Digest for TheBlackList@topica.com, issue 706
TheBla...@topica.com
(_)~~TheBlackList Information eMails ~~(_)
http://www.TheBlackList.net
Satisfying Our African Need To KNOW
ЙНННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННЙ
TOO MUCH EMAIL? Goto:
http://theblacklist.net/theblacklist_facts.htm#preferences
UNSUBSCRIBE: TheBlackList...@topica.com
(_)
Messages to TheBlackList MUST be in the PLAIN TEXT, ASCII, Format. NO ATTACHMENTS!! NO HTML!!
=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^==^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^
HAVE TIME SPECIFIC NEWS - Events, Happenings,
Announcements and Words that must get out?
WHEN TIME MATTERS, POST Events DIRECTLY
TO OUR eVents MESSAGE CENTERS:
Black World Events for Time Specific News:
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com/BW-Events.htm
Please, keep us on time, in step and in touch.
=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^==^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^=^
TheBlackList Discussion Forums:
http://www.themarcusgarveybbs.com/theblacklist_forums.htm
ЙНННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННННЙ
REMEMBER, THIS IS A PUBLIC FORUM
Keep All Private thoughts Private
Keep All Secrets in Your Own Head
BE EVER VIGILANT!!!
JAMAICA: US unhappy with ganja eradication efforts
By kw...@theblacklist.net
Everyday racism.....
By voice...@angelfire.com
OH HELL NO!! - DC IS NOT HAVING IT!!!!
By tyr...@hotmail.com
Raoul Peck's "LUMUMBA" Surmounts Past Film Tradition
By sendmey...@theblacklist.net
Re: Moral & Legal Right To Pressure Media to Fully CoverReparation
By ifa...@hotmail.com
Re: BEYOND DURBAN SOUTH AFRIKA
By rhaza...@aol.com
Fwd: RE: Questions to Freedom
By AFRIKA...@webtv.net
Re: There is no "God" only a Man?
By AHug...@ix.netcom.com
"Inter"National Black Theatre Festival in USA July 30-Aug 4
By bro...@lava.net
SUITS & TIES
By cart...@aol.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 10:06:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: TheBlackList News <kw...@theblacklist.net>
Subject: JAMAICA: US unhappy with ganja eradication efforts
The time has come for the Jamaican Government to stop
wasting the meagre resources of its hard working people
on solving the drug problem of the drug feigns of the
USA; UNLESS, the USA works with equal fervour to choke
off the illegal importation of GUNS to Jamaica.
The USA may soon realize that in a free society,
these may be unrealistic expectations.
Both nations may also realize that the solutions to their internal
problems lies with their borders and that both countries has the
proven resources to solve their own INTERNAL problems.
The Government of the USA has not, but citizens of both
nations have realized that the problems facing both nations
share a common root.
Think of it when you indulge or tolerate you neighbourhood
pushers or behaviour that encourages and
tolerate the gangster culture....your behaviour and choices
and failures have consequences in unseen places...
You think on this the next time you reach for your wallet.
How you choose to spend your money has consequences
even in far away places.
Kwasi Akyeampong
TheBlackList
moderator/editor
==============>
Jamaica Gleaner:
US unhappy with ganja eradication efforts
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010617/lead/lead2.html
Klao Bell, Staff Reporter
THE ganja eradication programme run by the army and the police force is
struggling and the United States Department of States is not impressed.
The programme failed to meet set targets last year and continues to fall
short this year because of lack of organisation, funds, equipment and
manpower.
But the United States Department of State in its 2000 International
Narcotics Strategy Report, has criticised the Government of Jamaica's (GOJ)
effort to eradicate the weed and stop drug trafficking.
"...Reduced cocaine seizures and marijuana eradication by the GOJ,
indicates that the GOJ needs to take more intensive law enforcement action
with en-hanced international co-operation to disrupt drug trafficking and
production activities in Jamaican territory and waters."
The report points out that fewer hectares of ganja (marijuana) were
destroyed in 2000 than was projected in a 1999 agreement.
"The GOJ eradicated 517 hectares of marijuana in 2000, short of a goal of
1,200 hectares set out in the (1999) Letter of Agreement with the U.S."
Statistics from the Police Narcotics Division showed that in 1999, 894
hectares were destroyed, while 125 hectares have been eradicated up to May
24 of this year. In 1999 the programme exceeded it's target of eradicating
800 hectares.
Woodrow Smith, director for Security and Narcotics with the Ministry of
National Security and Justice, admitted last week that, "the programme is
not what we want it to be at this time and surely if we had the resources we
could go further." But, he said, "We do a great deal of work in our general
fight against drugs, we have agreements with about 10 countries and draft
agreements with two dozen more."
The short-comings are, primarily, the result of lack of manpower as the
battalion of soldiers previously assigned to the eradication programme were
transferred to the prisons in 1999.
"... following a strike by prison guards, the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force)
was assigned to provide emergency warder service and was unable to continue
its eradication programme, leaving the task totally to the JCF (Jamaica
Constabulary Force) and reducing manpower assigned to the programme, " the
report states.
A source in the JDF said eradication only resumed last month.
"JDF is not as involved as it used to be, the second battalion that was
doing that duty is committed to the prisons, the JDF only started back,
about six weeks ago," the source said.
The JDF's public relations department declined to give information on how
often its teams go on raids, but stated that there have been breaks in the
programme due to "resource constraints - mainly the serviceability of
transport and cutting equipment".
But, Mr. Smith said, "training of prison warders is in high gear and as
soon as they are ready those soldiers will be back with the programme."
The Narcotics Division of the JCF, which the report describes as, "a
competent and respected unit", has also been restricted in carrying on with
the programme.
Head of the division, Senior Superintendent Carl Williams, told The Sunday
Gleaner two weeks ago that, "there are never enough resources. But we have
managed to do a significant lot with what we have. Just last week we sent
men to work with the JDF. Sometimes we may stop for days or a week at a time
for various reasons - sometimes trucks not working and they have to be
serviced..."
As of June 1 this year, the United States Government stopped funding the
salaries for the civilians who assist the JDF and JCF in cutting the ganja
plants. This responsibility now belongs to the GOJ which has not established
a set budget for the salaries, even though the U.S.'s intention to stop
funding was announced from 1999.
"There is no specific budget, under the police vote there are provisions
for salaries and provisions of goods and services and this is what we have
been allocating from - down the road we will have a separate budget," Mr.
Smith said. "But from the various areas we will be utilising about six
million dollars this year for the programme."
Mr. Smith said, "in the past the U.S. underwrote the expenses of the
programme by reimbursing the GOJ for claims made the U.S. contribution
varied around US$100,000 to US$200,000."
==
___________________________________________
BLACK MAIL them with FREE eMail from
http://www.TheBlackList.net
GET Your...@TheBlackList.net
-------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 18:46:22 -0700
From: voice...@angelfire.com
Subject: Everyday racism.....
This article is being forwarded because of subject matter and interest to
this forum.
http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/featwise_11.htm
LiP Magazine
December 4, 2000
Everyday Racism, White Liberals & the Limits of Tolerance
By Tim Wise <tjw...@mindspring.com>
Let me get this straight: if three white guys chain a black man to a truck
and decapitate him by dragging him down a
dirt road, that's a hate crime; but if five white cops pump nineteen
bullets into a black street vendor, having shot at
him 41 times, that's just "bad judgment?" And what's more, we should pass
hate crime laws that require enforcement by
the police? Call me crazy, but something about this brings to mind the one
about the foxes and the henhouse.
Now don't misunderstand: I realize there are horrible acts
of violence perpetrated every day in America against people
of color, not to mention gays and lesbians, women, and religious
minorities. And I have no problem in principle
with passing special laws to send a message that such hatred won't be
tolerated. But is this really the point? Does it do
anything to address the larger issues of racism, sexism, or homophobia
that plague our society? And will it save Amadou
Diallo, or prevent Abner Louima from getting a toilet plunger shoved up
his ass by bigots in blue uniforms? Of
course not. Hate crime laws make us feel better. But in the end, the
biggest injuries suffered by people of color
continue: job and housing discrimination; unequal access to health care;
and the development of a prison-industrial-
complex that is locking up black and brown people faster than you can say
"three-strikes-and-you're-out;" all of
which could and would persist, even if there was never another
cross-burning on a black family's lawn, or another
violent assault on an immigrant.
And this is what's wrong with the "national dialogue on race," as our
therapist-in-chief calls it. It only takes
place in a comfort zone where pretty much everyone can agree. So when
James Byrd gets dragged to death in Jasper,
everyone, including the Klan, is quick to condemn the atrocity. But when
the Centers for Disease Control and
National Center for Health Statistics report that about 6500
African Americans and a few thousand more Latino/as and American Indians
die annually because they receive inferior
health care relative to their white counterparts, few people
say anything.
