The DISH
"Unbossed and unbought news and information you can use"
Volume 4 Issue 30…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 3, 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
Who Was Aunt Jemima?
By http://blackhistoryquiz.com
For most blacks, she is a symbol of racism, especially in her original incarnation with the signature bandana. Yet, Aunt Jemima is not a single person. The original Aunt Jemima displayed acute business acumen at a time when few blacks or women operated businesses.
According to the Black History Quiz website, "This African American, a former slave from Montgomery County, Kentucky, was the first Aunt Jemima and the world's first living trademark. She made her debut at age 59 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where she served pancakes in a booth. The Aunt Jemima Mills Company distributed a souvenir lapel button which bore her photograph and the caption, "I'se in town honey." The slogan later became the slogan on the company's promotional campaign. This African American was the official trademark for three decades. Who was she? Answer: Nancy Green (1831-1898)"
: A shameless burlesque, the world's largest arms dealer unveiled herself at the United Nations Conference on Small Arms. Stripping, undersecretary of state for arms control John Bolton told the world the US will do nothing to ease arms trafficking. Pleasing weapons pushers the US reaffirmed a longstanding tradition of satisfying every violent inclination. Its arms proliferate the killing fields of Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, etc.
Disgruntled feels:
Crazy! According to Susanna Loof's Associated Press report, Dr. Wouter Basson, the South African physician charged with leading scientific efforts to create innovative ways to exterminate blacks under apartheid, was rehired by Nelson Mandela. More shocking, an apartheid apologist claimed, "the apartheid state really used very normal ordinary professionals with otherwise good standing from an academic-intellectual level. It was not a system that was really run by sick people. These were normal people." If normal humans cavalierly destroy life, call me crazy. I'll answer.
Disgruntled wants to know: The email proclaimed, CRUMPLED COKE CAN POETIC JUSTICE. Thinking our boycott effective, I learned something more shocking is on the horizon. Though quickly pulled, Coke's management approved a Diet Coke ad campaign starring a pregnant woman. Despite lawsuits, layoffs and downsizing that are common, can Coke's problem be bigger than a worldwide recession?
S.W.A.T.S. is Hot!
Unabashed, they call themselves the SouthWest ATlanta Superfriends (SWATS). SWATS members Alexis- the Wordologist, Malik - Ultra-Magnetic, Georgia Me (GA Me) - Ghetto Fabulous and Yohannes - Dr. Strangelove are the MoorEpics Slam Team 2001.
If you miss the national slam competition, you can place these SWATS characters in perspective by checking out their new compact disc. Hearing MoorEpics Slam Team 2001 once will not be enough. I listened again and again. This CD is boiling hot stuff!
You must buy it people. These poets are off the chain! Making me laugh and cry, I rejoiced in the talent of "the dream team that represents the ATL Vibe to the fullest," which is the billing in the Introduction by Cocktails and Abyss of the Live Poets Society. Mad props to poet Aqiyl Thomas, producers Rod Hollimon and Gloria Few and photographer Mickki Edmond. To everyone that made this collaborative project possible, kudos for a job well done! A CD release party where everyone can give these artists mad props is planned after the nationals. Stay tuned! S.W.A.T.S. is hot!
by John Burl Smith
DeKalb-ed in the Back describes Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes' "MARTA train robbery." A reconstructed segregationist, Barnes fought MARTA from inception in 1971. Fanning "white flight" to oppose integration, Barnes dedicated himself to keeping MARTA out of Cobb County, i.e., keeping blacks out. In the legislature, Barnes' coalition drained state funds out of DeKalb and Fulton Counties to fund development in Cobb County. Economic development, infrastructure and transportation funds spent in metropolitan Atlanta over the last 25 years went to Cobb, Clayton and Gwinnett Counties.
Atlanta Constitution's Harold Buckley, Taxes, initiatives why county transit is varied (7-27-01), and Creative Loafing's Michael Wall, Barnes Plan Gives Cobb $2.4 Billion for Light Rail and MARTA Nothing (7-18-01) describe the "great MARTA train robbery." But, they fail to make the factual connection between GRTA's takeover of MARTA and the federal matching funds for transportation Barnes gives Cobb and Gwinnett Counties. Essentially, MARTA is a public utility owned by DeKalb and Fulton Counties taxpayers. As such, it is the South’s only mass transit system entitled to receive federal funds.
The only place Gwinnett and Clayton Counties can get federal matching funds for their bus systems is the MARTA sales tax. Both counties refused to pay the MARTA one-cent sales tax. Fighting integration, Barnes' coalition passed legislation prohibiting Georgia from funding MARTA. Gov. Barnes created GRTA to take over MARTA to get access to federal matching dollars. Without benefit of either a vote or compensation for DeKalb and Fulton taxpayers for their investment since 1971, neither writer questioned the constitutionality of the state's takeover of a local utility that it never funded.
