Volume 3 Issue 25…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… June 30, 2000

Note: The DISH is based on themes from T.H.I.N.C. (Teaching Humanity In New Consciousness): The Chrysalis of Evolution. According to the President's Initiative on Race, "The issues that this book brings to the forefront are important in our efforts to achieve the goals set forth by the President for the Initiative. This work will serve as a solid resource for us as we begin to examine these critical issues." For your copy of T.H.I.N.C., The DISH or to submit comments, contact ICIM, Inc. at (404) 244-6023 or email us at icim@bellsouth.net. The DISH 8 2000

by Yohannes Sharriff Smith

In the stillness of a quiet room, alone I stand holding warm tears.

As waves of pain roll, I gaze at the broken heart's full moon.

My mind will not forget the sleeping body's dependence upon your passionate kiss.

Possessing my soul with such a consuming need,

Drowning me in loneliness.

We shared a gift of love so deep, so rare.

When the world would not allow a breath, love became the air.

In your hypnotic eyes, the sun would set and rise.

Upon your face the moon smiled, as it held fast in the midnight sky.

A world of wishes is where I did live.

And, when I gave my childlike love,

Never did I fathom a broken heart you would give.

(Reprinted from T.H.I.N.C., 1997)

A Birth: Vibe Sessions

Like proud papas, poets in the Vibe announce the birth of their child. Called Vibe Sessions, their joint venture CD is a first for producer and proud father Jon Goode. Vibe Sessions is a compilation of works from Atlanta's finest spoken word artists. Congratulations!

Common Sense (1776)

Common Sense, Thomas Paine’s political pamphlet has long been recognized as evidence that "the pen is mightier than the sword." In The Anatomy of Common Sense, Professor Bernard Bailyn, an authority on the American Revolutionary era, provides a brilliant analysis of Paine’s contribution to the American revolutionary spirit and the ultimate colonial break from Great Britain. Bailyn’s essay portrays Paine as an angry young man whose aim is to "tear the world apart - the world as it was known and as it was constituted."

Bailyn writes, "the dominant tone of Common Sense is that of rage. It was written by an enraged man- not someone who had reasoned doubts about the English constitution and the related establishment in America, but someone who hated them both and who wished to strike back at them in a savage response. The verbal surface of the pamphlet is heated, and it burned into the consciousness of contemporaries because below it was the flaming conviction, not simply that England was corrupt and that America should declare its independence, but that the whole of organized society and government was stupid and cruel and that it survived only because the atrocities it systematically imposed on humanity had been papered over with a veneer of mythology and superstition that numbed the mind and kept people from rising against the evils that oppressed them."

While Paine is not considered worthy of inclusion among the great thinkers of the revolutionary era, such as Adams, Wilson, Jefferson and Madison, he made men question their everyday existence and acceptance of the status quo. (Historical Viewpoints 2^nd ed. Volume One to 1877, John A. Garraty, p. 132)

Death Penalty A.K.A. Lynching

A strict constructionist, Texas Governor George W. Bush wields capital punishment like Dr. Death; he gives compassion a bad name. Dead on arrival, his campaign theme says he is a compassionate conservative. Like lynchings during the 1900s, Bush racks up political points with death and hard-line speeches in support of capital punishment. Supporting the death penalty is a virtue for prospective Presidents in this Christian nation. Hoping to put Bush in the Oval Office, Texas executes regularly. Only hypocrites call these public executions compassion when they so closely resemble crucifixions.

The June 2000 execution of Shaka Sankofa highlighted serious flaws in U.S. capital punishment. True to his promise, Shaka fought to the end. Also known as Gary Graham, Shaka claimed his innocence to his last breath. Life fast fleeting, he urged others to press his case before the International Court of Justice. He challenged us to stop the genocide.

In 1997, the Richard L. Kirksey, Jr. Memorial Foundation asked Secretary General Kofi Annan to intercede on our behalf to prevent black genocide. Since we are not a recognized national entity, blacks cannot press their case in the international arena. Those of us committed to changing the socioeconomic and political conditions our children face see Shaka’s death as a symbol of genocide against our race. The death penalty is lynching, a modern day euphemism for crucifixion. For black Americans, the death penalty is more than a political issue for 2000; it is a matter of our survival. 

Disgruntled says: You are black and in America experiencing its unique democracy when psychologists and psychiatrists marginalize your mental health.

Disgruntled wants to know: Georgia Governor Roy Barnes keeps state lawmaker scorecards. Republicans rate as high as Democrats. In fact, Barnes seems to be in control of the Republican Party. Does this explain all those "non-partisan" elections held in Georgia?

Disgruntled feels: Political amnesia is an American tradition, but Clinton/Gore must not assume black people will be their victims again come November! We will remember Gore dissed the dialogue just like Clinton!