When we hear about people of color harassed by neighbors in white
communities and forced to move due to the bigotry of a
few, most of us react with horror. "How terrible,' we insist`people should
be able to live wherever they choose." But
when study after study indicates that people of color are denied home
mortgages at twice the rate of whites, even when
they have similar credit and twice as much annual income, and that they
face housing discrimination over two million
times a year because of more subtle biases -far less blatant than the
racist neighbor - few raise their voice
indignantly, and no one thinks to send bankers or real
estate agents to jail for bias crime.
And when we turn on Jerry Springer and see some Klansman or skinhead
ranting about the inferiority of black and brown
people, we laugh, and yell at the TV, and collectively condemn them. But
when two well-respected social scientists
named Murray and Herrnstein write a book like The Bell Curve
- which argues pretty much the same thing, only with footnotes - we not
only fail to condemn them, but white
folks go out and make their book a best-seller:
half-a-million copies sold in the first 18 months.
Furthermore, Murray gets interviewed on every major news show in America,
and is then asked to speak to the GOP
Congressional delegation one month after the Republicans took over
Congress.
My point is simple, but given what passes for our national understanding
of these issues, apparently in need of
explicit recitation: The problem of racism is not to be found at the
extremes. It's not about "intolerance," and a
need to "love your neighbor," hold hands, and sing Pete Seeger songs. The
problem is the everyday discrimination,
inequity, and mainstream silence about these things by folks
who pretend to care about racism, and think they can prove
it by condemning lynch mobs: an act which ceased to be
courageous about forty years ago.
To that effect, we have groups like the Southern Poverty Law
Center spending all their time taking a handful of Nazis to court,
tracking hate groups on the internet, and sending out
stamps that say "teach tolerance" to folks on their mailing list so as to
raise more money (despite an endowment in the
tens of millions of dollars), all so they can do anything
but help poor people - which, given their name, I had always
assumed was the point. In addition to the Center, there are
at least a half-dozen organizations nationwide that focus
almost exclusively on doing battle with "the far-right."
They can tell you everything you'd ever want to know about
even the most insignificant Christian Identity church
(members of which believe Jews are Satanic and persons of color are "mud
people" without souls), or let you know who
attended the most recent meeting at the Aryan Nations compound, all of
which might be helpful the next time you're
sitting around playing militia trivia with Morris Dees, but is likely of
little use the rest of the year.
It makes one wonder: with all these nice liberals focusing on intolerance
and "extremists," who's challenging the
persistent institutional injustices which will do more damage to people of
color in the next ten minutes than the
National Socialist White People's Party has done in their
entire history? Unfortunately, the answer is not nearly
enough folks to meet the challenge. Indeed, not only does
mainstream liberal discourse on these issues siphon off
time, money and energy from the real battles against
structural injustices, it makes it harder to convince anyone
those problems really are problems after all. When President
Clinton says "we have torn down the barriers in our laws.
Now we must break down the barriers in our lives, our minds
and our hearts," it makes it easy for people to believe
racism is nothing more than an attitude problem in need of
adjustment, or perhaps a 12-step group to put us on the
collective road to recovery. What's more, since hardly
anyone will admit to racial prejudice of any type, focusing
on bigotry, hatred, and acts of intolerance only solidifies
the belief that racism is something "out there," a problem
for others, "but not me," or anyone I know.
Extremism and the Focus on "the other"
Ask any white person what a racist looks like, and you're likely to get a
response involving the kinds of characters
one sees on talk shows - men and women wearing sheets, hoods and
swastikas, and yelling "nigger," and "spic" at people of
color. Having seen these types of bigots on a regular basis,
folks become convinced that they and they alone are the problem.
Consider one of the women interviewed by Joe Feagin and
Hernan Vera for their 1995 book White Racism, who, when
asked her opinion of blacks replied: "they look like
apes...I dislike them, except when they treat me with
respect...I don't say I hate every black person, (just) the
majority," but then went on to explain, "I don't consider
myself racist. When I think of the word racist, I think of
the KKK, people in white robes burning black people on
crosses...or I think of the skinheads..."
Indeed, it's doubtful that the 17% of white Americans who
readily tell pollsters that "blacks lack an inborn ability
to learn," would consider themselves racists; nor the 31%
who claim "most blacks are lazy;" nor the 50% who believe
blacks are "more aggressive and violent" than whites; nor
the 75% who express the belief that "most blacks would
rather live off welfare than work for a living." In fact,
despite these numbers, only 6% of whites admit they are
"racist or prejudiced" - about half as many as will say they
believe Elvis is still alive.
Even more disturbing than these individual's own denials of
their racism, is the seeming disregard paid such everyday
prejudice by "anti-bias" organizations. Despite the fact
that 17% of the white population - the percentage admitting
they believe in black genetic inferiority - comprises 34
million white Americans; and despite the fact that this 34
million people is equal to the size of the entire black
population of the U.S., groups like Klanwatch, the
Anti-Defamation League and others seem to care little about
challenging these folks' racism, unless of course they join
a hate group or kill someone, in which case they will then
become a problem worth addressing.
Again, call me crazy, but I'm more concerned about the 44%
who still believe it's alright for white homeowners to
discriminate against black renters or buyers, or the fact
that less than half of all whites (according to polls in the
early 90's) think the government should have any laws to
ensure equal opportunity in employment, than I am about guys
running around in the woods with guns, or lighting birthday
cakes to Hitler every April 20th. Sure, folks like that can
do serious damage (just witness Oklahoma City or Columbine
High), but the fact remains that the Tim McVeighs and Dylan
Klebolds and Eric Harrises of the world get these ideas
somewhere, long before they stumble across white power
websites or read The Turner Diaries.
Where Would They Get Such a Crazy Idea?
Ever notice how people seem genuinely amazed whenever yet
another vicious hate crime takes place, or when they hear
about an increase in the number of openly racist
organizations in the U.S? Each time one of these "isolated
incidents," like Jasper occurs, the teeth-gnashing begins
and the tears flow anew, and the sense of confusion as to
how anyone could become such a hateful racist in a nation
like ours begins to set in.
But is it really that hard to understand? Is it that hard to
imagine that young white people who look around and see
police locking up people of color at disproportionate rates,
might conclude there was something wrong with these folks?
Something to be feared, and if feared then perhaps despised?
Is it so difficult to believe that whites who hear
politicians blame immigrants of color for "taking American
jobs," or "squandering welfare dollars," might conclude that
such persons were a threat to their own well-being? Is it
that difficult to believe that someone taught from birth
that America is a place where "anyone can make it if they
try hard enough," but who looks around and sees that in
fact, not only have some "not made it," but that these
unlucky souls happen to be disproportionately people of
color, might conclude that those on the bottom deserve to be
there because they just didn't try hard enough, or didn't
have the genetic endowment for success?
When police in Riverside, California shoot Tyisha Miller in
her car, because, after they pounded on her window and woke
her from a diabetic stupor, she reached for a gun to protect
herself, what message is sent regarding the value of black
life? And how does it differ from that of the Klan?
When police in Philadelphia shoot Dontae Dawson in his car
because he raised his hand and they "thought he had a gun,"
(which he didn't), what message is sent about the value of
black life? And how does it differ from that of White Aryan
Resistance?
When New Jersey State Troopers pump eleven shots into a van
occupied by four black and Latino students on their way to
basketball tryouts, simply because the van, after being
pulled over, started to slowly roll backwards and they
thought the young men were "trying to run them over," what
message is sent about the value of black and brown life? And
how is it different from that of the skinheads?
When a cop in Chicago shoots Carl Hardiman for refusing to
drop his "weapon" (which turned out to be a cell phone), or
when Brooklyn officers shoot 15-year old Frankie Arzuega in
the back of the head, kill him, and then don't report the
"incident" for three days, at which time they're never
disciplined, or when Anibal Carrasquillo is killed by yet
another Brooklyn cop, shot in the back, for no identifiable
reason, or when Aswon Watson is killed by still another of
New York's finest, shot 18 times sitting in a stolen car,
unarmed, and the grand jury indicts no one, or when Aquan
Salmon, age 14, is shot in the back by an officer in
Connecticut after being chased for a crime he didn't commit,
what message is sent about the value of the lives of people
of color, and how does it differ from the message of David
Duke?
And lest anyone think these are more "isolated incidents,"
it should be noted there are over 15,000 cases of alleged
police brutality on file with the Justice Department,
languishing for lack of funds to investigate; and that
brutality complaints in New York City alone have risen by
62% since 1992, costing over $100 million in damage payouts
to victims; and that studies have found that anywhere from
80-97% of brutality victims are people of color, while the
overwhelming majority of officers involved are white; or
that in 75% of the cases where police kill someone, the
person killed was unarmed.
