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Vol. 14 No. 23…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…June 6, 2011

Intuit's Vibe

Winter in America

By Gil Scott Heron

From the Indians who welcomed the pilgrims

And to the buffalo who once ruled the plains

Like the vultures circling beneath the dark clouds

Looking for the rain

Just like the cities staggered on the coastline

Living in a nation that just can't stand much more

Like the forest buried beneath the highway

Never had a chance to grow

And now it's winter

Winter in America

Yes and all of the healers have been killed

Or sent away, yeah

But the people know, the people know

It's winter

Winter in America

And ain't nobody fighting

'Cause nobody knows what to say

Save your soul, Lord knows

From Winter in America

The Constitution

A noble piece of paper

With free society

Struggled but it died in vain

And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner

Hoping for some rain

Looks like it's hoping

Hoping for some rain

And I see the robins

Perched in barren treetops

Watching last-ditch racists marching across the floor

But just like the peace sign that vanished in our dreams

Never had a chance to grow

And now it's winter

It's winter in America

And all of the healers have been killed

Or been betrayed

Yeah, but the people know, people know

It's winter, Lord knows

It's winter in America

And ain't nobody fighting

Cause nobody knows what to save

Save your souls

From Winter in America

And now it's winter

Winter in America

And all of the healers done been killed or sent away

Yeah, and the people know, people know

It's winter

Winter in America

And ain't nobody fighting

Cause nobody knows what to save

And ain't nobody fighting

Cause nobody knows, nobody knows

And ain't nobody fighting

Cause nobody knows what to save

Bit of History

Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011)

A little over 21 years ago I was introduced into what is laughingly referred to as civilization. I am a Black man dedicated to expression; expression of the joy and pride of blackness. I consider myself neither a poet, composer or musician. These are merely tools used by sensitive men to carve out a piece of beauty or truth that they hope may lead to peace and salvation. Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011), a spoken-word singer- songwriter whose socially conscious soul-jazz albums of the 1970s and 80s combined sermon-like lyrics into messages advocating peace, justice and equality, was born April 1, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Bobbie Scott-Heron, sang with the New York Oratorio Society and his Jamaican father, Gil Heron was the first black soccer player for the Glasgow Celtic Football Club in Scotland in the 1950s. Gil was sent to live with his maternal grandmother, Lillie Scott in Jackson, Tennessee at the age of two, after his parents separated. He moved to New York City to live with his mother at age 12, after his grandmother passed.

Gil attended DeWitt Clinton High School before transferring to the Fieldston School upon recommendation of one of his teachers, who showed his writings to the head of the English department at Fieldston. Gil was given a full scholarship. Scott-Heron attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he met Brian Jackson and formed a band called the Black & Blues. He left school after two years to write the novels The Vulture and The Nigger Factory. Returning to New York City in 1970, he published The Vulture, a story of urban youth, drugs, and death, which indicated a sophisticated writing voice. Although Scott-Heron did not complete his undergraduate studies, he received a Master's degree in Creative Writing in 1972 from Johns Hopkins University.

Gil Scott-Heron's first recording - Small Talk (1970) - featured themes that influenced his work throughout his career; these included the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be black revolutionaries, and white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents. Pieces of a Man, Scott-Heron's 1971 album, relied more on conventional song structures than the loose, spoken-word feel of Small Talk. He acknowledged the influence of Richie Havens, John Coltrane, Otis Redding, Jose Feliciano, Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Nina Simone, and Brian Jackson, his long-time pianist collaborator.

Following Small Talk, Scott-Heron collaborated with Brian Jackson on what most critics consider his magnum opus, Winter in America (1972). He followed that with the successful single hit "Angel Dust," which peaked at #15 on the R&B charts (1978). The music of these albums, most notably Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, influenced and helped engender black American music genres such as hip-hop and neo-soul in the late 1970s. One of his most popular compositions, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," a diatribe against mass media's trivialization of social upheaval and, seemingly, the paralysis of those who watch via television, made him a cultural icon during the black power era, while enhancing his international statue.

