Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The US Police State No Longer A Secret


From The Ramparts


"Ethnic and religious 'profiling' is rife in all transport centers (airports, bus and train stations and on the highways). Mosques, Islamic charities and foundations are under constant surveillance and subject to raids, entrapment, arrests, and even Israeli-style 'targeted' assassinations... The second core group, targeted by the police state, includes African Americans, Hispanics and immigration rights activists (numbering in the millions). They are subject to massive arbitrary sweeps, round-ups and unlimited detention without trial as well as mass indiscriminate deportations." http://rense.com/general95/riseofthepolicestate.html

During the Civil Rights and Black Power movements the psychopathic oligarchy that rules this country decided to crack down on all dissent. Following the elites' directives, the US government unleashed illegal, wide scale covert insurgency programs called COINTELPRO, Operation CHAOS, Project Merrimac and numerous others designed to infiltrate, undermine and destroy dissent and opposition to US racist domestic and imperialistic foreign policies. The ruling elites were determined to maintain and expand their empire by eliminating all opposition to their global war machine and domestic colonialism.

One of the ideological conceptualizations of militant activists during the '60's and '70's was the African-American community was a colonized area kept in subjugation by institutionalized racist police, judicial and terrorist organizations operating on behalf of a race, color and class based system. They equated urban ghettos with concentration camps similar to the oppression on Native American reservations. They postulated rural blacks in the South and Mid-West were bond to a vicious and stultifying caste system that need to be exposed and broken. They pointed to this country's long history of surveillance, monitoring, terrorism and oppression of blacks that was still going on in the '60's and '70's.

As the Civil Rights movement morphed into a broader more global movement embracing the liberation struggles of people of color around the world, the US government moved to protect their corporate masters by intensifying its attacks on the leadership of grass roots organizations of all stripes and persuasions. The assassinations of Medgar Evers NAACP, Malcolm X (EL Hajj Malik El Shabazz) Organization of Afro-American Unity, Martin Luther King Jr. SCLC, Fred Hampton The Black Panther Party and the infiltration of organizations like the Nation of Islam coupled with the systemic framing, slandering, persecution, round up and killing of not only blacks but members of La Raza Unida, The American Indian Movement, radical labor organizations, the anti-war and environmental movements signaled the commitment of the elites and their minions to squash all dissent.
This was the beginning of the so called "culture wars" that are still raging today. The culture wars are really proxy fights by the fascist establishment using their media, institutions and personalities to demonize and rail against anyone who doesn't go for their okey-doke. This is why the system moved so deliberately and thoroughly to crush the Black Liberation and Afrocentric movements. Independent thought is a no no in the eyes of the ruling elites. You believe what they say or else!

On a more hard core level the US government funded and provided local police with advanced weaponry and technology for use against dissidents who lashed out against their oppression and terror. The governments "wars" on crime, drugs and terror are disingenuous euphemisms for the elites' wholesale attack on us using crime, drugs, Oklahoma City, Waco and 9-11 as a pretext. After all its an irrefutable fact the US CIA runs the global drug trade and the big Wall Street banks launder the money. This drug money is the source of much of their "black ops" budget. So its all a scam designed to facilitate a police state environment.

Abuses of the state became so widespread, rampant and egregious against white folks in the '70's the US Congress was forced to investigate. Of the two major Senate investigations into these abuses one (the Rockefeller Report) was a total sham and white wash. The other (The Church Committee Report) was far more thorough and found the FBI and CIA had broken and circumvented federal state and local laws and violated the rights of countless Americans. Senator Church was an early opponent of the Vietnam War so he raised the ire of the Military-Industrial complex. In response, the Right Wingers and CIA surreptitiously funded opposition to Senator Frank Church's bid for reelection in 1981 and he was narrowly defeated.

The police state is much more pervasive today than during the days of COINTELPRO which is one reason for the passivity and numbness towards it. "Active support for the police state peaked during the first 5 years post- 9/11 and subsequently ebbed as the Wall Street-induced economic crisis, loss of employment and the failures of government policy propelled concerns about the economy far ahead of support for the police state. Nevertheless, at least one-third of the electorate still supports the police state, 'right or wrong'. They firmly believe that the police state protects their 'security'; that suspects, arrestees, and others under watch 'must have been doing something illegal'. The most ardent backers of the police state are found among the rabid anti-immigrant groups who support arbitrary round-ups, mass deportations and the expansion of police powers at the expense of constitutional guarantees.
The third possible motive for acquiescence in the police state is ignorance: those millions of US citizens who are not aware of the size, scope and activities of the police state. Their practical behavior speaks to the notion that 'since I am not directly affected it must not exist'. Embedded in everyday life, making a living, enjoying leisure time, entertainment, sports, family, neighborhoods and concerned only about household budgets … This mass is so embedded in their personal 'micro-world' that it considers the macro-economic and political issues raised by the police state as 'distant', outside of their experience or interest." The Rise of The Police State http://rense.com/general95/riseofthepolicestate.html

Unlike the '60 and '70's ,today there is no widespread massive social opposition to US foreign and domestic policies. COINTELPRO is still operational only in the guise of the USAPATRIOT ACT and other post 9-11 police state legislation. The police state quickly smashed the Occupy Movement once it gained momentum and began to raise awareness of the direct responsibility of the banks and corporations in the decline of our standard of living and the escalation of economic apartheid in the US.