But the message that people of color are "different,"
"dangerous," and need to be controlled is sent out by more
than just local police. The criminal justice system from
start to finish inculcates such a mindset. Even though
African American and Latino crime rates have remained
roughly steady for two decades, the numbers of persons of
color incarcerated has tripled, thanks to intensified law
enforcement in communities of color. The war on drugs -
fought mostly in poor and person-of-color-communities,
despite the fact that whites are 74% of drug users - has
contributed dramatically to the growth of a
prison-industrial-complex, which is quickly sapping
resources from education, job training and other vital
programs.
Nationwide, spending for job creation and training has
fallen by more than half since the 1980's, while spending on
"corrections" has exploded by 521%. In California, spending
on higher education as a share of the state budget has
fallen by nearly 99% since 1980, while spending for prisons
has mushroomed by nearly 800%. In New York, spending on
prisons has increased by $761 million since 1988, during
which time funding for the City and State University systems
was slashed by $615 million. A decade ago, New York spent
twice as much on higher ed as it did on prisons. Now, the
state spends almost $300 million more annually locking
mostly people of color away. Since 1980, the number of
whites incarcerated for drug offenses increased by 103%,
while the numbers of blacks incarcerated for drug offenses
during this time grew by 1,311% and the number of Latinos
incarcerated on drug charges grew by over 1,600%.
What message does our society send when we allow, and even
cause by a combination of policies, the kind of housing
segregation, isolation, and poverty which confront all too
many persons of color? When blacks who work full-time, year
round are still three times as likely to be poor as whites
who do the same, and Latino/as working full-time year-round
are still four times more likely to remain poor? When
unemployment for persons of color remains in double-digits
and twice the white rate even in times of economic recovery?
When white college grads are two-and-a-half times more
likely to find work than black college grads, and whites
with only a high school diploma are just as likely to have a
job as an African American or Latino with a college degree?
Why should we be surprised that at least some persons,
witnessing the way the larger institutions of our society
neglect (at best) and oppress (at worst) people of color,
might reach the conclusions that they were superior, more
deserving of opportunity and perhaps even life, than those
same persons?
Simply put, any nation that allows corporate polluters in
communities of color to get away with fines that amount to
only 1/5th the amount they would pay in white neighborhoods,
is going to have a hard time convincing me that it's serious
about cracking down on hate or racism of any kind. Any
nation that thinks nothing of strip mining uranium on
American Indian land, thereby causing Navajo teens to
develop reproductive organ cancer at 17 times the national
average, doesn't have much moral capital to expend lecturing
Klansmen who burn down black churches. Any nation that funds
education mostly through property taxes, thereby
guaranteeing massive inequity between the schools and
resources available in poor urban and rural areas relative
to more affluent suburbs, deserves to be laughed at when it
proclaims itself committed to fairness, tolerance, and
equity.
In other words, even to the extent that we should concern
ourselves with combating "hatred," or "intolerance," be it
of the individual or organized type, it is still necessary
to consider the ways in which such overt bigotry is
instilled by the larger workings of the dominant culture,
and by institutions run not by "extremists," but by
acceptable, respected and mainstream Americans. This is the
vital context to the politics of hatred which is rarely
explored, let alone addressed by the organizations who
proclaim themselves dedicated to an antiracist mission.
The Defeat of David Duke and the Victory of `Dukism'
There is perhaps no better example of the inadequacy of
simply fighting "extremists," and overt racism, than in that
provided by the decade-long struggle against lifelong white
supremacist David Duke, in Louisiana. The best-known
organized racist in modern times, Duke was elected to the
Louisiana legislature in 1989. Thereafter he received 44% of
the vote (and 60% of the white votes) in a losing stab at
the U.S. Senate in 1990, lost in his bid for Governor in
1991 (although he received about 55% of all white votes
cast), and then faded considerably in subsequent campaigns
for President, and a second run for a Senate seat as well as
another Gubernatorial campaign.
At the time of Duke's electoral collapse (around 1995), many
proclaimed him finished, a has-been, with no ability to
influence American politics in the future, let alone win
office. And yet,in 1999, even after a solid eight years of
being exposed as a vicious racist and anti-Semite, there he
was, pulling down 28,000 votes (almost one-fifth of all
votes cast), and running third in the race for the U.S.
Congress seat vacated by Bob Livingston. Missing the runoff
by only about 4,000 votes, Duke can rightly claim that
although he is not likely to win elected office anytime
soon, he has had a significant impact, and will continue to
do so, on the face of politics.
Even though his electoral support base is now largely
limited to fairly hard-core racists - who haven't been put
off by his reversion back to open advocacy of white
supremacy - the fact remains that even in those elections
Duke has lost, the other candidates, including the winners,
have been forced to move to the right on issues like
welfare, affirmative action, crime, education, and
immigration. Likewise, campaigns across the nation have
increasingly sounded like those he was running eight and
nine years ago, with candidates literally falling all over
themselves to "steal from Duke's playbook," as Pat Buchanan
termed it (shortly before doing it back in 1992).
So unfortunately, even as Duke, the "extremist" has been
defeated - and don't get me wrong, it was proper to target
him as a Nazi, and I was part of the Coalition that did just
that in the early `90's - the fact remains that the salience
of race politics, and the mainstream acceptance of racial
scapegoating which existed before Duke came along, and has
been such a large part of American politics since at least
George Wallace, made Duke's rise possible, and even in the
midst of his fall, ensures his unfortunate but continued
relevance.
Unless antiracists, including those of us who fought so hard
to convince voters that Duke was a white supremacist, and an
"extremist," can do just as good a job undermining the
ideological basis for his political appeal, he will never be
finally defeated, and the danger he posed and poses will
never be finally passed. Reorienting the discussion won't be
easy, committed as most are to lauding the legitimacy of
mainstream institutions even as they attack the "extremes."
Consider the recent flap over whether or not neo-Nazi Matt
Hale should be allowed to join the Illinois bar. Hale, a
graduate of Southern Illinois University Law School is
currently being blocked from his chosen profession by those
who claim his participation in the administration of justice
would somehow "pervert the process," and call into question
the state's commitment to the administration of "color-blind
justice." Imagine that, in a state which has sent at least a
half-dozen known innocent persons of color to death row in
the past few years, and from what I can gather, has no
intention of disbarring any of the esteemed jurists who
participated in these despicable exercises.
Again, just who is the bigger problem: Matt Hale, whom
everyone knows is a bigot and whom everyone will be watching
for signs of racist behavior, or the Cook County District
Attorney and a handful of overzealous cops, looking to send
some guy - any black guy will do - to his death so they can
proclaim a big murder case solved? To even ask the question
is to answer it. It is precisely the visibility of the
former's racism, contrasted with the invisibility of the
latter, which makes the latter so much more problematic, not
to mention more worthy of our attention and concern.
The same is true for hate crimes. To punish those overt and
violent expressions of bigotry is all fine and good, but
what about the underlying mindset which gives rise to such
acts? And the institutional inequities that make such a
mindset seem rational? And which crimes are the ones we
should punish anyway: the retail versions perpetrated by
lone bigots and hate groups, or the wholesale versions which
form the basis of institutional racism, and are the very
fabric which comprise the tapestry of American society? And
who makes this decision? Local district attorneys and
federal prosecutors? And who sentences the hate criminals?
Juries like the one that thought nothing of the Rodney King
beating? Thanks, but, surely there has to be a better way. [LiP]
--------------------------------------------------------------
Author: Tim Wise is a Southern-based anti-racism activist
who was instrumental in the political devastation of
neo-Nazi David Duke. Wise has appeared on hundreds of
television and radio prbgrams to discuss the rise of the Far
Right and the influence of racial prejudice on public
policy. He has squared off against white supremacists,
religious fundamentalists and noted conservatives.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2000-2001 LiP Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 19:51:37 -0400
From: tyr...@hotmail.com
Subject: OH HELL NO!! - DC IS NOT HAVING IT!!!!
I Won't Let D.C. Lose Its Flavor
By Natalie Hopkinson
Sunday, June 17, 2001; Page B01
Last September, my husband and I signed a stack of papers at our real
estate agent's office. The documents spelled out in mind-numbing
detail how we would acquire our first home, a Victorian rowhouse in
the District's Bloomingdale section just off North Capitol Street,
and pay for it over the next 30 years.
But there were many more important messages between the lines.
The house's inflated price, the result of two rounds of bidding,
said: "Yes, we are buppies." The inner-city neighborhood, with its
rich social and economic diversity, said: "But we are still down."
That we didn't flinch at the occasional crackhead, prostitute and
pack of idling men roaming our new block said: "We won't let a few
bad actors make us afraid of our own people."
