The DISH is proud to feature two artists this week. Both are writers. One uses poetry as his medium, while the other uses prose to deliver her cogent message.

by Sa'Mone L. Jenkins

As I think about how my African American history is intertwined and expressed through Southern Culture, I encounter roadblocks. While others may talk about "blackness" and what it means through twists and variations of southern foods, southern music, languages and pastimes, my thoughts and experiences, although including some of these things, runs much deeper.

When I think about being black and southern, what first comes to mind is W.E.B. Dubois' concept of having a "double-mindedness" or a "double-consciousness," which I became aware or and interested in during my freshman year in college. Having this double-consciousness means having two souls, two different modes of thought controlling two different ways of perceiving and behaving that struggle to express their true "selves."

Also, for me, in addition to being black and being southern, I am a woman. Woman's equality has been, to say the least, an uphill battle in America, so has being black in the South. My experience is that it has been hard expressing my true black culture in a region that has for so long denounced black as negative. While being told in America to search for the attainable "American dream," it sometimes seems so unrealistic. I think, how can I reach that dream when I am faced with racism and racial ignorance everyday? How am I to be viewed as educated and intelligent when every time I open my mouth to speak, my southern drawn signals a lack of intelligence, and my black dialect conveys incoherence and ignorance to some? How can I ever be thought of as socially refined when my mind is constantly burdened by thoughts of burning white crosses, pictures of innocent black men nailed to them and black women and children hosed off sidewalks in the name of the law? How can I be comfortable proclaiming "proud to be southern" when southern states were hardest and last to allow blacks to receive an education legally?

Furthermore, how can I be "proud to be an American?" The legal system deems innocent those law enforcement officials who clubbed a black man over 50 times and at the same time judged another man more harshly for hitting a dog twice, giving an animal more respect than some humans. How can anyone possible expect me to stay motivated to obtain "the dream" when I see and feel the hopes of my people constantly drowned in sorrow? How can I embrace and call myself "proud to be southern," when the Confederate flag, which symbols the notion that slavery is all right, still flies over southern state capitals? Lastly, while I realize that these may not all be true, they are examples of how I have experienced being southern and black in America. This is just my opinion; it is based on my national, regional and gender experience.

About Me: My name is Sa'Mone L. Jenkins. I am a recent (May 1998) graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I hold a B.A. in Anthropology, which spawned my interest in researching and writing about different cultures. I now reside in the suburbs of Atlanta, where I am employed full-time, volunteer at various non-profit health organizations, in addition to being a freelance writer. Sa'Mone can be reached at ewsj@email.msn.com.

by Larry Jaffe

In a moment's pause, life begins at the behest

Of mother's hood donning the uniform

Of every day life.

No insignia on her lapel, just the understanding

Innate and learned. Warming hearts and healing hurts

Mother's love all consuming ironclad wonder

Testing life's potential,

Maintaining eagerness of exploration

With discipline of love, a mother's prerogative

Wages the war of love on so many fronts

A child thrives from knowledge

Not the ignorance of old.

A mother's love nourishes and caresses

With bounty and beauty

Untying apron strings, a child flies free.

About Me: Larry Jaffe started writing at age 11. According to Larry, "Life is a poem and I write it." He is committed to returning poetry to the people and speaks strongly about the role of poetry and poets in today's society. His recent books include Unprotected Poetry, Hate's Not Natural, Winter Rose, and Jewish Soul Food. Visit Jaffe at http://www.larryjaffe.com Venue

The Batman/White Ninja/Zorro successfully completed another school year. When asked how he felt about school being out for the summer, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro enthusiastically replied, "I'm glad; it feels good to be out of that one." BatCave

by Yohannes Sharriff Smith

I tickle you pink

'Cause it's your laughter that turns me on.

The breathless way you pause

And let the passion churn

Beneath anxiety slowly building

Placed thick between pelvis and abdomen.

