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Vol. 8 No. 43…Dedicated to the Dialogue
on Race…October 28, 2005
Why Negroes Don't Unite
By Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer (1907)
Why
of all the many races in the country where we live,
Do
we find so little union as the Negro race can give?
Is
it lack of love? or color? who will give the reason true,
Why
they cherish opposition more than other peoples do?
We'll
examine for a moment, how the Negro race is made,
Now,
we find them all complexions, any hue and ev'ry shade,
Scraps
of all the human races in among them we can find,
All
the many dispositions, ev'ry nation of its kind.
Ev'ry
tribe will hang together, though among the Negroes found,
Which
will bring about dissensions, on all questions that abound,
Ev'ry
blood must have a "say so," red or yellow, white or black,
Differ
always in opinion, racial union always lack.
Hark!
the whites of this assembly to a special plan agree,
Lo!
the red men now are holding their opinion, don't you see?
Aye,
the blacks must have a hearing in the question of today,
Yellow
folks compose a factor and the same will have a say.
Scripture
tells how Ham was tickled by the shame of Noah's plight,
How
his brothers with a mantle shielded Noah from the light,
Now
we find that Ham's descendants keep disgraces well exposed,
While
the children of the others keep a shameful secret closed.
From
inheritance the Negro gets his levity and mirth,
More
than any other species of the races of the earth,
He
rejoices in reporting what will bring his neighbor shame,
Charity
extends her mantle and the others cover blame.
When
the race discards the fragments, by the others thrown aside,
And
suppresses altogether sinful levity and pride,
Then
begins a cultivation of a union of the race,
That
will strengthen all its borders, which for naught will yield apace.
Racist Comments?
The US
suffers from racism, a social disease born out of slavery. Its malignancy
permeates every aspect of life in this country from work to worship. It was
starkly evident in the federal government's lethargic response in aiding black
victims of Hurricane Katrina. For most blacks, it is an everyday fact of life,
despite feel-good speeches and blame-black diatribes delivered for white
consumption by other blacks, such as Condoleezza Rice and Bill Cosby.
On
Wednesday, the Air Force Academy reprimanded coach Fisher DeBerry for saying
"African-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian
kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run
extremely well." DeBerry's comments created a firestorm of criticism among
certain groups. Foolishly, the coach was forced to make a public apology. Was his
comment racist? Hardly! DeBerry's comments are simply outrageous and
unacceptable to the dominant members of this society because they compliment
blacks, rather than put them down.
Watch
and listen. See if DeBerry's comments draw more fire than Bill Bennett's
comments about aborting black babies to reduce the crime rate. Blah on a
society that turns deaf ears to truly racist comments and attacks compliments.
Lena
Baker Story (1901–1945)
Lena Baker was born on June 8, 1901 in the state of Georgia. Her
indigent family chopped cotton on the farm of J.A. Cox for barely subsistence
wages. Even with work in a laundry, the family was very poor. As a child, Baker
chopped cotton too; she received only a sixth grade education.
At age twenty, Baker and a friend tried to make money "entertaining
gentlemen." Because their clientele was white and interracial
relationships were illegal in Georgia, the Randolph County sheriff arrested the
young women; they spent several months in a workhouse. Ostracized by the black
community, Baker, a maid, became an alcoholic.
In 1941, Ernest B. Knight hired Baker to take care of him after he fell and
broke his leg. A failed farmer, Knight ran a gristmill in Cuthbert, Georgia.
Local residents saw Knight as an abusive brute that carried a pistol strapped
to his chest. An illicit relationship developed between Knight and Baker. The
town knew he gave her alcohol in return for sex.
In an effort to end the affair, Knight's eldest son persuaded him to move to
Tallahassee, Florida; Baker accompanied him. Knight's son forced Baker to
leave; Knight followed her back to Cuthbert.
On April 30, 1944, a struggle between Knight and Baker ended in his death. She
was charged with murder. At trial, Baker testified that Knight held her against
her will and threatened to kill her, if she left. She said when he raised a
metal bar to strike her, she grabbed a gun and shot. Baker's court-appointed
attorney called no witness. Her trial lasted a single day. By the afternoon of
August 14, 1944, the all white male jury had convicted her of capital murder.
Baker's
counsel filed an appeal, but he dropped her as a client. She maintained her
innocence. On March 5, 1945, Baker, a mother of three, calmly entered the
execution chamber at the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. She again stated,
"What I done, I did in self-defense. I have nothing against anyone. I am
ready to meet my God." She became the only woman ever executed in
Georgia's electric chair. The undertaker buried her in an unmarked grave behind
Mount Vernon Baptist Church.
Five
decades later, the congregation raised $250 for a marker. In the early 2000s,
members of Baker's family petitioned the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole in
an effort to clear her name. On August 30, 2005, the Board of Pardons and
Paroles pardoned Lena Baker.
John
Vodicka, director of Americus-based Prison and Jail Project, an inmate advocacy
program, said Knight kept Baker as his 'virtual sex slave.' She was his maid,
paramour, mistress and drinking partner. If you read the transcript with an
understanding of black-white relations, black women were often subjected to the
sexual whims of their white masters, white bosses, or some white man who had
control over their lives or the lives of their families. Baker resisted and
paid the ultimate price. (Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lena_Baker,
www.nytimes.com/ and www.crimelibrary.com/)
Reverse Robin Hood Syndrome
Timothy Noah at http://slate.msn.com/id/2069049/
cites a number of statistics on government spending since 1995 that shows the
government redistributes income from the bottom to the top. Despite all the
criticism of the welfare state most often cited in mainstream media, the rich
actually benefits more than the poor from how government spends tax dollars.
This is the reverse Robin Hood syndrome.
When Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 1994, their
"Contract with America" promised a balanced budget, term limits,
welfare reform and the passage of other legislative measures to reduce the size
of government. Instead, government spending has mushroomed. Deep in debt and
daring to wade deeper, Republicans have spent tax dollars and borrowed even
more to spend in ways quite different from how tax revenues were spent when
Democrats controlled the nation's purse strings.
Under Republicans, especially the compassionate conservatives currently
controlling all three branches of government, federal spending on child care,
food programs, housing and other programs to assist the poor and needy have
been drastically slashed. On the other hand, direct assistance to the upper
class has significantly increased.
This reverse Robin Hood redistribution of income has helped to widened the gap
between the rich, middle-class and the poor; it could threaten the nation's
economy. Every tax dollar spent on the poor is a dollar of consumption, which
accounts for two-thirds of the US economy. No longer does the US economy create
large numbers of jobs that support middle-class families, so more people are
poor. Consumer spending by the rich is relatively small, the reverse Robin Hood
syndrome could well lead to an economic fall.
Mr. Conservative
Single and black, DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones (44) ran
for the top county job as a Democrat. An enigma in a majority black county,
Jones voted for George W. Bush in 2004 and recently claimed to be a
conservative.
There is a certain irony in this proclamation; Jones has done little except
raise taxes and fees since getting elected. Not appeased with rising property
assessments, CEO Jones has overseen increases in or changes to every tax and
fee levied in DeKalb County, including property, sewer, water and garbage.
Rather than auditing the county's books to insure tax dollars were being
efficiently spent, Jones pushed through a bond referendum ostensibly to
purchase greenspace and make parks and recreation improvements.
According to sources close to the CEO, Jones may leave the Democratic Party and
either join forces with Republicans or become an Independent. He is rumored to
aspire to higher office. For DeKalb property owners, a respite from Jones'
brand of conservatism would be welcomed, provided the next CEO is a true fiscal
conservative.
Time for a $230 Million Referendum
By Viola Davis
It's time for a more than $230 million dollar referendum! However, we are not
speaking of the referendum DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones wants you to vote for on
November 8, 2005. (Note: Similar to the 2001 Greenspace
referendum, all eligible voters can vote on this measure. Only property owners
will be obligated to repay the debt. If passed, this will represent the third
property tax increase since Vernon Jones was elected in 2000. DeKalb property
owners are being farmed like a cash crop!)
Did you know that more than $230 million dollars leave DeKalb every year? The Unhappy
Taxpayer and Voter Alliance calls DeKalb County taxpayers and voters
"Metro Atlanta's Tax Slaves."
Of the more than $230 million, $100 million from DeKalb County School System
under "Fair Share Tax," $120 million from the MARTA one-cent sales tax
(approximately $10-$15 million per month) and $22 million for Grady Hospital.
It is time for a referendum to stop the MARTA one-cent sales tax, which the
Georgia State Legislature extended until 2047. This sales tax is only assessed
in DeKalb and Fulton Counties. Yet, residents of Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton
Counties enjoy the benefits of a mass transit system. It is time to stop the
chain of debt being placed around the necks of future generations of DeKalb and
Fulton citizens. It is also time to receive 100% of HOST, as promised.
On Tuesday, November 8, 2005, vote "No" for all
referendums until we vote on a referendum to stop the MARTA one-cent sales tax
and the farming of DeKalb. For more, visit www.unhappytaxpayerandvoter.com.
Disgruntled says: Once a governmental body levies a tax, it
rarely repeals it. Similarly, insurance companies seldom lower premiums. In
this regard, insurance companies and our elected politicians are like farmers.
No good farmer ceases to grow a lucrative cash crop, as long as the soil
remains fertile. US citizens and property owners are fertile for farming by
taxing authorities and insurance companies.
Disgruntled feels: Disunity! George W. Bush may not be a Bull
Connor, a blatant racism, but his tenure in office has had a decidedly negative
impact on the socioeconomic and political welfare of blacks. His administration
has orchestrated a rollback in gains blacks made over the last thirty years. On
this assessment, poor and middle-class blacks will no doubt disagree. It is
similar to the difference in perspective that existed between house and field
slaves. Better-off blacks (house slaves) will look at his appointments and
claim Bush has advanced blacks by elevating a few to his cabinet. Like the
fissures formed during the civil rights movement, middle class blacks did
nothing save criticize activists like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. for agitating for socioeconomic and political change; this is one more thing
to prevent blacks from uniting.
Disgruntled wants to know: One of George W. Bush's favorite sound bite
is, "Free societies are peaceful societies." This statement requires
closer examination to discern its accuracy. The US is presumably one of the
free societies Bush or his speech writer had in mind when he coined this line.
Engaged in wars of choice in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US has military forces
in dozens of nations around the globe. Speculation is rife that the US has
plans already made for other wars and has Syria and Iran in its sights. The US
is a nation guided by a military-industrial complex, which profits from
warfare. Given this, is this "free" society truly peaceful?
PARC on Neo-Slavery
"Slavery
is being practiced by the system under the color of law. Slavery 400 years ago,
slavery today, it's the same thing, but with a new name. They're making
millions and millions of dollars enslaving blacks, poor whites, and others-
people who don't even know they're being railroaded." -- Political Prisoner Ruchell Magee
Contrary
to what US public school students are taught, the 13th Amendment did
not abolish slavery, a term mentioned in the US Constitution for the first time
in this amendment. In fact, the amendment simply identifies the only condition
under which bondage is legal, i.e., conviction of some criminal offense. The
13th Amendment did not repeal the 3/5 Compromise of Article 1 Section 2,
leaving political and economic slavery, intact. A strict construction of the US
Constitution, including all its amendments, gives one the framers' intent,
i.e., creation of a republic that redistributes income from large black
population states to those sparsely populated by whites that maintain control
of government via disproportionate representation.
Far
exceeding countries regularly criticized by the US for a lack of individual
freedom and democracy, such as Russia and China, one in every 138 US residents
is in prison. Even large numbers of children are imprisoned for life without
possibility of parole. On average, more than 900 people are added to the prison
population per week, a rate that assures a growing number of inmates, which the
prison-industrial complex farm like cash crops.
Depending
on the state, these inmates or neo-slaves are incarcerated in public and/or
private facilities and work for minimum wage or nothing. In Georgia, prisoners
slave for free. Their families must provide funds for inmates' daily
necessities or any allowable amenities. In California, prisoners are paid
minimum wage, but actually get about $.20 per hour.
Companies
that regularly exploit prison labor range from AT&T to Victoria's Secret.
Many of these are "blue chip" enterprises traded on the NYSE. Along
with these businesses, federal, state and local governments, companies that
operate private prisons and certain communities benefit from a large prison
population. Many prisons, built in sparsely populated areas, provide jobs and
their inmates bring federal dollars, which are distributed based on population
size, to the area. With many residents locked up and often unable to vote,
there is no incentive to change this neo-slave system.
Yet,
change it must. Many of those currently incarcerated are non-violent drug
offenders; these individuals must be reintroduced back into society and the
rate of incarceration reduced. For more about ways you can help, visit the
Prison Activist Center at www.prisonactivist.org.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls
E-mail www.washingtonpost.com 'Rule of
Law'? That's So '90s ...By E. J. Dionne Jr. "We are on the verge of an
extraordinary moment in American politics. The people running our government
are about to face their day -- or days -- in court. Those who thought
investigations were a wonderful thing when Bill Clinton was president are
suddenly facing prosecutors, and they don't like it. It seems like a hundred
years ago when Clinton's defenders were accusing his opponents of using special
prosecutors, lawsuits, criminal charges and, ultimately, impeachment to
overturn the will of the voters. Clinton's conservative enemies would have none
of this. ..the Clinton mess was not about sex but about "perjury and the
obstruction of justice" and "the rule of law." The old
conservative talking points are now inoperative.
Email www.hrw.org/reports/2005/us1005/
There are at least 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole sentences
in US prisons for crimes committed before they were age 18. Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International newly released report show most are now adults.
However, 16 percent were between 13 and 15 years old at the time they committed
their crimes. An estimated 59 percent were sentenced to life without parole for
their first-ever conviction. Forty-two states currently have laws allowing
children to receive life without parole sentences.
E-mail www.nytimes.com A series of clashes in the
last year between US and Syrian troops killed several Syrians, and raised the
prospect that cross-border military operations may become a dangerous new front
in the Iraq war, according to current and former military and government
officials. A firefight last summer along the border with Iraq was the most
serious of the conflicts with President Bashar al-Assad's forces, according to
US and Syrian officials. It illustrated the dangers facing US troops as
Washington tries to apply more political and military pressure on a country
that President Bush last week labeled one of the "allies of
convenience" with Islamic extremists. He also named Iran.
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