The Black Informant

My Anger Has Now Reached Boiling Point!!

Miami (CNSNews.com) - An African-American civil rights spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the new computerized voting machines “terrify” her, and that blacks are “afraid of machines like that.”
Joanne Bland, the director and co-founder of the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma, Ala., told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the new computerized voting machines are going to intimidate black voters in Florida and elsewhere and suppress their vote in the November presidential election because many blacks are not “technologically savvy.”
“The computers really terrify me. The electronic voting — the new machines — I think it will turn off a segment in my community, particularly the elderly. We are not as technically savvy, and we are afraid of machines like that, and they (African-Americans) probably won’t go [to the polls] and they probably won’t ask for assistance, said Bland, who spent the last week in Florida. (full article)

Now, I always knew that these elections were going to get nasty, but this type of self-humiliation has reached levels that has left me almost speechless. To tell the world that Black people are afraid of technology plays right into the imagery of every minstrel show, every exploitation film from the beginning of the 20th century, and every racist belief that black people are just plain imbeciles.
I am now in the process of trying to locate the contact information of this woman. If I reach her, I will give you an update.

Thanks Booker Rising for setting me off >:<

The Crowinator has been dispatched!!

WASHINGTON - Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson joined the campaign of Sen. John Kerry on Wednesday as a poll showed support for the presidential candidate slipping among black Americans, a critical Democratic constituency.
The Pew Research Center said Tuesday its latest poll showed 73 percent of blacks supporting Kerry compared to 12 percent supporting President Bush. In 2000, Al Gore won 90 percent of the black vote. (full article)

The Democratic party is now getting mad that their loyal and most trusted field hands (the Black community) are now beginning to escape the plantation in droves. The Massa from Massachusetts has now dispatched his most trusted field foreman:

I’ll I’s be back black!

(sigh) Yes, it is true. Jesse Jackson has been hired to scare some sense into what he thinks are mindless voters. So be prepared for more ghost stories and scare tactics aimed towards the Black community. (sigh again) The only problem with this plan is that Jesse has lost a lot of his juice with our community. “Keep hope alive” does very little to a population that is more and more moving out of poverty and into middle class and beyond. Sorry Jesse, jim crow doesn’t scare us anymore.

This is just pathetic!

Also, check out this link.

A Piece of Recent History African-Americans May Have Forgot: A Challenge to African-Americans

Ron Brown

Before I begin, I must tell you that I am not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch of the imagination (even though I still think that the whole Santa Claus thing was a evil plan that was devised by a secret society to boost the economy JUST KIDDING!

Anyway, the death of Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (a Black man, for those who want me to underscore that obvious fact) has always been one of those incidents that have always had a huge cloud hanging over it. I bring this story up to make a point: The 9/11 commission concluded that Bush made a decision to go to war based on faulty intelligence from not only our intelligence services, but from Intel agencies throughout the world. In other words, he did not intentionally mislead the nation, nor was he “hell bent” to go into war. The response of much of Black America to the conclusion of this Bipartisan review: Bush is still a liar.

Now take the this whole Ron Brown situation. There is no bipartisan committee formed to investigate the crash and the facts that we know about this crash do not add up. The Black community’s response: Just accept it as fact and move on. To my knowledge, not one African-American leader even challenged the evidence.

Conclusion: The comparison that I just presented only further proves my point that the African-American community is seen as no more than a plantation of mindless, yet dedicated field hands to the Democratic party. In other words, never question massa, but always question those that massa does not like.

I have included an excerpt from a web page that I found this morning that covers the whole Ron Brown case in more detail. Read it, and you draw your own conclusions.

—————-

Because there is evidence that suggests Ron Brown was assassinated, the first question that a reasonable and prudent person would ask is, “who would have a motive to do this?” We may begin by examining the controversy surrounding Brown at the time of his death. Ron Brown, a highly connected attorney and member of the Washington elite, was chairman of the Democratic National Committee during Clinton’s first run for the presidency. He was involved in fund raising. His expensive tastes allegedly led him to accept a bribe from Vietnam to normalize trade relations. He was under investigation by the Commerce Department Inspector General, the FDIC, the Justice Department, the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was two weeks away from being indicted over a bribe he received from an Oklahoma corporation. Brown is reported to have said, “I am too old to go to jail. If I go down, I’ll take everyone else down with me.” Evidently, he thought he knew enough to influence those in power to save him, but that was an apparent miscalculation. (21)
The April ‘96 issued of The American Spectator featured an article entitled, “Why Ron Brown Won’t Go Down” — referring to his legal troubles. Shortly after that issue was released, Brown did go down — with his aircraft and everyone else on board. Six hours later, the independent council investigating Brown’s shady business deals and fund-raising practices quietly closed his investigation. (22)

