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RRNIRRGR IR AR R ORI TTR e "figwwfwsmi 'ks
Revolutionary voices from the past
| There comes a time in the
S course of human events tor per
| sons who have been mistreated
| to dissolve the political bands
| which have connected them
| with those who mistreat them.
{ In the interest of self-respect
2 and 0 claim the respect of oth
| er, after a long train of abuses,
| such persons have the night and
| the duty to throw off those who
| mistreat them and provide new
{ guards for their tuture secunty.
i Incase you have not read itin
E a while, the Dedlaraton of
' Independence contains the ital
! lazed phrases in the above
| paragraph. This country was
| established on the simple fact
| that pcoplc were hcrng mis-
E treated, they were ured of 1,
and they were not going to take
! it anymore. One cannot hc]p
| but admire people who come
| to the end of their rope and
\ defiandy procdlaim the wuth
about their condition, and then
do something about it
[ long for the day when black
pe()plc fin.flly ret so tred of the
abuse we sut?cr all over this
country that we will deade o
spend much more of our ume,
not trying to hurt someone
GUEST COMMENTARY By Ron Walters
The new Million Man March
I believe that Brother
Minister Louts Farrakhan ils
right when, looking at the
upcoming 10th anniversary
of the Million Man March,
said: “God has called us to
do something great.” |
believe that the tremendous
legacy set by the appearance
ot two million brothers on
the Mall in Washington,
D.C. on October 16, 1995
should evolve. Ten vyears
later, we should be ftocused
on building upon that lega
cy with the substance, espe
cially the economic sub
stance that it will take to
make the vision of healing
and forward movement a
reality.
My view is that, one mil
lion or two million brothers
should commemorate this
event by their contribution
of SIOO dollars to a freedom
fund such as the Black
United Fund or some new
. organization. That would
raise SIOO million dollars to
“begin the process of self
development and self-heal
ing at a mass level. We don't
all have to come to Wash
ington, to do that; there
could be a symbolic com
memoration in Washing
ton, but a more fundamen
tal, local day of contribu
tions by blacks to those
issues that are crying out for
financial support. And even
if a person doesn't have
SIOO, they can give whatev
er they have. When 1 say
everyone, I mean everyone:
drug pushers, welfare
moms, working poor, blue
collar, white colfar or no
collar. This should not be a
“boogie” thing; it should be
a community thing,
After reading brother
Randall Robinson’s book,
The Reckoning: What Blacks
Owe To Eaci Other, 1 feel
even stronger about this.
Robinson wrote this book
after his hit, The Debt, in
which he charged that
America still owes a debt to
black people for our having
helpccr to build this coun
try. But The Reckoning
implies that the process of
reparation really begins
else, but to use our resources to
help ounselves. ‘The plight of
Afnican-Americans in 2005 s
similar to that of the founders
of this country. The biggest dit
ference is that they were fed up
and determined 0 make a
change: we are just ted up.
They had 10 go to war, as we
must go o war if we want
change. Our war must be revo
lutionary as well, but it must be
tought with dollars rather than
musket balls.
Qur resolve must be the
same as the patniots, however.
We must “admit” our problem
and then “commit” to doing
what we have to do o get what
we want. Why would we con
unue to hope and wish for
change from people who have
demonstrated no indicaton of
their willingness 1o do so?
Check out how Patrick Henry
putit: ‘1 have but one lamp by
which my feet are guided, and
that is the lamp of expenence. |
know of no way of judging the
future but by the past. And
judging by the past, I wish to
know what there has been in
the conduct of the Briush min
istry for the last ten years to jus
with us and the respect that
we have tor one another.
So, we can begin the
process of reparation more
successtully, T believe, by
making a demand that
America cannot ignore. We
could throw down a gaunt
let that, at the same ume,
lmth (h.l”cngm America to
remember our contribu
tons while enriching our
legacy and tuture.
This “Million Man
March” benetit black banks
that can hold and grow our
funds in a sate and secure
environment for at least one
year while a planning com
mittec begins the sacred
work of buillding some steps
to the next plateau for our
progress. Remember what
Ossie Davis said: “It’s not
the man, it’s the plan; 1t
not the rap, Its the map.”
The Jewish community, the
Palestinian community,
Native Americans, church
groups such as the Mor
mons, and others, have a
network of social service
and economic networks
that serve the health and
welfare needs of their peo
ple. So whatever else is
available to them through
the state is gravy.
Blacks are largely under
served by health and welfare
institutions in their own
country and do not have
their own, save the church.
That dependent reality is
the source of a lot of pain
and suffering.
Not to prccm{)t a plan
ning committee, but I think
that a large chunk of that
SIOO million Freedom
Fund should be invested in
a way that takes advantage
of compound interests on
the stock market. Then
SIOO million might grow to
$1 billion if a day is set
aside each year for the com
munity to commemorate
the Million Man March
with a march to Wall Street.
