Volume 4 Issue 32…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…August 17, 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

Southerners strenuously objected to the Supreme Court's decisions in 1954 and 1955 calling for school desegregation. On March 12, 1956, a group of 101 congressmen, almost all of them from Southern states, denounced these rulings in a manifesto presented to Congress. Urging states to disobey the rulings, they vowed to oppose them "by all lawful means."

Declaration of Constitutional Principles

The decision of the Supreme Court in the public-school cases is now bearing the fruit always produced when men substitute naked power for established law.

The founding fathers gave us a Constitution of checks and balances because they realized the inescapable lesson of history that no man or group of men can be safely entrusted with unlimited power. They framed this Constitution with provisions for change by amendment to secure the fundamentals of government against the dangers of temporary popular passion or personal predilections of public office holders.

We regard the decision of the Supreme Court in the school cases as a clear abuse of judicial power. It climaxes a trend in the federal judiciary undertaking to legislate, in derogation of the authority of Congress, and to encroach upon the reserved rights of the states.

The original Constitution does not mention education. Neither does the Fourteenth Amendment or any other amendment. Debates preceding the submission of the Fourteenth Amendment show that there was no intent that it should affect the systems of education maintained by the states. The very Congress, which proposed the amendment, subsequently provided for segregated schools in the District of Columbia.

When the amendment was adopted, in 1868, there were thirty-seven states of the Union. Every one of the twenty-six states that had any substantial racial differences among its people either approved the operation of segregated schools already in existence or subsequently established such schools by action of the same lawmaking body which considered the Fourteenth Amendment. (Source: Congressional Record, 84 Cong., 2 Sess., pp. 4515-4516, reprinted from The Negro in American History, edited by Adler, Van Doren & Ducas)

The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro began school on Monday. Last week, he volunteered to provide several comments now so it does not interfere with school homework. When asked for his first remark, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro said, "Wait! I need to figure it out first!"

Disgruntled says: To all those right-to-life pro death penalty conservatives who thought George Bush, the son, would hold the line on stem cell research and human experimentation, now you know how legal scholars and Americans who thought this country was a democracy felt when the states' rights Supreme Court ruled to stop the vote count in Florida to give Bush the presidency. Welcome to lessons to be learned on blatant hypocrisy!

Disgruntled wants to know: With a new White House resident, we thought the media would lay off Bill Clinton. But lo and behold, he is the subject of more 'news' coverage than President-selected Bush. Weary of Clinton before he left office, when will the media cover Bush?

Disgruntled feels: It is time to rev the revolution!

By Alexis Little

Would you die? Would you die?

Would you die for your rights?

Do my people not know what to do

'Cause Marley's not here to say,

"Don't give up the fight"?

And maybe, If we sang, "Redemption Songs,"

To our children as lullabies

They wouldn't awaken in nights ignorant

And get dressed in the dark.

And "Three Little Birds" could teach them

Not to dance to the death song of the lark

"'Cause every little thing's gonna be alright."

Hark! Goes the angels of Life and Devastation

To signify the changing of times

That will render today blind

By choking yesterday on fried chicken and watermelon rinds,

And tomorrow will have to borrow the future from the past.

And that same generation

That pumped steroids in their peaches and left them to the leaches will wonder,

"Why are our children growing up so fast?"

We need to REV the REVOLUTION!

Do you got melanin like cows got milk?

Are you colored, boy? Or just a Negroid

Trying to fill the void psychological slavery left

By deftly packing what you're lacking with artificial colorings?

Fool, let me inform you

That Red Dye #2 can not substitute for the blood of Christ.

Not even if you add white and blue

And salute your stars and stripes to a ripe old age.

Patriotism for a nation you created then hated

Will be belatedly taken into consideration

When you awaken from self-imposed economic sedation.

And when it's judgement day,

You not goin' be able to pay your way into heaven

So I suggest you trade your sixes for sevens.

We need to REV the REVOLUTION!

Do you got melanin like cows got milk?

Sellin' sin must be the way to win,

'Cause my girl told me

That brothers can buy a dime bag of infidelity

And a nickel bag of adultery down on Peachtree,

But to be careful

'Cause that mess is laced with a whole lot of,

"It wasn't me."

And down on Stewart Ave,

You can find my sisters showin' they ass

And everyone knows a crackhead's always good for a laugh

But, if these are the Black businesses that both my people and White people support,

Why are we surprised when we get the AIDS report?