—-

There were no flight data recorders on Ron Brown’s plane, a military version of the Boeing 737. “We have done everything humanly possible on the military side to ascertain whether this aircraft had flight data recorders or voice recorders on board and the answer we get … is that it was not equipped with either,” said Gen. Estes. (3) “We have not been able to ascertain why this particular aircraft was not equipped with them,” said Major Robin Chandler, an Air Force spokeswoman. (4)
All VIP aircraft based at Andrews Air Force Base are equipped with flight recorders, including the president’s Air Force One, according to the Associated Press. (5) Prior to Brown’s flight, the aircraft was used to shuttle the president’s wife and daughter, as well as other VIP’s such as the Secretary of Defense. The absence of flight recorders seems out of the ordinary for such an important aircraft.
What’s more, the media and Pentagon claim of “the storm of the decade” was sharply disputed by the widely read Aviation Week magazine, which reported light to moderate rain and a constant fourteen mph headwind at the time of the crash. In fact, five planes, one of them a small Piper, had landed at Dubrovnik airport just prior to Brown’s. None encountered any problems.
The Air Force investigation later concluded, “the weather was not a substantially contributing factor in this mishap.” (6) The prime factors were, instead, ruled to be pilot error and faulty navigation aids. Unfortunately, the airport’s maintenance chief was unavailable to assist the Air Force in determining if the navigation aids at the airport were functioning properly at the time of the crash. He committed suicide a few days later — a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. (full story)

more double standards

Description of radio ad:

One ad says Democrats support “abortion laws that are decimating our people.” Another argues that Democrats “preach tolerance but practice discrimination.” (full article)

Fearing that African-Americans will realize that they have choices in this presidential election, Congressman John Lewis makes the following statement:

Congressman John Lewis, a black Democrat from Georgia, condemns the ads as repugnant and vicious, filled with “outright lies that distort the facts.” Lewis says they’re clearly meant to discourage African-American voters from going to the polls. Nadler calls that a bum rap, and says he’s just trying to get blacks to vote Republican.

It’s funny that Lewis was apparently mum when the following radio ad was played on Black radio stations:

“Republicans want you to sit out this election and simply stay home,” one radio ad tells listeners. It continues, “Bush is a rich man in the White House who is sending black men and women to be slaughtered in Iraq while Cheney and Halliburton boys get rich on oil. Don’t keep getting played.” (full article)

I guess Blacks only speak Democrat.

My anger towards this big game that these self-appointed leaders are playing telling us as African-Americans that we are too stupid to know the difference between a political ad and klan activity is rising to new levels. John Lewis and Julian Bond were both founding members of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). This was one of the groups that paved the way for civil rights. Although their contributions to the movement are much appreciated, anyone that treats African-Americans as though we are brainless, scared, and lack the ability of reason is nothing more than a continuation of jim crow. What they fought against they have now become.

African-Americans and the Whole Entitlement Thing

This is a really big topic, so I will try my best to discuss it in this posting. I know that throughout the day, if I think of more to add to this posting, you will see it posted. So Stay tuned!

While on Booker Rising’s site, there was a posting on there that dealt with situation that to me is a small representation of the whole entitlement debate. In short, some in the African-American community in Detroit are wanting to establish a town called Africa town that will serve as an empowerment zone for the Blacks in that community. The only thing is that they want Federal dollars to fund it. Now I have very mixed feelings about the Federal government getting involved. I say mixed because if other ethnic parts of the city have received federal funding to build from the ground up (those last 4 words make a huge difference), then of course, I have no problem with it. Otherwise, the government needs to stay out of it.

Now, let me give you the history behind my approach to this issue:

Although all people groups in this country had to endure some type of discrimination, none have had to endure the deep levels of discrimination, oppression, and just downright racism that Blacks had to endure in this country. We are the only people group that, for the most part, came to this country on an involuntary basis. We were taken away from our homes, brought to this country (if we survived the trip), had our families split up via the slave auctions, and if that was not destructive enough, indoctrinated to trust no one except white people. The result of all of this was a total wipe out of African culture from our minds and spirit. Slavery came and eventually went away:however, discrimination, injustice, and racism did not go away so quickly. Meanwhile, you had other ethnic groups pouring into this country by the hundreds of thousands, finding their little corner of the world and building it up. Many of these people came with absolutely nothing except the clothes on their back and raw will and determination to make it in this new world. When these immigrants began to establish their little corner of the world, there was very little if any government funding available to assist in the Establishment of their communities and cities. You see, because their sense of culture was intact, they instinctively knew that in order for them to survive in this new world, they had to stick together and make it happen. When businesses were established, it was a community effort that eventually benefited the community as a whole. Eventually, many of these immigrants, who by this time had children and grandchildren born into this new world, established their own banks and/or financial repositories that brought further collective benefit to their communities.

While all of these ethnic groups were allowed the opportunity to grow into maturity via self-reliance, it enabled them to become competitive with the rest of the world at large. Blacks, on the other had were still heavily discouraged to grow fully like the rest of these people groups. Systematic tools such as the jim crow laws made sure we did not have the opportunity to fully blossom into the self-reliant, high competitive (competitive meaning within the global marketplace) people that we were in Africa before all of this happened. The successes of the Civil Rights movement gave a punishing blow to these old systems that were keeping Black people down. Since then, Blacks have made some great strides socially, financially, educationally, etc. But the damage had already been done.