Scott-Heron began to expand his fan base in 1972 with "We Almost Lost Detroit," a song written about a nuclear power plant accident before the Three Mile Island incident. Musicians United for Safe Energy booked Scott-Heron for the No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden (1979) to highlight their protest against the use of nuclear energy. "We Almost Lost Detroit" was included in the No Nukes album from the concerts.

With the song H20-Gate Blues (Watergate Blues), Gil Scott-Heron moved into full attack mode against US politicians in late 1973, "How long will the citizens sit and wait, it's looking like Europe in '38. Did they move to stop Hitler before it was too late? How long, America, before the consequences of keeping the school system segregated, allowing the press to be intimidated, watching the price of everything soar, and hearing complaints 'cause the rich want more. It seems that Macbeth, and not his lady, went mad. We let him eliminate the whole middle class. The dollar's the only thing we can't inflate, while the poor go on without a new minimum wage. But what really happened to J. Edgar Hoover, the king is proud of Patrick Gray, and there are those who say America's faith is drowning beneath that cesspool, Watergate."

Scott-Heron was a frequent critic of President Ronald Reagan and his conservative policies. "The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia. And yesterday was the day of our cinema heroes riding to the rescue at the last possible moment. The day of the man in the white hat or the man on the white horse - or the man who always came to save America at the last moment -- especially in 'B' movies. And when America found itself having a hard time facing the future, they looked for people like John Wayne. But since John Wayne was no longer available, they settled for Ronald Reagan -- and it has placed us in a situation that we can only look at -- like a 'B' movie."

Prophetically, Scott-Heron helped compose and sang "Let Me See Your I.D." on the Artists United Against Apartheid album Sun City, which contained the famous line, "The first time I heard there was trouble in the Middle East, I thought they were talking about Pittsburgh." The song compares racial tensions in the US with those in apartheid-era South Africa; the implied message was all too clear that there was no difference.

Although hailed the "Godfather of hip hop" and sampled by various hip-hop artists, with the release of Spirits, Gil Scott-Heron leveled a broadside at hip-hop artists on his seminal track "'Message to the Messengers" (1993). He called out rap artists saying, "They need to study music. I played in several bands before I began my career as a poet. There's a big difference between putting words over some music, and blending those same words into the music. There's not a lot of humor. They use a lot of slang and colloquialisms, not emphasizing the importance of recognizing the "spirits" of black ancestors and the history of the struggle.

Gil Scott-Heron passed on May 27, 2011. During the memorial service at Harem's Riverside Church, Gia, his daughter, performed her own poetry to celebrate and honor her father. "But because he was before his time, and because time is unfair, we weren't even aware that his time was up. But time can never diminish the bonds of unconditional love. So though your demise is publicized, this new revolution will be televised." (Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org, www.zimbio.com and www.answers.com)

Venue for an Artist

Not All Black Intellectuals Think Alike (Excerpts)

By Melissa Harris-Perry

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man opens with a battle royal. The novel's nameless black male protagonist is asked to recite his high school commencement speech touting submission and racial humility for the white citizens of his segregated town. When he arrives at the venue, he finds that the white men have arranged for him and other young black men to don boxing gloves and blindfolds and viciously fight one another for the entertainment of the white hosts. They even require the boys to scramble on an electrified mat for gold coins--which later turn out to be brass. Bruised and bloodied, the narrator is then required to deliver his speech to the men, who mockingly ignore his elocution. At the end of the night the same men award him a scholarship to the state college for Negroes.

This scene has been playing in a mental loop for me since I participated in the mini-tempest that exploded in the academic teapot in the aftermath of Chris Hedges's Truthdig interview with Professor Cornel West, who stingingly criticized President Obama's economic and social policies and painted the president as cowardly and out of touch with black culture. In my response to West on my blog at TheNation.com, I observed how West's sense of betrayal is clearly more personal than ideological and as such "gave insight into the delicate ego of the self-appointed black leadership that has been largely supplanted in recent years." All of this prompted more discussion, criticism and attacks--from those organized in defense of West and from those supportive of the president.

