January 21, 2013


Grateful


I can't think of a better way to express how pleased I am that the first black President is taking the oath of office on the day designated by the Federal Government in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than by posting this photograph:

Dare to dream!

January 10, 2012

View from the Bottom

Three days ago GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney used a poor choice of words when talking about people's right to change service providers when they are unhappy with the service, in this case insurance.

Those words, of course, were, "I like to fire people..." The news has been on this like a rat in a garbage dump ever since, as have Romney's competitors. Rick Perry even created a ringtone of Romney saying over and over, "I like to fire people. I like to fire people. I like to fire people." I have to admit that I found that amusing.

But enough already. I'm tired of all this righteous indignation over remarks that were largely taken out of context, expressed in an unfortunate manner. Romney stepped in it. So what.

In contrast, Newt Gingrich stated last week that "If the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." Likewise, Rick Santorum stated, "I do not want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money, I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money." Then he denied that he used the word "black" when it was clearly spoken on the audiotape.

The fact that Romney's remarks got so much attention when blatantly racist remarks by Gingrich and Santorum largely go unchecked sends a distinct message about where the priorities lie...and it ain't pretty. 

October 8, 2011

The Week in Review

Chris Christie is not running for President, and neither (gasp!) is Sarah Palin.  It's looking more and more likely that the eventual Republican nominee will likely be one of the currently declared candidates.  Good news for the Democrats, in my opinion.  No one has really caught fire.

Rick Perry's hunting grounds continue to be discussed.  I personally found it ironic that Herman Cain spoke out against it.  I mean, Godfather Pizza is not exactly an ethnically sensitive name, is it?

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth passed away at the ripe old age of 89.  This in itself is miraculous for a man who had more physical attacks directed at him than anyone else in the Civil Rights Movement, including a bomb that went off in his bedroom over 50 years ago, at which time his mattress curved around him and saved his life.  He spoke his mind and was rarely wrong.  Some will say it wasn't fair that Rev. Shuttlesworth's death was overshadowed by that of Steve Jobs a few hours later, but the reverend wasn't about the fame game.  Even during his accomplishments as a pivotal figure in the movement, he took a back seat to MLK, Abernathy, and others.  But he outlived them all, surviving long enough to become a revered figure in Birmingham, the city once so hostile to him.  The city renamed its airport Birmingham-Shuttlesworth in 2008.  He lived long enough to see Barack Obama become the first black President the same year.  Fred Shuttlesworth's efforts for black Americans to live their lives with dignity and the rights automatically granted to other Americans will never be forgotten.

Steve Jobs' life was 33 years shorter than that of Rev. Shuttlesworth, but Jobs crammed many accomplishments into the 56 years he was given.  He remained active in technology development while living with the pancreatic cancer that eventually killed him.  Like the reverend, Jobs could be obstinate and argumentative..and like the reverend, he got the job done.  This child given up for adoption at birth, who later dropped out of college, will go down in history as an innovator in the vein of old-time greats Edison and Ford.

Two losses for America. Two gains for Democrats.  Let time march on...

September 18, 2011

Roll Film

As many of you know, I'm fond of old movies. Part of the reason for this is because I've already seen a good number of them and don't feel as if I have to give them my full attention. I know when parts are coming that I don't care to see...usually related to how African-Americans are depicted.

Filmmakers have done black Americans a great disservice by featuring the caricatures of the slow-witted, cowardly (if men), no-sacrifice-is-too-great black servants. Actors like Willie Best (often billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat") and Butterfly McQueen specialized in these types of roles. I never fail to cringe (and often change the channel) when actress Juanita Moore tells Lana Turner in the 1959 version of Imitation of Life, "Just let me do for you." (In other words, she'll work for no pay.) On the other hand, I cheer at scenes like the one in Christmas in Connecticut (1945) where restaurant owner S.Z. Sakall asks one of his black waiters about the meaning of the word "catastrophe" and the waiter tells him in an intelligent manner...or that Clark Gable/Jean Harlow movie I saw from the 1930s in which Gable pleads with a black minister to marry him and Harlow (the minister, at first reluctant, eventually agrees)...or how in Cass Timberlane (1947), Spencer Tracy calls his maid, a woman clearly older than he is, not by her first name, but "Mrs. [Surname]."

