of the total electorate, of which Obama received 67%
and McCain received 31%); the class G stock represents the percentage of gay
voters from the 2008 presidential election (4% of the total electorate, of
which Obama received 70% and McCain received 27%).
Despite receiving 95% of the Black vote (who were the second largest shareholders in Obama Inc.), Obama has made a calculated decision to reward the gay and Hispanic communities ahead of the Black community (the smallest and second smallest shareholders in Obama Inc.). In business, the CEO (Obama) and its board of directors (the Democratic National Committee) would be sued for fraud. But Obama knows that Blacks will only complain and do nothing.
The gay community stopped giving money to Obama and the Democrats because Obama didn't deliver on any of his campaign promises to them--recognizing gay marriage, repealing "don't ask, don't tell," and giving spousal benefits to gay couples who are federal employees.
The Hispanic community threatened not to vote for Obama or the Democratic Party
if they didn't get amnesty for those in the country illegally and passage of
the Dream Act.
But, when asked what he would do specifically for the Black community, Obama
said nothing--"he is the president of everyone and a rising tide lifts all
boats!"
Despite being the second largest shareholder in Obama Inc., the Black community
cannot point to a specific program or policy directed towards them and their
issues. How do you justify dividend distributions to other shareholders, but
not your second largest?
Privately, the supposed Black leaders like Al Sharpton, Marc Morial (Urban
League), Ben Jealous (N.A.A.C.P.) all agree with me; but they don't have the
guts to speak out publicly because they still want to get invited to the White
House and take pictures with Obama.
It took Obama almost 1 ˝ years before he met with the Congressional Black
Caucus; and what did they do? They got mad! Obama has yet to meet with any
Black businessmen to discuss the disproportionately high unemployment rate
within the Black community.
Just like no one fears angering Obama, no one fears angering the Black
community. Obama has made a political calculation that there is nothing to lose
by ignoring the Black community and everything to gain--including white voters!
Obama believes that if he doesn't do anything specifically for the Black
community that somehow people are going to forget that he is Black.
The number 1 rule of politics is to reward your friends and punish your enemies. I didn't realize that Blacks were enemies of Obama.
Ending the New Jim Crow
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience....Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem." Howard Zinn
Michelle
Alexander, author of the New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness, recently addressed an audience at the
A breakdown of the
According to The Sentencing
Project, a criminal justice think tank, the
In grappling with the dilemma posed by the incarceration rate of black men, Alexander posed the question: If crime rates have fluctuated over the years and are now at historic lows, then why have rates of incarcerated men of color skyrocketed over the past thirty (30) years? She points to the "war on drugs," and the atrocious sentencing system that stemmed from it, which included mandatory minimums, three strikes law and the 100 to 1 sentencing ratio for crack and powder cocaine. Over the past twenty-five (25) years, the war on drugs has focused its discriminating eye primarily on communities of color, despite the fact that multiple studies have shown that Caucasians use and sell illegal drugs at rates equal to or greater than blacks.
Ending this new Jim Crow is a
must; it will require a revolution in the
Mass Incarceration Costly Disaster (Excerpts)
By Linn Washington, Jr.
The 
of
the world's prisoners, despite having just five percent of the world's population.
Mass incarceration consumes over $50-billion annually across
Under federal law persons with drug convictions are permanently barred from receiving financial aid for education, food stamps, welfare and publicly funded housing.
But only drug convictions trigger these exclusions under federal law. Violent bank robbers, white-collar criminals like Wall Street scam artists who steal billions, and even murderers who've done their time do not face the post-release deprivations slapped on those with drug convictions on their records, including those imprisoned for simple possession, and not major drug sales.
Exclusions mandated by federal laws compound the legal deprivations of rights
found in the laws of most states, such as barring ex-felons from jobs and even
stripping ex-felons of their right to vote.
Racism is written all over the economically/socially debilitating practices
embedded in mass incarceration. For example, a recent
While politicians pushing punitive policies help drive mass incarceration, its
budget- busting persistence implicates the blind-eye of society, according to
history professor Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the new director of the
"Middle-class whites and
blacks in the
Critics of the Obama administration acknowledge that it fulfilled a campaign pledge to address the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. However, Obama's proclivity for bipartisan consensus resulted in legislation that lowered but did not eliminate the disparity. In addition, that legislation did not apply retroactively, so it failed to mitigate stiff ten-year-plus crack cocaine sentences that left many minorities languishing in federal prisons.
In the words of Dr. Cornell West, "Obama and [US Attorney General Eric] Holder have no courage when it comes to the prison-industrial complex." (See entire article at www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/545)
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Telephone Calls
Email
www.dailyprincetonian...News &
Notes: West says Obama abandoned Democratic positions...In an interview with
Russian television network RT earlier this month, African American studies
professor Cornel West GS '80 said that President Barack Obama, whom West
publicly supported during his 2008 campaign, is abandoning his political
positions. "I think that he has aligned himself with forces that promote
the abandonment of poor people and the neglect of working people," West
said, according to The Princeton Packet. "I would characterize Obama as a
charismatic version of American exceptionalism with a Keynesian neo-liberalism
at home and a liberal neoconservatism abroad, which is to say, he is the
friendly face of the American empire abroad and internally he is a centrist now
leaning to the right." Despite Obama's early adoption of Democratic
rhetoric, the president is now "sadly becoming a pawn of big finance and a
puppet of big business," West said.