The debate about President Obama is not uncomfortable. If anything, arguments about the qualities of Obama's leadership, his commitment to issues with a disproportionate impact on black people and the psychic and social effect of his presidency on black communities constitute a robust, potentially fruitful, sometimes personal, always interesting discussion that has been going on among African-American academics for years. We've written critical articles, gathered conflicting data, argued unflaggingly on e-mail and rolled our eyes at one another at conferences. Sometimes we've even changed our opinions, moderated our viewpoints and thanked one another for new information. But, as is often the case with the work of academics, no one really noticed.

Until last week--that's when the sudden attention of major media outlets exposed this ongoing debate to a penetrating white gaze that still finds the idea of black political disagreement a noteworthy and entertaining curiosity. In the middle of the ensuing furor, it felt like I had joined Ellison's narrator on the electrified mat, scrambling for fake gold coins.

I vigorously object to the oft-repeated sentiment that African-Americans should avoid public disagreements and settle matters internally to present a united front. It's clear from the history of black organizing that this strategy is particularly disempowering for black women, black youth, black gay men and lesbians, and others who have fewer internal community resources to ensure that their concerns are represented in a broader racial agenda. Failing to air the dirty laundry has historically meant that these groups are left washing it with their own hands.

Citizenship in a democratic system rests on the ability to freely and openly choose, criticize and depose one's leaders. This must obtain whether those leaders are elected or self-appointed. It cannot be contingent on whether the critiques are accurate or false, empirical or ideological, well or poorly made. Citizenship is voice. West exercised his voice, and I mine. But the history and persistence of racial inequality and white privilege in America means that the exercise of voice for black citizens is fraught with the dangers of surveillance. It's yet another challenge of being black and exercising citizenship in the United States. Even as we articulate our grievances, black citizens are haunted by that "peculiar sensation" that W.E.B. Du Bois described as "always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity."

Whatever the accuracy or erroneousness of West's remarks, there was little new in them. Arguments about the corporate control of American politics, the ascendance of Wall Street over Main Street and the imperial impulse of American foreign policy have been the standard talking points of the left for more than a decade. What fascinated the press were the salacious tidbits offered by West that suggested black-on-black infighting. My response and those that followed added to the impression that black intellectuals were engaged in a battle royal. As in Ellison's opening scene, it is the fight, not the speech, that is the main attraction. That African-Americans strenuously disagree among ourselves about goals and strategies is an ancient historical truth that is masked by our nominal partisan similarities. But the intense media attention over West's critique of President Obama can be understood only by the repeated refusal by mainstream media and broader American political culture to adequately grasp the heterogeneity of black thought.

About Me: Melissa V. Harris-Perry is professor of political science at Tulane University, where she is founding director of the Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. This article can be read in its entirety at www.thenation.com/article/160957/breaking-news-not-all-black-intellectuals-think-alike.

Hood Notes

Black Women No Longer Have Their Essence

By Raynard Jackson

Essence Magazine used to be the preeminent magazine for Black women in the U.S. They, like many Black publications, have lost their relevance; and in the process become an embarrassment to the very group they claim to target.

Essence was founded in 1968 by Ed Lewis, Clarence Smith, Cecil Hollingworth, Jonathan Blount, and Denise Clark. Their initial circulation began at around 50,000 per month and now is estimated to be over 1 million per month. It is a monthly publication focusing on Black women between the ages of 18 and 49. Essence was bought out by Time Inc. in 2005, thus no longer a Black-owned publication (similar to B.E.T.).

The impetus behind the founding of Essence was to show a side of Black women that was never portrayed in the mainstream media. Images of Black women were controlled by white media outlets that had little to no knowledge of the Black community. Most of these images were very stereotypical and lacking substance.

There were unique issues relevant to Black women that other publications were totally ignorant of. Black women could not wear the same makeup that white women could---there are differences in skin type. Black women have unique issues when it comes to styling their hair-there were no mainstream publications that dealt with these differences.

So, initially, Essence met a very real need and provided a venue for Black women to share common experiences with each other (remember, this was pre-Internet days when you didn't have all the instant communication we have today).