Anyone who raises the issue of class warfare in the US or who publicly stands up of the 99% gets demonized by the media and the system. If you doubt what I'm saying take a deeper look at what happened to Elliott Spitzer, John Edwards, Lou Dobbs (who has since resurfaced on Fox TV) and Rob Blagojevich. Each one of these white men was going along just fine in life within the system until they offended Wall Street in one way or another. Contrast their situations with the CEOs of the giant banks or with Jon Corzine who should be languishing in a federal prison; but nooo, they're free as birds living high on the hog thanks to this totally corrupt system.

The Big Brother police state is alive and well in 2012 and it will become more pervasive unless we take a stand to fight the powers that be.


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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Chicago, Colorado and Compton: Do Movies or Rap Music Make Murderers?

by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott

But still my story ain't over cause I got one more to tell/And the people of Colorado, they know it well"
Jus Lyke Compton-DJ Quik



During a recent debate on a Chicago radio station, community activist ,Kwabena Rasuli got into a heated argument with Hip Hop artist, Krazy Keith , blaming his new song , "Murda 4 Fun" for the rising murder rate in his the city this Summer. Just like a game of chess, for every point Kwabena raised about rap music and violence, Keith hit him with a counter point defending his music as only entertainment. After an hour of arguing , Kwabena made his power move and pulled out a long list of murder statistics . But Keith countered with "at least we don't dress up like comic book villains and murder people in movie theaters!"

Checkmate.


According to Hip Hop apologists, rap music gets , unfairly , blamed for every social ill in America , whether it be drug abuse, teenage pregnancy or violence. And you can bet 20 years from now they are going to use the recent , tragic murder of moviegoers at the "Dark Knight Rises" showing in Aurora, Colorado by some kook dressed up like "The Joker" as part of their defense of the violent lyrics that plague much of commercial Hip Hop

For years, we have heard the excuse from rappers "ya'll don't say nuthin' when "The Terminator "and 'Rambo' kill a hundred people in their movies..." Yeah, but I don't recall Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone shootin; at each other across a strip club parking lot, either. But I get the point.

Truth is, in some ways they are are right. But in other ways, they are dead wrong.,

Since The Sugar Hill Gang dropped "Rappers Delight" 30 years ago, America has had a love/hate relationship with rap music. They love the songs, they just hate the singers. Even when a Hip Hop artist amasses a fortune and moves from Harlem to the Hamptons, some still feel "you can take the boy out the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out the boy."

Even before the first gangsta rap cd was made, the threat of potential violence hampered many of the first Hip Hop tours. In many cities, the media acted like one of the Fat Boys was gonna jump off stage and beat some kid, unmercifully, for his hot dog. Sometimes the violence did happen. Most of the time it didn't.

Some may, also, remember a time when the threat of violence prevented the first rap movies from being seen at any theaters outside of "urban" areas. As if Shelia E's wack performance of "Hollyrock" in "Krush Groove" was gonna make outraged Hip Hop fans start a riot at the concession stand. Despite the hype of the era, I was able to watch "The Dis-orderlies" and enjoy my popcorn just fine.

It wasn't until the 90's when hood flicks became cross- over blockbusters and movies like Boys in the Hood started peekin' middle America's fascination with gang violence in Compton that the films started playing in Peoria.
Despite the contradictions between the public perception of violence in movies and murda music that some Hip Hop fans attempt to expose, there is a difference.

First, there aren't thousands of people across the country walkin' the streets dressed like Dr. Doom but you can go to any 'hood in the USA and see kids lookin' like clones of their favorite rappers with artist "Cash Out " braggin' about "ridin' around with that nina (nine millimeter) " blastin' thru their Beats by Dre headphones.

Secondly, we still live in a world where the young Black male is the usual suspect. Just ask the brotha sitting on death row because of a case of "they-all-look- a-like mistaken identity." Or the high school honor roll student who gets trailed by a gang of rent-a -cops as soon as he enters the food court at the mall. In many cases the Hip Hop image has made it easier for young Black men to be guilty until proven innocent.