"Nevermore", said the raven of Poe,

But somehow I know that my people will people the Earth or at least the ghettoes,

That is until 14 year olds learn how not to suck and blow.

We need to REV the REVOLUTION!

Do you got melanin like cows got milk?

I'm not talking about the pigment in your skin,

But the Blackness of your mind.

What color is your soul?

Have you surrendered perpetual control over the wideness of your nose

And the thickness of your lips

To the syncopated sips of society and delusion?

Which, to my conclusion, must be the source of our confusion.

'Cause what I hypothesize is

That once we realize that power perceived is power believed,

But power believed is power received,

You can extend your fist from your sleeve and chat with me-

We need to REV the REVOLUTION!

You've got to REV the REVOLUTION!

We have to REV the REVOLUTION or DIE!

About Me: Written, created and produced by Alexis Little, this poem on paper pales in comparison to a live performance or the CD MoorEpics Slam Team 2001. Born in St. Louis, MO., Alexis has been writing since the age of seven. As the youngest person on the Spoken Word Circuit in Atlanta, Georgia and the youngest member of the MoorEpics Slam Team, Alexis will be attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois this fall as a freshman.

by John Burl Smith

Poets for Peace "International Speak Out" Thursday, August 16, 2001 at MoorEpics and The Patti Hut Café in Atlanta supports Rep. Cynthia McKinney's delegation to the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, Racial Discrimination and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa August, 31 - September 7, 2001. Everyone in the Diaspora is asked to hold venues to "Speak Out" and send e-mails to the Bush Administration demanding Rep. McKinney be recognized as an official spokesperson on behalf of slave descendants.

The Q & A below with Atlanta poet Yohannes highlights the essential role of Poets for Peace in this campaign:

Q: First, congratulations to the MoorEpics Slam Team. Were you pleased with Seattle? A: Regrettably, we didn't win. But we're confident we're the new force on the spoken word scene and will put our talent up against any group willing to take the microphone.

Q: About WCAR, how has your involvement helped Rep. McKinney? A: America's media placed a blackout on WCAR. Getting information out became a word of mouth process. We are like way stations on the Underground Railroad.

Q: Why are artists out front on WCAR? A: Although artists are highly visible on this issue, make no mistake, Cynthia is on the point. We're assisting her through our interconnected networks getting the word down to the streets. America's media paint black artists with a broad brush of negative stereotypes, particularly "gangsterism." They demonize blacks to limit our acceptance and influence as viable spokespersons for efforts such as WCAR. We are doing what artists always do, telling the story of our people.

Q: Does WCAR matter on the street? A: We have never had an opportunity to charge America with racism at an international forum until WCAR. George Bush is trying to derail WCAR before it begins. He knows it is indefensible that one hundred forty-eight years after Emancipation, black median income mirror the 3/5 Compromise. On the street, blacks know they get paid less than whites, now they know institutional racism is why.

Q: So, most blacks support Rep. McKinney? A: Though we use different words to describe our encounters with racism, we are all saying the same thing. American slave descendants are victims of institutionalized racism and genocide today. According to international law, victims of these crimes are entitled to reparations from perpetrators, like America. We want our Z! John 2001

Payroll taxes for Social Security (SS) and Medicare are regressive, because poor workers pay a larger percentage of their earnings into federal retirement. Historically, black American workers receive on average $21,000 less from Social Security than whites because they die younger and/or have lower lifetime earnings. For black and poor workers the program is their sole source of retirement income. These workers, many of whom have paid into SS for several decades, were dismayed by the news that it may be insolvent by the time they become eligible for retirement.

The Bush Administration wants to privatize Social Security. With shrinking 401K's, workers are worried they may not be able to make ends meet after retirement even with Social Security. A DISH poll found most workers oppose Bush's proposal to privatize SS, by allowing workers to use part of their Social Security taxes to set up private investment accounts. In the current market, privatization is unlikely to gain approval. Nearly all (98.5%) of the 600 surveyed say the government should fulfill its promises to Social Security recipients.

America owes those who paid into the SS system what they were promised. Bush is covering up former President Reagan's raided on Social Security to increase military spending. Had Bush not cut taxes for the wealthy, prospects for Social Security would not be nearly so bleak. If the government repays what it has borrowed from Social Security over the years, the program would be solvent for longer than Bush's estimates suggest.