So, I tickle you pink...You laugh

I clutch the guard rails to express the magnitude

The surge as intense as a silent scream,

Every gasp of life lay

Plush between each eloquent phrase.

Baby, talk to me all night and I promise to stay.

Yes! That's where I want to be

There in between the dance...

The way your hips sway then hesitate

Like a wave prolonging the break

The blazing silence of body language

As you move lips, I hear not a sound

But shudder in response.

The rise and fall of harden nipples as you breathe.

Caught between the ebb and flow..

Life beautifully suspended beneath the undertow.

So beautiful, I tickle you pink. Laugh for me?

Again......Please? Intuit

Hip Hopping B'ham!

On Saturday, June 5, 1999, Atlanta Vibe, in conjunction with other local spoken word artists, rocked FM 88.5. All the way live, the radio show gave the ATL a sampling of the city's hottest talents. In coming weeks, The DISH will feature works by some of those appearing on the radio show. For an up-close look at local talent, join Yohannes at Soul Vegetarian on Saturday, June 12, 1999. Soul Vegetarian is located at 879 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd in the West End. Doors open at 9PM. Cover: $5.00.

On Thursday, June 17, 1999, Atlanta Vibe hooks up with Infinite Currents for Verbal Vybz in The Harambe Room 1815 4^th Avenue North in Birmingham, AL. Show starts at 6:30 PM. E-mail Seventh Sun at Griot_7@hotmail.com or call (205)780-5669 for more information. Vibe

by John B. Smith

Participants of Turnout 75%, back when white flight meant growth, the Atlanta Regional Commission(ARC) pushed road building as though it was Manifest Destiny. Governor Roy Barnes was a State Senator aiding Cobb County's development. In the same bed today, these two dynamic forces are pushing the Northern Arc road project as "smart growth."

Responding to The Dialogue on Race, the Richard L. Kirksey, Jr. Foundation, published Surviving the Urban Crisis in January 1998. It examined sprawl and the ARC's strategic role. Subsequently, The DISH (Vol 1, Issue 38 and 39) reminded readers, the same ones who created sprawl are in charge of fixing it. Classic!

ARC diverted road building revenue to areas like Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia. Aiding white flight, white politicians, developers, banks, churches and Chambers of Commerce siphoned tax money from Atlanta to build areas now plagued by sprawl. Billed as safe havens from crime, white politicians conjured "The Urban Crisis." Frightened whites abandoned Atlanta.

Today, they deny ARC's seedy history to avoid correcting inequities and injustices perpetrated by developing areas north of Tenth Street. Like Ku Klux Klan marches and cross burnings, the Northern Arc fight shows, the old racist coalition still controls regional politics. The rebel flag flying over Georgia, they are trying to sell their old red neck policy of robbing Atlanta as "smart growth."

An architect of sprawl, Governor Barnes must stop and correct what they fought so hard to create. Appointing sprawl's movers and shakers to GRTA's overwhelmingly white board, will not address needs nor interests of Atlanta. GRTA will underwrite economic development in North Georgia by dictating transportation policies favoring suburbia.

An example of GRTA's control over local transportation policy can be seen in MARTA. Blacks pay taxes as whites, but south DeKalb County cannot get MARTA rail service. White communities already served by MARTA rail have shown overwhelmingly that they do not want another inch of MARTA. Obliviously, MARTA insists upon forcing more rail and developments down their throats. Conversely, south DeKalb residents have developed and submitted an East line out I-20. Impacting air quality positively, such a line would connect the greatest under served communities to MARTA rail, as well as, commuters from Rockdale and Henry Counties. MARTA refuses to even consider such a route.