Also, many people in this country follow the classic line from The Godfather " they're animals anyway so let them lose their souls." So, while shootings at Columbine or Virginia Tech are forever mourned as tragedies, seven year old girls getting shot on the streets of Chi-Town are written off as "that's just the way those people get down." There is a big difference between random acts of violence and children gettin' caught up in drive by's being viewed as a normal everyday thing.

Back in '92 DJ Quik asked on "Just Lyke Compton," "how could a bunch of suckas in a town like this have such a big influence on brothas so far away?" In retrospect the song seems like a spooky premonition of how gangsta rap was going to impact the world.
But since 99% of the violence in rap music is Black on Black, few folks outside the 'hood seem to care. Out of site; out of mind.
If there is any common denominator between rap music and the murders in Aurora it would be that the movies' maker Warner Brothers also makes Hip Hop music. While the company cannot control the actions of very sicko with a gun who decides to shoot up a theatre showing one of their movie they can control the music they chose to release. If Warner Brothers can cancel Dark Night movie premiers in countries around the world because of the Colorado tragedy, then they can put a moratorium on the music that promotes the Black on Black violence happening in Chicago and every 'hood in America.
A few years back, Wyclef Jean said on "The Industry," "Black on Black crime needs to stop/ya'll can't blame it on Hip Hop"
Sometimes we can't ,Clef. Sometimes we can....

TRUTH Minista Paul Scott 's weekly column is "This Ain't Hip Hop" a column for intelligent Hip Hop headz. He can be reached info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 308-4233 His website is NoWarningShotsFired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista



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Progressives have Hobbled the Democratic Party

by Michael Phillips

Progressives have hobbled the Democratic Party and have played a big role in its drift to conservatism. Yes all the progressive allies of the Democratic Party, such as Move-on, the unions, the peace movements, the NAACP, the ACLU, environmental groups, human and civil rights groups, civil liberties groups….you name it, are all guilty.
This realization came to me after I attended a Democratic club meeting recently. I have been a member of this club for over thirty years. It has the reputation of being one of the most progressive Democratic clubs in the nation. But not anymore. I could barely endure the boring meeting. With all the very serious issues out there which threaten our very democracy, they serve up pablum. Compared to what this club used to be, it was a sad spectacle. Nowadays, crucial progressive issues are shunned and even when I try to raise some of these issues, even in my most always non-confrontational respectful manner, I detect discomfort among the members and some even try to shut me up. Now, when wishy-washy Democratic leaders are guests, instead of calling them to account and having a real discussion, they are mollycoddled. I looked around at my fellow members. What has happened? What Kool-aid have they drunk?
But, many of my progressive activist members were no longer there. They had quit the club years ago in a tiff with the more conservative members. That was a big mistake. Many went off to join,  or concentrate their efforts on, progressive organizations such as Move-on, the peace movement, environmental groups, the NAACP, the ACLU, human rights, civil rights and civil liberties, healthcare groups. Some even joined the Green Party although it is obvious that they do not stand a chance. They did some valuable work in those groups too. But, they had abandoned the Democratic club to the more conservative element and so the conservative drift became inevitable.
So in the club now, there are virtually no Move-on, NAACP, ACLU, peace activists, union members etc.. Now if some of these dynamic social activists were in the Club, what an impact they would make. Instead, I feel so alone there sometimes, but I will not give up.
This is typical. This conservative drift of the Democratic Party is nationwide and progressive leaders in the party are getting lonely too. In some places the party is virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party. It is not enough for progressives to support the Democratic Party from the outside. I understand the organizations need to be non-partisan. But, members do not have to be. They need to get back to the Democratic Party, let their voices be heard, set policy, set direction and put it back on the proper course. The fact is that we progressives have left the congregation to preach to the choir.
In future Democratic club meetings, I would love to see it packed with members of unions, the ACLU, the NAACP, environmental groups, human, civil rights and civil liberties groups. We have great leaders of the many progressive groups, but their talents also belong in leadership roles in the Party, not on the outside. Being a registered Democrat is not enough. For progressives to complain about the Democratic Party is not enough. We have got to get back inside it and change it back to its traditional values. Otherwise, we are just spinning our wheels while the 1% use the Republican Party to dismantle our democracy. And, we had better act soon for it is urgent.
Michael Irving Phillips,
Editor, Hot Calaloo
http://www.hotcalaloo.com
Author, Boycott Money and Save Your Soul
- Launching The Goodwill Revolution".
http://www.goodwillie.org
"Bring Our War $$$ Home" - Codepink


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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

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Friday, July 20, 2012

ARE AFRICAN MEN A DYING BREED AT THE AFRICAN UNION?