And the fact that we had emerged victorious from a six-month battle
at the height of the District real estate wars -- skirmishes in which
we were often the lone black faces vying for homes in historically
black neighborhoods -- said something else:
"We damn sure are not about to let white folks buy up all the
property in D.C."
Real estate has been on my mind a lot lately, because of the
District's decision to accept a donation of $50 million to give Tony
Williams and/or his successors a mansion to call their own on Foxhall
Road. Given the demographic profile of your average D.C. mayor, the
project is likely to put one black family, at least, in that posh
Northwest neighborhood. Some would call this progress. But it's not
what my husband and I are trying to do.
In the small act of choosing to buy our home where we did, I believe
that we became part of a growing group of African Americans who are
picking up where the civil rights movement left off. From our
perspective, integration is overrated. It's time to reverse an
earlier generation's hopeful migration into white communities and
attend to some unfinished business in the 'hood.
With an urban renaissance raging and white gentrifiers flocking to
previously scorned sections of the Chocolate City, the stakes are
rising every day, presenting an added challenge to what W.E.B. Dubois
called the "Talented Tenth" of black Americans: We not only have to
invest in the inner city, but we can't let white people beat us to it.
My husband and I are both twentysomethings who were raised in
neighborhoods where there were few black families. Moving to the
suburbs had been a natural progression for our parents. A lot of
blood and sweat went into getting fair housing laws on the books and
integrating schools. So our parents understandably saw being the
first blacks on their blocks as an honor, the manifestation of Martin
Luther King Jr.'s dream.
But there was a pernicious side to pioneer integrationism. After my
family moved in the late 1980s to Beech Grove, just outside
Indianapolis, I lived in a state of perpetual tension.
Sometimes it felt like the '60s had never happened there. The first
people my parents tried to buy from pulled out of the deal, due to
pressure from neighbors. Finally settled into a rental, we got
harassing phone calls. One time a band of teenagers chased my cousin,
screaming "The KKK's gonna get you, nigger!" Most painful for a
little kid were those steely glares that seemed constantly to
demand, "What are you doing here?" At age 9, I tried to contort
myself to appear smaller, hoping that no one would notice me and be
offended.
Seven hundred miles away, my husband was going through a similar
experience in suburban New Orleans, where a favorite playground jeer
from white kids was, "My grandfather used to own your grandfather!"
Of course, that's not the whole picture: One could easily argue that
we thrived in those settings. The schools our parents worked so hard
to get us into were, in fact, excellent (and my life took a turn for
the better when, after two years, we moved into a neighborhood with a
few more black families). My husband and I both did well
academically, went to college, got advanced degrees, launched
promising careers. We got ours.
Now working out of The Post bureau in Prince George's County, I see
every day another benefit of that black migration: A second
generation of African Americans is growing up in a prosperous,
predominantly black suburb. Instead of the kind of racism I
experienced in Indiana, they are able to see a culture of wealth,
achievement and stability in black communities.
Unfortunately, you can't say the same for the black children who got
left behind in downtown Indianapolis, New Orleans, Washington and a
lot of other places. When ambitious and progressive black people
moved out of the inner city, they took many of the gains secured by
the civil rights movement -- from education to job opportunities --
with them.
As a result, the African Americans who are best able to carry out the
type of activism and involvement necessary to make schools and
government work properly haven't been present in those communities.
That has had a disastrous impact on inner cities.
Today's robust market in urban housing is shaking up the
system.Communities are playing a game of racial and socioeconomic
musical chairs. Black neighborhoods are turning whiter. Poor
neighborhoods are turning richer, some suburban areas turning poorer.
But the shake-up may lead to nothing more than a shake-out, with the
same old winners and losers.
My husband and I saw this process playing out in the District last
summer. The majority of the homes we looked at had recently been
inhabited by black renters. The owners, both black and white, saw an
opportunity to cash in on the booming market, so they drove out the
former occupants. At open houses, most of the other potential buyers
we ran into were white.
Our feeling that black families were being displaced by whites was
reinforced by a Census report published on The Post's front page in
August. In just one year, between 1998 and 1999, the city's white
population grew by nearly 3,000 -- and this in a city whose
population overall has been shrinking. Meanwhile, the number of
blacks, who at one time made up 71 percent of the city's population,
dropped to 61 percent.
Although thosefigures may be small, my husband and I knew the
economic impact was big and an indication of things to come. We
stepped up the search. We wanted to hold a line, stake out our turf.
I know that, given our background and good jobs, we can be seen as
gentrifiers, too. But I still think we bring a different sensibility
and commitment to the block. As black middle-class parents, for
example, we may be more open to the idea of sending our children to
public schools. If we have faith in our efficacy as a group, we can
badger, cajole and volunteer our way to better schools.
I'd like to think I can use my own experience and help create an
environment similar to what I enjoyed in suburban schools, where
learning was such a powerful focus that students had no choice but to
fall in line.
Frankly, I'm the last person willing to sacrifice my 6-month-old son,
Maverick, to some lofty ideal. But I have reason to be optimistic
about his public school prospects five years from now. Within a one-
block radius of my home, there are at least eight babies around the
same age. Some of their parents -- all but one of them black -- are
newcomers like myself. Others have lived there since crack devastated
our neighborhood. But I'm confident that each of us is equally
committed to making sure our kids get the best education possible.
And that gives me hope.
No doubt many white people alsosee their renovated rowhouses as more
than a financial investment, and don't think they're just jumping on
the it's-cool-to-live-in-the-city bandwagon. Many whites want to help
out, too, and their privileged racial status can only improve the
city's prospects.
But this is the Chocolate City. It'sour responsibility as black
people to return to these historically black communities that are
finally rebounding. Not once a week at a soup kitchen, not as a Big
Brother or Big Sister, but full-time, 24 hours a day. Every day of
the week, black children should be able to look to us as an
alternative to the dysfunction and pathology that has plagued the
inner city. We can save ourselves.
Let Tony Williams and whoever comes after him live the good life on
Foxhall Road. If I wanted to live in an all-white community today,
there would be nothing to stop me. (Surely by now, civil rights have
reached even Beech Grove.) But whiter is not necessarily better. And
my attitude is, why bother? Why not do something more important?
There is a real sense among black Washingtonians that the city is
slipping away from us. A few months ago, as I left a take-out on
Georgia Avenue, a gentlemanpassed me a flyer. It invited me to a
community meeting where residents planned to debate the question, "Is
the Chocolate City turning Vanilla?"
I pocketed the flyer, but didn't bother going to the meeting. I
already knew the answer: Not if I have anything to say about it.
Natalie Hopkinson is a writer on The Post's Weekend staff.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8987-2001Jun16.html
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 19:25:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: SendMeYourNews <sendmey...@theblacklist.net>
Subject: Raoul Peck's "LUMUMBA" Surmounts Past Film Tradition
----- Original Message -----
From: "Friends Of Zimbabwe" <zimbabw...@mail.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 9:35 PM
Subject: Raoul Peck's "LUMUMBA" Surmounts Past Film Tradition
RAOUL PECK'S "LUMUMBA" SURMOUNTS PAST FILM TRADITION
IN TREATMENT OF BLACK HEROES IN WORLD HISTORY
by
Elombe Brath
Far too often whenever Black people are invited to go to the movies what
is on the screen is an embarrassment disparaging us and our historical
legacy. This has been particularly true with the many comedies that seem to
dominate the Black film presentations, mocking and making fun of the lives
of the masses of our people. This includes movies even produced and directed
by highly talented members of the African community and feature Black actors
and
actresses. But the dilemma does not only impact on film comedies. it is
also true of dramatic films where real-life heroes have had their lives
misappropriated to be miused as central figures in white produced
cinematic features to give a film some exotic or esoteric flavor. This goes
back to at
least the 1930's, where the historical great king of the Congo, the
Mani-Congo, was dehumanized when Hollywood moguls took so-called artistic
license to transformed him into a gigantic gorilla which they called King
Kong, and transferred the setting from central Africa to an offshore island,
initiating a spinoff series of movies that denigrated the history of
Africa's third largest country and its people.
There was also a humiliating portrayal of Tshaka, the great 19th century
Zulu king whose brilliant military strategies were later taught to U.S. Army
officers at West Point. In contrast to Tshaka's acknowledged role in world
history, his characterization in the insulting defamatory film entitled
Untamed was distorted and reduced to that of an African Tonto-like assistant
to Hollywood's glamour-boy screen star Tyrone Powers, with Tshaka fighting
against his own people in behalf of the European settlers who would go on to
misrule South Africa for at least 86 years.