In an effort to right the wrongs of all the mistreatment that Blacks had to endure since arriving in this country, the federal government began to tailor make various entitlement programs that were designed for (mainly Blacks) us to regain equal status in this society—so they thought. Most Blacks saw it as a well deserved payback. Programs like affirmative action’s goal was to further even the playing field for Blacks. Sounded like a very good plan, I mean, we should have got something back for the bum deal that was given to us, right?

Now here is when the dark side of entitlements began to arise. With all of this free stuff being thrown in our direction, very little is being done to ween Blacks off these hand-outs so that we can mature into a self-sufficient people just like all the other races had to go through. Since then, years and even decades have come and gone and we are still in a state where we are asking the government for more while the message of self-sufficiency is scoffed.

There are those that would say, “Well, the only way that we can get to the place of self-sufficiency is by government assistance.” To make such a claim would be to totally undermine the process of endurance that so many others had to go through. Yes, our ancestors did take a greater beating that the other people groups;however, unless you are close to 200 years old, you have not been directly touched with the atrocities of slavery. In addition, we have had many years since the civil rights era to prove to the world that we can be totally self-sufficient apart from government intervention;however, the opportunity to prove this has been blocked by more and more entitlements from the government. This even brings into question how we refer to ourselves as African-Americans. If we really had that tie to Africa, then like most Africans that come to this country, we would totally reject the notion that it is the government that is responsible to get us to the place of self sufficiency.

When you keep giving someone something for free instead of making them earn it, you lower that person’s personal drive and will to be the best that they can be. If you pass a Black student up to the next grade without using his grades as a determining factor, what you are doing is not only destroying his will, but a community. The attitude of the student would be something like:” Why should I take care of my community? That is the government’s responsibility”. Ethnic communities we built on raw determination and will. Government entitlements at this stage are doing nothing but eroding our communities away.

So should that black community in Detroit receive funding from the federal government to establish Africa Town? My ultimate answer is no. At some point we have to stop allowing government to interfere in our attempts to leave a legacy for our children. Legacies are forged in the fires of hard work, determination, and perseverance. Legacies are not legislated, but earned.

A Little History…

“The Black community of the gold rush California became one of the most culturally advanced and probably the richest black community in the country. Its wealth was placed at more than two million dollars in assets, with more than half of this located in San Francisco. This wealth acted as a precipitant of black demands for equal justice and was repeatedly used as a further argument in its favor.”

“General William Tecumseh Sherman liked to tell about his California friend, General Persifer F. Smith, who would ‘take off his cap and make a profound bow to every colored man who he met in San Francisco in 1849, because he said, they were the only gentlemen who kept their promises.’”

Excerpts taken from the book: The Black West by William Loren Katz

In Case You Forgot…

A little Monday morning humor!!

Black College Student Speaks Out Regarding R. Kelly Invite to The CBC’s Recent Conference.

I know this is slightly old news, but I thought I was pretty interesting to hear from a Black college student. Here is some excerpts of her article:

Though Kelly has not been tried, the CBC should have been conscious of the message that scheduling him to perform would send out: “If these are Black America’s best and brightest, then Blacks must think that it’s okay for grown men to have sex with underage children.” What is even more appalling is that Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry was in attendance to speak to the group the day after. What message does this send to our possible future president?

The “innocent until proven guilty” mantra is no excuse for condoning abhorrent behavior. Not only is Kelly facing child pornography charges but he has also made sexually explicit songs throughout his career and continues to do so, feeding into the stereotype of the oversexed Black man.

For an organization so concerned with helping Black youth, the CBC should really consider the message they send not only to the Black community but also to the rest of America as well. (This article is split up in two sections. What you see above are excerpts of the second part that you can only see if you register. This link with take you to the first unregistered part)

Don’t look to these self-appointed leaders to draw the line when it comes to morality (in fact, that covers politicians across the board). They are not moral leaders, nor do many of them believe in accepting personal responsibility. Many of them will align themselves with anybody that is perceived to be the victim of The Man’s system. I talked about this some time ago. Do you remember all the mess that took place in Haiti this year? The CBC completely looked over the fact that Jean-Bertrand Aristide had been raping his country for years only to come to his side and accuse the Bush administration of hijacking the country.

Speaking of not wanting to accept responsibility, don’t you hate it when this happens:

The congressman decided to turn the tables on the host, saying, in the course of a heated exchange, “the last time I checked, you were palling around with Rush Limbaugh. … I know what his philosophy is politically, and you complement each other … and I have never heard you criticize Rush Limbaugh one bit for his drug use accusations.” (full article)

This was an interview with congressman James Clyburn, D-S.C. on The O’Reilly factor. Bill asked him point blank about the R. Kelly deal and instead of accepting responsibility, he justifies bad judgment by pointing to someone else’s. We use this diversion tactic all the time in our interviews.

I dunno. I am just one of those people that believe that although what a person does behind closed doors is their business, it still has an affect on the character of that person. If the CBC did not think twice about having Kelly (a person that is facing 14 counts of child pornography) perform for a benefit to help Black youth, that move says a lot about how much they are really concerned about the well-being of our youth.