Barnes' "train robbery" enriches whites in Cobb and other counties at the expense of blacks in DeKalb and Fulton. In 1971, South DeKalb was promised MARTA rail service. MARTA's Board voted to give DeKalb a train. In 2000, Barnes stacked MARTA's Board and stole DeKalb's train. He gave it to Cobb and Douglas Counties, declaring, "They need economic development more, South DeKalb can wait." Barnes took train service from MARTA sales tax paying citizens in DeKalb and gave it to people who refused repeatedly to pay the tax. Barnes' 25- year Cobb and Gwinnett Economic Plan forces DeKalb and Fulton Counties to continue paying for economic development that assists white flight and creates sprawl until 2047.
Not one elected official has said a word about Barnes' racist policy. Mayoral candidates are talking about integrity, rather than Barnes' shameful discrimination against DeKalb and Fulton Counties with his 25-year transportation plan. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) is afraid to demand equity for DeKalb and Fulton regarding federal funds. Both Georgia Senators Zell Miller and Max Cleland are silent. Are they silent because the citizens adversely affected are black?
Fulton and DeKalb County Commissioners, as well as, DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones are struck dumb, silently accepting their counties being robbed to pay for sprawl. The DISH is vindicated! This is taxation without representation. Barnes should wear the hood he wore in the 1970s. See MARTA at http://www.thedish.ws. John 2001
"Do you know your history?"
by Jimmy Stroud, Jr.
For too many African Americans, the answer to the title question is "no." While European history is taught in public schools, the halls of higher learning and popular media constantly, the average American cannot name the black inventors that created conveniences we use daily. The list of these inventions include, but is not limited to, the lawnmower, lotion, soap, the refrigerator, lawn chair and ironing board. Black History Quiz is a website and newsletter that promotes the history and culture of Africans in the Diaspora. Black History Quiz intends to fill the black history void! Saluting black accomplishments, its first profile of Aunt Jemima appears above. Black History Quiz is free! The weekly newsletter is distributed via email. To subscribe, visit the website http://blackhistoryquiz.com.
About Me: Jimmy Stroud, Jr. is a serial entrepreneur. He has experienced successes and setbacks in his various enterprises, but points to his faith in God and the example of his parents, as reasons behind his personal drive to succeed. "My father, God rests his soul, personifies much of what I want out of my own business: freedom to direct my destiny while contributing positively to my community. My mother's encouragement is a major part of the engine that fuels me today. In no small part, my recent successes are due to her." The DISH welcomes Jimmy into the family.
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro refused to speak this week. Smarting from an earlier disagreement with his grandma, when I asked for his comments, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro informed me, "Most folks say nothing!"
Predatory Lending
Last week, Congress held hearings on predatory lending. Like racial profiling, the usual victims are blacks, the poor and elderly. We assume predatory lending occurs in subprime markets, where financial institutions serve consumers with imperfect credit. Predatory practices, including triple digit interest, are legal. Contrary to popular assumptions, subprime institutions are subsidiaries of prime lenders. These predators charge unusually high interest rates and fees and lend exorbitant amounts to people who clearly cannot repay them. They encourage borrowers to pay off existing loans by taking out other more costly ones, and they use fraudulent and/or misleading sales tactics.
At http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/banks/, Mark Winston Griffith puts a human face on predatory lending. Executive director of the nonprofit Central Brooklyn Partnership, which organizes people to build economic power in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, NY, Griffith looks at past and present practices that leave the black and poor at the mercy of check cashers, Rent-a-Centers, high-cost mortgage companies, wire transfer centers, pawnshops and loan sharks.
AARP at www.aarp.org/homeloans claims about 80 percent of Americans over age 65 own their homes. Predators see high home ownership rates as an opportunity to profit at the expense of unwary consumers. To stem the rising tide of foreclosures, which is often the end result of predatory lending, AARP launched an initiative to educate consumers, advocate legislative and regulatory reform and litigate on behalf of homeowners fighting predators.
Plagued by the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, DeKalb County's CEO Vernon Jones signed an ordinance on June 28 aimed at combating predatory lending that drives foreclosures in predominantly black portions of the county. CEO Jones and the Board of Commissioners passed the ordinance as a first step in addressing predatory lending. The ordinance restricts the county's business transactions "to entities that engage in responsible lending." According to Jones in a press release, "An increasing number of homeowners are at risk of losing their homes and financial security because of predatory or high-cost home lending practices. Predatory lenders target vulnerable consumers, the elderly, poor and uneducated, using an array of practices to strip them of home equity. This abusive practice must be stopped."
According to people familiar with predatory lending, the ordinance will do little to stem the tide. The county does not do business with subprime lenders.
by John Burl Smith
Christ's reply to a question regarding Roman money, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's" is not a case of two sides of the same coin. Caesar, as the anti-Christ, represented the destruction of the fulfillment of the word. As such, the anti-Christ comes disguised as an angel bearing gifts.