Essence portrayed Black women in the most positive of lights. They made Black women feel proud to be Black and female! That was then, this is now.

Now, Essence is just another Hollywood rag (focused on Black women), sprinkled with a few substantive, positive stories; but, that is no longer their focus!

I looked at the cover picture for the past year and each cover featured an entertainer. Isn't this the same stereotyping that we have accused white media of-showing Blacks as only entertainers? There is nothing wrong with having entertainers on the cover, but is that all there is to offer Black women?

I can guarantee that most Black women have never heard of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Alicia Jillian Hardy, or Katie Washington.

When I went on Essence Music Festival's website and looked at the speakers listed under "Empowerment" I was stunned and quite embarrassed!

The Essence Music Festival is the nation's largest annual gathering of Black musical talent in the U.S. It is a 3-day event filled with cultural celebrations, empowerment panels, and nightly entertainment by some of the biggest names in music. It is held in New Orleans, LA every July.

One of the speakers listed under "Empowerment" is "NeNe" Leakes, one of the characters of the reality TV show, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." The show is about the private lives of women who are dating or is married to successful men in the Atlanta area.

Leakes is a foul mouth, angry, nasty person on the show and from media accounts in real life also. She is also the founder of Twisted Hearts Foundation (which focuses on domestic violence against women). They were forced to close down last year after being suspected of money laundering. Leakes is also a former stripper.

One of the other speakers listed under "Empowerment" is Shaunie O'Neal, former wife of N.B.A. great Shaquille O'Neal. She is the executive producer of "Basketball Wives." The women's only claim to fame is that they either dated or were married to a pro basketball player. They have nor had no identity outside the athletes they were involved with.

Both shows portray women in the worst light imaginable-using high profile men to get fame and fortune. These try to exploit their former relationships to get their own TV show. They are paid to tell the most intimate details of their former relationships.

Essence, could you please tell me how these two women fit into your mission of uplifting the Black woman? What can they teach women about "empowerment?" Is this really the image of Black women Essence wants to promote? There are many women who could fit into your mission statement.

By the way, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in America (1921). Alicia Jillian Hardy is the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D from M.I.T. in mechanical engineering (2007). Katie Washington, a 21 year old, became the first Black female valedictorian in the history of Notre Dame University (2010). She gave a wonderful speech (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaouUZrn2vI).

One would think that Ms. Hardy and Washington deserved to be on the cover for their achievements; and most assuredly know a little something about empowerment! Oh, I forgot, they are not entertainers, so they don't qualify.

In times past, Black women used to look forward to reading Essence Magazine for upliftment. That was then, this is now. Black women no longer have the Essence of their mother and grandmother. In Essence, there is no essence!

Politics Y2K11

US to Boycott World Racism Conference

The Obama administration said Wednesday it will boycott a world conference against racism being held at UN headquarters in September.

According to a letter written to Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and other members of Congress, Joseph E. MacManus, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, stated that the US will not participate in the 10-year commemoration of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism.

MacManus' letter was written in response to a letter sent by Gillibrand to the United States' UN Ambassador Susan Rice requesting a "strong signal" that the US will follow Canada in boycotting the event. Gillibrand welcomed the administration's decision.

Others praising the administration's move include the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, an umbrella of 52 groups including B'nai B'rith International, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America.

MacManus wrote, "In December, we voted against the resolution establishing this event because the Durban process included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism, and we did not want to see that commemorated." In 2009, the US withdrew from the planning of the conference because it reaffirmed the 2001 Durban Declaration. The Obama administration, felt it "unfairly singled out Israel and included language inconsistent with U.S. traditions of robust free speech."

The U.S. and Israel walked out of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, which was held in Durban, South Africa, over a draft resolution that criticized Israel and equated Zionism with racism. The US boycotted the 2009 UN event held in Geneva, citing concerns that Islamic countries would demand a denunciation of Israel and insist criticism of Islam be banned.

