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Volume 2 Issue 24 …..Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… June 26, 1999

 The Circuit Rider

by John Burn Smith

 Lessons learned leave conscious groves, like wagon tracks after three days of storms. Having many experiences, but few mentors, my great-grandfather, Rev. Burl Lee looms larger than life. Faith represented more than pious platitudes for this black Methodist preacher who rode a circuit out of Kosciusko, MS.

An itinerant facing treacherous hazards on dark country roads, Rev. Lee declared, AI am a messenger from God sent to help the living survive here and now. Talk about heaven is for those already dead.@ A lifeline for forsaken people in the 1930s, he carried vital information between isolated terrorized communities trapped in the back washes of humanity. He taught three texts, i.e., 1^st Corinthians 13:1, Luke 18:16 and Mark 8:36.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 1^st Corinthians 13:1 Contrasting the message and mission of business oriented churches today, charity and service have fallen victim to televangelism. Back when Amen served God rather than God serving men,@ and before churches became Afaith-based communities,@ charity and service meant working with the poor, elderly and orphans. Churches sought the needy with the same message delivered by my great grandfathers.

During the Reagan/Bush administration conservative Christian political power grew to dominate American culture. Churches became a political lobby known as the Christian Coalition, faith-based community, the religious right and so forth. Not satisfied controlling education, they are seeking government entitlements as community service representatives. Al Gore and George Bush, Jr. have agreed to such entitlements for churches.

X-ed out as losers, children have become a political football. Demagoging politicians hiding behind Afamily values@ are talking about paying any predator, crackpot, flimflammer or psychopath claiming to believe in God to counsel our children. There are ethical and moral questions regarding priests abusing children and women. Church orphanages are notorious for abuse, yet nothing is done. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16

In Atlanta, a Sunday school teacher swindled elderly parishioners out of millions, while the preacher said nothing. The DISH raises the question, AWhat are churches doing with money collected?@ For instance, First United Methodist Church of Marietta cut 18 of 45 employees and 1million from its $3.3million budget to placate disgruntled parishioners. North Georgia United Methodist Conference collected $183.1 million last year. Small compared to some, however, raking in such revenue, churches should not need government assistance to do charitable work in the community. Circuit rider Rev. Burl Lee=s final admonition. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul. Mark 8:36

Other Essays by Mr. Smith

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro started day camp on Monday. He complained about leaving his cave so early in the morning. On Tuesday, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro balked at the idea of returning. He declared, AGrandma, I=m not for camping.@ More Comments

Britain and the Jim Crow Army: Britain 1942-45

by Tony Skilandis

African Americans have always been eager to participate in the defense of their country, and since the Civil War, they have done so with pride, albeit in small numbers in relation to white servicemen. At one time, they were allowed only a ten per cent representation in the army, a ratio in proportion to the racial make up of the population of the country as a whole. Those allowed to enlist found that the racial hatred and segregation they experienced in civilian life continued in the military.

During WWII, the American Army came to my country, Britain, in large numbers. Many African American soldiers thought going overseas would bring them some form of equality and a relaxation of the Jim Crow segregation they endured at home. However, once overseas their hopes were dashed as the white American military imposed segregation. In many cases, the American army was aided by the British government and members of the upper and middle classes.

There were many types of racial segregation practiced by the white US Army while in Britain, likewise there were many instances of violence against African Americans, which resulted in a backlash. Racial violence in Britain during WWII did not only occur between black and white Americans; it included black Britons and members of the British colonies. The Bamber Bridge incident is just one race riot that took place on British soil; many others occurred in the Midlands and the south of the country. Routinely, the British Government suppressed media coverage of these incidents for fear the news would filter across the channel to the Germans, in addition to being bad for morale. On the whole, Jim Crow segregation in the American army stationed in Britain during WWII allowed the British to see the full extent of racial hatred as practiced in the United States. More important, the racial violence could have jeopardized the allied war efforts; the American army fought on two fronts.

