(ommentary
BLACKONOMICS By James Clingman
A black Tsunami
Now that the first Tsunami
has subsided, another one has
been visited upon the same
people. Its the “Money Tsuna
mi. Just after the huge waves
hammered the leanlf cities,
?imlilars beach !:i?arts. billions of
ollars immediately began to
wash onto those same shores.
Money came in so fast they
didnt know how to handle it.
t?\ut}t:;)ttoworry.l:unsune
ey have figured it out by now.
All that money being ra?ed was
a s"fii:t to behold.
e d\;aunl:gh ifim countries
began eir com
uton; lictde children raispec-;i
money; and corporations vied
to see who could give the most.
Even our president dipped into
his pocket, albeit, not too deep
into his fiod(n and came up
with a whopping $10,000! Of
course, that Yxad to be lead news
story. After all, arent “Bible
believers” su to broad
cast our cha}:nft)}oj(zj)r is it the
other way around? (Pardon me
while I check Marthew 6:14.)
This country and others,
now coming up with billions of
dollars, have looked on for
years as Africans have suffered
tremendous hardships. There
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bill Fletxcher Jr.
& B
Elusive peace in the Sudan
As we edged into 2005 it was
announced that a final peace
agreement had been reached
between the Sudanese govern
ment of General Al-Bashir in
Khartoum, and the rebel forces
in the South known as the
Sudanese Peoples Liberation
Army. If successful, this peace
agreement will bring to an end
Africas longest running civil
war, a confrontaton which is
reputed to have cost the lives of
two million people.
Events over the last year in
the Sudans western region of
Darfur have overshadowed the
depth of the larger crisis facing
Sudanese society. The civil war
between the North and the
South arose out of efforts by
various Northern Sudanese
dominated governments to
impose their interpretation of
Islam on the largely non-Mus
lim Southern region. The war
took on a greater intensity
when ol reserves were discov
ered in the South.
Despite important differ
ences, there is an underlying
linkage between the hopefully
resolved North/South conflict
on the one hand, and the war
in Darfur on the other. It is
important to understand that
the borders of the Sudan were
not drawn up by the people
who have lived in its territory.
The Sudan, during colonial
times, was a British possession,
and at one point jointly admin
istered by both the British and
their puppet allies in Egypt.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Few investigation racially motivated
The five year criminal
investigation of fire chief
Ronnie Few was racially
motivated and it was
wrong.
It is this kind of racism
that prevents Augusta from
was no outpouring of funds
and military support from this
country when nearly a million
people were bcm%ksslaughtcrod
in l{wanda, but folks in Holly
wmdareal:}o;;xttomakealg‘tof
money on that tragedy with its
new eliovie “Hotel l{wanda."
People dying in Sudan and
Congo seem to have no effect
either. With all of the money
being spent in Iraq for a war
that should never have been, a
billion per week, you would
think we could break off a bil
lion or wo to save lives in
Africa rather than to kill people
in Iraq?
Oh, I'm sorry. Most of the
jack being squandered in Iraq is
ing to fialliburton. Sorry,
F))ick Didnt mean to get in yo
bidness. Hey, maybe you can
figure out eLow your former
company can get a piece of this
Tsunami action. Need infra
structure? Need meals on
wheels? Halliburton to the res
cue. What do you think, Mr.
vice President?
The crazy money being
rased and sent off to Asia,
some $6 billion and counting,
graphically portrays a few
aspects of our so-called global
What came to be known as the
Sudan was the forced merger of
the largely Arab and Muslim
North, with the largely non-
Arab but Muslim West (Dar
fur), and the largely Christian
and Animist South. Though
there was no reason that these
groups could not hava other
wise found a way to live togeth
er, opportunist political ele
ments took advantage of eth
nic, religious and resource ten
sions in order to advance their
narrow objectives. This seems
to have been especially true of
the minority ethnic clans in the
northern part of the Sudan that
have dominated the country
since independence.
The apparent end to the
North/South civil war only
resolves part of the irmtation
which permeates the Sudan.
The undemocratic nature of
the Khartoum regime will tend
to undermine all progress made
in effors to end the
North/South war. The Khar
toum government’s willingness
to utilize ethnic deansing as its
modus operandi in fighting
rebels in Darfur, for example, is
linked to its repression of all dis
sent in the country as a whole.
A regime that believes that it is
acceptable to arm and encour
age Arab militias to commit
atrocities against non-Arab
Muslims in the name of fight
ing an insurrection is a regime
in which one can put only
qualified hope.
That said, the government of
growing. Until we change
our thinking, Augusta will
continue to be perceived as
a small racist town, totally
controlled by the white
power structure and or the
good old boy network.
AUGUSTA FOCUS
society. But, even more distress
ingisthclackof black con
sciousness by many brothas
and sistahs in the U.g. for their
relatives in Africa.