We also see such manipulation of historical figures in The Mummy Returns,
the latest edition in a series of "Mummy" movies which traditionally has
defiled
Egypt's glorious culture. From Hollywood's early Boris Karloff (1932),
Turhan Bey "tana leaf" horror film editions to its current multi-million
dollar
blockbuster production, where the genius Imhotep of ancient KMT (Kemit) is
featured as an irate Caucasoid madman, we can clearly see a pattern to use
film production as a propaganda tool to subliminally promote white
superiority consensus through control of the most dominate vehicle - the
motion picture industry - to mold American popular culture.
Even the slight misinformation that was exposed in Steven Steilberg's
Amistad, particularly his film treatment of the valiant Sierra Leonean Mende
prince
Cinque (i.e. Sengbe Tieh) and the melodramatic romanticization of the
film's paternalistic white characters during that historic period, which
seemed to cause more stress in the African community than admiration for at
least the super star director having chose to produce the film in the first
place. And now the latest use of another historical Black figure in "Pearl
Harbor", that of Dorie Miller - a battleship steward (played by Cuba
Gooding, Jr.) who rose to the occasion and became an extraordinary real-life
navy hero during the December 7, 1941 bombing of the U.S. Hawaiian naval
base, whose heroics made
him the surviving equivalent of Crispus Attucks's role of a martyr when he
was killed at Boston Commons in on March 5, 1770, which became a cause
celebre
that helped the then-British colonial subjects later ignite the American
revolutionary war.
Dorie Miller's incredible courage, inspite of U.S. racism barring from him
from being trained for combat, to come up from the galley and seize an
anti-aircraft battle station and shoot down several attacking Japanese
airplanes astounded the navy officers. As Quincy Boykin, a Dorie Miller
enthusiast and history buff, points out, although Miller was awarded the
Navy Cross (many believe he should have been given the Medal of Honor, the
country's highest honor which is given by Congress) for his valor by
Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
during World War II, shortly after what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
declared a "day of infamy", the real infamy was that Miller was never given
a commensurate rank for his achievement above that of a mess attendant. He
would would be later killed in 1943 when a torpedo fired by a Japanese
submarine sunk the U.S. navy vessel he was aboard - still serving meals, but
with the U.S. Navy's second highest medal pinned on his chest.
Nevertheless, Miller's historic achievement is only included in the film
(admittingly described as "romantic adventure) now showing only to give some
substance and credibility to the generally panned $140 million Disney
[along with 13 other listed producers] three hour movie which grossed $75.1.
million (over half of its production costs), over its Memorial Day weekend
opening - the second-largest box-office sales record opening in film
history.
I could offer other examples of the historical abuse, misuse - and even
often actual miscasting white people to play the role - of heroic Black
figures in
history for popular entertainment, but I don't really find it necessary to
do so. The point I am raising is that our portrayal in film habitually has
left a lot to be desired.
But just when you might have thought that maybe you shouldn't go to the
movies anymore comes a film that is a real must-see. The Haitian filmmaker
and director Raoul Peck's Lumumba is a film that not only must be seen but
also must be supported by our community to show future producers and
directors that we will patronize films that faithfully portray our roles in
world history if they make them. Raoul Peck has done that and his film
Lumumba documents the extraordinary contributions and self-sacrifice that
the 1960's Congolese leader Patrice Emery Lumumba made in attempting to
safeguard the territorial integrity of the Congo and protect its tremendous
wealth against the avaricious greed and overwhelming odds arrayed against
him by the United States of America and its allies.
The fact that Peck's Lumumba deals with a particularly sensitive,
contemporary nefarious part of U.S. history that is still ongoing to this
very day speaks volumes to the director's integrity as a filmmaker and is
all the more reason that all people, but particularly the Black community,
who
claim that they want to see films that reflect the character of cinema
verite, must ensure that it has a spectacular opening and a good run so that
as
many of our people can see this brilliant and majestic work as possible.
It is of vital importance that more of us become conscious of the real
motivations of U.S. foreign policies and how the machinations to reach
their objectives are accomplished. In regards to this factor alone, Lumumba
is very instructive in illuminating how the U.S. and its allies actualy
undermine democracy in African states, destabilize fledgling governments,
and help to create a mythical consensus that the final failed result is
blamed on the targeted African country itself because they were not yet
ready for
self-government in the post-World War II period.
Moreover, these tactics are time-tested and have been proven to work. For
instance, any serious study of the U.S. and Western Europe's historical role
in Africa would have you believe that the continent which gave
civilization and government to the world is now populated by a people who
had no history
and are innately inferior and thus incapable of understanding either the
political, social or hard sciences unless supervised minutely by white
people, or even monitored by non-black-non-whites. Because undetected
covert operations by so-called western "counterintelligence agencies are
able to
stealthily undermine African governments and make them appear to be
ungovernable, such devious actions simultaneously foster the bogus notion
that once the European colonialists are forced to leave and the African is
left to depend his or her own initiative, then they automatically slide back
to atavism, stagnating any further progress until the "good white father"
returns to rescue them through recolonization and bring them back up to
speed.
To review what happened after the independence of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo on June 30, 1961 is to observe a classic case of the above
description of the role that foreign intrigue plays in the subversion of the
dreams and aspirations of the Congolese people. This is still a source of
discontent that haunts the second Democratic Republic of Congo today. In
my view, It is not just a casual coincidence that the DRC's late president,
Laurent Kabila, was assassinated one day short of the 40th anniversary of
the assassination of his mentor Patrice Lumumba. And as more is revealed in
due
time, mark my words: the same forces that initiated the brutal murder of
Patrice Lumumba in 1961, along with the killing of two of his closest aides,
Joseph Okito, the head of the Congolese Senate and Maurice Mpolo, the
Minister of Youth and Sports, as seen in the film, will be exposed as having
spawned the current sinister cabal that engineered Laurent Kabila's murder
five months ago. And all of this I believe can be readily understood after
seeing Raoul Peck's revelatory new film.
Why am I so enthusiastic about this film? Well, as one who has been
involved with African liberation struggles for over the last 40 years in
general and
the Congo in particular, and thus being reasonably cognizant of many of
its hidden dynamics that shaped the outcome in the film reveals, I can bear
witness that Mr. Peck has directed a great and honest film. This film will
surely help to direct our attention to the role of covert so-called
anti-communist activities by western nations led by the United States as
being nothing less than insidious Cold War ploys that are projected merely
for the benefit of western capitalist monopoly interests. As I have pointed
out in the past, the U.S. wasn't able to establish its government until 13
years after its declaration of independence in 1776, and from 1789 until
1917 intervened in the internal affairs of other countries throughout the
world 133 times before the Bolshevik Revolution!
This contradiction of using the communist bogey to ostensibly save other
nations from being taken over by Moscow or Beijing is exposed for the farce
that it is in Lumumba. Peck clearly shows that this was the case in the
Congo when Lumumba and his Congolese National Movement (MNC) had their newly
democratically elected independent nation, which was founded after a free
and fair electoral process, usurped by a conspiracy between its former
Belgian
rulers and their longtime financial partner, the U.S. The collusion of how
these two members of the western alliance actually arranged the
assassinations of Lumumba and members of his cadre and imposed their own
choice to protect their vested economic interests: Col. Joseph Desire
Mobutu,
the moody, envious, self-serving opportunist who was co-opted - and
contracted - by the U.S. to betray and compromise the Congo's national
independence in
order to micro-manage the country's vast wealth to foreign interests
seated innocently in splendid comfort in Brussels and on Wall Street. As a
result,
according to reports, Mobutu would become second only to the Shah of Iran
as the richest world leader, while the Congo had its precious natural
resources
sucked away as it was reduced to an "economic basket case", leaving the
broad masses of Congolese people wretchedly impoverished, their lives
reduced to
intolerable misery.
Eric Ebouney, a stage and film actor from the Cameroon with a mastery of
oratory skills, delivers a profound and explosive performance portraying
Lumumba which is so exceptional that, if there is any fairness in Academy
Awards selections, then he should easily net a nomination and ultimately an
Oscar for Best Actor. And Alex Descas, from Guadeloupe, who plays Mobutu,
Lumumba's former aide-de-camp who turns out to become his mentor's nemesis,
gives such a believable performance that audiences grimmace and suck their
teeth expressing an actual hatred towards the presence of his on-screen
presence as Mobutu. Meanwhile, many are also now researching this particular
part of the Congo's history to see if someone could really be as treacherous
in betraying their benefactor as depicted in the film.
Sadly, the real-life Mobutu Sese Seko was even worst because the film
primarily only covers roughly about a one year time period - from
pre-independence movement activities until Lumumba's assassination. The film
doesn't deal with the subsequent 36-year repressive reign of Mobutu's
exploitive military dictatorship which was nearly as brutal as that of King
Leopold II, the ruthless Belgian monarch who was given the Congo - a
territory 80 times his own Belgium - as his own "fiefdom", a personal reward
for his part in organizing the Berlin Conference of November 1884 through
February 1885 which divided Africa among the western European powers.