Sunday Morning Reader - Adapting to the Mix

From time to time, I will get off of the busy highway of politics and current events and write about other things that have been on my mind. I hope you enjoy the post. Have a great Sunday!!

Right before our eyes, we are seeing our country become more and more diverse. If you are a person that likes change and variety, this can be very exciting. Otherwise, you are only just backing yourself into a lonely corner of the world that is getting smaller everyday.

Today, I still chuckle when I am on the road and I hear a car nearby loudly playing the latest Jay-Z cut with the base pumping, only to find out it is some 16 year old white guy. What really makes me want to holla is when he is trying to sport his gangsta lean in his 4 x 4 pickup truck! You know what, I love it! I love it because it shows me just how far we have come in this society as it relates to race. Many African-Americans today take pride in the fact that this same scene that I described is being played out all over the world. All over Europe and even the Eastern Block countries, people have learned to appreciate the contributions that African-Americans have made to our modern-day culture.

Why is it then when we (African-Americans) see a fellow Black person in this country that may not fit the typical mold of what we deem an African-American is supposed to be, we just dismiss them as “trying to be white?”

Throughout most of my childhood years as well as through college, I have seen Black people who don’t fit in the typical mold being ridiculed by fellow African-Americans over and over again. Sadly, there have been many times that I have been a part of the crowd that ridiculed.

I guess the way that I would describe the type of African-Americans that I am talking about would be as follows: Typically, most of their friends are non-Black, may not be up on the latest in Black culture (fashion, music, etc.), may live in the suburbs, have interests that are not considered the Black thing to do, etc. Not too long ago, I was talking to a fellow Black friend of mine, and he was telling me how some of his Black friends and family members could not quite understand why he would consider taking his sons camping and even signing them up for some skiing classes. To them, he was doing something that was considered white.

As I said earlier, as the world becomes more diverse, those that choose to reject the diversity will find themselves backed into a small corner of the world. When we as African-Americans see whites embracing our culture, in a weird way, many see this as a way of having white people on a hook for all the wrong that they did to us (finally, we have something that we created and they want it!–The scales are tipping in our favor). But if a Black person was to embrace white culture, the response would almost be something like, “How could you?” (or “How dare you tip the scale the other way?”)

We as African-Americans have a lot to offer the world (and I think that has been proven). But, you know what? The world has a lot to offer us as well. Although hip-hop culture is a vehicle that bridges other cultures together, its destination ultimately leads to Black culture (i.e. Black kids in the inner city do not learn about Russian life via hip-hop. It is usually the other way around). In addition to hip-hop, other bridges should be explored. Not all African-Americans that appear to “act white” are abandoning their race. Maybe they are just adapting to the uncharted world that is around them.

African-Americans are Running out of Excuses

Already, black immigrants are challenging native-born black students for prestigious slots in Ivy League schools. In June, according to The New York Times, several prominent black academics pointed out that about two-thirds of Harvard University’s black undergraduates are black immigrants, children of immigrants or children of biracial marriages. Researchers studying black enrollment at several other exclusive schools, including Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, report that about 41 percent of their black students fit the same demographic profile.

It’s no great surprise that immigrants and their children do well. Regardless of national origin, immigrants tend to be resourceful strivers.

But black parents ought to note this, as well: The success of black immigrants strongly suggests that race is no great barrier to achievement. While many black activists contend that there is still a grave disadvantage in being the descendant of slaves, it is hard to see what that could be. (Note, too, that black West Indians are also the descendants of slaves.) Yes, our ancestors suffered. But the 21st century racist aims his hate at the color of our skin — not at where we came from or who our grandparents were.

Racism notwithstanding, if a black Antiguan can get high SAT scores, a black Atlantan should be able to earn them, too. (full article here, but you may need to register)

I usually disagree with Cynthia Tucker on most points, but this article just underscores the importance of listening to people, even if you disagree with them. She is absolutely correct in her analysis of this situation. If a Black person from another country can come here, deal with the minute racism that is here in this country, and still succeed, we have no excuse. Many of these people have left REAL situations where they have seen their villages burned down, family members tortured, etc. The closest way that we can relate to these people is to replay our stories of a white person that may have looked at us funny. It saddens me to see how we allowed increased government involvement in our lives to dumb us down to make us think that all we can be are athletes, comedians, etc.

Come on my people, ARISE!!

How to Spin a Story 101

Apparently, the NAACP seems to be having some trouble with their voting drive in North Carolina. In some counties, people have been complaining that they have been getting the calls as described below:

Complaints about unauthorized and sometimes threatening telephone calls to registered voters have poured into the Moore County Board of Elections office in recent days. The calls are being made throughout the state and prompted the North Carolina Board of Elections to issue a news release advising registrants not to divulge personal information. “It’s voter intimidation,” said county Elections Director Glenda Clendenin. “It’s scare tactics.” Callers have been telling people that their names are not on the registration books and they will not be permitted to vote in the Nov. 2 general election unless they are placed on a registration list being prepared by the callers.Clendenin said the complaints to her office have come from people who are properly registered and vote on a regular basis.