Bush's plan to privatize Social Security leaves older workers holding IOU's for their investment. Allowing SS to default amounts to declaring the program bankrupt, because Bush refuses to meet its obligations. Unlike debating reparations, older workers do not buy into the notion that America can simply refuse to honor its IOUs to Social Security recipients. A coalition of older Americans plan to call, write, fax and email their elected representatives with the message not to support Bush's plan to default on Social Security IOUs.

SPEAK, CD Release Party, Etc.

The MoorEpics Slam Team 2001 CD Release Party is Saturday, August 18, 2001. The fun starts at 8PM at MoorEpics the Poetry Planet, which is located at 227 Mitchell between Spring and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta. The cover charge is $7 or $15 (includes an autographed CD). Some of the hottest poets and musical artists in Atlanta will provide entertainment at this Blue Moon Daughters Production.

On Sunday, August 19, 2001, Underground Epics Presents: "AM I MY PREACHER'S KEEPER," a stage play written/directed by Temeka Ringer at Davage Auditorium. Highlighting new actors/actresses, poets, producers and various other artists, the premiere opens with a performance by poet John Goode. For ticket info, contact Underground Epics at 404-880-0084

On Saturday, August 25, 2001, Sister Poets Embracing Altruistic Kinship (S.P.E.A.K) presents SisterSpeak - an expression of life through Yin energy! Hosted by Abyss, the evening features heart-wrenching spoken word and music. For more, call 678-595-4276.

UNITED NATIONS WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM (WCAR) will be held in Durban, South Africa August 31-September 7, 2001. This is the third world conference on racism. The Bush Administration has threatened to boycott it if reparation for slavery is on the agenda. Most of us will not attend the conference in Durban, nor will we have a voice in the deliberations. But, we can raise our voices.

Poets for Peace, Live Poets Society, S.P.E.A.K., The DISH and Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) have sought to increase awareness of WCAR. On August 16, 2001, poets around the world will take the microphone to speak out against racism. In addition, we ask everyone to bomb the White House, State Department and other elected officials with e-mails to encourage US participation in WCAR and, in general, speak to the need for reparations. President George Bush is at president@whitehouse.gov and Secretary of State Colin Powell is at Secretary@state.gov

There are two online petition drives for WCAR. Tammy Lee on the West Coast spearheads one petition drive, which ends August 27. You can go online to sign her petition at http://www.unwcarpetition.homestead.com. The second petition is at http://www.petitiononline.com

On August 31, 2001, the first day of WCAR, the masses not attending are encouraged to participate in an international day out (IDAAR). Basically, everyone worldwide is asked to organize demonstrations and speak out against racism on that day. For more information, contact Bob Brown, Director of Kwame Ture Work-Study Institute and Library at idaar2001@yahoo.com

For more on info, visit The DISH at http://www.thedish.ws or contact icim@bellsouth.net.

DISHing It Up Hot!

by Dot

According to a column by Colin Campbell of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, retired Judge William Augustus Bootle is a work in progress (AWIP). The column, "At 98, Judge Bootle continues to learn lessons from his past," (AJC 7/15/01), chronicles his role in some historic civil rights cases, including school desegregation.

According to Campbell, Judge Bootle came to the federal courts in 1954, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down Plessy v. Ferguson's separate, but equal. Bootle recalls, "I was right there at the bend of history." As Campbell points out, Bootle turned that bend as a very old-fashioned fellow, unwilling even to address black people with the same titles of respect routinely used when addressing whites. "I couldn't say 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.' to black people. I couldn't even say 'ladies and gentlemen of the jury.' I said 'members of the jury.' Now wasn't that a damn fool situation?" Now that he no longer makes life and death decisions in a courtroom, he can see where he could have made better decisions.

We are admonished to see people, like Thomas Jefferson, founding father, president and author of the Declaration of Independence who died a slaveowner, in the context of the times in which they lived. In his heyday, Bootle was considered a liberal, certainly not a full-blown strict construction hypocrite. He pretended the 14^th Amendment gave blacks equal protection as in equal rights, but he, like most white Americans, resisted treating blacks as equals. Now, he romanticizes the past to hide the ugly truth. Bootle will not lift a finger to change the status quo. Doublethinking, he still has problems with black and white equality. But, Campbell says, he is working on coming around to believing "all men are created equal."

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