On Jeffersonian Thinking

by Dot

Since the 1600s, learned members of American society advanced notions to justify slavery. America’s founders used slavery to accumulate wealth. Greed supplanted morals and ethics. Thomas Jefferson’s thinking laid the groundwork for contemporary dogma in this arena. He espoused equality in drafting the Declaration of Independence, but made himself superior in constructing laws for his brave new world democracy. Jefferson’s ideals did not include equality for the masses, especially Africans brought to America to serve their masters. Slaves and their descendants were made unequal in Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution.

To maintain white legal superiority, Jefferson advocated a strict interpretation or construction of the Constitution. This decidedly Jeffersonian take on democracy is a great American dilemma. Contemporary American life reflects this slavery- democracy duplicity. This hypocrisy colors the thinking of Americans who oppose reparations for the atrocities committed against slaves and their descendants. Reparations would defeat the whole purpose of embracing slavery, i.e., to generate wealth for a few, in the first instance. Understandably, those who benefited do not wish to end their advantage.

An oddity, some of the staunchest critics of reparations for slaves’ descendants are academicians rumored to espouse liberal bents on social issues. Even while our children are taught to never forget the Jewish Holocaust, an atrocity committed in Germany, which the U.S. pays for daily via massive foreign aid to Israel and other ways, our children know next to nothing about slavery and ways to prevent America’s atrocity. Ironically, Jews are among the most vocal critics of reparations for slaves’ descendants. If this is not hypocrisy, what name do we give it? Calling it "blatant hypocrisy" is neither anti-Semitic nor anti-American.

Slavery is a holocaust, wherever and whenever it happens. Reparations are generally paid to its victims. America’s economic foundation rests on slavery; our laws are products of the Jeffersonian way of thinking. When we bring the Constitution into discussions of reparations, perhaps, fewer Jewish citizens will think as Jefferson and agree with us that America’s holocaust victims deserve reparations for being legally relegated to slavery and subjected to systematic discrimination.

Blackwell on FOIA

Atlanta has a rich history of ignoring requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Our March 1997 request for the memo recommending "multiple senior managers" for the sewer bond issue was not honored. We concluded Atlanta does not respect the public’s right to know. With impunity, its officials ignore citizens’ requests under this federal law.

Given its history, it is not surprising that Atlanta has become like the Titanic. Rats are bailing out big time in the wake of County Commissioner Michael Hightower’s swan dive. Any plea bargain spells doom to the rats roaming city hall looking for the nearest escape hatch. Even if they manage to bail out, some ground zero observers say, "some stayed too long and did too many shady things to avoid getting caught-up in this investigation." They qualify, "If, it is a serious look!"

Judith Blackwell is a likely suspect. Days after Hightower promised FBI agents he would talk, she walked away from her "temporary" job as CFO, a post she has held for years. Highly "respected," she played a critical role in Atlanta finances under Campbell. Insiders say, she held Atlanta money matters close to her chest.

If the FBI is really looking for the money, in unison, insiders say, "Ask Blackwell!" Hightower may give the Feds Skandalakis, but being a white lawyer, he could escape prosecution. The local media will not hound him. Blackwell is black. More important than that, she can finger prominent whites and blacks, such as Andrew Young and Maynard Jackson. Either way they say, Campbell’s goose is cooked, unless he is that deep undercover operative or "spook who sat by the door." 

Reparations 100: Overview

Brought kicking and screaming to the verge of discussing slavery, race relations and our shared history, mainstream American attitudes toward reparations are fast becoming a source of national embarrassment. Riddled with contradictions, America advocates democracy, but refuses to pay reparations to those it enslaved. In the international arena, it wants political criminals brought before an international court of justice, but wishes to be exempt for any atrocities it has committed or will commit in the future.

The dialogue on race and reparations, as led by the media, is muted to only the sound bytes of those who oppose giving a slave descendant compensation. Reparation opponents proclaim it is unfair to single blacks out when others in this country were subjected to some of the same prejudices that African Americans experience. Hard-line conservatives blame blacks for their condition, claiming they are products of a dysfunctional culture, as though their culture is not a byproduct of slavery with all its socially dysfunctional affectations. When their arguments are reduced to Swiss cheese on social issues, their time-honored tradition of denial kicks in, and they basically say, "if you don’t like it here, then leave" or "you are better off, because we brought your folks here." Such sentiments are voiced by black and white Americans.

