Volume 4 Issue 6…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race… February 16, 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 © 2000

by Larry Jaffe

He was not rich enough to stop bullets

his wallet not sufficiently loaded

with credit cards and membership cards

to exclusive country clubs

to ultimately protect him.

No draped American flag clothed his body

only a shiny immigrant suit

a dusty wallet within

a green card but no green backs.

His wallet not rich enough with Caucasian stock

just pictures of family pride

protecting his heritage.

His wallet not prosperous enough

to shield him from copper

jacketed slugs.

He was not wearing a three-piece designer suit

with bulletproof vest

But with appeals of surrender

he lifted arms wide receiving a 41-gun salute

NYPD black and blue. © 2000 lgjaffe

About Me: Larry Jaffe started writing at age 11. According to Larry, "Life is a poem and I write it." He is committed to returning poetry to the people and speaks strongly about the role of poetry and poets in today's society. His recent books include Unprotected Poetry, Hate's Not Natural, Winter Rose, and Jewish Soul Food. Visit Larry Jaffe at www.lgjaffe.com

Disgruntled says: Here are the facts. There is one thing blacks in Georgia own, and that is MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority). No one can change that, unless we allow it. Whites and their interests run it, and Gov. Roy Barnes used GRTA (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority), a state agency that does not fund MARTA, to take over it. MARTA is the only public mass transit system in the south, and black people own it. The only sales tax that supports public transportation is assessed in predominantly black DeKalb and Fulton Counties.

Disgruntled feels: It is the question that drives those who THINC. The answer is not in a book. America is afraid to look at the 3/5ths compromise and how it functions to shape American society.

Disgruntled wants to know: Georgia black elected officials voted to enshrine Confederate heritage symbols. The swastika compromise puts Robert E. Lee's Confederate regalia-clad portrait back onto the wall in the state capitol's rotunda. How do you explain to your children you voted to bring the slave master back to "lord over" them?

by John Burl Smith

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul. (Mark 8:36)

Teaching lessons of love's power over blind hatred, my great grandfather, the Circuit Rider, Rev. Burl Lee's favorite sermon was Saul of Tarsus. For Saul, being a Roman citizen was like being white in America. A traveler too, Saul was the antithesis of the Circuit Rider. A bounty hunter, Saul was an international hit man in the service of the Roman Empire.

Like KKK and police lynchings, Saul roamed the known universe destroying churches and killing followers of Jesus Christ. As Mohamed during his time of rage, Saul wrecked havoc on Christians, determined to stamp out the most powerful force in the universe- an idea. Like diehard Confederate flag supporters, until the truth of that idea shined so brightly it blinded him on the road to Damascus, Saul's hatred burned like a KKK cross atop Stone Mountain, Georgia. But, like flowers growing up through concrete, truth shined through.

Unlike George W. Bush, Jr.'s "changed heart," Saul found new sight as Paul and the idea opened his eyes to the power in the oneness of humanity. The kingdom of God is within and all around each of us, became his gospel. Unfortunately, today the Christian Church has imprisoned Paul's gospel inside four walls. While Bush has hired the Church in America for Saul's old job with the government, St. Paul has become Saul on the road to Washington, D. C. and bright-eyed visionaries are struck blind by the glare of newly minted money.

The Church in the South preached that slavery was an act of God. Rather than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of sons and daughters of former slaves and slave masters joining hands to develop one dream of Georgia with a new state flag, those dedicated to preserving racial hatred have brought the slave master back to lord over our children.

This week America remembers the tragic lynching of Amadou Diallo by four white policemen reenacting Paul's days as Saul, drenching the countryside in blood. Synonymous to how freely whites kill people of color today, then all Saul had to say was "he was a Christian." The US government refused to investigate Amadou Diallo's death as signifying a lack of equal protection, a violation of his civil rights by killing him or simply as a wrongful death, because the first law of America is the 3/5ths Compromise. America still operates under fugitive slave laws; it is not against the law to kill black people. Remember Election 2000 killed democracy.

Saul did not become St. Paul because he quit his good government job and started preaching. His gospel - And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity, Corinthians I, 13: 13 echoes Jesus Christ. How can one love Jesus and not see crucifixion in Amadou Diallo's murder? American blacks are evidence of the original sin, and since slavery, they have been crucified to purge whites of St. Paul's gospel: Romans I: 22-23. John 2001

Georgia's flag bill amended Georgia Code to alter its flag; to protect and preserve certain monuments; to provide for judicial procedures; to provide that any agency eligible to receive state funds be required to display the flag; to provide that no funds be made available to any agency not in compliance with this Act; to provide for enforcement; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."