Regarding the event in September, MacManus wrote, "the United States delegation in New York has not been involved in the formal negotiations on the modalities resolution or the outcome document and has had a notetaker only in these proceedings. We share your concern about the Durban commemoration's timing and venue as just days earlier, we will have held solemn ten-year memorials for those murdered in the September 11 terrorist attacks."

The letter said that the US is "fully committed to upholding the human rights of all people and to combating racial discrimination, xenophobia, intolerance, and bigotry." (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110601/ap_on_re_us/un_us_racism_conference)

Disgruntled says: Last week, I received an email from a group asking me to email Psychology Today and request an apology for having published an article by psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa titled "Why Black Women Are Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women." I did not read the article on the Psychology Today website. Apparently, it has been removed. I did read lots of commentary on the article, so I responded to the request from the group and posted the following comment to accompany the demand for an apology. "I do not see black women as less attractive than white women. Black women do not look like white women; they possess a natural beauty unique to them, like women of other ethnic groups. I do however see a disturbing trend among black women. Black women spend a great deal of time, energy and money trying to look like white women, and in the process, they make themselves less attractive and true to their natural beauty. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If true, black women are bending over backwards to flatter white women."

Disgruntled feels: Saddened! The death of Gil Scott-Heron got me to thinking about how fragile our lives are and the price some men pay when they object to the lies we are fed along with our daily bread. Scott-Heron dared to use his talent to speak out about the abuse of power, excess and the lack of access endured by some in our society. As a black man, he had first hand knowledge of the latter and former. We are saddened by his passing. We will be forever grateful for his efforts to enlighten, entertain and make a difference in the state of man.

Disgruntled wants to know: The "official" black unemployment rate for May rose one-tenth of one percent to 16.2 percent. The unemployment rate for whites remained unchanged at 8 percent, lower than the 9.1 percent national rate. In keeping with the nation's historic pattern of unemployment and welfare loss, the unemployment rate among black teenagers fell marginally to 40.7 percent; the May rate for white teens was 20.7 percent. Under the first black president, it is winter in black America, but Mr. Obama is silent on our suffering. Politically, we are told, the president can genuflect to Israel and AIPAC, the Jewish lobby, fight for gay rights, Hispanics and other illegal immigrants and even Muslims, but he risks alienating liberal white voters by doing or saying anything about improving the economic climate in the black community. So, they are silent -- tongue-tied by their desire to see Obama succeed as the first black president. Question is, since blacks experience the worst of economic conditions whether a white man or black man occupies the White House, what is the real value of silence in the face of suffering?

Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls

Email www.blackcommentator.com...Race and 2012: What Too Few Progressives are Prepared to Discuss...By Bill Fletcher, Jr...It has been striking that many progressives, particularly those who have not only written off President Obama but also written off all those who offered critical support to the Obama campaign in 2008, have said so little about race, racism, and the discourse of right-wing populism in the context of the upcoming elections. The white nationalist backlash is using Obama as the target but they are attempting to create a white united front to, in their minds, take back the United States. Part of this agenda means delegitimizing the democratically elected President, but it also goes towards tampering with election laws and voting processes in state after state. In case you have not noticed, in many states where there is a Republican majority in control, efforts are underway to restrict voting, whether by further limiting ex-felons from voting, to eliminating same-day voter registration, to the demand for picture identifications at the time of voting, to the shortening of periods of early voting. The objective is to reduce the potential anti-Republican electorate.

Email http://endoftheamericandream.com...War Zones: As The Economy Dies, Murders, Shootings, Robberies And Looting Erupt All Over America...As the U.S. economy falls apart and millions of Americans descend into despair we are seeing some really shocking things start to happen all over America. The mainstream media keep telling us that crime is under control, but they are also the ones that keep telling us that we are in the midst of an "economic recovery". Unfortunately, the truth is that the economy is slowly dying. Today, an all-time record 44 million Americans are on food stamps. That number is 18 million higher than it was just four years ago. When people can't get jobs and when people feel deprived they get desperate. The incidents that you are about to see and read about are very disturbing. Many American communities are rapidly turning into war zones. Sadly, it is mostly "unemployed" young people that are involved in the crimes and the violence that are now sweeping America.