Then I think that some of
the proceeds should be
invested in a think tank that
begins the process of work
ing througfi our problems
and how we can solve — or
AUGUSTA FOCUS
ufy those hopes with which
gentlemen have been pleased to
solace themselves. ..”
Henry knew he had to fight
rather than hope and wish for
change. He asked his compatn
ots what would make them
believe their captors would
change. “Is it rfm insidious
smile with which our petiion
has been lately received? Trust it
not, sir; 1t will prove a snare to
your feet.”
Patrick Henry continued,
“They tell us, sir, that we are
weak; unable to cope with so
formidable an adversary. But
when shall we be stronger? Will
it be the next week, or the next
year? Will it be when we are
totally disarmed. .. Shall we
gather strength by irresolution
and naction? Shall we acquire
the means of effectual resistance
by ying supinely on our backs
and hugging the delusive phan
tom of hope, unal our enemies
shall have bound us hand and
foot?”
Black people must ask our
selves those same questions.
Henry reminded the people of
their futile petitions, their argu
ments against oppression, their
contribute to the solution
of many of them. In this,
we might marshal the tal
ents of black institutions we
already have such as: The
Patterson Institute of the
United Negro (:nllcgc
Fund, the Joint Center for
Political and Economic
Studies, or a new research
consortium of black col
leges and universities. Their
unique focus would be on
solutions on a plan of
attack in each of the crincal
areas necessary to our sur
vival and progress.
Obviously, an overarching
organization or mechanism
needs to be (rcatcd rh;n
would look like a small
Congress, with representa
ton from all of the seg
ments of the black commu
nity. However, to avoid
fractiousness and downright
ftoolishness, it would have a
streamlined decision-mak
ing capacity, comprised of
people who are widely
regarded for their integrity
and skill at moving projects.
These are just a few
thoughts about how the
Million Man March might
be commemorated. It
would not be so much a
commemoration, but a new
beginning based on the
legacy that exists. We owe
this new phase to the spirit
of the October 16, 1995
March, we owe it to our
ancestors and we owe it to
our future and to those
unborn.
Ron Walters is the Distin
guished Leadership Scholar,
director of the African Amer
ican Leadership Institute in
the Academy of Leadership
and professor of government
and politics at the University
of Maryland-College Park.
His latest book is “White
Nationalism, Black Interests”
(Wayne State University
Press).
entreaties and supplications to
the King. He reminded them
of their demonstrations, their
protestations, and their humili
ty, all rejected by the power
structure. He told them it was
ume to take things into their
own hands and stop begging
their oppressors to come to
their rescue. He said, “There is
no longer any room for hope.
If we wish to be free... we
must fight! I repeat it, sir, we
must fight!”
Undl black people, who
occupy the bottom of every
economic category and the
top of every incarceration
category, who suffer from
the lowest education levels
among males and have the
highest percentage of
female-headed households,
until we decide to fight not
only against white folks who
mistreat us but against our
own internal demons as
well, the words of Henry,
David Walker, and Mara
Stewart will continue their
hollow ring,
If we cannot see the histor
ical Irony between what
GUEST COMMENTARY By Bill Fletcher Jr.
Purchased pulpits and spiritual exploitations
“I freed a thousand slaves |
could have freed a thousand
more if only they knew they
were slaves...” - Harmet Tub
man
Recentdy, a group of black
pastors under the name of the
Hi Impact Coaliton, held a
press conference and summit in
Los Angeles to announce the
kick-oft for their “black Con
tract with Amenca on Moral
Values.” Led by Bishop Harry
Jackson of Washington and
white Christian evangelical
Rev. Lou Sheldon and his ‘Tra
ditional Values Coalition, the
press conference and summit
gave new meaning to the
phrase “Sleeping with the
enemy.”
According to the newly
formed coalition, topping the
list of issues that black Amen
cans need to focus on is the pro
tection of marriage. Never
mind the war, access to health
care, HIV/AIDS, educaton,
housing and Social Secusity, the
number one problem facing
black Amenica is same-sex mar
riage.
Standing before the press in
their Sunday best and eager o
get their 15 minutes of fame
and achievabie share of Presi
dent Bushs Faith Based Inita
tive, these black pastors seem
ingly allowed their pulpits to be
purchased by the GOP and
Lou Sheldon, who is to gay
people what Strom Thurmond
was to blacks. Sheldon at one
time even went so far as to sup
port the quarantining of people
with AIDS and accused the
federal government of “running
a network of whorehouses,”
when the U.S. responded to the
AIDS crisis with resources.