…Osborne said the caller told her that she was not registered to vote and would not be allowed to vote unless she received a permit for her name to be placed on a list. The caller asked for confirmation of her name and address but did not ask for her Social Security number. However, the caller may have been stopped before asking for a Social Security number, because Osborne raised too many questions. “I thought I had misunderstood,” she said. “I vote in every election and always have voted. I did’nt’t understand what she meant by saying ‘you can’t vote without a permit,’” Osborne said. Osborne said was also turned off by the woman’s attitude. “She sounded real ugly,” she said, adding that when she responded, “she just shouted right back at me.” (full article)

What is somewhat confusing to me is that in some of the reports that I have read, the NAACP denies that they are using phones as part of their voting drive. In other reports they say that they are (Do a search in Google under News for this story. Compare the stories and you will see what I mean).

One can easily take this story and make the following statement: “See, they (NAACP) are trying to scare and confuse people in the Black community regarding the voting process, and here is the proof…”

The NAACP leaves themselves open for that type of criticism when you have one side saying that the NAACP only goes door to door in their campaigns and the others saying that they do use phones. Are we to just assume that this was in fact a big mistake just because this is a black organization?

If we are to interject the word assume in this discussion, then can I draw the following conclusions?:

*Kerry is not leading in the polls in North Carolina, so he is using dirty tricks to confuse rural African-American voters

*The NAACP has been pressuring black voters to provide Social Security numbers over the phone and telling them that unless they provide that information, they will not be allowed to vote.

*NAACP worker gets nasty with elderly black woman over the phone because she would not provide her social security number.

It could very well be that there has been some glitch in their voting drive process. I DO NOT HAVE ALL THE FACTS TO MAKE ANY KIND OF CONCLUSION ON THIS MATTER The NAACP should take note instead of using partial truths to push African-Americans into their scampaign of voter suppression.

Weak and Insecure African-Americans Need Hand-Holding

This is what groups like the ACLU and the NAACP want African-Americans and the rest of the world to believe. Throughout this site I have mentioned that yes, I do believe the possibility of voter diversion (Let’s face it, people will do just about anything to see their candidate win). However, as an African-American, I cannot conclude as do these groups that there is a nationwide conspiracy to trick just black people into not voting.

Fearing that efforts are under way to suppress the black vote in a way that could aid Republicans, a coalition of civil-liberties groups is undertaking a massive effort to educate election officials and prospective voters.
While Bush-Cheney campaign and GOP officials say the concern is baseless, a nonpartisan effort is moving to thwart tactics perceived to benefit Republicans by targeting black voters and other minorities.
The Election Protection Coalition plans to mobilize thousands of trained poll watchers and lawyers on Nov. 2. The coalition of more than 60 groups includes the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the League of Women Voters, People for the American Way and the National Newspaper Publishers Association.(full article)

Some time ago, I mentioned that the voting problems that we saw in 2000 did not start in 2000. Because the race was so close, it only brought to light what was had already been going on for years: our use of an antiquated voting process. There are districts throughout the United States that have been using the same voting equipment for almost decades and have had their share of problems.

Among those seeking to educate, the ACLU of Tennessee is planning to make available a four-page, pocket-sized “voter-empowerment card,” explaining rights if voters find themselves stopped or challenged. (full article)

Translation: In an effort to help the dimwitted in our society, we are providing “how to” booklets to assist in voting. These people do not have the intelligence to vote by themselves, so we will hold their hands through the process.

This is very insulting, to say the least.

What is very interesting about this whole “voter suppression” thing is that these groups always focus on low-income communities, as though black people in the hood do not have the know-how to understand if they are being tricked. Have these groups ever seen voter suppression within a black middle-class community?

…RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie has proposed to Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe the creation of bipartisan teams of lawyers, with “embedded” reporters, to watch polls where either side believes problems might occur.
In a July 18 letter, Gillespie pledged that, “if any instance of voter intimidation or voter fraud by Republican supporters is brought to my attention, we will stop it immediately,” adding, “I know you will do the same if similar activities by Democratic supporters are brought to your attention.”(full article)

If Black voter suppression is the nationwide conspiracy that these groups want us to believe, then why is it they have not provided any names of those that are keeping Black folks away from the polls? In all of the literature that I have read on this topic, I have only seen the conclusions point to the Republican Party. It rarely gets any more specific than that.

Here are some excerpts from the report entitled “The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today:

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, men with clipboards bearing official-looking insignias
were reportedly dispatched to African American neighborhoods. Tom Lindenfeld, who
ran a counter-intimidation campaign for Democratic candidate John Street, said there
were 300 cars with the decals resembling such federal agencies as the DEA and ATF
and that the men were asking prospective voters for identification. In a post-election
poll of 1000 African-American voters, seven percent said they had encountered such
efforts.

Who were these men? Did anybody get a license tag number?

In Philadelphia, prior to Election Day, campaign workers walked door-to-door in
Latino neighborhoods to convince or coerce voters to cast absentee ballots. According
to the Justice Department, the workers were “allegedly misleading the voters about the
documents they were signing, or steering or intimidating the voters into voting for the
Democratic candidate.” Voters reported that they were misled about the state’s
absentee voting laws and told they could vote at home as a “new way of voting.”

