The
DISH
"Unbossed
and unbought news and information you can use"
Volume 6 Issue 29…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…July 25, 2003
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm
The daughter of immigrants Charles and Ruby St. Hill, Shirley Anita was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 30, 1924. In 1927, she was sent to Barbados to live with her maternal grandmother. In an interview with Maturity Magazine (2000), which awarded her AARP's Andrus Award, given biennially to a nationally recognized individual whose work has made significant contributions to society, she credited her grandmother with being the greatest influence in her life.
In 1934, she joined her parents in New York. An excellent student, she graduated from the Girls High School in Brooklyn (1942) and enrolled in Brooklyn College. Fighting racism wherever she encountered it, when blacks were excluded from a social club in college, Shirley formed an alternative. She later said, "Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal." Majoring in sociology, she graduated with honors (1946). Racism made finding employment comparable to her education difficult. After many rejections, she found a job at the Mt. Calvary Childcare Center in Harlem.
In 1949, Shirley married Conrad Chisholm, a Jamaican private investigator. Active in local politics, the Chisholms helped form the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League. Shirley continued to work in childcare, earning her M.A. degree in elementary education from Columbia University in 1952. The next year she joined the New York City Bureau of Child Welfare. In 1960, she started the Unity Democratic Club, which was instrumental in mobilizing black and Hispanic voters.
In 1964 Chisholm ran for the New York State assembly and won. During her tenure (1964-1968), she proposed legislation to provide state aid to day-care centers and voted to increase funding for schools on a per-pupil basis. In 1968, Chisholm entered the race to represent New York's Twelfth Congressional District. Her campaign slogan was "Fighting Shirley Chisholm--Unbought and Unbossed." She won the election, becoming the first black woman elected to Congress.
During her first term, Chisholm hired an all-female staff. A strong liberal, she spoke out against the congressional seniority system. An advocate for civil rights and the poor, she opposed weapons development and the Vietnam War. In 1970, she was elected to a second term. A sought-after public speaker and advocate for women's rights, she remarked that, "Women in this country must become revolutionaries. We must refuse to accept the old, the traditional roles and stereotypes."
On January 25, 1972, Chisholm announced her candidacy for president. The 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami, Florida was the first major convention in which a woman was considered for the presidential nomination. Although Chisholm failed to capture the nomination, her foray into national politics opened doors for many blacks and women. She continued to serve in the House of Representatives until 1982. After her last term in Congress, she retired from politics, but continued to work as a lecturer, teacher and political mentor. She has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, which include Alumna of the Year, Brooklyn College; Key Woman of the Year; Outstanding Work in the Field of Child Welfare; and Woman of Achievement. Author of The Good Fight (1973), about her 1972 presidential bid, her autobiography is Unbought and Unbossed (1970). (Sources: www.search.eb.com, www.aarp.org/mmaturity/ and www.encarta.msn.com)
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro is a sensitive creature, with talents not even he can comprehend or measure. When queried for comments from a distance, since he is still on vacation, the Dark One/Ninja/Zorro responded, "Summer is pleasure!"
Reality Check
By John Burl Smith
Retrospective analysis is hindsight projected from where one presently is to where they definitely were at some point in the past. Offering predictive value, the approximated reality retraced is a good fit for future probabilities. Such an examination makes the Democratic Party's leadership void a study in duplicity.
Backed by machine politicians and labor power, Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey provides a trajectory to the 1960s. Joining forces with Chicago's "law and order" mayor, Richard Daley, and Dixiecrats' demanding a "go-slow" approach to civil rights, Humphrey abandoned the "Poor People's Campaign" organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Hosea Williams. Led by Rev. Williams, after Dr. King's assassination, blacks built a dynamic political base using the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The first black political convention met in Gary, Indiana in 1971. It picked US Rep. Shirley Chisholm as its presidential nominee.
Surprising many, Chisholm pressed Democratic party frontrunner George McGovern on economic development, poverty, education, racism, the draft/Vietnam War and segregation. A reconstituted "Poor People's Campaign" kept the "black agenda" alive going into the national convention. Recycling Humphrey's mistakes, once at the convention, McGovern reneged on his promise to select Chisholm as his vice presidential running mate. Adding insult to injury, McGovern chose Senator Thomas Eagleton, a man recovering from depression.
Retrospectively, yesterday's trajectory show Democrats in disarray with a crowded field heading to primaries early in 2004. If the Democratic left is going to avoid past mistakes, they must unite. The probability is no candidate will seal the nomination before the convention. The most likely scenario is a brokered convention. Facing that prospect previously, the left responded like Native People facing invading hoards of Europeans. Rather than unite and fight the enemy as a coalition, they fought as individual tribes or nations, oftentimes fighting each other. Consequently, a smaller well-financed and highly trained force defeated them.