Not really, however if you hearkened to the contentious battle that raged over the nomination and eventual triumph of the new African Union Commission chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, you would think so.  But that would obviously not be true.  The bigger question though is the great stride that the women of Africa are making, as Africa has become more progressive than other parts of the world. (Read More)
Chika A. Onyeani
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
African Sun Times: www.africansuntimes.com
Host: All Africa Radio: www.allafricaradio.com
Tel.: 973-675-9919
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"It is not what you call me, but what I answer to, that matters most" - Capitalist Nigger: The Road to Success, Onyeani's internationally acclaimed No. 1 bestselling book.


Have you bought Onyeani's new blockbuster novel, The Broederbond Conspiracy, www.thebroederbondconspiracy.com? or www.theblackjamesbond.com, adapted by the San Francisco State University "to teach students how to write a spy novel."



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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

God Forgives, I Don't: Should rappers repent


by TRUTH Minista Paul Scott


"A million names on walls engraved in plaques/Those who went back received penalties for their acts", Triumph -Wu Tang Clan


For years, Hip Hop's hottest rapper, the Boss had made millions of dollars hustlin' his misogynistic, minstrel murder music off as Hip Hop. When people would accuse him of promoting the genocide of the Black community ,he would, arrogantly, laugh them off and say they were just hatin'. Then one day, suddenly, things changed. At every radio station he was confronted by local artists for not reppin' real Hip Hop. Angry crowds started gathering at his concerts throwing eggs at his tour bus. Even at strip clubs, the strippers threw his money back in his face and yelled "keep your blood money !" Dumbfounded , his record label launched a massive PR campaign to win back his fans, but the message from the community was clear..

"God Forgives, We don't...."


Although, Rick Ross's new cd, "God Forgives, I Don't," isn't' scheduled to drop until the end of the month, the streets are already buzzin' with anticipation . The title reflects the "revenge is a dish best served cold" swagga that you have to develop to deal with anyone who dares diss you.

Maybe, that's not such a bad attitude to have, especially against those who, continuously, disrespect your culture and jeopardize the lives of your children.

It has been said that Black people are the most forgiving people on the planet. You can steal our land, put us in chains, call our women "nappy headed hos" and Grandma will still find it in her heart to invite you to Sunday dinner after church.

I'm not sure if that makes us saints or suckas.

Hip Hop has also been very forgiving. Rap artists can give people hood passes for calling us the N word. They can act like clowns on Nickelodeon kids shows, make pop records with Justin Bieber and Katy Perry and still keep their street cred. Rappers can even be exposed as being former correctional officers and still sell millions of cds lyin' about how they used to be big time drug dealers.

There is a thin line between a diehard fan and a dumb fool.

More importantly, today's Hip Hop artists can destroy our culture and glorify a lifestyle to our children that has already landed thousands of them dead or in prison and they still are able to walk around every city in America without having to face the consequences of their actions.

So the question becomes, should Hip Hop artists be forced to apologize and make amends for the damage that they have caused in the Black community?

We have to admit the reason why Hip Hop is in the state that it's in is based on one thing and one thing only; lack of accountability. Rappers are allowed to do whatever, whenever, to whom ever, without any fear of repercussion.

Any attempts to correct their ignorant behavior is usually met with the "who are you to tell me what to do" attitude followed by the over used Tupac line "only God can judge me."

Case in point was the recent confrontation between Philadelphia pastor Jomo Johnson and rapper Meek Mill on a Philly radio station. Johnson felt that Mill's song "Amen" dissed his religion; Mill thought otherwise. Rev. Johnson had just as much right to feel offended by "Amen" as a Muslim minister being insulted by the burning of the Qu'ran or a Rabbi being outraged by someone placing a ham sandwich on the Torah.

Still, some people will argue that rappers are just entertainers expressing their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech and shouldn't have to apologize to anybody for anything.

Bull!

Entertainers apologize all the time. Just not to Black folks.

There is a long list of celebrities who have had to apologize to the Jewish community, gay activists and animal rights people etc. When other groups feel even slightly disrespected the result is swift and direct; bow down immediately. And even after years of grovelin' and beggin' for forgiveness, the final result is usually "apology not accepted!"

Just as people have called for "reparations" for the holocaust and slavery , we must call for "rap-arations" from the music industry for the damage commercial Hip Hop has done to the Black community. They must be held accountable for the chaos they have created.

I'm not talking about just money, either. Nor am I talking about a rapper who has made a career out of songs about drug dealing going to speak at a drug rehab center. This, also, does not include a rapper who brags about smackin' up hos donating band-aids to a women's domestic abuse shelter. I'm talking about an immediate end to the madness that they promote at the expense of our future generations.