Who were the people assigned to that neighborhood? Did anybody ask?

Question: If someone perpetrated a crime against you, or someone you cared about, wouldn’t you do all you could to get the identity of the criminal? Then why it that these highly financed groups seemingly are incapable to find out who exactly performed these crimes against minority voters? How can we conclude that Republicans were behind it? Did they identify themselves as Republicans?

African-Americans are way too intelligent to continue to fall for these ghost stories designed to scare us into voting a certain way.

Ghost stories belong in a book…

Is John Kerry Seen as Just a Figurehead to Blacks?

For some time now, I have been combing the Internet for any type of list that shows the reasons why African-Americans should vote for Kerry. To this day, I have still been unable to find such a list. Most of the African-Americans that are voting for Kerry this Fall, weather they want to admit it or not, to them, Kerry is nothing but a figurehead and not a true leader. Not only has Kerry failed to lay out any kind of real strategy for the African-American community, but he is continuing the tradition of exclusion by prominent Democrats by not having a significant inclusion of African-Americans part of his campaign (well, I forgot to include his wife). Yet we still manage to look over these inconsistencies and make excuses for them.

What can have so much power over the political consciousness of African-Americans that will have us refer to Bush as “the rich white guy” when Kerry clearly has more money that Bush? How can we be so dedicated to the Democratic party: a party that has never appointed the number of African-Americans currently serving in this administration’s cabinet- yet we still consider Bush to be a racist? How can we stand for a party that has contributed so very little to the same public school system that we complain about? This party also sneers at the idea of families in bad school districts having the option to homeschool their children. Our very own civil rights organizations rebukes that notion as well. Why then are African-Americans flocking to Kerry’s support? The reason is because of his stances on Affirmative Action and Civil Rights. Sadly, our culture has become so addicted to government hand-outs until we will easily look beyond character and gravitate towards the one that is giving stuff away. This is not to make a generalization that all African-Americans lack the ability to make sound political judgments. Instead, what you must realize is that if you take a people and systematically indoctrinate them through government programs that unless they view government entitlements as a necessity for success in life, it becomes very difficult to think “outside the box”. Only a massa could have this much power over an individual.

I have yet to hear a convincing argument from an African-American that totally believes in the leadership of John Kerry outside the Affirmative Action and Civil Rights issues. Just think, all Kerry had to do was to show up at the NAACP conference, say a few anti-Bush statements and leave. Not one challenge on the issues. That was enough for us to give him our vote.

So all of this brings me to this question:”Are we truly looking for someone that will lead this country as well as function as a world leader, or are we just looking for someone that can just give us stuff?”

More and more, I am hearing about other African-Americans that are leaving the plantation of the Democratic party and are moving to greener pastures. This does not mean that green pastures will always be Republican. What it does mean is that African-Americans are starting to discover the other options that are out there.

A Very Good Gesture!

Nigeria’s president paid tribute Wednesday to a colonial-era burial ground for blacks in lower Manhattan, a visit he said was intended to unite blacks from Africa and America who “have been separated in spirit for far too long.”
“We share the pains of the past and hopes of the future with our African-American brothers and sisters throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Olusegun Obasanjo, the first African head of state to officially visit the site. (full article)

Make no mistake about it, Most African-Americans see first generation Africans very differently. However, it is going to take more than a wreath to bring the two groups together. What separates us is our lack of a world view. We (African-Americans) find it very easy to identify with other Africans in oppression, but we easily drop that connection when Africans see economic success at a higher rate than most African-Americans.

If you have ever taken a trip to Europe, it is not uncommon to see African people intermingled with other European people. Did you know that one of the largest churches in Russia is headed by an African pastor?

We as African-Americans miss out on so much when we only relate to people groups that are victims of oppression (usually other dark-skinned races). Any well-traveled person can see the influences of African-American culture throughout the world. However African-American culture here in the US is greatly internalized (I know that this can be applied to Americans at large, but I am just speaking about US). Outside of the limited knowledge of Africa that we obtained from a documentary or a college course, most of us (especially our children) no absolutely nothing about European, Pacific island, Slavic, etc culture. I believe that buried deep in our minds we feel that “white culture” (regardless of origin) will always have an element that hates black people.

I think in order for us to see the dream of MLK come to pass (that we are not judged by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character), we as a people have to begin to practice this with other races. If we do not, then our lack of world view will always keep us crippled as a people.

Nothing is Free!

Do you remember the other week when Oprah gave away all of those “free” cars? I did not see the show, but I did see a picture of some of the ladies excitedly waving the keys to their new car. Well, it seems like reality has finally settled in:

That’s because while Pontiac agreed to pay for most of the local charges — things like state sales tax and licensing fees — the recipients have to report the cars as income once tax time comes.
By adding $28,500 to someone’s income, it can push them into a higher tax bracket — which means they will have to pay about 25 percent or more of the car’s value in taxes. And for a nearly $30,000 car, that probably means, for most of the recipients, shelling out $7,125 for the “free car.”
And if you live in Illinois, you can expect to tack on another 3 percent or so in state income taxes. (full article)

D’oh!!!!