It is ego check time. Acknowledging the obscene amounts of money being raised by George W. Bush, no candidate left of center has the economic resources to challenge neo-conservatives. The reality check is the debates. Only a consensus candidate has any hope of building necessary support. Once in the debates, that candidate can argue poor people's issues before the nation. That should be the goal.
Front loaded primaries make a good showing early, critical for the left. Separately, each candidacy will slowly wither, while a coalition candidacy could mount real opposition to the right. Realistic assessments are necessary to build the kind of coalition that nominated Shirley Chisholm in 1972.
"No permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interest" was the motto on the Chisholm Trail in 1972. It reflected a willingness to forge new alliances, avoid provocations and subdue personal antagonisms. Failure to develop such a pragmatic perspective sets the left up for another Al Gore-Green Party/Ralph Nader debacle and a Bush victory. The reality check is to stop recycling failed leaders. The left must unite behind a consensus candidacy to develop a platform that models new leadership.
Black Telephone Workers for Justice
By Ron Washington
The current contract between Verizon and its more than 75,000 workers terminates in August 2003. Employee unions CWA/IBEW are currently involved in difficult negotiations. Verizon is demanding deep cuts in the living standards of its workforce.
For three years, black telephone workers, under the leadership of Black Telephone Workers for Justice (BTWFJ), have been waging a battle to make the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a paid holiday for all Verizon employees. Confirming our accusations of racism and hypocrisy, Verizon has again rejected our demand in the current round of negotiations.
Black telephone workers need the community's support in this struggle. Individuals can make a difference. Simply send an email to Verizon demanding that the company make Dr. King's birthday a paid holiday for its employees. If the demand is not met, please support a national Verizon boycott, which BTWFJ is prepared to launch, if our demands are not met. Send emails to ivan.g.seidenberg@verizon.com. Please cc: a copy to ronmwashington@aol.com. Thanks in advance for your support! The struggle continues!
Booker T. and W. E. B.
By Dudley Randall
"It seems to me," said Booker T.,
"It shows a mighty lot of cheek
To study chemistry and Greek
When Mister Charlie needs a hand
To hoe the cotton on his land,
And when Miss Ann looks for a cook,
Why stick your nose inside a book?"
"I don't agree," said W. E. B.,
"If I should have the drive to seek
Knowledge of chemistry or Greek,
I'll do it. Charles and Miss can look
Another place for hand or cook.
Some men rejoice in skill of hand,
And some in cultivating land,
But there are others who maintain
The right to cultivate the brain."
"It seems to me," said Booker T.,
"That all you folks have missed the boat
Who shout about the right to vote,
And spend vain days and sleepless nights
In uproar over civil rights.
Just keep your mouths shut, do not grouse,
But work, and save, and buy a house."
"I don't agree," said W. E. B.,
"For what can property avail
If dignity and justice fail?
Unless you help to make the laws,
They'll steal your house with trumped-up-clause.
A rope's as tight, a fire as hot,
No matter how much cash you've got.
Speak soft, and try your little plan,
But as for me, I'll be a man."
"It seems to me," said Booker T. -
"I don't agree," said W. E. B.
About Me: Dudley Randall was born in 1914. A WWII veteran, he received his B.A. degree from Wayne State University and his M.A. in library science from the University of Michigan. His poems have appeared in many anthologies. (Source: Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro Poets edited by Robert Hayden)
The Cosmic Possibilities of Father Time
Celebrating the debut of Yohannes Sharriff's groundbreaking compact disc (CD), The Cosmic Possibilities of Father Time, Sound Therapy Session, in junction with the National Black Arts Festival, is hosting an evening of spoken word featuring the artist and a host of local talent. Locals include Jjason Blackwell, Phace Oricalz, Shanti Om, WeOne, Thomas Bess, Jr., Venus 7, Eastern Standard, Azure, Teorah, Taffether and Wanda Jean. After the featured performances, the microphones will be thrown open to all comers.
Giving voice to and providing venues for all art forms from visual to performing, this Sound Therapy Session will be held Saturday, July 26, 2003. Doors open at 8 PM and the session begins at 9 PM. The location is Soul Vegetarian Banquet Hall, 879-A Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd, across from the West End Mall in Atlanta, GA. For more information, call 404-449-4912.