First of all, as I stated above,
we have watched ple in
Africa suffer several EFoamanfi
like disasters and have done lit
tle to help them. For instance,
in response to the news about
the tragedy in Asia, Eobal
africa.com reported the follow
ing: “It has been common
knowledge ... that an African
child below the age of five dies
every three seconds on the
(African) continent. That
means every week 201,600
African children don't get to
celebrate their Sth birthday.
Every year ten and a half mi{-
lion (10.4}?3,200) African chil
dren perish, some through cur
able gf\d pncvemablcug;mcs
such as malaria, small pox,
chicken pox, measles, whoop
ing cougE,o c(izscntcry, malnutri
tion, and others through com
binations of n?ea, starvation,
poisoning, political misman
agement, local wars and delib
erate genocidal policies of crim
inal, puppet governments. Of
course, we are not taking into
General Al-Bashir and the
Sudanese People’s Liberation
Army are to be applauded for
taking even the tentative steps
towards peace. That peace will
be a precarious one, however, as
long as there is a larger failure to
recognize that the Sudan is
truly a multi-ethnic, multi-reli
gious state where a politics of
tolerance is the only measure
through which peace and sta
bility can be fully achieved. A
politics of tolerance will be,
itself, a step toward a democrat
ic Sudan, a country that, in
addition to being the largest in
Africa, could serve as an exam
ple for those seeking a path out
of the cydone of ethnic war and
societal collapse. The changes
this necessitates, however, are
nothing short of revolutionary.
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 alo is co-chair of the anti
war coalition, United for Peace |
and Justice (www.unitedfor- !
peace.org). He can benrachcdat%
bfletcher@ansafricaforum.org. |
Today I honor Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., by recog
nizing, acknowledging and
speaking out against
racism.
Barbara Thurmond
Augusta, GA 30904
consideration another twenty
million...annual deaths. This
means, in human terms, Africa
is haemormz.hging (sic) from a
disaster much greater in scale
than two Asian Earthquake
Tsunamis each and every week,
year in and year 0ut...”
So much for the “Diaspora” we
hold so dear. The reaction by
many black folks to the Tsuna
mi disaster simply mimicked
what the atab%shmcnt was
doing. 1 heard no questions
about Africa nor did I read any
coverage on the condition of
the people living there. Brother
Colin lPowcll never mentioned
it in his defense of what Bush
was not doing and had not
done. (I wont even go there
with Condoleezza Rice; even
though it would not take lo
it's not worgh the time.) Folfi
were highly interested in find
ing one of Oprah’s regular
ests, but several high-profile
Ell:lck folks in the media never
uttered a mumblin’ word about
the fate of their brothers and
sisters in Africa.
A :fiht to behold was the
National basketball Association
players offering SI,OOO per
point scored to the Tsunami
relief effort. With a guy that
GUEST COMMENTARY By Rev. Barbara Reynolds
Armstrong Williams is no Shirley Chisholm
Unbossed and Unbought, the
title of Congresswoman Shirley
Chisholm’s autobiography,
accurately described her values
and way of life. The former
New York co oman died
recently at her Eome in Florida.
She was 80-years-old.
With the passing of Esence
Magazine into white hands and
the scandal exposing columnist
Armstrong Williams as a paid
agent ofnrie Bush Administra
uon, I wonder if something
equally as important is dying
right along with Chisholm.
Have money and the bottom
line become more important
than black pride and economic
solidarity?
I am no stranger to
Chisholm, Esence or Williams.
I covered Chisholm’s 1972 race
for the presidency as a reporter
for the Chicago Tribune. 1 have
been writing gr Essence since its
inception. And when Williams
came to Washington from the
sticks of South Carolina, I
fought for him to have a right
to speak his mind as a journal
ist, even though I virtually dis
agree with most everything he
says.
Black history shows us what
happens when we do not wear
the Chisholm sl of
“unbossed” and “uzfi?ught"
like a halo. Blacks sold each
other out in Africa to the white
slave masters and it has been
going on every since.
In the 19705, 1 watched with
pride as this feisty former school
teacher, who broke all the rules
to become the a]f;:t black fctx)mlc
in Congress, t black
male leaders to mfir:uz.r presi
dent. There were tactics {:)u md:
her, ignore her, buy her, but
mfixgi\,o once telling a room full
of black male leaders, “that lam
the only one here who had the
balls to get things done.”
In an interview, she told me, “I
don't necessary want to be
tuncmlgeured as the first fl
t as a daring, -
ts: be Black aé:: was a catalyst
r change in the 20th century.”
In other words, S}:liln?'cy
Chisholm always knew that
real leadership must be larger
than one’s scE-inm Institu
was hated a few weeks ago, Jer
maine O'Neal, lcadmgafi: way
with $55,000 for his 55 point
performance, several pg(;crs
got in on the act, scoring points
and making pledges. Who
knows how much they will end
up sending? Now cfi'm'e's the
thing. As we all know, most of
the players in the NBA are
black. &c;nlsl someone tell me
where they were for the Rwan
da, Sudan, and Congo disas
ters? Other than Pam{ziDEwing,
Alonzo Mourning, a maybe a
few more, where were they
when their fellow NBA player,
Dikembe Mutomg,
announced he needed help to
build a hospital in his native
Kinshasa?