Lumumba is a tremendously moving film experience, with beautiful
cinematography and a stupendous soundtrack. The casting with both its
African
and European actors and actresses is outstanding, with everyone presenting
exceptional performances. And of course, Raoul Peck's directing exhibits as
much finesse as a maestro guiding an orchestra - especially one with
storytelling skills as a Duke Ellington. It is no wonder that the film has
already won the Director Fortnight Award at Cannes last year and was the
winner for best feature film at the Pan-African Film Festival in Los
Angeles.
Filmed in Belgium, where new information on the Lumumba affair has been
released in droves from its archives, and Zimbabwe and Mozambique for its
African location [the war being waged posed a security question against
shooting in the DRC], and has already astounded audiences in other parts of
Europe, Africa, Cuba and Canada. At all screenings most people have left
theatres awestruck and shaken by the depths that so-called civilized and
democratic wealthy countries could sink in order to continue their
exploitation of an African territory whose people had suffered so much
misery every since they first had contact with Europe four hundred years
earlier during the beginning of the dehumanizing European Trans-Atlantic
Africa Slave Trade and trafficking in kidnapped human beings in Africa and
their later further subjugation to colonialisation.
Lumumba is an awesome film production. It is a phenomenal retrospect on
human suffering and the hypocrisy of so-called western democracies whose
avaricious greed have caused a myriad of people of color throughout the
world to regard their demand that developing countries accept their behavior
as a paridigm for providing good governance, establishing democratic norms,
and as the only acceptable standard for social advancement in the new
millennium.
But as Lumumba pointed out in his last message to his wife, Pauline
Opanga, "History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history
that Brussels, Paris, Washington or the United Nations will teach, but that
will be taught in countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets.
Africa will write its own history, and it will be, to the north and to the
south of the Sahara, a history of glory and dignity."
An essential part of that history was written 10 years ago in Raoul Peck's
prize winning documentary Lumumba - Death of a Prophet. The substance of
that
bio-doc has now been magnificently embellished in his poignant and
breathtaking major feature film masterpiece, the screenplay which he wrote
with Pascal Bonitzer. In cinematic terms, Peck's film is a major
contribution to the re-writing of Africa's glorious history in dignity. And
the puppeteers are not likely to be happy with Peck's product. But other
than that, all people who are truly for common decency and fair play, who
believe in social justice, and redressing old grievances by making right
past wrongs, will see this film with a more passionate vision. Those who
believe in ridding the world of debilitating racist notions dictated by the
inordinate military power of self-styled greedy superpowers, and are willing
to re-establish a mutually agreed upon truly universal behavior for all
humankind - embracing all the respective peoples of this planet, they
should love Raoul Peck's Lumumba.
To all those who have been contacting me for several months as to when and
where they can see this film, Lumumba, at long last, will formally begin its
U.S. national release with a premier performance on Wednesday, June 27th
at the Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, just west of 6th Avenue in lower
Manhattan in New York. A celebration will follow the premier nearby at
S.O.B.'s, at 204 Varick Street, featuring an exclusive African cultural
program with La Troupe Makandal, New York's number 1 Haitian performing
group, a surprise celebrity guest host, special invited guest of honor
Lumumba filmmaker Raoul Peck, and more. Further information on how to
purchase tickets to the film screening and opening night party can be
obtained by calling (212) 631-631-1189 or emailing het he...@hotmail.com.
Those interested can also visit the following website:
www.imagenationfilmfestival.org.
Elombe Brath is chairman of the Patrice Lumumba Coalition, and a African
internationalist elder and veteran of over 40 years of activism in the
Pan-African nationalist movement. Mr. Brath also worked as a graphic
artist and consultant on African Affairs for Like It is, the WABC-TV public
affairs
program produced and hosted by Gil Noble, for 17 years, and produces and
hosts his own public affairs radio program, Afrikaleidoscope, on WBAI, 99.5
FM , heard weekly on Thursdays. between 9 pm and 10 pm. ,
==
____________________________________________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
Your Business is Our Business
SendMeY...@TheBlackList.net
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 03:16:51 -0000
From: Ifama Jackson <ifa...@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Moral & Legal Right To Pressure Media to Fully CoverReparation
Peace and Blessings,
With all due respect, to demand that the beast use it's propoganda machine
to highlight the stuggle of the people it constantly oppresses is a waste
of
time. WE must devise stragegic ways to get the information to the people.
This takes alot of work and time. Having forums in local communities to
discuss the issue of reparations, consistently and strategizing and
pooling
resources is one of keys to the demand for reparations. WE must revisit
our
historical references to point out to OUR people that we have the right to
demand reparations. We aren't asking anyone for anything, we are demanding
what we have a right to as a people who underwent a terrible atrocity that
lasts unto this very day. We cannot waste time trying to get the beast's
machine to spread the word, report information, etc. It is not designed
to
enlighten the people, it is designed to fool, baffle and distort any
effort
put forth by the people it has enslaved for the past 500 years.
Hotep
Ifama
>ala...@webtv.net wrote:
>
>Dear Brothers & Sisters: There are many mass media in the United States
>which are diligently working to suppress vital information about
>Reparations for African-Americans. These media include: ABC News, NBC
News,
>CBS News, CNN News, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Boston Globe,
>The Washington Post and many others--all of which are owned and
controlled
>by very wealthy Caucasians. These media grant far more coverage to mere
>sports and entertainment than they do to the Reparations Movement. One
>shocking example of how they deny the masses of readers and viewers
>essential factual information can be seen in their NON-COVERAGE of the
>interventions which the Honorable Silis Muhammad has delivered inside the
>United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland on behalf of 40 million
>African-Americans whose human rights are cruelly violated every day that
we
>exist in America. Since 1998 Mr. Muhammad has repeatedly testified before
>various U.N. bodies in Geneva, including the Human Rights Commission and
>the Sub-Commission On The Promotion And Protection Of Minorities,
>concerning the legacies of plantation slavery and the urgent need for a
>United Nations forum to facilitate justice for our long-suffering people.
>WHY HAVE SO MANY MASS MEDIA NEVER MENTIONED A WORD ABOUT MR. MUHAMMAD AND
>NEVER PRINTED A PHOTOGRAPH OF HIM? They cannot truthfully say that they
are
>unaware of his worthy efforts and the worthy efforts of NCOBRA, The Sons
of
>Afrika, The Lawkeepers and other advocates of Reparations because we have
>repeatedly mailed them news releases and articles which illustrate these
>efforts. I believe that the time has arrived for large numbers of
>African-Americans to righteously flex their muscles. It is a fact that if
>millions of Blacks stopped watching ABC, NBC, CNN or CBS...or if millions
>of Blacks stopped buying Time, Newsweek, The New York Times or The Boston
>Globe, then the loss of profits to the rich elites who own them would
prove
>to be devastating. I believe that large numbers of our people and large
>numbers of African-American organizations should phone, write, fax and
>email the delinquent mass media and politely insist that they give
>front-page, top-of-the-headlines news coverage to the Reparations
Movement
>on a daily basis--or suffer the loss of Black patronage. Furthermore, I
>know that our people have every moral right and every legal right to
>righteously flex their muscles in this manner. Peace Be Unto The
Righteous.
>
>
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 01:19:57 EDT
From: rhaza...@aol.com
Subject: Re: BEYOND DURBAN SOUTH AFRIKA
In a message dated 06-14-1 6:49:20 PM, o_akk...@msn.com wrote:
<<My question to you is this, are we prepared at all cost to organize
ourselves around these issues and transform ourselves into a human missile
with a payload of complete solidarity with enough unity explosive that
will
enable us to extract from those who are indebted to us that which is
justly
due us, for service already rendered?>>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Peace Be To You My Blessed and Knowledgeable Spiritual Brother.... I shall
attempt to answer your question in this way...... I have for over 40
years,
listened to, heard from, and read about the "Nationalist" who professed
the
need and desire to create our own "Nation State" to truly be free of
oppression in the usa, and the dispora.... Some of those nationalist have
practiced what they preached and formed the Provisional Government of The
Republic of Afrika.... The Nubian Nation....."The Nation of Islam" (to me
is
religious form of nationalism).... We have separatist that live on the
"LAND".... We have the Moores.... We have Seminoles.... We have Pan
Afrikanist.... We have "Those who Came Before Columbus:.... It is said we
are
a "Nation Within A Nation".... Our combined income would make us the
"9th -
11th. wealthiest nation in the world"...... I say to you..... The Nguzo
Saba
is about 35 years old and we have yet to put it together in a World Wide
Movement to establish the "Nation State....A state so long talked about as
a
solution to the problem of "Being Black in the Disapora".... Afrikans in
eroupe, south america, north america, central america, the islands,
australia.... All have a common bond to Afrikan but are diverse in the
connection.... There are many ideaologies and programs out there with
proporgander that express the reasons why Black folks must come
together.....