As many black soldiers, who committed crimes in Britain found, white American racial hatred extended to military justice; black soldiers received more severe penalties than their white counterparts. Graham Smith, When Jim Crow met John Bull, cites the experience of a black private who was hanged for rape. In Britain, such a crime is punishable by ten to fifteen years imprisonment. The British Government helped the white military impose Jim Crow as early as 1939. At the height of the German blitz on Britain, the government turned away offers of help from African American doctors and pilots. One incidence involved a doctor from New York City who was refused an entry permit on the grounds of color. When the NAACP took up his case, they were informed by the British Colonial Office in Canada that 'only white doctors need apply'. Similarly, an African American pilot named Ashe came up against the same sort of racial discrimination from the British Government. 'Mr Ashe applied to the British Air Commission in Washington, in answer to their appeal for aircraft ferry pilots to fly from Canada to Britain. The Air Commission informed Mr Ashe that blacks could not apply. This refusal of Ashe's services was later confirmed by the 'Royal Air Force in Montreal Canada in a letter, which stated ' all applicants must be of the white race'.

Although the American military began asking for African American noncombatants to volunteer for front line duty in 1944, because of heavy losses, they were often reduced in rank for the privilege. It was not until the early 1950s that the African American soldier was fully integrated.

About Me: My name is Tony Skilandis. For the past two years, I have been researching the African American serviceman in WWII. I am looking for stateside help to finish this research. I hope to publish something next year, jointly with whoever helps complete the research. I live in a small town on the outskirts of Liverpool, England. I hold an Honours Degree and an upper Masters Degree in History, both degrees are in American studies. My main interests are African American military and European History. Venue for an Artist

Disgruntled says: I don=t have to worry about choosing which side is right or wrong, all I have to know is what side Bob Barr is on!

Disgruntled feels: Like beating a drum to wake up everyone!

Disgruntled wants to know: If slavery and the racism it bred are dead, why are individuals like Strum Thurman, Trent Lott and Bob Barr still in the United States Congress? Disgruntled

Intuit=s Weekly Vibe

 Domestic Violence

by Yohannes Sharriff Smith

We listen to Love Jones in the midst

Of domestic violence..Isn=t it ironic? I=m feeling lonely

While the upstairs neighbors are boxing

>Cause the money ain=t enough

But, when I write the lights come on...

My lonely words sweet to the middle like slightly

Melted ice cream sandwiches to make it all better.

Soft like a black woman who knows good love

Tender like a black man strong enough to be vulnerable.

I am Love Jones in the middle of domestic violence

Isn=t it ironic? Sentimental moods move over abuse

Like smoke from lit blunts blown

Beneath the secret wants of a ghetto life gone wrong

Or so right in a white world

Where to be black is to be wrong.

The battle of the crabs in a barrel blazes on

Neo-slaves enter the game with their brains on blown

Powerless pawns pound on each other to feel strong

She=s holding onto a crushed nose and broken jawbone.

At home she learned from her mother

The only love that=s real

Feels the way her stepfather taught her

The only love she deserves is a love that burns.

Picking at the hard scars from lit cigars

Hurts just enough to pacify the heart.

Tonight she=s feeling low on self esteem

And ready to start fighting, so she trifles with his pride

Pushing just a little too far about the light bill,

The car note, the phone number she found in his coat,

And that ho= she caught him with last week at the sto=

Now, provoked..powerless hands of a weak man

Surround her throat. Stressing him...

Testing him...vexing him. Now, his aggression

Got the best of him. Her slurred words ring hollow

Like fake punches being thrown at the enemy sleeping with somebody else.

But his blows connect.

Slamming the door and running down the steps

Cursing himself >cause he should have left years ago.

AOnly one of >em kids is mine..

Shit I adopted the other two.@

But his father had a talent for absence too,

Now he=s living his life thru father=s mistakes,

Trying to make up for a callous sperm donor

Living out of balance,

Like an old washing machine during the spin cycle,

His brain on buzz...thinking to himself,

ASometimes she gets inside my head

And I scare myself.@ She=s in the upstairs apartment

Bleeding and talking shit about the last five years

To the three kids in the middle of the Decatur ghetto.

AMy momma told me

I shouldn=t have married your sorry ass daddy!@

Wishing for a magic elevator out of the hell

She made for her self.

While neighbors indulge in personal realities

Catering to their egos

Feeling superior and just a little more comfortable

As they watch Jerry Springer give the final thought.

