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Commentary
'Li'hu;gms we can do now
I often wonder what some of
us do between elections. Now
that the last one is over, what
are you going to do? Will you
do your best imitation of Rip
Van Winkle? Or, will you sus
tain the political energy you
have built up during these past
few months and do something
to empower our people eco
nomically? As Morgan Free
man said in the movie, Shaw
shank Redemption, “Get busy
livin,” or get busy dyin.”
The way I see it right now,
black people are busy dying, as
we continue to create wealth
for everyone except ourselves.
So let’s look at some ways we
can get busy livin'.
As we draw nearer to Kwan
zaa, the MLK holiday, and
Black History Month, I ask -
no, I beg you all to consider
doing more than celebrating,
doing more than discussing,
and doing more than writing
about our issues. What we
write today will be around for
our progeny to read. What we
say will be recorded in the
annals of history as well. We
should not want our children
to read or hear our words and
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bill Fletcher
S9/11 politics
ILrobably for the foreseeable
future, the November 2004
elections will be subject to seri
ous analysis as well as spin.
While much is being made of
the so-called ‘values’ issue, com
mentator Kevin Phillips offered
what for me was the best sum
mation of the Bush victory: it
represented the victory of the
‘9/11 coalition.’
In other words, it is unlikely
that President Bush would have
been re-elected had it not been
for the terrorist attacks on 11
September 2001. This is not an
idle comment. The condition
of the country and the fact that
Bush remains a very unpopular
president (with respondents
continuing to indicate that they
believe that the country is going
in the wrong direction) would
most likely have resulted in a
different outcome on Novem
ber 2nd.
That said, I want to keep my
observations focused on one
issue: foreign policy and the
implications of the re-election.
A newspaper headline in
Britain the day after the U.S.
election posed the question: fol
lows: “How could 59 million
people be so dumb?” While I
can understand the question
and the sentiment, I do not
believe that most of the sup
porters of President Bush are or
were dumb. I think that they
made a choice, or perhaps a
series of them.
One choice was to decide not
to see certain things such as:
* 9/11 happened on Presi
dent Bushs watch and the
“9/11 Commission” has shown
that the Administration
dropped the ball prior to the
attacks;
* There were no weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq, there
by undermining the entire
Bush pretext for the invasion.;
e There was no connection
between Saddam Hussein and
the 9/11 terrorist attacks nor
was there any clear connection
between Saddam Hussein and
Al Qaeda;
e The Bush administration
not be able to see our deeds.
Please, please, please, (as James
Brown would say) do these few
things, as a minimum, to show
our people and our children
that we cared enough to take
ACTION.
1. Just once every month,
purchase products from the
MATAH Network. www.
matah.com How can we fail to
support the ONLY Black
owned and operated distribu
tion channel? It could very well
be the company that provides
employment for your children
and, for certain, it will be the
example of Ujamaa, coopera
tive economics, we discuss this
time of the year. If we do not
support it, another opportunity
for black people to move to the
supply side of the economic
equation will be lost.
2. Wite letters, editorials, e
mails, and make phone calls in
support of the Powernomics
Plan for Detroit. If this project
fails, in a city where 85 percent
of the population is Black,
what will it mean for the rest of
us? Let your voice be heard in
support of this project; stand
with the brothers and sisters in
has antagonized most of the
world through policies that dis
respect the concerns of sover
eign nations. This includes
issues such as dimate control,
trade, not to mention harass
ment of nations following a dif
ferent course than that advocat
ed by President Bush.
So, issues such as these were
either ignored or blocked out
by sizeable portions of the elec
torate. In some cases individuals
appear to have honestly
believed misinformation fed
them by the Administration
and its allies, but that speaks
volumes about what we call
‘news in the USA.
A second choice has to do
with security, and this is a
touchy one. I kept listening to
references about so-called secu
rity moms, i.e., those (mainly)
married women with children
who would normally be con
cerned about the sorry state of
the economy, but after 9/11 are
mainly concerned about the
potential threat of another ter
rorist attack.- While I believe
that everyone in the USA fears,
to one degree or another, fur
ther terrorist attacks, there is an
important question that the
established media failed to ask:
are those who supported Presi
dent Bush based on the issue of
security suggesting that our
security can and should come at
the cost of insecurity for the rest
of the world?
This way of posing the ques
tion may seem a bit provoca
tive, but stop for a minute and
think about it. Since 9/11, the
Bush administration has carried
out foreign policies in the name
of increasing our security that in
actuality increased our insecuri
ty by increasing the insecurity
of many countries. In my previ
ous columns I have spoken to
this concern. When the Bush
administration provided sanc
tuary to anti-Castro Cuban ter
rorists or anti-Aristide thugs, it
was saying that certain forms of
terrorism ARE acceptable. But
they were also saying that this,
and other activities such as the
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Detroit. Their victory is our
victory. This is an excellent
example of the unity cited in
the principle of Umoja.