The coin represents the anti-Christ's ability to beguile and seduce those of little faith. He can never forcibly enter a sanctuary and destroy it from within; he must be invited inside. Disguising his intent, those of little faith fall for his tricks, which make keeping the covenant seem easier. George W. Bush's faith-based initiative is such an illusion. Faith-based is not about helping the poor, it is about what Bush wants to do for his political supporters in the name of charity!
In 1st Corinthians 13, Paul preaches about the Christian obligation of charity. Verses 12 and 13 make it clear, one is known by their charitable deeds, not political alliances. Under Bush's plan, churches will hire out to the state in fulfilling their obligation to serve the poor and needy. Feeding and caring for those who cannot do this for themselves does not equal charity. Love in one's actions makes it charity.
Charity is a means of giving thanks for bountiful blessings. More important, it is the doorway to repentance for harm caused by one's thoughts and actions. If the government underwrites the preacher for fulfilling his calling, to whom does one pray for penitence, when they fail in their Christian duty?
The coin question was posed for Christ to consider by those who believed it is possible to serve two masters. As with Bush's faith-based initiative, Christians are being asked to claim that which does not belong to God. Accepting what belongs to Caesar in God's name is a favorite trick of the anti-Christ, because those of little faith do not know the difference. John 2001
by John Burl Smith
Congressional redistricting is a scam run on black voters every 10 years. Whether Democrat or Republican, whites work to limit black representation. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) made representation a "due process" and "equal protection" issue, hence the Voting Rights Act 1965. Until Bakke v. the University of California, the U. S. Supreme Court had sought to make up for years of disenfranchising slave descendants. Strict construction judges used Bakke to eliminate race as a factor in efforts designed to remedy past discrimination, even though race was the sole basis of legal segregation. These judges today decree segregation by court order.
Today, whites can use any population variable when drawing district lines, and since whites already dominate the political process, their race is never considered a factor. Conversely, blacks came into the political process as insurgents, fighting segregation. Segregationists, like Roy Barnes, Zell Miller and Tom Murphy, drew district lines favoring whites, whether Democrats or Republicans. Not only did blacks not reach parity in representation following the courts when they helped draw district lines, as in 1991, whites were still the majority. This is gerrymandering. For slave descendants, it is Blackermandering.
White Democrats and Republicans have always played blacks like a wild card. Blacks only matter when whites need to count their votes. Georgia gets two new congressional districts as a result of the 2000 census. New districts are given states to equalize representation for citizens in overcrowded and under-represented districts as in metropolitan Atlanta. Although district lines will change across the state, any fair reading of the numbers show, if Atlanta is divided into four quadrants, districts extending outward from the city would maximize representation for all citizens. Four such districts would approximate political, economic and racial diversity without splitting homogeneous communities. This plan is too simple; it will never be adopted.
First, Roy Barnes will never allow it, because it would increase Atlanta's clot. Moreover, one out of four Congressmen may see through Barnes plan to drain federal dollars out of Atlanta to pay for transportation and economic development around the northern arch. Second, whites in both political parties see money for the suburbs as their major priority. This is why nobody is saying anything about Barnes' 25 year transportation plan. Third, courts do what whites have always done to maintain segregation and control the political process: Blackermander. John 2001
On Telling Our Story
by Dot
African slave descendants demand reparations. Chasm analysis provides unimpeachable scientific evidence to support our demand. And, the emotional stuff that colors our days is heart wrenching. Individual accounts of racism can be read in newspapers across the country. Buried below the fold and in obituaries, from coast to coast across the heartland, the debt owed for past and present injustices grows.
Armed with scientific data, steeped in emotion and grounded on Christian morals and ethics, the black argument for reparations satisfies all the elements for a successful debate of this issue, if we are allowed to speak. Bush, the son, has threatened to boycott the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR).
Two stories typify our daily dilemma. In one, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell physically confronted racism. Invited to a Cubs ball game by a former employer, Mitchell, accompanied by her adult son, is a grandmother. On leaving Wrigley Field feeling on top of her game, some Cubs' fans called Mitchell 'Aunt Jemima.' Chanting the racist name, they taunted her. Hurt and embarrassed, she wrote about the incident in her column, only to draw more ire from those who see nothing racist in being called 'Aunt Jemima.' Email Mary Mitchell at marym@suntimes.com
In the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Gracie Bonds Staples, a staff writer, wondered "Will racism always be with us? A mother of two intelligent daughters, Bonds has to explain to her children about the racism we live with. It is difficult to explain lynching to intelligent children. Bonds write, "The beatings and other inhumane treatment hadn't happened to just the African-American slave girl Jamila (her daughter) had just read about; it had happened to her. It had happened to her little sister and it had happened to me and her father." Her article was met with much criticism from whites who do not want to be reminded of slavery and who wish to deny institutionalized racism exists. Email Gracie Staples at gstaples@ajc.com
We demand to speak! Our experiences and the facts must be part of WCAR. Too often our stories appear below the fold, footnotes in the media, but we will be heard and our demand for reparations met.
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