I've always admired Hattie McDaniel for playing her roles with such honesty and feistiness; only once did I see her insisting on taking care of a family for free (yuck). Clarence Muse also always appeared dignified, and then there was foxy Theresa Harris, who played Barbara Stanwyck's best friend in Baby Face (1932), even though she was also her maid.

The other day I saw a movie I hadn't seen in many years...1970s star-studded Airport. It's been 41 years now since this film was released, but one thing that stood out to me was how well black Americans were represented.  Sure, they showed black skycaps, but the role of head of security at the large Midwestern facility, with many men working under him, was played a black man, the same actor who would portray Alderman Fred C. Davis on Good Times a few years later.  Among the passengers on the Rome-bound flight were actors playing an Army officer and a doctor, respectively.  The army man was shown offering assistance, and the doctor was shown wearing his stethescope and and attending to the injured.

This might not seem like a big deal to modern audiences, but for me, familiar with the stereotypical "Yassir" dialogue of older movies, it represented a real turning point, possibly the first movie with so many positive African-American images.

See you at the movies.

Hail to the Chief

No words necessary (but "Yowsah!" comes to mind . . . .)

They used to ask, "Paper or plastic," so why do they just ask "Credit?" now???

Now, y'all have heard me complain about retail clerks who always seem to think that I'm paying by credit rather than debit. (I know this because they say, "Credit?" instead of "Credit or debit?") This weekend I was in the post office (Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin) and distinctly heard the clerk ask the gentleman in front of me, "Is this a debit card?" to which he replied, "Yes." I was next in line, selected my postage and handed the clerk my card. The next thing I knew she was handing me a credit card slip to sign. I asked her why I had to sign for a debit purchase. She sputtered a bit and rather sheepishly said, "I ran it as a credit card." I reminded her that she'd asked the previous customer if he was paying by debit, but yet she merely assumed that I was paying by credit. She then gave me the lame excuse that my card didn't look like a credit card.

A couple of things to point out: 1) My card has the word "debit" printed on the lower right corner, just like any other debit card. 2) My purchase was $4.22. And the real shocker, 3) Both the clerk and the customer before me were white.

I faxed a letter of complaint to the manager on Monday. I don't give a hoot if this clerk believes that black people are so poor they have to charge $4.22 worth of postage, but I expect to be treated with the same respect as anybody else. This was the most blatant display I've seen yet, where a clerk actually presumed I was paying with credit and ran the card that way without even asking.

The manager called me that same afternoon to apologize, give me that spiel about how she was certain race didn't enter into it (yeah, right), and assured me that she would reiterate to her clerks that they are not to make any assumptions or presumptions, but are to clarify with the customer about the method of payment.

Does anyone else besides me run into this?

I'll Bet She'd Own Slaves if She Could

When Geraldine Ferraro was plucked from obscure New York congresswoman back in 1984 to run with Walter Mondale on his Presidential ticket, much was made of her humble beginnings as the daughter of Italian immigrants. She was presented to the public as an ordinary Queens housewife who ran for Congress but was soon revealed to be a millionaire. She countered the negative publicity arising from the duplicity by stressing how hard she worked to get where she is, etc.

It's remarkable how certain people - and I'm not going to mention what people - have a sense of entitlement, whether born into wealth or attain it later in life, and that these same people look at another group of people and see them solely as products of Affirmative Action.

You aren't being attacked because you're white, Dummy. You're being attacked because you expressed a belief that black people can't possibly get ahead through hard work, but only because of the breaks they receive. And you're too stupid to realize how utterly asinine such a belief that is.

The fact that so many other Americans look at Barack Obama and see someone they feel should be helping them with their luggage at the airport, or see Michelle Obama - an accomplished attorney in her own right - as someone who should be cleaning their toilets, makes the votes he is winning that much more remarkable.