And I=m listening to Love Jones

In the middle of domestic violence. Intuit's Weekly Vibe

Hip Hoppin= Birmingham!

In the shadow of the infamous Birmingham Jail where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his now famous letter to black ministers, The Atlanta Vibe hip hopped Infinite Currents= Verbal Vybz. An effort to bring a different perspective to downtown, Seventh Sun, Michael Gaines, name told a full house, A Our vision has Birmingham playing a positive role in the new black renaissance, rather than responding as it did when Dr. King was a leader in Birmingham.@

Long time jazz keyboard man, Jothan Callins opened with his Birmingham Youth Jazz Ensemble. Arranger/composer, Callins makes beautiful music that reaches hundreds of Birmingham=s youth. Point man for some dynamic poets blowing up the B=ham scene, Yohannes dropped enough explosive charges to put the Harambee Room in orbit. He said of the event, A I am impressed. It showed the importance of togetherness, work and believing in yourself. This show is the bomb.@ The new black renaissance is not only raising consciousness, it is raising the dead. Thirty years ago Washington Booker was a poet in the movement; today, he is back laying down righteous vibes from his revolutionary days. He says, AI try to keep it real, where we live everyday, and teach a lesson.@ Atlanta Vibe

Upholder or Usurper?

by Dot Smith

U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA) is again in the national limelight, this time, it is for his support of controversial measures involving religious freedom and teen violence. An attorney, Barr is an advocate of the rule of law.

For his shameless hypocrisy, Bob Barr is on ICIM=s list of boycotted people, places and things, a position he earned long before he became a staunch spokesman for impeaching President Clinton. An adulterer and prevaricator, Barr=s behavior is as amoral as Clinton=s. His Aget Clinton@ obsession disgusted most Americans. Foiling Barr, Hyde and the other House hypocrites, we won when the Senate failed to muster the two-thirds majority for impeachment.

Barr upholds only laws that promote his interests to hell with personal freedom. He could prove dangerous. If energy cannot be destroyed, and the spirit is a form of energy, it cannot die. A spirit simply takes on other forms. Inhabiting other hosts, a spirit is continuously reborn, arising from the ashes like a phoenix. Suppose Barr is really an African American at the core; his black roots would be something he would abhor and wish to keep secret. The scenario is classic for the rebirth of Hitler, which makes it all kind of scary.

A decidedly less mystical reason to be leery of Barr is his stance on the issues and his willingness to violate the Constitution, while claiming to uphold it. Barr is a mouthpiece for the NRA (National Rifle Association); he is known to cavort with the CCC (Council of Concerned Citizens) a.k.a. KKK. Naturally, Barr opposes gun control legislation, claiming it violates our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. On the other hand, Barr would outlaw some religious practices at federal installations in violation of the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. Barr wants to post religious rules in public schools, a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. By blaming public school violence on a cultural decline in moral values, attention is diverted from the role of guns in facilitating massacres.

Barr may well be on the right track in explaining teen violence. If he is, he should know posting signs will not stop the school carnage. Morals and ethics cannot be legislated. More important, as long as hypocrites like Barr are the advocates of the rule of law, there will be chaos; hypocrisy helps create the climate, which nurtures the violent explosions in our morally bankrupt culture. DISHing It Up Hot!

Below are two opinions on reparations. The first expresses the feelings of non-African Americans. "Granted, slavery was a heinous and inhumane act, Americans today can hardly be blamed for that, nor should they have to compensate slave descendants. After all, those harmed and those who did it are all gone. We must forget the past and get on with the business of living in the present.@ These individuals pretend the advantage accrued through slavery and the privileges it entails did not pass on to successive generations. Likewise, they would ignore the damage done to slaves that affects African Americans today.

"I don=t want a handout! Just let us get on with living. Why bring up all that other stuff? White folks are never going to give black people a penny for that other." These same African Americans opposed Rosa Parks and others in the 1960s who protested against Jim Crow Segregation. Protesters were troublemakers. Today, we are profiled and shot unarmed by police. American justice demands we pay a hidden tax, which is assessed in every aspect of American life; it assures our second class status. More important, it assures a ready pool of cheap labor. Let us be clear, this is neo-slavery. Reparation is the only humane non-violent approach to bridging the economic gap created by slavery and institutional racism. Mailbox

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