3. Join the Blackonomics
Million Dollar Club (BMDC)
www. blackonomics.com.
As a brother from Florida
told me, “This is ingeniously
simple and quite easy to do.”
Talk about Kuchichaglia, this is
it. We must step forward and
determine more of our own
destiny by using more of our
money to support.our valued
and valuable institutions. If we
are not self-determined, then
we are not determined at all.
4. Build “partnerships”
between black businesses and
black consumers for mutual
support. Business owners, take
care of your responsibilities.
Consumers, seek out black
businesses. Ujima, collective
work and responsibility,
between and among black peo
ple will definitely encourage
and promote economic
empowerment. We must stop
thinking thar as long as “I got
mine” everything is all right. It’s
about the collective —the
group.
invasion of Irag, could be done |
in the name of the people of the |
USA. %
When one puts this all |
together, the disbelief that t
seems to have swept most of the '
world in the aftermath of the |
re-election of President Bush ‘
becomes quite understandable. l
Given the contempt with |
which this Administration has |
held governments that differ
with its positions—even gov
emnments of nations that are
long-time allies of the USA—
the global public assumed that
President Bush would be oust
ed on November 2nd.
In retrospect, 59 million peo
ple may have believed that they
were voting in favor of values,
but one must question which
values when they are prepared
to accept violations of interna
tional law. Fifty-nine 59 million
people may have believed that
they were voting for security,
but one must question what
security when we see that
100,000 Iraqi civilians have
been killed as a result of the US
invasion. Do those 100,000
dead help us become more
secure or do they further
inflame an inferno?
My 59 million people made a
series of choices in order to
comfort themselves in this
world of chaos and discomfort.
Yet with these choices, taken for
whatever reasons, come conse
quences, consequences we may
be living with for some time to
come.
Bill Fletcher Jr. is president of
Trans Africa Forum, a Washing
ton, D.C.-based non-profit edu
cational and organizing center
formed to raise awareness in the
United States about issues facing
the nations and peoples of Africa,
the Caribbean and Latin Ameri
ca. He also is co-chair of the anti
war coalition, United for Peace
and Justice (www.unitedfor
peace.org). He can be reached at
5. Build relationships in your
particular city that will revive
our collective and cooperative
spirit. Start investment, loan,
and assistance funds; establish
cooperative purchasing pro
grams. Let's really be innovative
this year. Isn't that what creativ
ity, Kuumba, tells us? Stop
doing things the same way; get
out of your rut; take some risks;
be creative; create more eco
nomic empowerment, for our
people.
6. Get involved and stay
involved in the education of
our children. Teach our chil
dren their history by teaching
them Our Story; start entrepre
neurial schools; create job mak
ers, not job takers. Dont fall
prey to the commercialism of
our history by major corpora
tions in February. They will
only tell you the history they
want you to know, and then
ask, “Would you like :fries
that?”
7. Do whatever you can with
whatever you have to help your
brothers and sisters in times of
need. I consider this a major
component of our individual
purpose, our Nia. When you
GUEST COMMENTARY By Marian Wrigth Edelman
Still beating the odds
At a Nov. 8 Children’s
Defense Fund benefit, more
than 60 former Beat the
Odds(r) winners from
around the country came
together for a reunion to
share their inspiring accom
plishments. The gcat the
Odds(r) program, which
was created in 1990 by the
Children’s Defense Fund
(CDF) with black enter
tainment executives in Los
Angeles, celebrates the posi
tive potential of young peo
ple. Too often we Ecar
about teenagers getting into
trouble, dropping out of
school, becoming involved
with drugs, crime or gangs,
or becoming parents too
soon. But we rarely recog
nize the many young peop?e
who do well despite facing
problems that stand in the
way of even the smallest
achievements, such as
poverty, violence, homeless
ness, family breakup or sub
stance abuse.
Every year CDF works
with local education advo
cates in communities across
the country to select and
honor students who
demonstrate academic
excellence and have the
strength and determination
to beat the odds. At special
awards ceremonies, we cele
brate the remarkable lives of
these young people and the
families, friends, teachers,
and counselors who helped
them succeed. Just a few
weeks ago, CDF held a Beat
the Odds(r) celebration
and as always, those of us in
the audience got to meet an
extraordinary group of
inspiring young men and
women.