Later that afternoon, more than
100 black pastors gathered at
Rev. Fred Price’s Crenshaw
Christian Center, another
prominent mega-church,
where Sheldon showed his infa
mous “Gay rights, special
rights” video and urged the pas
tors to have their congregations
lators who hadn't taken a posi
David Walker said and what
Patrick Henry said, and act
upon those words, we are
doomed to permanent
underclass status. We must
use our intellectual capacity
to Improve our situation in
this country. We must use
our tremendous economic
capacity as a hammer against
banks that discriminate
against us and corporations
that treat us like after
thoughts. And, we must
combine our intellectual and
financial resources to build
our own pulilical, economic,
educational, and social inde
pendence. The King is not
going to do it, brothers and
sisters.
ince I have been writing
this weekly column for more
than a decade, | figured I'd
let a white man, do the talk
ing this ime; maybe more of
our people will listen and
act, because if a White man
called tor a revolt, 1t must be
all right for a black man to
call for one.
So I leave you with Patrick
Henry's most famous words:
tion on the issue of same-sex
marrage.
Listening from the outside,
one might have thought they
were listening in on a Klan
meeting, but after one look
around the room, | remember
thinking of Dave Chappelle’s
portrayal of a blind black white
supremacist who had never
been told he was black.
Black pulpits are for sale to the
highest bidder and black Chris
uans are quite possibly being
sold to the GOP under the
guise of protecting America’s
moral values. With daims that
gays arc “hi-jacking” the awil
nghts movement and Martin
Luther King Jr.s message, Shel
don is seducing black pastor
after pastor and church after
church with check after check
to take another look at the
GOP and partnering with their
White Christian counterparts,
all while using the Bible as a jus
tfication for their commonali
ty. Yes, the same book that was
used to justify racism, sexism
and anti-Semitusm has both
black and white Christian evan
gelicals reading from the same
page.
Few remember, that there
were significant members of the
black church, induding the
National Bapust Convention
led by Rev. ].H. Jackson in the
50s, that vehementdy opposed
the avil rights movement and
didnt want progressive minis
ters such as Dr. King to have
any confrontations with the
government. So much so, that
was one of the major factors in
Dr. Kings decision to create the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference along with Los
Angeles ministers Rev. James
Lawson and the late Thomas
Kilgore, among others.
These black pastors who have
aligned themselves with white
Christian evangelicals and con
servatives, are the ideological
descendents of the same people
who opposed Dr. King in 50s
and what he stood for but
today want to daim his mes
sage as their own in the name of
March 3, 2005
“Why stand we here idle?
What is it that gentlemen
wish? What would they
have? Is life so dear, or peace
so sweet, as to be purcKased
at the price of chair.- and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty
God! I know not what
course others may take; but
as for me, give me liberty or
give me death!”
James E. Clingman, an
adjunct professor at the Uni
versity of Cincinnati’s jfiimn
American Studies depart
ment, is former editor of the
Cincinnati Herald Newspa
per and founder of the Greater
Cincinnati African American
Chamber 0/9( .ommerce. He
hosts the radic program,
“Blackonomics,” ans has
written several books, includ
ing: Economic Empowerment
or FEconomic Enslavement -
We have a Choice; Blacko
nomics; and the recently pub
lished Black-o-Knowledge-
Stuff we need to know. Cling
man’s books are available at
his Web site, www.blacko
nomics.com. He can be con
tacted there or by telephone at
(513)489-4132.
protecting the institution of
marnage, therefore giving new
meaning to the name “Unde
Tom.”
However, dont think that
these new partnerships come
without strings attached. The
Black vote is expected to be
hand-delivered on legslation
that supports discrimination
against gays and lesbians and
their right to protect their fam
ilies, denying a woman's right to
choose and pushing the presi
dent’s abstinence-only cam
paign. In addition, our religious
leaders are also expected to
remain silent and not be the
prophetic voices they should be
on issues of critical importance
to blacks. In exchange for
money, theyve essentially sold
their congregations to people
who continue to oppose uni
versal access to healthcare, edu
cation and housing, the very
issues at the core of the black
struggle.
Theres a coordinated reli
glous campaign to get ministers
across the state to speak out
against gays and the debate is
not about religion but more
about politcs, power and keep
ing that political power in the
hands of people who stood in
the schoolhouse door, fighting
for segregation and against the
full indusion of blacks in socie
ty.
Zora Neal Hurston once
said, “Not all black skin is kin.”
Can I get a witness?
Jasrmyne Cannick is a member
of the National Asociation of
Black Journalists, a board mem
ber of the National Black Justice
Coalstion, a black gay civil rights
organization and co-producer of
the new cable series Noahs Ar,
Americas firt Black gay series.
Cannick is the Director of Public
Relations for the Black AIDS
Institute. She lives in Los Angeles
and can be reached via wunjas
mynecannick.com.
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