Things that make you go, "Hmmmmmm"



I'm on the subscriber list of Black Books Promo (am still not sure how I got there, but I'm not complaining) and received an e-mail from them about a suspense book by a white author, Lisa Jackson. I'm rather pleased that this author recognizes that African-Americans buy a lot of books and is reaching out to the buying public in a colorblind manner. I wish her success . . . or, since it says right on her book cover that she is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, additional success.

I also noticed that her book cover does not show characters, but a rather murky depiction of what looks like a casket underwater, and this made me wonder about marketing. Most books penned by black authors show black faces (or, keeping with the recent trend, black arms, legs, ankles and feet.) I did a little research and noticed some recently or soon-to-be-released books and find that they have no identifiable racial identity on their covers. Do the bookstores have a list of author names that should go in the so-called African-American section? Or do they go strictly by what they see on the covers? Or do they peek at the author photo to make this determination?

Hmmmmm.

The latest case of Foot-in-Mouth

Tiger Woods graciously accepted Kelly Tilghman's apology for her thoughtless back-alley-lynching remark. Personally, I think he did the right thing. I truly don't think she spoke with any malice, or even with "blind" racism (like the guy who said blacks lacked buoyancy to be good swimmers, who did not realize how racist this belief was). I think she simply had no idea of the substance of her words, that thousands of blacks have lost their lives this way in nearly 400 years.

In my opinion, the problem here is a lack of understanding on the part of many whites about the plight of blacks in North America, South America, and the Caribbean. The sense of entitlement that so many whites have from birth has numbed them to the difficulties of other minorities, and they hold beliefs that simply aren't true. During the O.J. Simpson trial, people were posting on the Internet that black people are the only ones who can get a "free" college education through the United Negro College Fund (I hope I enlightened a few folks by posting that the fund helps keep tuition costs down, but it is by no means free.)

The recent (and ridiculous) comparisons of Barack Obama to John F. Kennedy have people longing for what they remember as the "good old days." Any black person can tell you that the early 1960s was a lousy time.

Then there's Presidential candidate Mitt Romney addressing concerns that his Church of Latter Day Saints (commonly known as Mormonism) religion might cost him the nomination. "That's not the American way," he declared.

Horseshit. Our country was built on a foundation of racism. Why is it that so few whites are willing to admit that? The first people who came here were escaping persecution, but promptly exercised their perceived "superiority" over the Indians and tried to enslave them. All those old TV westerns have at least one episode in which the Americans refer to the Indians as "savages." Africans, of course, were imported by the hundreds to work in households in the North and on plantations in the South and the Caribbean and parts of South America, most notably Brazil. Their descendants remain the most reviled and vilified of all the world's people. Many other ethnic and religious groups (mostly those olive-complexioned or darker, but even the Irish were openly discriminated against) experienced blatant bigotry, but after a generation or two they in turn were looking down on new immigrants. Yes, Mitt, it is the American way.

It sounds to me like some educating is needed enlighten today's Americans to the indignities suffered by generations of people, and that words like "lynch him" are not to be tossed around casually. I just wish I had a solution of how to go about doing it.

I don't think that the inevitable calls for firing this woman from Rev. Sharpton and others is going to do a damn thing about achieving resolution.

Politics as Usual

The folks who are in danger of losing their homes will be getting their rates frozen, provided they are up to date on their payments.

This has been in the news for over a year now, but they wait until now to do anything about it? My heart goes out to all the people who lost homes last year and earlier this year. These people got screwed, just like the people of Oklahoma City got screwed. The reasons are different (politics and racism). The bottom line is the same.

Nobody cares about people being blown to bits if it was done by white boys (but if it's Muslims doing the deed, the victims' families get millions, national fundraisers are held, the whole nine yards). Nobody cares about the thousands of people literally losing the roofs over their heads unless it's close to an election year so the party in power can take credit and stand up, pound their chests, and say, "Vote for us! We saved your house!" They'd better hope that the people on the verge of losing their houses outnumber the people who've already lost theirs.

I am happy for those whose homes will be saved, but saddened for those for whom this comes too late. And my gut tells me they won't take the politicizing of their personal tragedies for political gain without expressing just how they feel.

"I will never say anything in my lifetime . . .

