President Obama, Tavis Smiley & Racial Politics
This past week I spoke about white men’s deficiencies. This week it is Back men that are on the hot seat. I want to use Milissa Harris-Lacewell’s article to initiate the discussion. Tavis Smiley will be here in Indianapolis at Clowes Hall on the Butler campus on June 2, 2009 @ 7PMto debut his film “Stand.” The main media coverage is all about the situation in Iran. White men in the United States House and the United States Senate want President Obama to get involved in Iran’s affairs. Mike Pence a congressman from Indiana has joined the chorus of voices. As much as I respect Congressman Pence we are going to disagree on our positions concerning Iran. The United States is not the world’s police. Getting involved in Iran will only let America become the issue. America being the issue will not help Iranians work out their internal affairs. Therefore, as I would counsel the President to leave Iran, I am going to follow my own advise. Therefore, let’s talk about the issue that seems to exist between President Obama and Tavis Smiley. Thank you for listening to AjabuSpeaks.
Commentary: Don't hold Obama to race agenda
•· Melissa Harris-Lacewell: Some have said Obama should be held to racial agenda
•· She says nostalgia for the old days of protest obscures last election
•· Black politics has come of age, and African-Americans are equal partners, she says
By Melissa Harris-Lacewell
Special to CNN
Melissa Harris-Lacewell is associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University. She is the author of the award-winning book "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought," and wr= ites a daily blog titled The Kitchen Table.
PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) -- It seems Tavis Smiley has been irritated with Barack Obama for a long time. Smiley is perhaps the most recognizable African-American journalist in the country. He is a fixture on radio and television, and has authored several books that are best-sellers among black readers.
One might suspect that Smiley would be enthusiastic about the opportunities presented by America's election of a black president.
Instead, Smiley seems annoyed.
In February 2008, Smiley denounced then-candidate Obama for failing to make a personal appearance at Smiley's annual State of the Black Union. His continuing criticism of Sen. Obama during the fall campaign produced substantial outcry from listeners of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a popular radio program where Smiley had been a well-liked regular.
After Obama's election, Smiley published a text titled "Accountable" and has repeatedly indicated his intention to hold President Obama "accountable" to an explicitly racial agenda.
The specific policies suggested by Smiley's books are not substantially different from those of the Obama administration, but Smiley insists on explicit and repeated acknowledgement of race, while Obama typically seeks to address inequality within a racially neutral frame.
Despite writing about race in both of his books, addressing race in the historic Philadelphia speech during the Democratic primary and repeatedly acknowledging that racial inequality endures, Smiley's critique implies that Obama's approach to race is both inadequate and inauthentic.
On May 24, TV One aired the latest installment of Smiley's accountability campaign: a two-hour documentary titled "Stand." Recycling Spike Lee's Million Man March film, "Get On the Bus," Smiley assembled a group of prominent black male public figures for a bus ride through the South.
Ostensibly, this bus trip would provide Smiley, professors Cornel West and Michael Eric Dyson, Dick Gregory and others an opportunity to reflect on the meaningful upheavals in American society and politics in the summer of 2008. "Stand" was an enormous disappointment.
Its low production value, wandering narrative, flat history and self-important egoism did little to reveal the shortcomings of the Obama phenomenon. Instead, the piece exposed and embodied the contemporary crisis of the black public intellectual in the age of Obama.
The film and its participants (two of them my senior colleagues at Princeton University) appropriated the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to implicitly claim that they, not Obama, are the authentic representatives of the political interests of African-Americans. They used King's images and speeches, gathered on the balcony where King was assassinated, and explicitly asserted their desire to play King to Obama's LBJ, and Frederick Douglass to Obama's Lincoln.
On its face, this is not a bad model. Presidents are deeply constrained by the structural and political limitations of their office. A robust administration needs an active and informed citizenry to engage, push, cajole, criticize and applaud its efforts.
But this appropriation misrepresents rather than preserves King's legacy. King was a powerful questioner and, at times, ally of President Johnson because he was at the helm of a massive social movement of men and women who were shut out of the ordinary political process. It was not King's intellectual capacity or verbal dexterity that made him an effective advocate for racial issues; it was his own accountability to that movement.
This is not true of Smiley and his "soul patrol," who are mostly public personalities and tenured professors largely unaccountable to the black constituency. King's meager income, though supplemented by the lecture circuit, was grounded in the voluntary contributions of black churchgoers.
Smiley is backed by powerful corporations, like Wal-Mart and Nationwide, that have troubled relationships with these communities. The college profs on the bus are comfortably supported by well-endowed universities. This does not invalidate their views on race, but it does make the analogy with King a poor fit.
Further, Smiley and his "soul patrol" seemed to have missed the intervening 40 years between the era of King and the election of Obama. African-Americans are no longer fully disfranchised subjects of an oppressive state.
African-Americans are now citizens capable of running for office, holding officials accountable through democratic elections, publicly expressing divergent political preferences and, most importantly, engaging the full spectrum of American political issues, not only narrowly racial ones. The era of racial brokerage politics, when the voices of a few men stood in for the entire race, is now over. And thank goodness it is over. Black politics is growing up.
The men of "Stand" yearned for an imagined racial past. By their accounting, this racial past had better music, more charismatic leaders and a more-involved black church.
Their romanticism ignores the cultural contributions of contemporary black youth, forgets the dangerous limitations of charismatic leadership and revises the fraught, complicated relationship of black churches to struggles for racial equality. And these men ignored the democratizing effect of new media forms, which revolutionized the 2008 election.
Black people were not duped by some slick, media-generated candidate. African-Americans were co-authors of the Obama campaign. Through social networks, YouTube videos, political blogs and new-media echo chambers, black people were equal partners in shaping the candidate and his campaign. There was no need for the entrenched pundit class to tell black voters what to think or how to behave; they figured it out for themselves.
Still, there is plenty to criticize in the young Obama administration: the refusal to prosecute those implicated in the torture memos, civilian casualties caused by drone attacks, bank bailouts and inadequate defense of gay rights to name a few. But black communities are already engaged in these critiques and many others. Black local organizers, elected officials, bloggers, pundits and columnists have taken substantive, specific positions on a broad range of issues.
In black communities, nonprofit organizations continue to work for justice, and charities still try to fill the gap during tough economic times. African-Americans are engaged as mature citizens ought to be: in both discourse and action.
This political maturity is precisely the source of the black public intellectual crisis: What do Smiley and the Soul Patrol add to this process? Their bus never stopped at a Habitat for Humanity site to build a home or at a soup kitchen to serve the hungry. Their dialogue centered more on the relative merits of Aretha vs. Beyonce than on meaningful political issues.
Though they spoke with elders, their self-congratulatory revelry never paused to engage any elected officials, issues specialists or local activists. And while they talked a great deal about women, they never spoke to a woman.
"Stand" was sad because I still believe in a role for black public intellectuals. Scholars and journalists often have a particular capacity for curiosity, questioning and issue synthesis that has real value in public discourse. It was painfully clear that this particular accountability crusade is not informed by any of those skills. Instead, it seems determined to stand in the way of the maturation of African-American politics in order to maintain personal power.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Melissa Harris-Lacewell.
Rev. Ajabu
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Reader Comments (85)
Little what's said here has no truth to it, but I can't remain silent. At one time my feelings about mister Smiley was different. But he's shown to me over the years, to possess some of the same social and political genes as some whites I could incluide. I feel he had lost his way and purpose has taken a back seat. Personally he can't complain about very much. Since he's suppose to be a black man who follows his own mind and usually think independently. It's odd that he doesn't allow another to do the same without anger. I see a little passive aggressive in that scenario. If he want to do something to be recognized for, he could push hard in commuinties like Philadelphia, about the senseless murders. Not with rhetoric, but getting people in the streets.
Peace
Rev Ajabu
Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell is definitely on point about Tavis Smiley, Cornell West, Eric Dyson and Dick Gregory. As a Black man who supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary, I realize now what a treasure we have in President Barack Obama. I think Tavis went too far with his "Accountability" book. As the political process goes in this country, someone is nominated by a political party and members of that party usually agrees to support who the voters chose to run for president. If Hillary Clinton were elected would many of the critics of Tavis have supported Hillary? Once Barack Obama was nominated I was very proud to support the first Black presidential nominee in this country. Hillary or Barack would have been an improvement over the Republicans [McCain/Palinand Bush].
Tavis and the boys need to go somewhere and sit down. Why do a whole book on accountability when the brother has not even had a chance to do his job. As Lacewell so eloquently summed up the foolishness of Tavis and his boys, I totally agree that Tavis appears as a stubborn sore loser.
Why move on the first Black president as if he is expected not to make decisions that help Black people. So far, Barack is doing quite a bit in his first six months and all Americans are benefitting from his decisions. The fight for healthcare for the masses will impact so many Blacks, the efforts to save the economy include us, his gesture to the Muslim world is protective of all of us, and so much more in just six short months.
I didn't like Tavis' book that was suppose to be a plan for Blacks to advance. Tavis has failed miserably in his attempts to be the Black Saviour. Now, he seems to be bitter about Barack being president of the United States. Lacewell is so right, we have matured beyond the Black Messiah politics that Tavis and the boys are clinging to.
I felt sorry for him [Tavis] when the Black public called in to the Tom Joyner Show and beat on him so badly that he quit the show. As I have stated, I didn't know Barack Obama as well as I know the Clintons. But once a good Democrat won the nomination,I was behind Barack 100%. If we Blacks could stomach Bush and all of the other Republicans surely we can give our own Black president a chance.
I have seen Dr Lacewell on MSNBC several times and she is very sharp and on point. I agree with her assessment and I truly thank you Reverend for presenting her article.
john
Thank you so much for writing this article and stating a divergent opinion. We need more black people to engage in independent and critical thinking.
Mike Pence was a radio announcer and he has never lost that mindset. He is interested in any publicity he can get. He has no substance and should be exposed as such at every turn. He has always been able to succeed in being elected in his district bringing home less money to his district from Washington than any other representative. (when I last looked)
He is Limbaugh but younger, better looking and more dangerous.
Be careful and distance yourself from him and always question his motives.
You did well in the interchange on the peaceful listserve. Remember this is Indiana and racism is almost always the answer... the trouble is no one remembers the question.
Tony
Thanks so much Ajabu for including this article. I've been preoccupied with my own work and missed Tavis's "Stand" as well as his book called "Accountability." Just as well. I decided some time ago that Tavis's nose is out of joint because he has spent a few years positioning himself as the new black leader, then along comes President Barack Obama who refuses to do obeisance to him even before he was elected. All that's left for Tavis is to become a bitter critic, which is unfortunate because he is talented enough to do better than that.
"Most people go through life with their boat tied up next to the pier. What made me a hero is that I weighed anchor." Bill Pinkney
Marshall,
You make some good points. I am just wondering how we as a people deal with this new found accomplishment. We know that racism did not die with Senator Obama's election. And now President Obama still has to be held accountable. But your point is well made, how can Tavis talk about holding him accountable before a decision has been made? It appears that the pressure is mounting on him to get into Iran's affairs. In my opinion that would be a mistake. He has been playing his cards pretty well up to this point, not perfect, but pretty well. You know as I know, that power will corrupt. I pray that President Obama stays true to himself.
Rev. Ajabu-
Isn't it just like you kind, caring, compassionate liberals to ignore the PUBLIC STONINGS of WOMEN, the PUBLIC HANGINGS BY CRANES IN THE STREETS of CHILDREN and young people SEEKING TO BE FREE- and you sit there SAYING NOTHING unless it serves your political purpose.
Pretty hypocritical...in my book.