We have gotten so used to
following [E(C) establishment
and have forgotten about our
own pcoplcfi:)crc and abroad.
Not to diminish what hap
pened to the people of Asia, but
Africa has a 'Fseti)narm everyday;
wheres the U.S. government?
Too b looklnfizg: oil in the
Moth:;znd perhaps. Where
are black Americans? Too busy
waiting for white folks to show
us mv:/iat to do perhaps.
Yo! Brothers and Sisters, ath
letes and entertainers, and
tions or individuals in leader
ship positions hold a sacred
trust. They speak for the voice
less; they dream big dreams that
wake up the left behind and
mm.lf our talk and walk our
With the recent sale of
Essence to Time Warner, men
such as Robert L. Johnson,
thinks it's a great deal. “Black
businesses wfiu have to realize
that to be in business takes
precedence over being black. At
the end of the day, they will sell
to the highest bidder who will
likely be white. It’s just a marter
of when,” says Johnson.”
Strangely enough dope push
ers, rs use the
samcgl:iinneg%?fi:r;rip;]e drive- by
shootings, the blood and how
the music enriches the under
takers. It’s just business.” John
son, of course, sold Black
Entertainment Television to
media giant Viacom, which
also spd?ed the death of anoth
er excellent black instituition —
Emerge Magazine. The black
community lost, but at least
one black man became a bil
lionaire. Is that supposed to be
an equitable trade-off?
I believe there is a way to
make money and still advance
the cause g?our race. John H.
Johnson seems to know how to
do this with Ebony and Jet. It is
a wonderful experience every
month to pick up a magazine
where [ know I;)lc: like Susan
Taylor, Ed Teowis, Dianne
Weathers were calling the shots.
They are people who look like
me, who m lived our history
and shared our aspirations.
Too many women’s maga
zines already are trashy, sex _]Eed
dlers. Will the bm by Time
be a buck dance hill all in
the name of protecting the bot
tom line?
Author A. Peter Bailey has
oollcctcg l:kom than l.soofmdif
ferent i m
g;t;nd the wo:lj and he ntfi
re selling out to Time,
owrmsj}%:mv should have
allowed black companies to
purchase the company. That’s
the point Black Enterprise
owner Earl Graves is making,”
Armstrong Williams and many
other conservative black writers
January 20, 2005
i)_lthcr ai;r:)cl)ltable” black f(folldcl.:
ow t r
Blackonomics M:fil' ':rl: Dollar
Club (BMDC), and we can
help one another on a continu
ous basis, not just when a
Tsunami hits. Go to
www.blackonomics.com and
add your name to the BMDC
Maif';fig List. Or send an
e-mail to jdingman@blacko
nomics.com saying “Sign me
up!” Our people collei] use
some money too.
James ?’ Clingman, an
adjunct professor at %nimsi—
ty of Cincinnatis African Ameri
can Studies department, is former
editor of the Cincinnati Herald
Newspaper and founder of the
Greater Cincinnati African
American Chamber of Com
merce. He hosts the miz:fm
gram, ‘Blackonomics,” and has
written several books, including:
Economic Empowerment or Eco
nomic Enslavement - We have a
Choice; Blackonomics; and the
recently published Black-o-
Knowk%e—&ufl” 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/ 4894132,
are a horse of another color.
While 1 was virtually banned
from column writing in the
mainstream press because of
my liberal views, men like
Williams are rewarded, not
only by the Republicans who
pay them off, but by the syndi
cates that eagerly await their
anti-black propaganda.
It was disdosed recendy that
Armstrong was paid $244,000
in taxpayer money to promote
the Bush administrations No
Child Left Behind education
reform policy and to interview
Education Secretary Rod Paige
for TV and radio spots.
Williams, who owns a PR
company, is now more a busi
nessman than a journalist and
he is only doing what business
men do. They make money. If
his paychecks come from white
conservatives whose objective is
to stymie the black community,
its not personal, its just busi
ness. The syndicate that hired
Williams knew he owned a
public relations firm, but as
long as he spouted views against
affirmative action and applaud
ed Clarence Thomas, the news
executives could care less about
ethics.
With those kinds of values
gaining credence, it’s important
that while we say farewell to
Shirley Chisholm we must
never say good bye to her val
ues. Her business was taking
care of our business. She never
thought blacks were for sell. She
was Unbought and Unbossed.
How many leaders do you hear
saying that today?
Rev. Barbama Reynolds is the
relsgion columnist for NNPA 1s
an author of four books, inclurl
ing “Out Of Hell & Living Well:
Healing from the Inside Out: and
a graduate of the Howard Uni-
United Theological Seminary,
where she earmed a doctorate
degree in ministry. She can be
rtacbed at
wuw. reynoldsnews.com.
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