This must happen sooner than later.

Frankly, I am tired of writing about the sorry state of Hip Hop. I'm tired of artists rappin' about it. I'm tired of hearing people complaining about it. Like Redman said back in the day it's, "Time 4 Sum Aksion"

There are rules to this Hip Hop game. But the question has always been ,who has the guts to enforce the rules?

The hard, cold code of the streets must also apply to Hip Hop. No rapper who disrespects the community should ever feel comfortable coming into any city on the planet without being stepped to.

The most frustrating part of the Hip Hop dilemma is that this problem can be easily fixed. For example, if all the student body presidents of HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) would get together and say "we will not invite any rapper who spreads ignorance to perform on our campus" the problem would be solved overnight.

Unfortunately, after all the whinin' about rap music is said and done, many of its harshest critics will sell the struggle out for an autographed t-shirt and a backstage pass.

Let's make it perfectly clear. This is a war for the minds of our people.

And Hip Hop ain't gonna change unless you get off your butt and make it change.

So, it's up to you.

Like Mr. Cheeks of the Lost Boyz once asked on "Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz and Benz:"

"Is you down, to go pound for pound, toe to toe, blow for blow, round for round?"

If not, stay off the battlefield !


TRUTH Minista Paul Scott's weekly column is "This Ain't Hip Hop," a column for intelligent Hip Hop headz. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com or (919) 308-4233. His website is NoWarningShowFired.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista



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Monday, July 16, 2012

Caribbean Impact's HOT New Launch!



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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Your Jobs Went to Prison with 2.3 million Americans


"Good Enuff," the poem below, is one of my 21st century slave songs. It was first published in MaryLovesJustice blog at this link   http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/04/good-enuff-by-mary-neal.html . A million inmates work up to 72 hours a week on jobs that were removed from "free" workers. People who champion "tough on crime" bills and candidates do not seem to recognize that prison labor projects are competing for labor contracts. They actually advertise for companies to use Americans behind bars rather than sending work overseas while plenty of cheap labor is available in the USA through prison work projects. Re Georgia Prison Labor Strike, I wrote the following poem. The Georgia prisoners' labor strike lasted from Dec. 9-15, 2010. The strike was largely censored in mainstream news although it was an Internet sensation. Therefore, a day before the strike started, eleven hundred of my tweets for human rights for prisoners were unpublished at Twitter. They were reinstated months later, after people stopped browsing online as much for "human rights for prisoners." I am America's most censored writer to continue the cover-up re the secret arrest and murder of my mentally, physically disabled brother and my family's victimization for daring to ask the USDOJ for records and accountability for his death. See the poem "Good Enuff" below. After the Georgia prisoners' labor strike, around 36 inmates were reportedly "missing." Some were badly brutalized. The nonviolent protest was met with violence and solitary confinement.

GOOD ENUFF

I work for the U.S. Government
Worked five years for the state
Now I make military uniforms
Sho miss my good friend, Jake

His idea sounded real fine to me
Worker strike for human rights
Most of us agreed to stay in our cells
Got real cold in there at night

They turned off the heat ya know
And no food came at all
Guards said "Freeze Nigga or go to work!
Oughta hang you by yo balls"

But all of us stuck together
Thousands of black men, Latinos and whites
Put aside all our rivalry
Gonna make 'em treat us right

We expected opposition
But nothin' like what went down
Guards went crazy beatin' on folks
And Jake, he can't be found

I tried to get on with the government
Back before I started gettin' high
They said there was a hiring freeze
And now I sho see why

I applied with the State, too
But didn't nothin' came of that
I guess I just wasn't good enuff
'Til they caught me with that crack

Finally got me a government job
Problem is, I don't get no pay
A big company got my first five years
After laying off a thousand in one day

Our labor strike changed nothin' 'round here
Still can't afford phone calls
Now they expect plenty mo black workers
Heard they outlawing menthol*

We had high hopes for the labor strike
But things didn't turn out great
All day I work 'til my back is sore
All night I worry 'bout Jake
(Published 4/4/11 by Mary Neal - all rights reserved)

*The NAACP requested the U.S. Congress to outlaw menthol cigarettes, the kind that 85% of black smokers use. That would be a discriminatory law targeting blacks like powder v. crack cocaine, and it is disgusting that prison investors got the NAACP to suggest it.

Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill and the Human Rights for Prisoners March Across the Internet. Blessings!