Georgia's new flag is a blue field on which is centered the seal of the state. Beneath the seal is a scroll or ribbon of gold about two-thirds the length of the field; it bears the words 'Georgia's History' and contains a representation of five flags, one of which is the Georgia flag containing the Confederate battle emblem.

The new law makes it unlawful to mutilate, deface, or abuse any monument, plaque, marker, or memorial dedicated to, honors, or recounts the service of any military personnel of the Confederate States of America. Violating this paragraph is a misdemeanor.

No publicly owned monument or memorial erected, constructed, created, or maintained on public property in honor of the Confederate States of America shall be relocated, obscured or altered in any fashion.

"Any other provision of law notwithstanding, the memorial to the heroes of the Confederate States of America graven upon the face of Stone Mountain shall never be altered, removed, concealed, or obscured in any fashion and shall be preserved and protected for all time as a tribute to the bravery and heroism of the citizens of this state who suffered and died in their cause."

Funky Hood

The Justice Department decided not to look into Amadou Diallo's death. In Atlanta last week, police killed another person. This latest victim, a woman, was shot in 'self-defense.' Shot twice in the stomach, she was allegedly armed with a brick. The cop that shot her is on leave with pay while internal affairs investigate.

Calls to The DISH expressed outrage over this killing. People are angry about the way police respond when those involved are non-white and/or poor. The police are supposed to protect and serve. Yet, these folks feel our protectors serve us death.

The DISH contacted John Quigley of the Atlanta Police Department to gather more details. Next week's Funky Hood report profiles the latest death. How does the police justify killing a skinny 40 year-old woman?

While the neo-Confederate movement seeks to romanticize the South and its role in the Civil War, the Confederate states committed treason to preserve their "way of life," which is a euphemism that keeps them from having to say slavery. The most famous defender of that cause was Confederate General Robert Edward Lee.

Born January 19, 1807 on his family's Virginia plantation, Lee entered West Point in 1825. He graduated a cadet corp adjutant. In 1831, he married Mary Custis, great granddaughter of Martha Washington. When Virginia seceded (1860-61), Lee followed, declining President Lincoln's offer to command the Union's forces.

A general in the Confederate Army, Lee furthered the Confederate cause. Faced with overwhelming odds, his contribution kept the South from being routed long before his April 9, 1865 surrender at Appomattox.

Branded a traitor, the end of the War brought dramatic changes to Lee's life. With his fortune greatly reduced and his military career terminated, he was barred from public office. In the summer of 1865, the Board of Trustees of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia gave him the college presidency. It is here that students founded Kappa Alpha in honor of Lee, who was called the "Knight of America "and "The Last Gentle Knight." Lee died at Washington College on October 12, 1870. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/LEE/Lee.html

THINC (Teaching Humanity in New Consciousness) is the philosophy, which unlocks the door to ideas that address our problem. Heretofore, black people were told what to think. The DISH called State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D) for his take on the new flag and the role he played in making that happen.

For years, Brooks introduced a flag bill each legislative session. His bill proposed a return to the pre-1956 flag, another Confederate banner. Rep. Brooks calls the flag compromise "a win-win for everyone, a victory for the people of Georgia." He boasts, "I am proud of what was done." According to Brooks, "all the premier civil rights groups, such as the SCLC, NAACP and Rainbow/PUSH, support this deal. They were briefed on it before the flag bill came up for vote." Brooks credits himself and these groups with the momentum that brought about the flag change.

Georgia’s business interests, led by the governor, used Booker T.’s to kill the groundswell for change. When you THINC about it, since Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Compromise (1895), black 'leaders' have sold out black people. Now, blacks are being told they must honor Confederate symbols. Akin to the German swastika, a symbol of white supremacy, either Brooks and the other Booker T.'s do not understand symbolism or they accept the compromise because it fattens their pockets. Bottom line, the compromise is bad news for blacks.