Always go for the cash!

Public Vs. Private School Education

Booker Rising’s moderator quotes from a recent Fordham Institute study that finds that public school teachers are almost twice as likely as other parents to choose private schools for their children.

This is hypocritical to say the least on the behalf of the NEA. This sends a mixed message to parents that want to do the same thing, but are scorned by the NEA. Booker Rising’s moderator chimes in:

So it’s OK for teachers’ union folks to send their kids to private school, but they want to deny Shaniqua Johnson the right to do the same for her kids via school vouchers? Elitist and shameful.

(Look for “Public Schools No Place for Teachers’ Kids” . You will also find the link to the full story)

Has The Sting of Racism Become Dull For This Generation?

Racism has been a part of African-American history since we first arrived to this country. From the atrocities of slavery to the bigotry of the Jim Crow laws, we have seen all the ugly faces of racism. For African-Americans over 45, the memories of having to use the colored restroom are very real. However this is not the same for the children of this generation.

Today we live in a country that, although not racism free, is a place in which African-Americans are free to advance as high as our imagination and determination will take us. We are living the dreams of all of those that sacrificed for us in prior generations. The Black middle-class is the highest that it has ever been in this country as well as home ownership. This is just to name a few of the many achievements that we have made as a people since the civil rights era.

If you take the time to talk with the youth of today, it would not take you long to see that their knowledge of past American history is very limited. Unlike the culture of yesteryear in which it was mandated for someone in the family to pass down the history of the family to the children, we live in a culture in which many of the older generation amongst us want to be like the younger. This, of course has contributed to the breakdown of our family structure as well as the loss of our ties to our past history. All this generation is left with are old, faded black and white documentaries on public television that show black people being sprayed down with fire hoses or being bitten by dogs. For this generation, unless the documentaries are in color and have a phat beat in the background, they will not see the connection. Cross burnings, lynchings, and the KKK have become part of ancient history to this generation.

At one time, the word nigger was one of words that sparked all kinds of emotion from fear to rage in any African-American that heard it. Today’s generation has adopted this same word a cool saying, especially within the world of hip-hop. Today, it is not uncommon to see White, Asian, Hispanic, and other youths of various cultures using this word freely in their daily conversations in the presence of other African-American youths who on most occasions, will not feel any inkling to say anything. There was a time when African-American men told the world “I am a Man”, refusing to be called nigger.

With all of this being said, why is it that black leaders continue to invoke the horrors of jim crow to this generation as a means to sway them on how to vote? The truth is, many young African-Americans have no clue of the definition of jim crow. Some of them even think that jim crow was a person. As I said earlier, racism still exist here this country. You will always find someone out there that does not like Black people no matter how many times we may change our title (African-American, colored, Negro, etc.). Some of these leaders have even made the declaration that they will not let White people off the hook from the past until anything that smells like racism is removed from our society. Proclamations like these to this generation are no better than trying to sell someone the moon. If you do not know by now, life is rarely fair, no matter what color you are. This is not my attempt to marginalize racism. Instead, I am saying that we need to stop lying to our children by telling them that they can never make it in society until all that is bad has been eliminated. If African-Americans such as Frederick Douglass who not only experienced slavery first hand, but saw his mother almost whipped death by her slave-master, was able to ignite a national movement that played a large role in dismantling the system of slavery in this country, we have no excuse whatsoever to succeed.

Although few in number, there are emerging leaders within the African-American community that have moved beyond the use of racism as a tool to galvanize our community.These leaders will look at what has been accomplished versus our failures during this generation and help construct a solid path for the future of the African-American community. The self-appointed leaders in our community see this emerging trend as well. That is why they will continue to do things like use every bad interaction between the police and a black youth as a battle cry saying “See! See! Jim Crow lives!” instead of taking the time to find out that lil’ man was arrested for selling crack to more innocent black youths. Yes, there are the cases where police force does cross the line (in cases like this, the abusing cop needs to be dealt with), but we cannot allow instigating leaders to sweep us away with the assumption that racism was the blame.

The story of the boy that cried wolf is a story that we can all take note. Unsubstantiated claims of racism not only marginalize the real cases, but sooner or later, people will stop responding altogether. Even our own children.

Things That Bush Did While in Office that Benefits African-Americans

The Booker Rising website moderator has put together a list of reasons why African-Americans should vote for Bush this election. As I pointed out in an earlier posting, most African-American websites that are anti-Bush are just that–Anti-Bush. They will not do the homework to show their readers why African-Americans should vote for Kerry. Hats off to my blog-cousin in cyberspace for providing this information.

