Unbossed
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Vol. 8 Issue 36…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…September
9, 2005
News You Use
Hosea’s Feed the Hungry and Homeless
By Yohannes Sharriff
As we approached the Headquarters of Hosea's Feed the Hungry at 1035 Donnelly Avenue, SW in Atlanta, GA, I anticipated a very somber atmosphere. Though serious, there was no brooding; the mood felt more like a family reunion than a gathering of victims from one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit the United States. Music played as volunteers and staff smilingly served fried fish and assisted more than eighty (80) families displaced by hurricane Katrina in a matter of hours.
Part of a documentary team charged with recording as many
accounts as possible, we were fortunately able to speak at length with
Elisabeth Omilami about the grassroots response to the crisis caused by
Katrina. Providing assistance to Atlanta’s
poor, Hosea’s Feed The Hungry was established over thirty years ago by famed
civil rights leader and advocate for the poor and homeless, Hosea
Williams. Mrs. Omilami, his
daughter, is the current director.
On any given night, there are approximately 3300 homeless people on the
streets of Atlanta; 40% of which are under the age of fifteen (15).
Lacking the financial backing of an American Red Cross or United Way, Hosea's Feed The Hungry’s meager budget has already been zapped by demands created by hurricane Katrina. Feed The Hungry has already provided assistance to over 1,400 survivors and expect another 1,500 in the next few days. One particular story that stood out amongst so many was a woman and her two children. The children were unfortunately separated from their mother during their evacuation to Atlanta. Forced to ride on different busses to Atlanta, a week and a half passed before the mother got a call on her cell phone from her children, scared but safe in a Houston, Texas shelter. Just as Feed The Hungry volunteers scrambled to find a way to bring her children to Atlanta, a gentleman walked in and donated funds needed to fly them from Houston to Atlanta. This is just one of the thousands of remarkable stories of generosity and caring that have emerged from this tragedy.
Overwhelmed, but determined to help as many as she can, Mrs. Omilami sent out a personal thank you to all the people of Atlanta, and everyone across the USA who have volunteered their time and donated food, clothes and provided shelter for the victims that have poured into Atlanta. In the same breath, she challenged everyone to continue giving; 100's of thousands have lost families, homes and jobs. We have been charged with the awesome responsibility of rebuilding over a half million lives.
Once again, whole lives are being rebuilt, so
food clothes, toiletries, phone cards, gift certificates, gas cards, housing
and money will be needed for sometime. Please make sure that you give your
donation to local grassroots organizations like Feed The Hunger or directly to
a needy family. And, please continue to donate what you can and volunteer
whenever possible. For more info, log on to www.hoseafeedthehungry.com;
you can also email hungryh@hoseafeedthehungry.com,
phone (404) 755-3353 or send a fax (404) 755-3868.
The Dark Knight-Batman/White Ninja/Zorro finds
himself once again in some serious trouble. School has only been in session a
few short weeks and already one of his teachers has lodged several complaints.
She called to inform us that he is misbehaving. Acting like the class clown, he
is a source of disruption, and he could do better work, if he focused on that,
rather than entertain his classmates. When confronted with her accusations, the
Dark One/Ninja/Zorro lamely offered, "She has me confused with someone
else?!"
The Great Flood (1927)
In the summer of 1926, heavy rains pounded the central Mississippi River basin. By the fall, tributaries of the mighty Mississippi were swollen to capacity. On January 1, 1927, levees on the Cumberland River at Nashville, TN topped 56.2 feet.
The Mississippi River overflowed its levee system in 145 places and flooded 16,570,627 acres. Thousands of miles were inundated with 30 feet of muddy water. The flood caused more than $400 million in damages and killed 246 people. Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee were the states hardest hit by the flood.
Officials detonated 30 tons of dynamite on the levee at Caernarvon, Louisiana to prevent serious damage as the water approached New Orleans, which lies below sea level. The explosion sent water pouring through the breach, flooding the marsh below the city. However, the preventive measure proved unnecessary as levees upstream broke, making serious flooding unlikely in the city.