--
Mary Neal's Google Profile - http://www.google.com/profiles/MaryLovesJustice - Follow me at Twitter @koffietime - http://twitter.com/koffietime - Current, urgent justice issues from a laywoman's viewpoint at my primary blog http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com (the name is a joke, believe me).  See also http://MaryLovesJustice.blogspot.com and DogJusticeforMentallyIll http://DogJusticeforMentallyIll.blogspot.com JusticeGagged http://JusticeGagged.blogspot.com Davis/MacPhailTruthCommittee http://DMTruth.blogspot.com Mary Neal at HubPages http://MaryNeal.hubpages.com .Recommended articles - http://topsy.com/site/freespeakblog.blogspot.com - Address:  MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com (I am censored, but some emails reach my box) Try to phone me at 678.531.0262, however, none of us really has free speech, so they may prevent your call.






Romney and the NAACP: A Missed Opportunity

 By Raynard Jackson
NNPA Columnist

July 12, 2012

As anyone who has followed me knows, I have been extremely critical of President Obama’s non-engagement with the Black community. Obama has deliberately ignored the plight of the Black community while giving preferential treatment to the homosexual and Hispanic communities.

But I can’t in good conscious criticize Obama and then give the Republicans a pass when they display similar behavior towards the Black community.  I can’t excoriate Black Democrats for following Obama blindly and then remain silent when Black Republicans do the same towards Romney.

Yesterday, as I watched Mitt Romney address the NAACP, I tried to force myself to be optimistic about what he would say. But my years of being an avid Republican prepared me for the worst.  And that’s exactly what I saw.

Romney had a golden opportunity to make a credible argument for Blacks to support him. But because he doesn’t have experienced Blacks in his inner circle, he thoroughly embarrassed himself and deserved to be roundly booed.  For Romney to speak before a Black audience and not talk about the Black entrepreneur is like going to church and not mentioning God.

This is what happens when you don’t have the right people around you, people who understand communications, messaging and the nuances of the audience being addressed. That’s the elephant in the room.

Contrary to what the White media thinks, the preachers and politicians are not the leaders in the Black community – businessmen and businesswomen are. That Black business person is typically head of the board of trustees or the deacon board of the church.  So, if you get the business leader on your side, he or she will bring along the minister and the congregation.

Business leaders have a vested interest in having an educated Black community because they have to hire people in order to grow their business. Like everyone else, those leaders care about crime and don’t want employees to be victims as they travel to and from work. More than anyone else, business leaders understand the cost of capital issues and therefore are more likely to support a reduction or total abolition of the capital gains tax. He or she is more likely to support school choice and vouchers, all topics the NAACP members can relate to.

 So, the point is, the Black business leaders are the most important entry point to the Black community and Republicans, of all people,  are totally ignorant of this fact. And they will remain ignorant of what’s important to the Black community until they have campaign staffs that look like America.

Like Jeremiah of the Bible, I have been labeled as one crying in the wilderness. And I am not about to surrender that label now. Am I the only one who is offended that Romney has fewer than five Blacks on his national campaign staff and none in top decision-making positions?  I am talking about someone who controls a budget, has the final say on hiring, and has the ability to put an event on the candidate’s calendar or arrange a private meeting with the candidate.

Am I the only one who noticed the optics of Romney not having photos of any Black Republicans on his campaign web site?  Am I the only one who is puzzled as to why Romney has never met with a group of Black entrepreneurs?

I was stunned to learn that Romney had chosen a recently converted Republican, Ashley Bell, to be one of his surrogates and to help him craft his speech to the NAACP. Bell is a decent guy, but
am I to believe that Romney couldn’t find any veteran Black Republicans who have both party credentials and relevant presidential campaign experience to help him craft the speech that would define his relationship with Black America?

Does his staff know people such as Shannon Reeves, Allegra McCullough, David Byrd, Aaron Manaigo, Francis Johnson, Ada Fisher or James House?  If they don’t, I will be happy to put Romney’s staff in touch with them and many other able Blacks. For Romney to pick a Republican-come-lately over Party vets who have taken all kind of criticism for supporting the Grand Old Party is a grand old insult to those Black Republicans who have toiled for years in the fields of Republican politics. 

Where are the voices of Black Republicans who know better? Their silence is deafening. In this respect, they are just as bad as the Black Democrats I have been criticizing.

With Romney’s speech to the NAACP and making Bell one of his surrogates, the candidate has spent more time with Black Democrats than he has with Black Republicans.  Where is the outrage from Black Republicans?  Oh, they can criticize Obama for his treatment of Blacks, but when Romney does the same thing they get laryngitis. As I often say, “the best way to get attention from the Republican Party as a Black Republican is to be a Black Democrat.” 

Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. His website is:  www.raynardjackson.com.





Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC is a internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is a internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career.