. . . that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me," Don Imus told his audience (both live and in the radiosphere) as he began his first broadcast at his new home, WABC-AM. "And no one else will say anything on my program that will make anyone think I did not deserve a second chance."

It's one thing to say that you'll keep your own mouth zipped, but it's something else to speak for other folks. Considering that the black dude who first referred to the women's basketball team as "hard-core hos" before Imus took the mantel and made his own slur remains at Imus' side, well, I just hope he was listening.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe him. He sounds chastened, humbled, and like he's displaying the sensitivity a man of his years should have.

So don't let me down, Big Mouth.

All Men (and Women) are Prosecuted Equally

Maybe they should amend the Constitution. Because, from where I sit, black males have a better chance of serving time than anybody. Did anyone mention jail time when Marion Jones recently confessed to using steroids? What about all the other athletes?

But, be they Georgia or Louisiana teenagers or O.J. Simpson (I'm just waiting for him to get the max), the legal system seems to be out to get black males.

Follow-Up on Latest Foot-in-Mouth Case

Dr. James D. Watson, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist, has announced his retirement from the Chancellor position, as well as his seat on the board of directors, of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York.

The retirement comes in the wake of an uproar stemming from Dr. Watson's remarks that people of African descent are not as intelligent as those of European descent, and following his suspension from the laboratory "until further notice" (translation: until his arm was twisted to the point where he cried out, "All right, I'll retire!")

Putting him out to pasture is certainly the ending I would have chosen.

Is This Shit Still Going On?

The Associated Press reports that a recent promotion for a Detroit club, "Light Skinned Women & all Libras" in Detroit that was to allow all-night free admission to black women with fair or light skin was canceled after the promoter received "dozens" of complaints.

The promoter, one Ulysses Barnes, was quoted as saying "I thought it was brilliant." He also described it as "a party thing." Barnes has also canned the idea of "sexy chocolate" and "sexy caramel" promotions.

He'd better stick to astrological signs and leave the physical characteristics out of it.

The Latest Case of Foot-in-Mouth Disease, or "So that's what he really thinks"

James D. Watson, one of multiple recipients of the 1962 Nobel Prize for deciphering the double-helix of DNA, was quoted as saying, “there are many people of color who are very talented,” he is “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa.”

“All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours — whereas all the testing says not really,” The Times of London quoted him as saying.

Dr. Watson gave a statement to the press in which he said, “I cannot understand how I could have said what I am quoted as having said. There is no scientific basis for such a belief.” But the good doctor's publicist, when asked about the comment, merely replied, “You have the statement,” she said. “That’s it, I am afraid.”

That's the first clue about the validity of the familiar "I was misquoted" claim, Sherlock.

Dr. Watson has been suspended from his post as chancellor at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, “pending further deliberation.” A statement on behalf of the research facility stated that their trustees, administration and faculty “vehemently disagree” with the sentiments of Dr. Watson.

I think some white people (the key word there is some) out there feel threatened. Why else would they try so hard to prove to the world, to the point of trying to prove scientifically, that they have greater intelligence than anyone else? This theory has been disproven time and time again, yet these so-called scientists just keep going . . . just like the Energizer fucking bunny.

Personally, I think this man should retire and go sit in a rocking chair somewhere.

They Must Think We've Been Sniffing Our Sharpies To Fall For This Excuse

From the New York Daily News:

"Top republican presidential candidates yesterday blamed scheduling problems - not a lack of regard for black voters - for their decision to blow off a television debate this month.

Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney have all declined to participate in a Sept. 27 debate at Morgan State University, a historically black college in Maryland. Latecomer Fred Thompson still hasn't said yes or no to the debate, which will highlight second-tier GOP hopefuls.

The snubs say the candidates don't care about making a broad appeal to minority voters, charged debate moderator Tavis Smiley, who was slated to go on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" to make his case. "No one should be elected President of this country in 2008 if they think that along the way they can ignore people of color," Smiley was quoted as saying this week.