A southern Governor, Barnes as most Dixiecrats supported George Wallace and segregation. When the U. S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation, they resorted to institutionalized racism. Back then, white men became politicians by paying homage to J. B. Stoner, the KKK's Grand Dragon. Cobb County was the national headquarters of the KKK. Roy Barnes carried his card in his heart. A Dixiecrat, he believes as Al Gore, that visiting a black church sanctifies our souls to the degree we no longer need education, economic development and equality. Essays by John B. Smith

Bits of Black History

by Dot Smith

Candidate Roy Barnes campaigned hard for black votes. He sang and prayed with black congregations on Sundays, and during the remainder of the week, he took advantage of every opportunity to be seen with "blacks of consequence" and even some ordinary black citizens. Barnes' courtship paid dividends; blacks voted for this "man of vision." With a sizeable portion of the black vote, Barnes' enjoyed a successful bid for Georgia's governorship. For years, blacks in Georgia have been trying to change the state symbol to reflect something more inclusive. Unlike his predecessor, Zell Miller, Barnes has not taken even a token position on Georgia's state flag. Miller advocated removing the Confederate battle emblem; no vote to do so came out of the General Assembly during his tenure. Barnes has been silent. The DISH called the Governor's office to get his views on this issue. When his press office responds with his official position, The DISH will let everyone in on Barnes' vision for the new millennium. Does it include a Confederate battle emblem flying over the state's capital and public buildings?

On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger read General Order #3 to the people of Galveston, TX. Juneteenth is the name given to this day; it is recognized as the emancipation day for slaves in Texas. In 1980, June 19^th became a legal Texas state holiday. It is widely celebrated throughout the Lone Star State. In fact, many African Americans prefer to celebrate Juneteenth, instead of the traditional holiday of July 4^th, because on that day in 1776, blacks were still slaves.

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere." Visit your nearest public library, surf the Internet and be sure to check out the Texas State University website below for more information on this important black holiday. Http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/lobby/ref/juneteenth.htm. Black History

Disgruntled wants to know: If the Council of Conservative Citizens (modern-day KKK) believes intermingling of the black and white races is genocide for them, then which race is dominant?

Disgruntled says: Calling a person "spic" in their high school yearbook is sick. Offering to give them a free book next year, as a way to make it right, is the callous act of a hypocrite.

Disgruntled feels: Like the guy in the run room graphic used on The DISH website- boxed in! Disgruntled

"My skin happens to be white, but my children, my heart and my mind are not and never will be. I love and wholeheartedly agree with the article "Ethnic Cleansing or Manifest Destiny" by John Burl Smith. I wish he would get that article published in major newspapers, and express his views in other news media (TV, radio, etc) and get the attention of many people who can really make a change. I often feel despondent and hopeless that the evils in this country will ever get better. You who have hope and strength, please keep trying! I am trying, through prayer. I have a suggestion for those who are open-minded enough to hear me. A saint from South India, named Ammachi, is visiting the U.S., bringing her blessings and devotional music to anyone who will come to see her. She has Divine Power, which you can experience if you see her. She soothes your mind and soul, heals your emotional wounds, and gives you strength and courage to keep trying to make the world a better place. She will be in Washington D.C. on July 10 and 11 - all programs are FREE. Many brothers and sisters have come to see. See on the Web www.ammachi.org. Email: knight.lisa@epamail.epa.gov. Mailbox

After printing a number of "news stories" on Coca-Cola in various sections of the paper from the front page to the living section, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution did a story on Carl Ware, Coke's trail-blazing African American executive (5/30/99). This business section peak at Ware capped a weeklong Coke ad campaign masquerading as "news." Coming as it did in the wake of an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by four current and former African American employees, the Ware article and the rest of the extensive media coverage are obviously aimed at polishing the company's tarnished image. Spotlighting Ware in this manner is a classic maneuver used by organizations accused of practicing employment discrimination, i.e., a token black is promoted and paraded out for all to see, as if this is credible evidence the company is not guilty of institutional racism. As expected, Ware parrots the company's line. Like the newspaper, he is blind to discrimination. He would never admit a glass ceiling exists at Coke; like the paper, he is just a mouthpiece. The truth about Coke would make him choke. Scribbler...the pen that writes and moves on..... Phantom

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