Open Letter to Karibu Centre from Bro Ldr Mbandaka - LIFT BAN ON DR UMAR JOHNSON



Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement
Freedom Begins with the Freeing of the Mind and Soul
c/o 282 High Road, Leyton, London E10 5PW
 
Elaine Holness
7 Gresham Rd,
London SW9 7PH
Tel: 44 (0)20 7733 9423
Fax: 44 (0)20 7738 5743
 
12/07/6252 (2012)
Open Letter
 TENDAI MWARI (Be thankful unto God)
Iziz (praises) Sis Elaine,
 
Re: Cancellation of a PowerSis Promotion 14/07/2012 and Banning of Dr Umar Johnson from speaking at the Karibu Education Centre.
 
I write further to my telephone call to you on Tuesday (10/07/2012), in the matter captioned above.
 
Thank you for having taken the time to speak to me, although, regrettably, we were not able to reach an agreement or resolution. I am still hoping that there is still room for this, even at this late stage.
 
My call to you was in response to notification I had received from Sis Kemet of PowerSis that you had banned Bro Dr Umar Johnson from speaking at the Karibu Centre, having deemed him to be "homophobic" and "racist". You confirmed that you/the centre had banned him but did not clarify the reason. You stated however that you had researched his material on YouTube and found the contents inappropriate. Nonetheless, when I enquired, several times, as to what exactly you were referring to, you did not or could not answer.
 
I expressed my deep concerns as to the negative impact this could have on the Afrikan community and relations with Karibu and you replied to my surprise, "We would just have to live with it." I protested that this was "censorship" and further protested the right of the community to hear Dr Umar Johnson and to decide for themselves, especially in a society that professes "democracy" and "freedom of speech," to which you responded "The community can hear Dr Umar Johnson if they want to but they won't be hearing him at the Karibu Centre."
 
You mentioned two emails you sent to Sis Kemet and advised me to read them. I have now done so. In your first email sent on Sunday, 08/07/2012, you referred to a caller who had complained that, "some of the content (of Bro Umar's Youtube posts) appeared to be rather homophobic and racist". This prompted you to investigate it. Whilst you did highlight the centre's policy and ethos, urging Sis Kemet to "Please be mindful of Karibu Education Centre's obligations, our charitable status, our commitment to serve the whole community,"
you did not propose to cancel the booking. However in a follow up email dated Tuesday, 10/07/2012, you informed Sis Kemet that you had referred the matter to the board of trustee who "
are equally disturbed by some of Dr Johnson's comments," and thus "have no alternative but to cancel your function as it contravenes the equality laws of the UK." However, failed to particularise what exactly the contraventions were.
 
I have a number of concerns arising from the foregoing, which I will state (as follows) with the utmost love and respect and in the hope that it will be received, in the same spirit:
 
1.      Your unwillingness or inability to explain what exactly you are referring to as "homophobic and racist" contents, suggests that you are unconvinced, yourself, as to the substance of this claim and/or haven't thought it through properly.
 
2.      In spite of this, you/the board of trustees have taken this severe action causing great embarrassment to Dr Umar Johnson, an Afrikan and Afrikan-centred clinical psychologist of international renown – an invited guest to the Afrikan community UK - who has travelled thousands of miles to dispense his vitally needed expertise to the most beleaguered people here in the UK.
 
3.      The banning of Dr Umar Johnson so late in the day has inevitably caused huge distress and a logistical nightmare to the organisers, PowerSis, in attempting the near impossible task of trying to find an alternative venue at this stage. You might appreciate, my sister, the financial implications of this.
 
4.      I have to say that I found your response to my expressed concerns for the potential impact of your action, rather blasé, if not completely detached. In fact, it is quite disturbing that a project expressly designed to serve the community could be so dismissive about the likely inimical effects of its action on the community. I am baffled by the notion of service without a genuine sense of care and accountability. Might your response have been a touch more sensitive had I been a potential funder, or had the Afrikan community been more mobilised, organised and economically robust?
 
5.      As I suggested during a discussion on Voice of Afrika Radio this morning, Karibu could have exercised the courtesy of inviting PowerSis and Dr Umar Johnson to discuss and allay its concerns. It was disappointing to then learn from Sis Kemet that she had suggested this, but you failed to take up the offer. (Our producer had also called to invite Karibu on to the show, but was told that no one was available).
 
6.      This is tantamount to the dis-invitation of Prof. Tony Martin (Garveyite scholar), from the Mayor's First Voice conference (Oct 2003); the banning of Kwame Toure and Bro Min Louis Farrakhan (1990s) from entering the UK; where Afrikan groups and individuals were used by the British establishment to validate labelling these great Afrikan men, because they defied the hypocritical codes of political correctness.
 
7.      Dr Umar Johnson has travelled the world and spoken in various institutions and has never been banned. Indeed, he works in education and thus frequents schools and universities in the US, where he resides. Karibu (with its appearance of being an Afrikan institution), has now earned itself the dubious reputation of being the first and only institution in the world to have banned him; one which reflects poorly on the Afrikan community in the UK.  
 