United States Department of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover used the tragedy to launch his presidential campaign. He toured the flooded region and used newsreels and photographs to capture the damage and report back to the nation. These reports helped to boost his national image. In 1928, Hoover was elected president.
The flood subsided in August 1927, but not before displacing 700,000 people. Displaced persons, including 330,000 black Americans, were moved to 154 relief camps. Many blacks, including those seeking shelter from flood-ravaged Greenville, Mississippi, "home of the most benign place for blacks" in the early 20th century South, were detained and forced at gunpoint to work free on flood relief efforts that included shoring up levees.
A white policeman murdered James Gooden, a black
man, when he refused to work a second shift during the Greenville cleanup.
Whites blamed Gooden and other blacks for the man's death. Allegations of rape
and murder by white authorities at refugee camps were commonplace. As a
consequence of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, blacks migrated to Chicago,
Illinois and other northern cities in an effort to escape Southern racism.
High Water Everywhere (Part 1)
By Charley Patton
Well, backwater done rose all around Sumner now, drove me down the line
Backwater done rose at Sumner, drove poor Charley down the line
Lord, I'll tell the world the water, done crept through this town
Lord, the whole round country,
Lord, river has overflowed
Lord, the whole round country, man, is overflowed
You know I can't stay here, I'll go where it's high, boy
I would go to the hilly country, but, they got me barred
Now, look-a here now at Leland, river was risin' high
Look-a here boys around Leland tell me, river was raisin' high
Boy, it's risin' over there, yeah
I'm gonna move to Greenville, fore I leave, goodbye
Look-a here the water now, Lordy,
Levee broke, rose most everywhere
The water at Greenville and Leland,
Lord, it done rose everywhere
Boy, you can't never stay here
I would go down to Rosedale, but, they tell me there's water there
Now, the water now, mama, done took Charley's town
Well, they tell me the water, done took Charley's town
Boy, I'm goin' to Vicksburg
Well, I'm goin' to Vicksburg, for that high of mine
I am goin' up that water, where lands don't never flow
Well, I'm goin' over the hill where, water, oh don't ever flow
Boy, hit Sharkey County and everything was down in Stovall
But, that whole county was leavin', over that Tallahatchie shore
Boy, went to Tallahatchie and got it over there
Lord, the water done rushed all over, down old Jackson road
Lord, the water done raised, over the Jackson road
Boy, it starched my clothes
I'm goin' back to the hilly country, won't be worried no more
High Water Everywhere (Part 2)
Backwater at Blytheville, backed up all around
Backwater at Blytheville, done took Joiner town
It was fifty families and children come to sink and drown
The water was risin' up at my friend's door
The water was risin' up at my friend's door
The man said to his women folk, "Lord, we'd better go"
The water was risin', got up in my bed
Lord, the water was rollin', got up to my bed
I thought I would take a trip, Lord, out on the big ice sled
Oh, I can hear, Lord, Lord, water upon my door,
you know what I mean, look-a here
I hear the ice, Lord, Lord, was sinkin' down,
I couldn't get no boats there, Marion City gone down
So high the water was risin' our men sinkin' down
Man, the water was risin' at places all around, boy, they's all around
It was fifty men and children come to sink and drown
Oh, Lordy, women and grown men drown
Oh, women and children sinkin' down
Lord, have mercy
I couldn't see nobody's home and wasn't no one to be found
About Me: This two-part song tells the story of the 1927
Mississippi flood. Author Charley Patton, founder of the Delta Blues, was born
in Mississippi. Patton borrowed a guitar to learn to play and became an
accomplished musician. Tommy Johnson recorded Patton's song 'Maggie' as 'Maggie
Campbell Blues' (1928). Patton made his first recordings for the Paramount
record label in 1929 in Richmond, Indiana. In 1934, talent scout W.R. Calaway
took Patton to New York to record for the American Record Company. Over three
days in late January, Patton recorded 29 songs. On April 28, 1934, Charley
Patton died in Indianola, Mississippi. To read the entire song, click on this
issue at www.thedish.org. (Source: www.southernmusic.net/charliepatton.htm)
By John Burl Smith
Slavery did to the United States of America (USA) what apartheid did in South Africa. Both socioeconomic and political structures are infused with the residual racist attitudes that made those systems work for whites. Blacks today live with the fact whites controlled all resources and institutions under both systems, and they never relinquished it.