How to come together..... The need to immediately come together to save
our
familes and to reclaim the glory lost over the centuries is crying for
attention and satisfaction.... We have enough Afrikan minds throughout the
diaspora with knowledge, politcle intuition, money, similar like thinking
folks to practice self determination toward establishing our own NATION
STATE... I propose that we who want to rid ourselves of imposed white
oppression, ignorance, poor health conditions, poverty, ect.... We must
"Demonstrate to the world" that we are truly the descendants of ancestors
that created mighty and wise civilizations that influenced all governments
for millineums..... That regardless of what has been done to us as a
race....
We Have and Shall Continue to Survive and Prosper.... I declare It is time
to
combine our inherited Afrikan skills, talents, gifts, spirituality, and
motivation to define, establish ourselves, as we define, recognize, and
establish the "55th, Afrikan World Nation State" populated by the Afrikans
scattered throughout the diaspora by the illegal, inhuman crimes against
our
ancestors that continue to this day.... And.... All Afrikans in the world
who
claim citizenship....This non territorial Afrikan Diaspora Nation State
would
then enter into TREATY RELATIONS with afrikan Nations States on the
Continent..... From that treaty relationship we are in a position to
support
and determine for ourselves what is in our own best interest and in so
doing
become involved in the support and what is in the best interest on the
Motherland.... I challenge all Nationalist (cultural, politcle, social,
ect....) to pool the collective wisdom, research, finances and the
supposed
desire to serve the mass's to join with me and others to create and
impliment
a strategy to Delcare ourselves a NATION STATE.... Regardless of what
happens
in Durban So. Afrika or whether reparations is given in a sufficent manner
or
a sum large enough to please the majority..... We must remove ourselves
from
the reputation of being the most careless, helpless, and non motivate
people
in the world..... We have cried "INJUSTICE" enough.... We must free the
shackles of the mind and live according to our own abilities.... We must
start to fend for ourselvesd with a mind set that portrays and honors our
ancestors both before and after the coming of the Afrikan invaders.... I
am
offereing the following declaration as a beginning instrument on which I
believe others will build....
THEREFORE, I DECLARE THE SIGNITURES ON THIS PETITION TO BE TRUE TO THE
BELIEVE THAT, WE AS AFRIKANS IN THE DIASPORA HAVE RECOGNIZED OURSELVES AS
THE
DESCENDANTS OF AFRIKANS FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMELAND; THEREFORE, WE ARE
ENTITLED TO FORM A NATION STATE, TO ESTABLISH OURSELVES AS A SELF
DETERMINED
NATION WITHOUT TERRITORY; YET, WE STILL CLAIM AFRIKA AS OUR HOMELAND; WE
INTEND TO UTILIZE OUR COLLECTIVE PRACTICES OF THE "NGUZO SABA" TO SET
FOURTH
THE POLICIES AND PRACTICES NEEDED FOR OUR COLLECTIVE LIVING, AS A SCATTER
PEOPLE; WHO SHALL ONE DAY RETURN TO AFRIKA, THE LAND OF OUR ANCESTORS
BIRTH,
ACCORDING TO TREATIES WITH DUAL CITIZENSHIPS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAMS,
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, SPIRITUAL AWAKENINGS, MUTUAL PROTECTION AGAINST
ALL COMMON ENEMIES OF OUR NEWLY CREATED DIASPORA AFRIKAN NATION STATE AND
THE
MOTHERLAND....
If you agree it is time to work toward unification of the diaspora as a
nation state... That nationalism is more than an idealolgy or word on a
resume'.... That you have the strength and capacity to spitirually work
and
live with Afrikans around the world... That you are able to join with
others
to arrive at a collective self determined consensus and carry out the work
as
defined.... Please sign this petition and forward it to others..... There
is
a plan being developed to hold a conference that will be held in the near
future to further the work needed to create our afrikan nation state.....
Please assist this effort by maing yourself knowledeable about:Wwho you
are
and from whence your came"... With that knowledge you will be welcome to
set
your self free.....
Free the Mind..... Establish the Nation State.... Mawusi....
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 20:16:13 -0500 (EST)
From: AFRIKADZATASI DEKU <AFRIKA...@webtv.net>
Subject: Fwd: RE: [TheBlackList] Questions to Freedom
Greetings,
Please speak to us on the meaning of
this?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BLKBreeding4WFs
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InterracialPregnancy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_131200/1312708.stm
You are probably right in theory, but above is the reality of the World
we live in.
Your article has the tone of Rodney King speech, when he asked,
Can we all get along?
Hell No!
Not as long as we must continue to
endure the unspeakable, unrelenting
attacks by so called caucasian genocideal
maniacs.
Wake up my Brother or Sister
We do not owe anybody anything that we
have not the courage to give to our
RACE FIRST, starting with SELF LOVE , SELF PRESERVATION, &
SELF RELIANCE.
The truth will set you Free
Peace Unto You
Sista Ngone
1 Afrika
At Home & Abroad
In The Diaspora
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 23:41:57 -0700
From: Djehuti Sundaka <AHug...@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: There is no "God" only a Man?
http://www.geocities.com/djahuti.geo/SectionIfdaw.html
As it is the purpose of Sutek to maintain the rule of Hell, it is
the purpose of Patrusi people as
Haru to overthrow Hell and establish the state of Maat. These
diametrically opposed goals have an
ancient expression in the Kamy myth of the "Rahui" (Combatants). In the
myth of the Rahui, Haru
engages Sutek in a series of battles to avenge the slaying of his father
and to become the rightful ruler
of Km.t. Known more fully as a part of the story commonly referred to as
the Osirian Drama, this
story begins with the reign of Haru's father, Wasir. In the beginning,
the rulership of Km.t is passed
to Wasir from his father, Geb. Under the peaceful reign of Wasir and his
wife Asit, the people of
Km.t receive all the gifts of civilization through Wasir's instruction.
As the people enjoy an age of
prosperity, Wasir decides to go throughout the world in spreading the
benefits of civilization, leaving
Km.t to the rule of Asit. Meanwhile, Sutek, the brother of Wasir and
Asit, is envious of Wasir's rule
and schemes on how he may obtain the throne of Km.t for himself. Upon
Wasir's return from
civilizing the world, Sutek and 72 co-conspirators hold a great feast
for Wasir during which Wasir is
tricked into a coffin that seals his fate. The body of Wasir is then
disposed of by Sutek only to be
found by Asit and later disposed of by Sutek again by dissecting the
body into 14 pieces that are
scattered throughout the earth. Upon finding all of the scattered parts
and reconstituting Wasir's
body, Asit is instructed by Djhwty in how to bring Wasir back to life.
With Wasir resurrected, he
and Asit conceive Haru before retiring to the Afterlife to become its
ruler. On earth, Asit is
persecuted by Sutek and is later assisted by Djhwty in fleeing the
presence of Sutek with the infant
Haru. While in hiding from Sutek, Haru himself dies from the sting of a
scorpion only to be
resurrected by Asit under the instruction of Djhwty. In time, Haru grows
to adulthood and challenges
Sutek for the throne of Km.t. He acquires followers called the Shamsu
Haru, endures many trials
and setbacks including betrayal by his own mother but finally prevails
by the wisdom of Djhwty.
With Haru's ascension to the throne, Maat is again established.
From this ancient story, many symbolic parallels with history can be
seen. In Wasir, we see the
origins of civilization in the Hapy-Inat and its spread to other lands.
In Sutek, we see the Aryan
adoption and conquest of Hapy-Inat Civilization resulting in the end of
peaceful society. In Asit, we
see the many Patrusi women (i.e. mothers of life) who have been deprived
of their men and forced to
raise their sons on their own. We also see the endeavors of Patrusi
women to rescue their men,
protect their children, and even engage in the occasional misguided
betrayal of those children due to
the indoctrination of Aryan society. In the scattering of Wasir, we see
the scattering of Patrusi
knowledge, traditions, and people in the Tangadisha. In the resurrection
of Wasir, we see the cultural
revitalization of various Patrusi traditions and historical knowledge in
spite of the imposition of Aryan
society. In the assistance of Djhwty, we see the wisdom of the Patrusi
heritage that has helped to
preserve the Patrusi people in the face of adversity. In the
resurrection of Haru, we see the present
recovery process of Patrusi people from the poison of integration and
neo-imperialism. In the
Shamsu Haru, we see the devotion of non-Patrusi individuals who embrace
the Way of Maat and
work towards the day they will finally be accepted as Haru with the
defeat of Sutek. Finally, in Haru
himself, we see the light of the future, a new day brought forth by the
guidance of Djhwty to establish
Maat and the restoration of Hapy-Inat Civilization. This restoration, a
completion of the resurrection
of Wasir, is not an abandoning of current technology and information for
some idealized past. This
restoration is merely the modern cultural expression of Hapy-Inat
Civilization in recognition of the
fact that 'Western Civilization' is nothing more than the Aryanization
of Hapy-Inat
Civilization. When the adopted civilization of Aryan society is restored
to its true cultural
expression, Maat will finally begin to prevail upon the earth.