Now, you have cited UK equality laws, in justifying your action, but the same does not prevent the BBC (a government institution) from featuring notorious fascists like Nick Griffin (BNP Chair & MEP) and Historian David Starkey (CBE & visiting professor of Kent University), whether to advocate compulsory repatriation of 'non-whites' or to blame Afrikan youths for corrupting good white youths. Griffin and Starkey: one 'homophobic,' the other 'homosexual' but both white racist functionaries of the British establishment – un-gagged, unfettered!!!
 
No wonder UK equality laws have never levelled the playing field for Afrikans; nor will it ever, as it is not designed to. Rather, it is designed to protect the 'integrity' of a racist status quo, which uses the 'carrot and stick' method to buy or whip us into becoming functional agents, to the detriment of our own people and community; in the name of equality, diversity, etc. Hence, in the UK, all the social indicators are that we are effectively second class citizen (even lower), in an 'institutionally racist' society (MacPherson, 1999). As I said to you, to really ban racism in Britain, every school, collage and university, in fact, every institution including the Houses of Parliament would have to be close down.
 
PowerSis is a group of mainly Afrikan women, who, realising the maladies confronting the Afrikan community here in the UK (manifested in disproportionate: educational under-achievements and exclusions, teenage pregnancy, drugs, guns and gang violence, socio-economic deprivation, stop and search, deaths in custody, DNA profiling, infant mortality, low life expectancy, etc, etc, etc.), have opted to take positive steps to address this. Dr Umar Johnson is one of the most skilled psycho-social scientists in the Afrikan world community, with a clear and profound analysis as well as therapeutic framework for addressing the specific needs of the Afrikan community. It is for this reason why PowerSis, at significant expense, bought in his expertise to aid the healing and empowerment of our people.   
 
Being as au fait with Dr Umar Johnson's work as I am, I can say that his pronouncements are well sourced; founded on historical and clinical evidence delivered from an Afrikan-centred perspective. I therefore categorically refute the notion that he is either "homophobic" (whatever that means) or "racist".  In fact, Dr Johnson specialises in treating "homosexuals". Surely, this makes a complete nonsense of this claim. Moreover, racism is a systematic, historical, global power structure, based on the myth (posing as fact) of white supremacy. Without a Black supremacist replica of the foregoing, it is impossible for Dr Umar Johnson, or indeed any Afrikan to be a racist. Besides, there is no evidence in Afrikan culture of the innate xenophobia upon which racism is founded.
 
The question therefore begs: who is defining the terms? Psychologist, Dr Wade Nobles says: "Power is the capacity to define reality and have others respond to your definition as if it was their own." Note: the POWER to DEFINE. So, who is defining the terms here? And are we, AFRIKANS, not capable of independent thinking; of defining reality for ourselves? Who or what is a homophobic? Where did this term come from? Is it a clinical term (as 'phobia' suggest), or political? Is Dr Johnson a homophobic because he cures homosexuals? Are his patients also homophobic because they seek a cure? Is this really about homophobia? Or, is it more a matter of: "He who pays the fiddler..."     
 
More questions: Who made homosexuality a 'sacred cow', ie beyond critical analyses? Dr Johnson's Afrikan centred, historical and clinical analysis of 'homosexuality' is critical for Afrikan people in this time and Karibu has no moral or legal right to deny us access to the hear our brother at the centre. The fact that European culture has now redefined homosexuality for its own reasons and in its own interest does not mean that this has in anyway altered or culturally defined moral codes, nor that this is in any way in our interest. Hence they have no right imposing same upon us and we have no business allowing them to do so.
 
It is important that you understand the full implications of the banning of Dr Johnson, evidently influenced by the Establishment. Dr Johnson is feared for the same reason why so many of our prophets and heroes were feared and assassinated: he speaks truth to power; he exposes and challenges the fundamentals of white supremacy, including their most 'sacred cow'. But, "How long shall they kill our prophets while we stand aside and look?" It starts with character assassination and end..., often with our aiding and abetting, only to realise our errors when it's too late.
 
I have written this as an open letter because I do believe that this is a public matter and that you are accountable primarily to the Afrikan community, who I do believe are the predominant clientele of Karibu.
 
In context, I am urging you/the board of trustee once again to reconsider your position and to reinstate the booking for the event tomorrow, even so late in the day. I look forward to hearing the good news.
 
Thank you in anticipation.
TENDAI MWARI
 
 
Yours in Faith, Love and Liberation.
 
Bro Ldr Mbandaka
(Spiritual Leader – Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement)