Volume 4 Issue 28…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… July 13, 2001

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. The DISH © 2001

Forty-three outbreaks of racial violence rocked the United States in the summer of 1966. Chicago and Cleveland were hardest hit. Eight major riots occurred in the summer of 1967. In Detroit, 33 blacks and 10 whites died. President Lyndon B. Johnson called for law and order. He created a commission to investigate the violence and recommend preventive measures. Johnson appointed Otto Kerner to head the commission.

The Commission on Civil Disorders, best known as the Kerner Commission, reported in 1968 that there were few black snipers, and no organized conspiracy instigated and directed these riots. It identified the complexities of the problems facing black Americans and recommended massive spending to erase the inequities in black ghettos. "Only a commitment to national action on an unprecedented scale can shape a future compatible with the historic ideals of American society," the Kerner Commission concluded. Rather than increase spending to alleviate urban poverty, Congress cut spending.

Kerner Commission Report on Black Power in 1968: "What is new about "Black Power" is phraseology rather than substance. The decade after WWI - which saw the militant, race-proud "new negro," the relatively widespread theory of retaliatory violence and the high rise of the Negro-support-of-Negro-business ideology - exhibits striking parallels with the 1960's.

Black Power rhetoric and ideology actually express a lack of power. The slogan emerged when the Negro protest movement was slowing down, when it was finding increasing resistance to its changing goals, when it discovered that nonviolent direct action was no more a panacea than legal action. This combination of circumstances provoked anger deepened by impotence. Powerless to make any fundamental changes in the life of the masses - powerless, that is, to compel white America to make those changes - many advocates of Black Power have retreated into an unreal world, where they see an outnumbered and poverty-stricken minority organizing itself independently of whites and creating sufficient power to force white America to grant its demands.

Black Power advocates of today consciously feel that they are the most militant group in the Negro protest movement. Yet, they have retreated from a direct confrontation with American society on the issue of integration and, by preaching separatism, unconsciously function as an accommodation to white racism." Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1968. (Current, Williams & Freidel)

On Saturday, July 21, 2001, Sister Poets Embracing Altruistic Kinship (SPEAK) will hold a silent auction and conversation. Abyss and GA Me (Georgia Me) will host the poetic dialogue between men and women. All proceeds benefit the MoorEpics' Slam Team, which includes Alexis, GA Me, Malik and Yohannes. The MoorEpics slam team will represent Atlanta in the national slam competition to be held August 1 - 5, 2001 in Seattle, WA. The fundraiser will be held at MoorEpics, located at 227 Mitchell Street. The $10 admission fee is for a good cause, a great group will represent the Vibe in Seattle, and it comes with food, wine and excellent entertainment. The ATL slam team needs your support. Show starts at 8PM. Get your ticket today and do not be late for the dialogue between men and women. For more, call MoorEpics at 404-880-0084 or visit the web site at www.undergroundepics.com

Disgruntled feels: Vindicated! Fools say blacks have lost nothing in America. All the polls show that blacks and whites experience and see different Americas.

Disgruntled says: Drat! I asked, where is Bob Barr hiding? Before the quip fell from my lips, Barr was seen conducting a Condit condoms count with US Atty. Gen. Ashcroft sniffing condom queen Ann Marie Smith.

Disgruntled wants to know: Under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu presided over an end to apartheid that meant little improvement in the socioeconomic and political condition of black South Africa. Marginalized, black Africans were Bantu dwellers and squatters under apartheid. Today, they are homeless and impoverished. The white minority that ran South Africa under apartheid still controls its wealth. What did Mandela and Tutu do about reparations for black South Africans?

Sable Venus

by John Burl Smith

For those who fail to see racism in America, Venus Williams' remarkable feat at Wimbledon 2001 is an object lesson. One of only four women to successfully defend their title, Venus joined Althea Gibson as the lone Americans in this elite field. Never media darlings, commentators seem more interested in their father's actions than Venus and Serena's performances on court.

Most fans think the talking heads comments reflect attitudes of petty jealousy. Beautiful and talented black women showing so much promise, being trained by blacks, leave the white heads speechless. They resent Richard Williams' accomplishment and consider his lack of docility and pride in his children arrogance. Had Venus been white trained, she would be house broken and allowed to enter a room with decent folk.

CNN reflected this clear contrast between the kind of racism Venus faced returning home to America and the reception given Goran Ivanisevic on his return to Split, Croatia after his first championship win. Surrounded by huge crowds, hoisted on their shoulders and carried to a place of honor, the world watched Goran strip to his briefs courtesy of CNN. However, there was not one picture or mention of Venus' return to American terra firma, shades of Jesse Owens. No magazine covers. No talk of Tiger Woods-type endorsements. Venus was shown the backdoor, so no one knew she was in the house. She was swallowed by the black hole of racism.

The DISH took a random sample of print and audio-visual media outlets for the week beginning July 8 -14, 2001 and did not find a single cover with Venus Williams. How is it possible that all the major networks decided there was nothing newsworthy in a repeat Wimbledon champion's return home? Instead, we saw unlimited footage of a foreigner's striptease. This is the way institutionalized racism works. No one sees any harm in denying and otherwise marginalizing the accomplishments of black people. John 2001

July 4^th New York Times headline read "Review of Nissan Car Loan Finds that Blacks Pay More." Written by Diana Henriques, the article shows another side of the chasm of inequality. A statistical study of car loans arranged through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (NMAC) dealers from March 1993 to September 2000 revealed blacks pay more, regardless of credit history. The study looked at loans in 33 states. The black-white gap was largest on loans in Maryland and Wisconsin, where the average finance charge blacks paid was about $800 higher than white borrowers.

"A Vanderbilt professor, Mark A. Cohen, estimated Nissan's share of the dealer markups, the percentage points above whatever interest rate Nissan established for customers based on their incomes and credit history, paid by black customers alone since 1990 was more than $210 million. Based on fee-splitting formulas in place during much of that time, the dealers' aggregate share would have been roughly three times that amount." The NMAC statistical study makes the class action lawsuits pending against Nissan, General Motors and Chrysler Financial stronger. If you purchased your car or truck on credit, whether through Nissan or some other automobile manufacturer, check out this article. Several class action lawsuits are pending; you could be a member of the class and entitled to part of the settlement.

The New York Times article is at Http://partners.nytimes.com/2001/0/businessLOAN.html. Investigate before you make an automobile purchase! Chances are excellent, if you are African American, you will be charged more to finance that car than your white counterpart. Refuse to pay more or receive less just because of the color of your skin. THINC about it!

Young people who choose the NBA over college should thank tennis commentator Chris Everett-Lloyd for clearing up confusion. In criticizing Venus and Serena Williams for not giving more time to tennis, Everett-Lloyd groused about the sisters' varied outside interests, which includes their decision to attend college while playing pro tennis. Everett-Lloyd felt they should concentrate on tennis. Her off-the-cuff comments about people going to college to find a craft left the broadcast booth silent. According to Everett-Lloyd, in her heyday, tennis was their craft, so there was no need to go to college. Usually, talking heads criticize young blacks for opting out of college to pursue professional sports.

A double standard in sports exists for blacks and whites. Normally, black kids are criticized for putting off college to make money at their craft. Black athletes that choose college over professional sports are called smart. White athletes are smart for turning pro while they are young. Most understand one's athleticism diminishes with age, whereas many degrees over the course of a lifetime are possible. In the sports with big money for players, there are not many players over age thirty. Kudos to Chrissy for clearing up the confusion about college degrees and paying professional sports!

Conscious Americans know neither Democrats, nor Republicans, want real campaign finance reform. If you share Senator John McCain's crusade to reduce the influence of big money on government to give it back to the people, then you were saddened the US House of Representatives passed the buck on Shays-Meehan. Annually rehearsed, on Thursday, July 12, 2001 campaign finance reform crashed and burned on takeoff in the Republican controlled House of Representatives.

While the Senate has passed McCain-Feingold, Shays-Meehan, the House version of that bill, could not get past procedural rules to come to the floor for a vote. Campaign finance reform failed in large part thanks to the skillful maneuvering of Tom DeLay, the majority whip, point man in the House for the conservative right. He rejoiced when the bill failed, as did J.C. Watts and Dennis Hastert, speaker of the House. Replacing Newt Gingrich, the former speaker and leader of the Contract with America revolution that put Republicans in control of the House, Hastert in Newt fashion killed real reform.

Looking more like Mr. Ages, the benevolent elderly mouse scientist, than the hulking brute of a rat Jenner, Dennis Hastert maintained the status quo - stealing power from the people. Mr. Ages and Jenner are characters in The Secret of NIMH, an animation in which experimental rats in a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) eugenics-type research project learn to read the handwriting on the wall, i.e., became intelligent. Jenner is the ambitious brute that plots to kill Nicodemus, leader of the rats, so the pack can keep stealing power for its survival. Nicodemus is determined to led the rats to a more civilized existence in Thorn Valley and away from the crumbling status quo of stealing electricity from farmer Fitzgibbons while living in his rose bush.

On realizing his plan to kill Nicodemus, Jenner portrays himself as the benevolent new leader interested only in doing what is in the best interest of the rat pack. They must not attempt to leave the rose bush for Thorn Valley. Pretending his hands are clean when campaign finance reform died, Hastert lied just like Jenner after killing Nicodemus. He pretended his actions were all innocent and helpful, and he is only interested in the welfare of the American people. To top it off, after successfully killing campaign finance reform, he blamed the Democrats, those other rats that stood by and vicariously helped to carry out the sinister plot to kill campaign finance reform.

Sadly, both sides think they can now go back to the American people and say, we tried, but the other side foiled our efforts to bring about campaign finance reform and return the power of government to the people. It is no secret that there is no reform just big money campaign financing, because neither party wants to change the system of unlimited soft money that put them in office. While the deep pockets that put them there are happy reform bit the dust another year, a few more Americans got wiser and madder that our elected officials engage in this annual circus. When they get to their home districts, beyond the Beltway, they should not be surprised that conscious Americans question the lies they keep telling about campaign finance reform. There is no secret that campaign finance reform is a hoax being run by both parties to keep stealing power from the people.

DISHing It Up Hot!

by Dot

Smith's chasm analysis allows us to quantify institutionalized racism's impact on economic welfare, i.e., income and all the other quality of life issues the term implies for African Americans. This enables us to intelligently discuss economic welfare loss or Z. If the goal is to amend for the welfare loss and change the cycle of poverty and relative disadvantage, Z allows us to measure what is owed in reparations. Among the 'civilized' signatories of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, economic slavery is an unacceptable human rights violation; reparations are an accepted remedial measure.

In America, Z is determined by law and is thus strictly controlled for in the market for good and services. Z is the approximate two-fifths of black productivity that does not accrue to black families as income. This is the same level of welfare loss mandated for American slaves under the US Constitution. Slave descendants today experience the same loss their ancestors experienced at the height of American human bondage. While opponents of reparations argue against paying reparations for American slavery because those who benefitted and those enslaved are dead, the nearly half-century of data collected by the US government provides annual measures of Z that show economic slavery did not die. Indeed, the data show Z's value is remarkably stable.

Z measures institutionalized racism (Z=IR); it is the annual income loss experienced by African Americans today, not in the distant past. It is a contemporary measure of the debt owed black Americans.

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro has multiple personalities of action but few words. When asked for his weekly comments, Batman/Ninja/Zorro replied, "I just want to go swimming. That's all I can say."

Present Past

by John Burl Smith

Today's reflections are so 1968; life is a constant state of déjà vu. Passing Ronald E. McNair Middle School in DeKalb County, Georgia as summer school classes let out, the sheer number of students was striking. Children poured onto the sidewalks, a river of black bodies flooding the surrounding neighborhood. Poster children for the stereotypical "failing school," I wondered, can our children really be so dumb? A closer look reminded me of George Washington Carver High School in Memphis, TN in 1968. Bright faces and sparkling eyes, intricate braids and big Afros adorned heads confused about whether a test score tells their whole story. Whipping boy for the ills of American education, will the past mirror their future? Today's black students are still unclear of their place in American society, most were written off at birth.

Back in 1968, black students received a segregated education. They studied from old out-dated books, absent of any reflections of themselves. Any references to blacks portrayed their ancestors as stupid, lazy, ugly and worthless. Galvanized by the sanitation workers' strike and black power, students at Carver High demanded better educational opportunities. The absurdity is I spent five years in a Tennessee penitentiary over getting books about blacks in the Carver's library.

Poorly educated blacks cannot compete with better-educated white children for jobs. Segregation kept black children ignorant and second class citizens. Tired of begging, peaceful protests turned to rock-and-bottle battles with police. Black students fought to get books about blacks such as David Walker, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Ida B. Wells and Malcolm X in their school. They wanted to give the black power salute and represent positive black images by wearing Afros, African jewelry and dashikis. Simultaneously, black students' academic performance rose as positive expectations replaced negative stereotypes. Black power instilled pride and created confidence in their ability to learn.

McNair Middle School students possess the same mental capacity as black students at Carver in 1968. However, those children, not their parents, fought police, school administrators, preachers and politicians to change the racist nature of their educational experience. It is clear American education is again pushing negative stereotypes about black children's ability to learn. Over-crowded black schools are achieving the same results as segregation. DeKalb County ended its Majority-to-Minority transfers which enabled black students to attend less crowded schools in white communities. As a result, student populations at schools like McNair have exploded. McNair Middle School is hidden behind 25 class trailers in order to accommodate this huge influx. Déjà vu: segregation is gone but its practices live on. Like Palestine, someone has to get mad enough to fight! John 2001

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