But, why should slaves’ descendants leave America? Our ancestors’ blood, sweat and tears made America great; this is our country. Moreover, there is a constitutional basis for claiming compensation; it is time we examined it and the attitudes of black and white Americans on the implications of our "shared history." (Reparations)

From shawnak@bellsouth.net "I looked forward to your newsletter every week, but what happened to Comments from the Bat Cave? The Dark Knight/Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is the best. Your grandson is sooo funny. I happened to be on the phone when he brought in the worm from outside and tried to wash the dirt from the worm and then successfully drowned him! Please do not keep The Dark Knight/Batman/White Ninja/Zorro out of the next newsletter, or else I may have to boycott! (Kidding) I really enjoy the newsletter.

!

From stootle@juno.com "I have become very fond and look forward to reading each copy of The DISH. I just read the last issue and there was a lot in it about Atlanta. Blacks living in other parts of GA catch it also. I am a black male who is also disabled and live in rural south GA. I was wondering if The DISH would do a little piece on issues facing black disabled people. I think and so do a lot of my peers that our community has a lot of work to do as far as killing some of the myths associated with being disabled. We also feel that the black community needs to become more familiar with disabled issues. It is something that will impact all of us at some point, either through a loved one or the individual."

Is There a Father in the House?

by John Burl Smith

Today, a grandfather bemoaning the bleak prospects of young people in America, I wonder, "Why are American fathers so proud of their behavior? Pro-life Christians are patting themselves on the back, boasting piously, "a man in the house makes a significant difference in a child’s life." Posing as great friends, supportive role models and defenders of independent expression, they profess compassion and empathy for a youngster’s struggle to make the right choice.

Seemingly an omen from spirits long past, a Free Mumia Abu-Jamal pamphlet that was tacked on the wall fell from its perch to land at my feet. His plight and an article in The DISH, A Child=A Man (Vol. 3 No16) minimize the melancholy whimpers of the self-absorbed. A double-edged sword, Mumia’s thesis exemplifies pro-life Christians’ support for the death penalty. Pious hypocrites, they insist it is possible for children to avoid making mistakes while learning the right choices. When children do not, pro-life Christians insist they should be judged as adults. How can fathers view their children with love and compassion, but leave home dedicated to zero tolerance for every other child? How are fathers doing such a great job, when America has more children in prisons, than any other nation in the world?

Growing up is a series of mistakes made mimicking what children think grownups do. During this process, sometimes children do things that have horrible consequences. Adults should understand mitigating circumstances, as well as, know children require special dispensations. Mumia points out, America’s pro-life Christian society’s punitive attitude denies misguided, mis-educated, misunderstood and impetuous children opportunities to learn the right responses without major retribution.

Adults like George W. Bush, Jr. and brother Jeb committed youthful indiscretions, but they were not held to such unyielding standards. "Boys will be boys," guided disciplinary attitudes excusing everything from "drinking and drugs" to "panty raids" and beating up on "homos." A man has to sow his "wild oats." Mumia uses the example of Nathaniel Abraham, which typifies irrational acts committed by confused black children unable to comprehend deadly force. For these children, compassion and dispensations are denied. The Bushes are pro-life for their children, but pro-choice for blacks, "if they choose to commit adult crimes, then their choice is to do adult time." This is the compassionate conservatism that fills American prisons.

Annually, at Thanksgiving and Christmas, social groups provide meals for the homeless. Similarly, on their day, fathers display hypocrisy. Daily they pretend their drinking, smoking, fighting, shooting guns, abusing women, corrupt dealings, money grubbing, fornicating behaviors have no impact on children. It is like saying NASCAR does not encourage kids to speed or WWF does not encourage them to brawl. Pro-life Christian fathers do all these things in front of and to the children they insist their behaviors protect. Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. End the death penalty; it offends our Father! John 2000

Hanging out in Savannah last weekend, a deep cover operative known as "Peep City Barnabas" hobnobbed with the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO). Expecting issue-oriented talks and planning sessions as they developed an aggressive legislative agenda, Peep City observed the people who run black politics at the state level.

Contrary to what he thought, Barnabas saw how things really work in Georgia. "Gov. Roy Barnes entered the tightly packed room, like the master visiting the slave pens. His Meet the Press interview where he said ‘black legislators had agreed not to bring up any legislation regarding the Confederate flag’ replayed as he spoke. Barnes plans to do the same thing as last year. Now that the flag's opponents have called an international boycott against Georgia, he refuses to back down. Punctuating his speech with ‘there are more important issues to deal with,’ Barnes played up the need for campaign contributions for November. In this smoke-filled environment, not one voice was raised in dissent; none mentioned legislation to address the gapping disparities between blacks and whites in Georgia. Our black elected officials have already agreed; the 2001 legislative session will be the same for blacks as 2000." 

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is out of school for the summer. His many personalities needed a vacation. When asked for a few words to appease his fans, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro replied, "I have no more to say, so go away!" A poet and don't know it!

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