A Mississippi transplant, my father moved our family to Memphis, Tennessee in 1946 to escape the injustice, inequity and hardship of sharecropping. Growing up behind segregation's color line, an "iron curtain" that protected white privilege, I became intimately familiar with the biting reality of poverty.
Blacks grew up expecting a lesser
existence, second class treatment and Jim Crow injustice. This was not only a
Southern reality; racism was also deeply rooted in the North. Without black and
white signs, the color line in the North was grayed by unspoken customs based
on white superiority. Nationwide, discrimination, racism and disparate
treatment were the American way of life for blacks.
Whites today have never faced their racist past. They insist those times and
attitudes are all behind us. They salve their conscience by blaming disparities
on the dead and buried, while simultaneously refusing to examine present
behavior. Whites absolve themselves of responsibility with personal disclaimers
for the nation's disparate treatment, which mires blacks in poverty.
Magnanimously, they admit "we still have a long way to go," but they
offer no plan for getting there.
Subconsciously, whites uniformly participate in blocking black access to higher
socioeconomic and political status. Synchronously, they deny the statistical
validity of that racist reality no matter how stark the evidence. Beginning
with slavery and down through Jim Crow segregation, whites justified
discriminating against blacks with biblical text. They will only admit past
injustices, inequality and disparate treatment but continue to ignore the
racially motivated wrongs of the present.
Scientifically comparing socioeconomic and political gaps between blacks and
whites document the width of the chasm of inequality today. Examine any measure
of socioeconomic and political welfare and blacks are significantly above
whites for all negative indicators. Conversely, positive measures show whites
consistently and significantly above blacks. No matter what factors are
considered or controlled, there is always some residual left that can only be
accounted for by race.
Back in the 1950s, socioeconomic and political disparities were attributed to
race. If you were black, you were inferior. Inferiority was blamed on genetics.
Blacks were less intelligent than whites. Consequently, blacks were denied
access to education, employment, health care, housing, accommodations, ad
infinitum.
Today, every intelligent person knows this is garbage, yet the discrimination
and disparate treatment continue. Everyone knows there is no logically
justifiable basis for discrimination based on race. Even though whites today
deny they are racist, they continue to behave like their parents, grandparents
and great grandparents, who were racist. That is what makes America a racist
society.
Cracker Barrel
On September 9, 2004, Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel restaurant chain agreed to an $8.7 million settlement to resolve lawsuits brought or supported by the National Association of Colored People (NAACP). At least 42 plaintiffs, including the NAACP, accused the company of racial discrimination in federal lawsuits filed in Georgia.
The company earlier settled a Justice Department lawsuit, which accused Cracker Barrel of discrimination at dozens of restaurants, primarily in the South. Cracker Barrel operates 505 of its country-theme restaurants in 41 states. Complaints allege black customers were seated in areas segregated from white patrons, frequently received inferior service and often were made to wait longer for tables. Blacks that complained about poor service were treated less favorably than whites.
As part of the settlement, Cracker Barrel agreed to post notices saying the restaurant serves all people equally, expand its diversity training for employees and create a department to investigate discrimination. Cracker Barrel has denied any wrongdoing, claiming it has had policies in place a number of years prohibiting racial discrimination.
No settlement has been reached in lawsuits filed
by individuals. In these complaints, black customers in 16 states allege they
were subjected to poor service, racial slurs and served food taken from the
trash, practices ignored or condoned by Cracker Barrel management.
Left
Behind: A Study in Racism
By John Burl Smith
Images following Hurricane Katrina brought into clear view and sharp focus the
stark reality of racism in the US. The news media revealed in graphic details
the misery, neglect, ineptitude, inertia and the needless death and destruction
spawned in New Orleans. As horrible as the pictures were, they did not tell half
the story. Most white Americans sitting comfortably in their dry homes, cannot
imagine what it is like to spend days in water up to their chests, exposed to
the elements on rooftops or isolated in a hospital, while helicopters buzz
overhead and boats whizz pass picking up whites and leaving you behind. The
disparate treatment on display in New Orleans is no surprise to most blacks,
especially the poor and homeless, like most of those left behind in New
Orleans.
In military terms, leaving someone behind is tantamount to cowardice. No commander, squad leader or buddy worth his salt seeks safety knowing a comrade was being abandoned. For almost a week, the nation stood back and watched fellow Americans suffer and die without making a national effort to save them. It was as if the nation said, "Oh, look at those black people. They are used to having it hard. They know how to survive with nothing."
Following 9/11, a tragedy that only affected a few blocks of New York City, top levels of the US government responded as though it ranked as a national disaster. Instantly, resources were mobilized, people rushed to volunteer, and the international community lined up to offer help. No corner of the world was untouched by what happened to a few thousand. Left behind and forgotten in New Orleans were hundreds of thousands of people.
George W. Bush symbolizes the USA's lack of concern for such helpless masses. Caught by surprise reading a book to school children on September 11, 2001, Katrina was no surprise to anyone. Clearly designated a category five hurricane three days before blowing ashore, yet this "compassionate conservative" took days to respond.
When Bush came into office, the US had a social safety net; there was concern for the poor, elderly, children, homeless and other people with special needs. There were community-based social service organizations, whose primary responsibility was caring for such people. Now, through Bush's faith-based initiative, churches that support Bush have replaced those groups. And, while these churches receive federal funds, helping the poor is at best a secondary concern.
Bush's compassionate conservatism and faith-based
initiative have only taught Americans not to care about the less fortunate. For
Bush and his class, "it is all about money." If you have money, you
matter. If not, you are like the thousands who were left behind in New Orleans.
Disgruntled
feels: Unacceptable! The Bush administration accepts no blame. It is
not responsible for faulty intelligence and poor planning that got the US into
the war in Iraq and turned National Guards into occupation troops. Assigning
responsibility is dismissed as playing the blame game. As the federal
government belatedly tries to turn its pig's ear of initial negligence into a
silk purse of compassion, let us be clear. The federal response has been
disgraceful. By reworking the pork-laden transportation bill, Congress can
reallocate funds for roads and bridges to nowhere and begin rebuilding New
Orleans and making amends for its thus far unacceptable response.
Disgruntled says:
US Supreme Court Justice William H. Rehnquist is dead. While it is impolite to
speak ill of the recently deceased, let us be real in our assessment of the
Rehnquist court. It gave new meaning to imminent domain; now states can
confiscate private property for the flimsiest reason. Epitomizing political
expediency, its opinion in Bush V. Gore made mockeries of states' rights and
equal protection. Shattering all pretext of democracy, it let US citizens know
they have no constitutional right to vote for president. Poster child for
judicial activism, the Rehnquist court installed the George W. Bush regime,
which gave us unending war for oil and corporate profits, high gasoline prices,
etc. The Rehnquist court will forever live in infamy.
Disgruntled wants to
know: Some scientists see the unusual hurricane season as evidence of
global warming, blaming the warmer than normal waters of the Gulf of Mexico for
turning Katrina into a category 5 storm. The George W. Bush administration
refused to sign the Kyoto Protocols, dismissing the science on global warming.
Bush thinks intelligent design, a.k.a. creationism, should be taught in public
schools alongside the theory of evolution. Given global warming has been
dismissed, are we to assume hurricane Katrina and its lethal aftermath are part
of an intelligent design; if so, what is the designer's motif?
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