Roxana spent her earl
childhood in Mexico witK
her parents and younger
brother, but she had to
begin a new life in the Unit
ed States with her aunt and
grandmother after her par
ents’ tragic deaths. Despite
the enormous loss and dis
ruption in her life, she
seek ways to help others you
will be blessed with the help
you require. Accept this as your
mantra, as part of your pur
pose, and instead of lamenting,
as WEB. Dußois did, the
“power of selfishness over sacri
fice” among our people, you
will rejoice over our collective
progress.
8. Love, respect, and trust
one another more, and do the
right thing, for the right reason,
all the time. If we do these, first,
there will be no question that
we will gladly and willingly do
all of the others and many
more. In other words, have
more faith, Imani, in your
brothers and sisters. Have more
faith in yourself as well. The
Creator gives us what we need;
its up to us to have faith, not
only in Him, but in ourselves
to accomplish what we say we
want.
Not a long list, not a compli
cated set of rules, just a few
thoughts on how we can
achieve many of the goals we
discuss. We cannot be content
with mere discussion of our
problems. Do we even have the
right to talk and write about
excels in school and is
determined to be the first in
her family to attend college.
Melissa’s parents were
addicted to drugs and alco
hol, and she grew up in a
chaotic environment affect
ed by unemployment,
domestic disputes and
poverty. But today she
maintains a 4.0 grade point
average and is captain of her
basketball team. She says
s}fx_e has lcarnedhthat instead
of repeating her parents
mistafes shegcan bre[;k their
cycle by making good
choices.
Verenise dreams of work
ing with young people who
have been abused or neg
lected because she knows
what their lives are like; she
ended up on the streets as a
runaway after a childhood
plagued by violence, neglect
and alcoholism. But after
becoming part of a loving
foster family, Verenise is
back in school, taking hon
ors and advanced place
ment classes that can lead
her to a career helping other
youths turn their lives
around the way she did.
Fabricio has also been in the
foster care system since he
was six years old, but that
hasn’t held him back from
being ranked second in his
class of 713 students, earn
ing a 4.0 grade point aver
age with a full course load
of advanced placement
classes and representing his
high school at the presti
gious National Student
Leadership Conference at
Stanford University. He
also volunteers at a local
convalescent home twice a
week and tutors other stu
dents.
Luz had one of the most
difficult life stories we had
ever heard. She was a vic
tim of family violence and
neglect, and the murder of
two siblings by their father
November 18, 2004
the plight and the victories of
our people if we do not partici
pate in and contribute to their
solutions? I don't know about
you; but I do know that I can
not. So, “as for me and my
house,” in addition to writing
and speaking, we will partici
pate; we will fight; we will sup
port; and we will contribute to
the uplift of black people —
OUR people.
James E. Clingman, an
adjunct professor at the Uni
versity of Cincinnatis African
American Studies department,
is former editor of the Cincin
nati Herald Newspaper and
founder of the Greater Cincin
nati African American Cham
ber of Commerce. He hosts the
radio program, “Blackonom
ics,” and has written several
books, including: Economic
Empowerment or Economic
Enslavement - We have a
Choice; Blackonomics; and the
recently published Black-o-
Knowledge-Stuff we need to
know. Clingman’s books are
available at his Web site,
www.blackonomics.com. He
can be contacted there or by
telephone at 513/ 489-4132.
forced Luz and her five
remaining siblings into fos
ter care. She resisted the
separation of the family
and turned her tragedy
into determination to suc
ceed and to keep the chil
dren intact as a family.
Through six years in foster
care, they have managed to
remain together in the
same household despite
attempts to have the two
youngest siblings, a set of
twins, adopted out of the
family. Still a lion protect
ing her cubs, she is con
templating college for the
first time. We are deter
mined to see that she goes.
These five remarkable
young people now join the
ranks of more than 300
Beat the Odds(r) alumni.
They include college stu
dents and graduates, a
Harvard Medical School
graduate, a Princeton
Ph.D., a Peace Corps vol
unteer, teachers ants other
professionals committed to
serving others. These out
standing young adults are a
vivid reminder that every
child has enormous poten
tial and that tremendous
obstacles can be overcome
with hard work, personal
determination and a help
ing hand. They also
remind us that we need to
celebrate-and support-all
of the young people
around us who are suc
ceeding despite obstacles
and making positive choic
es every day.
Marian Wright Edelman
is President and Founder of
the Children’s Defense Fund
and its Action Council
whose . Leave No Child
Behind(r) commitment is to
ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair
Start, a Safe Start, and a
Moral Start in life and suc
cessful fassa e to adulthood
with the helf) of caring fam
ilies and communities.
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