Why Black Folks Should Vote for Bush (full posting)

1. Black child poverty hit all-time low (30%), and remains near the low

2. Small Business Administration loans to black entrepreneurs up 75%

3. Black homeownership rate at all-time high (49.3%)

4. increased funds to historically black colleges 30%

5. increased AIDS in Africa funds

6. increased funds for diabetes research (diabetes disproportionately affects blacks)

7. faith-based initiative provides grants to community-based churches to run social services

8. expanded Africa Growth and Opportunity Act to increase African goods access to U.S. consumer market

9. More black appointed to Cabinet positions - many in non-traditional roles - than any president in U.S. history

10. school vouchers options in No Child Left Behind legislation (last Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies survey shows 57% of blacks support school vouchers)

11. eliminated marriage penalty tax (which disproportionately affected married blacks because each spouse was likelier to earn similar income)

Sen. Kerry is currently polling 90% of the black vote, Bush is polling 10% (but 18% of the black independent vote, where we reside). If Sen. Kerry is 90% better for black folks, then his supporters should easily come up with a much longer list.

John Kerry’s Economic Plan for the African-American Community

I saw this ad in my local phone book (No photoshop doctoring here). I can hear someone saying right now: “Man, Massa would only give me $20 for my stereo…!”

No, I was not looking for a pawn shop.

More Poison from Our Own Cabinet - A Black Media Watch

Not too long ago, I just happened upon the website www.slambush.net. In short, this is a contest on who can write the best anti-Bush rap. It has drawn such big names as Chuck D, Davey D, and others.

Now, I have no problem with people coming together to rally behind their favorite candidate. But when someone takes the act of voting and turn it into a “black versus white” issue, I have a problem with that. This whole website takes the whole upcoming election and waters it down to an issue of race (all white people vote for Bush–Notice I did not finish this sentence by saying “and all blacks vote for Kerry…I will get to that later). It also plays the class card as well. Below, I have took some excerpts from this website just to give you an idea:

For starters, the whole page begins with the following statement:

“Know your enemy.”

The divisiveness begins!

Bush’s backers are almost exclusively white. In 2000, 95% of Bush’s total votes came from white voters.

>This paints a picture that Bush only represents white people. Bush also carried a good percentage of the Latino vote as well as other races.

And Bush knows exactly who his supporters are. Maybe that’s why he’s the first president since Herbert Hoover to never once sit down and talk with the NAACP.

>Black people deserve a lot more than just a photo-op with a president. The NAACP wants to consider themselves the “gatekeeper for black America.” This organization has proven over and over again that it does not represent African-Americans. What keeps this organization in existence is their ability to scare people to believe that the days of Jim Crow are right around the corner.

Clinton spoke with the NAACP. How far did that get African-Americans?

How’s this for adding insult to injury? In 2003, Bush chose Martin Luther King Jr. Day to announce his opposition to University of Michigan’s affirmative action policy, a policy the conservative supreme court eventually upheld.

>Affirmative Action was a program that brought us as a nation closer to the fulfillment of MLK’s dream: That we would not be judge by the color of our skin, but the content of our character. Affirmative action forces the system to grant us opportunities based on the color of our skin and makes character secondary.

The Bush administration is here to serve the wealthy — period. Thanks to Bush’s tax cuts the richest top 1% of Americans save more than $30,000 a year while the poorest 31% save nothing at all.

>6% of 300,000 is a whole lot more than 6% of 30,000. Somebody please give them a calculator.

Anyway, it just goes on and on with the class-ism/racism crap. If you want to read even more of this propaganda, check out one of the newest 527’s: Breakbushoff.com.

If you either read, listen to, or watch black media these days, it is quite clear who these individuals/groups do not want in office. If you need a refresher on this fact, just go to bet.com and you will see subjective reporting in action. How is it then that black media, which prides itself in telling it like it is, and being the voice of African-Americans fall short of listing all of the reasons that African-Americans should vote for John Kerry? These individuals/groups have no problem of listing hundreds of reasons why Bush should not be re-elected, but in many cases fall short of just giving Kerry a clear endorsement.

I believe this “glitch” in our political consciousness stems from something that has plagued the African-American community for years: our fear of taking responsibility. Many of these individuals/groups know that by fully endorsing Kerry would mean that they would have to take some of the heat from those that adhere to their recommendations if Kerry was to forget the demands of African-Americans once he took office. By not presenting African-Americans with a full picture of who Kerry is, and why should he be president only show the fact that many in our own media are not convinced that he is a strong leader outside of his stances on affirmative action and civil rights. Also, by not fully endorsing Kerry places these individuals/groups a safe distance from Kerry where they are in a prime position to blow the racism whistle on him just in case he does not come through for Blacks–ensuring their reason for existence.

It is time that black media stop hiding behind the “objective” clause while at the same time trashing one whole side of the issues. Give us all the facts on the issues.

Tell it like it is!

I mentioned some time ago that in the last election, I voted for Al Gore. After the events of 9/11, I was very glad that he was not in office. In my opinion, Bush has proven himself to be a strong leader during these last 4 years. I consider myself a moderate-conservative because I am not completely sold on the Republican party. I would like to see this country return to the multi-party system. That way, We the People could have more choices. But until then, The Black Informant endorses Bush.

UPDATE: The blog Tutakai issued this following challenge:

So here’s the challenge: email a list of what Sen. Kerry has done to promote black progress, and we’ll put up the list next Monday. Don’t send us an anti-Bush list, as that doesn’t tell us why we should vote for Sen. Kerry and why he’s the better guy.

Send the list to his site, and he will post it!