Disgruntled feels: Targeted! Just as US Special Forces targeted Saddam Hussein and his sons for assassination, US financial institutions target the wallets of vulnerable consumers with an array of predatory lending practices. While their targets seldom die, their shady practices frequently leave their victims penniless and homeless. Predators targeting the poor in subprime markets are subsidiaries of the world's most prestigious financial institutions, such as Wells Fargo and Citigroup.
Disgruntled wants to know: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice warned against waiting for the smoking gun of a "mushroom cloud" as evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. It is clear; the nuclear part of the war dossier was based on lies and deception. Will anyone be fired for putting lies in the compassionate conservative's mouth? More important, do lies that kill meet the exacting standards of Republicans in constituting an impeachable offense?
Disgruntled say: At one time, when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke, everyone listened, even when they failed to grasp his doublespeak. Now, with his credibility in tatters, even dumb congressmen question his rhetoric and demand better answers.
On Cornrows and Braids!
By Dot
When black people fry and dye their hair to imitate whites, conscious blacks just shake their heads and hope the sister or brother finally grows up. If they happen to be close, i.e., family, we try to explain how those chemicals work, destroying natural black hair and possibly endangering their health. Those determined to be "stylish," i.e., look white, never listen, that is, until their hair falls out, they wake up or the style changes.
White folks never seem to object to black hairstyles, no matter how ridiculous they make us look, when it is their hair that is being imitated. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Two hairstyle stories recently crossed my desk that white folks complained about, because they were black hairstyles.
The first one was accompanied by the Marian Wright Edelman quote: "You were born God's original. Try not to become someone's copy." It involved a four-year-old named Amari Diaw. According to the news story, the young girl was not allowed to perform in her dance recital because her hair did not conform to Backstage Dance Academy's handbook requirements. She wore her hair in cornrows, rather than "pulled back straight in a low, tight, bun and parted on the right side."
The second story concerned a British schoolboy expelled for wearing his hair like soccer superstar David Beckham. Though blond, Beckham imitates the style of cornrows worn by Caribbean blacks in Britain. The boy's father vowed to fight the unfair expulsion. In his son's defense, the father pointed to the many girls in school wearing similar hairdos. But, the head teacher told him, cornrows were "inappropriate for a white boy."
What does this all mean? Obviously, white rules, which are flexible, determine what is and is not acceptable. When black people wear natural hairstyles that become so popular that whites start imitating them, the white establishment complains and/or finds ways to eliminate the fashion. That is exactly what happened to the Afro. Remember when blondes and redheads were getting perms to make their hair frizzy? Before we knew what hit us, blacks were getting greasy curls. Some black scalps never recovered from the oily experience.
Cornrows and braids are natural black styles that promote hair growth and are good for the Afro. Whites complaint, because we look good enough for their kids to imitate! I say, keep the cornrows and braids!
Mailbox:
E-Mails, Faxes & Telephone Calls
Email drjuliahare@pacbell.net Conscious Descendants: Do you believe now is the time for our self-styled "premier" Black Anglo Saxon organization, "The National Association for the Advancement of Certain People" to steal quietly away into the twilight of their powerlessness? If so, would this be our opportunity to finally support black leaders versus leading blacks? How do they have the nerve to complain of being snubbed by white Democratic presidential candidates, when they themselves gave their top Image Award to Condoleezza Rice?
Email http://legitgov.org/ Wolfowitz committee instructed White House to use Iraq/uranium reference in State of the Union speech --by Jason Leopold. "A Pentagon committee led by Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, advised George W. Bush to include a reference in his January State of the Union address about Iraq trying to purchase 500 tons of uranium from Niger to bolster the case for war in Iraq, despite the fact that the CIA warned Wolfowitz's committee that the information was unreliable, according to a CIA intelligence official and four members of the Senate's intelligence committee who have been investigating the issue."
Email www.judicialwatch.org Documents turned over by the Commerce Department, under court order as a result of Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning the activities of the Cheney Energy Task Force, contain a map of Iraqi oilfields, pipelines, refineries and terminals, as well as two charts detailing Iraqi oil and gas projects, and 'Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts.' The documents are dated March 2001.
Email www.theguardian.com Senior figures in the intelligence community and across Whitehall briefed the former international development secretary Clare Short that Tony Blair had made a secret agreement last summer with George Bush to invade Iraq in February or March. In damning evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, Ms Short refused to identify the three figures, but she cited their authority for making her claim that Blair had actively deceived the cabinet and the country in persuading them of the need to go to war. She claimed Blair told President Bush that "we will be with you" without laying down conditions to temper US ambitions. She also claimed that the intelligence and diplomatic community had privately opposed the war.
THINC || 2003 Issues || The DISH