Brooks says the new flag gives us an opportunity to dialogue and teach Georgia history. He points to the history ribbon and mentions slavery. Efforts to express another point of view were met with avid resistance. Our elected officials have told us what to think; no discussion is allowed. If you have not done so, catch up with your local representatives and see if they will engage in dialogue on this subject. Like robots, they recite the script they got. THINC about it! Black folks have always been told what to think. There is nothing new about the way this went down. What is new is our ability to THINC, and we reject the swastika compromise. Rep. Brooks and other black elected officials are hereby placed on notice. We reject their neo-Booker T. leadership. The groundswell for change is more than Georgia's flag, it is about changing the face of America; we begin with local elections.

Politics is about action. Black Agenda Two Thousand Political Action Committee (BATT-PAC) is official. Become a member. Membership includes a lifetime subscription to The DISH. Together, BATT-PAC will change the face of Georgia and America.

Election 2000 showed us that slavery never ended and America is not a democracy. One-person-one vote did not determine the outcome of that election. The Supreme Court selected George W. Bush, Jr. In doing so, the court acted as the Taney tribunal in the Dred Scott slavery case. In the name of equal protection, the court reaffirmed the 3/5ths compromise.

The only way to ensure all votes are counted the same, BATT-PAC seeks to repeal Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution to prevent a strict construction decision, such as Plessy v. Ferguson and Bush v. Gore and other actions based on that infamous compromise.

National election reform is a BATT-PAC top priority. We are drafting a letter to Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) and other members of Georgia's legislative delegation asking them to sponsor legislation to amend the Constitution by repealing Article 1 Section 2, abolish the Electoral College and provide reparations for the victims of American institutionalized racism.

The BATT-PAC is starting a petition drive, collecting signatures of those who wish to make America a democracy. Start a drive in your area and submit the signatures to your representative. Write a letter, send a FAX or telephone your congressional representative about BATT-PAC's effort at fundamental election reform, the kind of reform that puts democracy in America's most important national elections. Join BATT-PAC now!

by Dot

Georgia's new flag was selected in secret. A pact with the devil is how one reader described the compromise to keep the Confederate battle emblem in Georgia's flag. A neo-Booker T. Atlanta Compromise, the deal does three things: (1) it keeps the Confederate emblem in Georgia's flag (2) it outlaws changes to other monuments and symbols of Confederate 'heritage' and (3) puts the black neo-Booker T.'s who call themselves our 'leaders' in position to kill the Georgia Groundswell. Now, they will preach to blacks about calling off the economic boycott called last year by The DISH. Ignorant, they neither supported nor understood the groundswell to remove the divisive symbol from Georgia's flag.

A deal with the devil, the swastika compromise places black people in the untenable position of honoring Confederate symbols. Let us be fair; this divisive symbol of white supremacy has no business in a flag that represents all Georgians. Defiance against school integration put the Confederate emblem in Georgia's flag. The South has changed, but any progress was made in spite of Confederate patriots.

To be honest, an objective analysis of the data shows a chasm yawns between the races. A part of that socioeconomic disparity is so stable, Dot's doctoral thesis argues it reflects the 3/5th Compromise of Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution. A fair assessment is Georgia is a microcosm of America. Institutionalized racism embodied in American law dictates outcomes in the marketplace for goods and services; it permeates Georgia as it does the remainder of the nation.

While Georgia continues to fly the swastika, efforts to force blacks to honor its Confederate heritage are wasted. We will never agree, which is why the deal was made in secret. The Confederate battle emblem is the most divisive symbol in American history; it flew before the South during the Civil War. It waved at George Wallace's political rallies and Ku Klux Klan marches. It fluttered on the breeze and stank of death when the KKK went lynching. It fired the fiery rhetoric atop Stone Mountain, Georgia, where a resurrected KKK burned giant crosses that could be seen for miles away, striking terror in the hearts of black Georgians.

Black people are being told to honor a legacy of terror. Not entirely stupid, we refuse. Only the open-minded sees all sides from 360 degrees of perspective and frustration. We appreciate the fact that some folks see the emblem as their heritage. Many of these people are in Georgia's state legislature and another occupies the governor's mansion. The swastika compromise enshrines their white heritage. The world has refused to and so should Georgia. A Georgia citizen, I have filed suit against the state citing equal protection and due process. Our state flag should be free of this kind of controversy. If the state cannot resolve this impasse, then the court must do so.

Back   ||  ICIM Home   ||  THINC  ||  The DISH || 2000 Issues