The elements of the Rahui myth are so enduring that various aspects
of the myth can be found to
have been expressed in both ancient and modern times. In the Hellenic
Canon, we see the theme of
the mother and child escaping danger in the second chapter of Matthew
and again in the twelfth
chapter of Revelation. In modern times, we find the entire story of this
falcon king retold as Disney's
"The Lion King". In examining the ancient qualities of Haru, we see an
individual of great strength,
the speed, flight, and eyesight of a falcon, the power of the sun with
its burning rays of light, and a
powerful eye of insight called the Udjat. In addition, Haru's own name
implies him as one who is
'above' while his haruic deeds in the establishment of Maat qualify him
as the world's earliest
'superhero'. In modern times, we find another fictional character who is
cast as the world's greatest
superhero. He has great strength, speed, eyesight, the power of flight,
and is empowered by the sun.
He possesses the ability to emit rays of heat and to also see things
concealed from others. Like
Haru, this 'Superman' also has a name that implies his being 'above' the
average man. He even has
a native name incorporating the name 'El', the Kana'aniy word for a
'god'. It is therefore a great
testimony to the heroic ideal for the characteristics of the world's
earliest superhero to have been
reproduced 6000 years later in modernity's 'greatest' superhero.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, the elements of the Rahui myth
have been reused by
individuals throughout the ages to create the most popular stories of
history. These very same
elements, expressed in the history of the Patrusi people, give the
Patrusi heritage an almost mystical
quality for inspiring people to their greatest good. By virtue of this
observation, it can plainly be seen
that WE, the Patrusi people of Maat, are Haru, the light of the world.
And as Haru, we can no
longer tolerate the darkness of Hell that prevails upon the earth.
http://www.geocities.com/djahuti.geo/DeathToTheDevil3.html
WE ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. Chosen, not by some tribal god of the desert,
or by gods who have no problems with their worshippers supporting the
occupation of other peoples' lands, but by Muat. By the natural tides of
history that have placed us in the state of greatest degradation from
which we may arise to bring global liberation. By the natural processes
of Muat, we have been naturally selected as Haru to put an end to the
Aryan Menace and its tyrannical Age of Sutek. As Haru, we shall
overthrow the reign of Hell and bring about the creation of a new world
with foundations laid in Maat. As Haru, we shall enjoy the fruits of our
new world in self-development and social advancement as we ever ascend
with humanity in the light of True divinity.
"Until we are determined to change the condition of things, and raise
ourselves above the
position in which we are now prostrated, we must hang our heads in
sorrow, and hide our
faces in shame."
-Martin Robison Delany
"Up! You mighty race, you can accomplish what you will."
-Marcus Mosiah Garvey
"By Any Means Necessary."
-Malik El-Shabazz
THE REALIZATION OF MUAT
http://www.geocities.com/djahuti.geo/RealizationOfMuat.html
Djehuti Sundaka
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 19:14:52 -1000
From: bro...@lava.net
Subject: "Inter"National Black Theatre Festival in USA July 30-Aug 4
Join the creme de la creme and have a marvetastic time at the
Inter"National
Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA this July
30-Aug. 4. Dont wait long for the hotel rooms available are few and going
fast.
The Festival this year (its bi-ennial) is powering through the present
economic fears of its major sponsors, enduring budget cuts and
concentrating
on quality, not quantity. No final line up is posted on their website at
nbtf.org, but while we may not have as many as 80 different plays (is
choice
of over 60 enough?), who can see more than 15 or so in 6 days.
The Festival promises more Potpourri Noir, one and two person cutting
edge
presentations, and on Tuesday night July 30, you can see excerpts from all
6
plays in one night, leaving one in a state of shell shock.
Of course, if you snap out of it the Midnight Readers (should I say
Midnight
Ravers?) series continues under the inspired direction of Garlan Thompson
Sr. and I hope once again, Jr. For those aspiring actors or any one else
with an interest, these readers series are the thing. With "readings"
(using
scripts, with at most, one rehearsal, but under the direction of
experienced
directors) happening at 10 am, 2 pm and midnight every day in multiple
locations, you shouldnt have a problem snagging a part. Garlan picks only
the best new plays to read and the best of these go on to production in
latter Festivals.
Of particular interest to me, along with the basic serious drama, musical,
comedy amd childrens productions is the International selection of plays.
With past productions featuring the US premiere of the Cuban classic "Los
Assesinos", as well as Nigerian, South African, Brazilian,
Jamaican...(next
Festival, Eritrean?) who knows what Festival Founding Director Larry Leon
Hamlin has up his sleeve.
The Inter"National Black Theatre Festival remains the largest, private,
Black owned and operated cultural festival in the world and as such
deserves
all our support. With Larry Leon a long time supporter of the African
Centered School, the Festival is truly a celebration of the oppressed. But
then I may be just a bit biased because I am spending my week there as a
guest of the Festival, on my way back home and the nitty gritty day to day
struggle against the war on drugs (more like war on the American people)
following my visit to Eritrea.
Be there or be square, it doesnt get better than this, forget about
sleeping
for a week, things dont stop, with everything from live music to poetry
slams into the wee, wee hours, you dont want to miss a thing.
Until then...
And You Ask Me
"Have I Ever Been To Prison?"
You?
With Your system of liars, murderers and thieves
Ask me
If I have ever been to prison?
My answer is...
Yes!
And I am trying to GET OUT!
(allan hope, 1986)
Thomas C. Mountain
Hawaii Black History Committee
(_)
¶ TheBlackList EVENTS CALENDAR
¶ for Doers, Creators, Builders and Participants.
¶ List your Events or get the Who, What, When, Where...
¶ http://www.themarcusgarveybbs.com/BW-Events.htm ¶¶¶
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2001 22:33:50 EDT
From: cart...@aol.com
Subject: SUITS & TIES
Suits & Ties
written by crystal cartier
Suits & ties
ties that bind
white collar slavery
Cold hearts... Bought minds
How many corporate slaves
lie dead of stress in uneasy graves?
How many powerful bureaucrats
are perverse closet alley cats?
medicated by phone sex
drugs, whips & chains
leather, rubber & cock rings
So numb with guilt from selling their souls
Brown nosing... Betraying
for silver & gold
Pharisees & Sadduces
Roman empire Generals
spending a fortune on whores to belittle
their egos
sucking toes
Beat his azz down
Make him lick the ground
from the heels of patent leather stileto pumps
digging into his groin or anus
butt plugs, sick fetishes
homosexuality, corporate mentality
Paid well to be so mean
any freaky sexual scene
youthful flesh... pretty, & lean
Pretty Passion
Pretty Poison
Pretty Pleasure
Livin=92 large on bloody treasure
The mortgage, the platinum cards, the car
Image is everything ... bad attitudes don't go far
Never let 'em see you sweat
despite the noose around your neck
and corporate uniform upon your back
demanding respect with a heart attack
Your Corporate perspective is what pays the bills
frills, thrills, middle class to upper crust rat race & treadmills
Suits & ties are just fine until you lose your soul & mind
06/14/01
IMANI
www.crystalcartier.com
cdbaby.com/ccartier
___________ POSTED by _______________
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com
NEWS, EVENTS, FORUMS and more..
TheBlackList - "The New Negro World"
Satisfying the African Need to Know
------------------------------
/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_
TheBlackList -eMail List http://theblackList.net
Satisfying Our African Need to KNOW(ledge).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subscribe: http://www.TheBLackList.net
Unsubscribe: TheBlackList...@topica.com
Discussions: http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com/theblacklist_forums.htm
Archive: http://www.topica.com/lists/theblacklist/read
Questions/Answers/Support/Feedback:
http://www.theMarcusGarveyBBS.com/board/1022.html
==================================================
#########################################################
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, some material is provided
to a limited and defined audience for comment, background information,
research and/or educational purposes only, without permission from the
copyright owner(s), under the "fair use" provisions of the federal
copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed for other purposes
without permission of the copyright owner(s).
########################################################
End of TheBla...@topica.com digest, issue 706