Giuliani had a rocky relationship with the African-American community while mayor. But spokeswoman Maria Comella said the issue was scheduling. "Our campaign has had to make tough decisions, based on the accelerated schedule and fund-raising demands, about the number [of debates] we can realistically participate in," she said.

The Romney and McCain campaigns also blamed scheduling. Team Romney forwarded a list of black Florida supporters to illustrate minority backing, and McCain spokesman Brian Rogers pointed out that McCain was "the only [Republican] candidate to RSVP to the Univision debate down in Miami, which got axed."

Democratic candidates participated in a debate on the Spanish-language TV network last Sunday and a Smiley-moderated debate on PBS over the summer.

Lorin Crenshaw of Republicans for Black Empowerment, a 1,000-member group that promotes "conservative solutions to the black community's concerns," called the candidates' decisions "insulting - and it's not helpful to our cause."

Crenshaw, who currently favors Thompson, said having top candidates ignore the event just adds to a sense that it's a waste of time trying to attract minorities to the GOP."

I thought it was silly to hold these debates so early in the game, but with caucases and primaries moved up to January, in many cases, I guess things do need to heat up. I've always suspect that a whole lot of black parents will be crying over the bodies of their murdered sons if Guiliani gets in (someone aptly described his management style as "ruthless.") I can't say it surprises me that Romney declined - does he really think he'll get any black votes? McCain, although I think his chances of becoming President are about the same as a palmetto bug living to be 30, kind of surprised me by skipping the event. Smiley has said that empty podiums will be set up with the names of the absent candidates, as well as those who did agree to participate. I personally think that will make one hell of a statement.

The debate is next Thursday and will be broadcast on PBS.

I'm Pissed

I'm a reasonably easygoing person, but I swear, if one more cashier says to me, "Credit?" when I'm swiping my debit card I think I'm going to go off.

I bought some liquor the other week at a discount mart where products cost less when they are paid for with cash. The cashier automatically charged me the higher price, then had the nerve to complain about having to re-ring when he saw the cash in my hand. I told him if he asked instead of presuming, he'd save himself -- and me, too -- some time.

Black cashiers, I notice, will either ask the correct, "Debit or credit?" or merely wait and see what their register screen tells them. It's just the non-black ones who tend to presume I'm paying with credit (even if I'm buying $6 worth of groceries or $4 worth of stamps at the post office). This makes me wonder, do they make this same assumption for everybody? (I'm also suspicious of cashiers who ask to see my ID and am just waiting to catch someone asking me for this but not the white person behind me so I can file a seven-digit discrimination suit.)

My gut tells me this question is reserved for just some people, and that I've Been Profiled.

Hillary shines, Bonds hits it

I watched the Democratic candidates debate last night, and all I can say is, "Damn, Hillary's good." Not once did she trip over her own tongue. To me she stood taller than the six men she was debating. Talk about grace under pressure.

Several of the candidates sidestepped questions asked of them, with no worse example than Joseph Biden. When asked about protection of miners by the widow of a man who perished in the Sago mine last year, he acknowledged that he, too, knew the pain of losing a spouse, but then went off topic, addressing Iraq. He didn't even answer the poor woman's question.

Barack Obama also did a little sidestepping. I personally didn't appreciate the moderator's (Keith Olbermann) asking Barack Obama if he would receive Barry Bonds at the White House if he were President, then, after Barack's response, prompted, "Was that a yes?" Olbermann did not remind Joe Biden that he hadn't addressed the question asked of him (which was a hell of a lot more serious). Asking about honoring Barry Bonds struck me right off as a question reserved for Barack because of his race. I thought it was inappropriate.

Speaking of Barry Bonds, he hit home run #756 last night in San Francisco. I haven't really followed this controversy, not being a baseball fan, but I always wondered, if he failed a steroid test why not just disqualify him? But from what I've read, Barry never failed a steroid test. So why isn't he left alone? Why all the speculation and doubt surrounding him?

I'm curious to see how much controversy will surround the next guy to approach the new record . . . especially if he's white and never failed a steroid test.

But another curiosity will be settled much sooner than that. Barack Obama is not the resident of the White House, making Olbermann's question moot. But will Barry be invited to the White House by its current occupant?