Jayson
Reverend
You know that I agree with the Obama decision to stay out of the revolution that appears to be taking place in Iran. What sense does it make to repeat the same idiocy that Bush did by going into Iraq. The neo Conservatives were able to convince the unintelligent George Bush to invade Iraq. Bill Clinton was too intelligent to walk into that quagmire.
Now the same neo Conservatives, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Bill Kristol, Joe Lieberman, and many more want President Obama to get involved into the Iran revolution. It is so obvious the Iranian leaders are just eager for President Obama to get involved so that they can blame America for the uprising. The Iranian leaders are already blaming the Germans of aiding the protesters. We need to sit back and watch Iran self destruct. Getting the U.S.involved in the Iran revolution will enable the revolutionary guard to kill many of the young protesters.
The so called neo Conservatives want to force feed democracy down the throats of the countries in the Middle East. It was not enough to get over 4000 American soldiers killed in Iraq and nearly $500 Billion spent because of a lie to go to war; now they want to fight another war in Iran. Our president is not foolish, he will not get in the way of an enemy in the process of self destructing.
john
Don't be so sure that this is a great move. We'll see. You seem to be missing the fact that Achmidinejad has already blamed the US and Great Britain for what is happening. Even though we aren't doing anything.
There are a lot of highly educated pro-democracy, pro-Western people in Iran. Lots and lots of them.But the Mullahs have squashed education and women in the Ayatollah's Iran.
Of course, women and young people don't matter to black male racists, who are highly misogynistic. Look at the rap culture. Look at the way that I am treated by Reverend Ajabu and John Marshall, no matter how polite I am.
Don't kid yourselves, Reverend and John. A new Iran IS going to form. And they will HATE the United States for sitting passively by while their kids and their women were brutalized. And I will point to you and say, that you let your hatred of Bush and your racial bigotry get in the way of providing even aide and comfort to people doing nothing more than asking for fair elections.
A poignant moment last night on the news. The protesters came to the aide of a policeman who was injured. They bandaged him in green and took him away. Green in support for women and the revolution. Bandaged in compassion.
Reverend, you and John continue to see the world in the form of white and black MEN. The suffering of anyone else seems to excape your view. Jayson is right. Women have been and continue to be brutalized and mistreated by this regime. President Obama seems to feel that they can be sacrificed....as do you. ?To make nice with the tyrants. Because your goal is to show how much smarter Black MEN are than Bush. You are showing yourselves as no better than Bush. You are just willing to sacrifice women.
There is no easy right answer to this if you are a Christian. You only see so in your simplistic racial political world.
Ms. Lacewell's comments are on point. Her text reveal why we as black people are still cuffed with a history of Self Hate. Which in many ways was developed through our indoctrination process during slavery. With all the the advances of our people some are still suffering from PostTraumatic Slave Syndrome and even if not conciously, we prepetuate this attutude of self hate towards each other. Through our acculturation and assimulation process many of us have become over assimulated and have literally taken on characteristics and eurocentric values of the majority.
If you don't know your past you are destined to repeat it in the future. I personally think President Obama is one of the most articulate and careful communicators of any race that I have seen in my life time. And one of his key characteristics is his honesty and his willingness to tell the truth wether you want to hear or not.
What would have strong words of support from an American President done for those protesting the repression ongoing in Iran....?????
Obama needs to grow a pair of balls....what a joke he is.
Jason,
We are not the world's police. It is not America's job to straighten out the world's problems. What is happening to some of the people of Iran is tragic, however it is imperative for Iranians to solve Iran's problems. If they want to wage revolution, then have at it. There is one more thing that has to be taken into consideration when looking at the situation in Iran.
America can not afford to get involved in Iran. If Iran calls America's hand then this country cannot stand another military engagement. We are already on course for a possible engagement with North Korea. The Navy is trailing a Korean ship now. The Navy wants to board the ship to see if it is carrying nuclear material. Jung Ill, the President of North Korea, says if we board the ship it will be taken as an act of war. President Obama has stated that all options are on the table. Iraq and Afghanistan already have the military spread real thin. It was just reported in the June 22, 2009 Indianapolis Star that a soldier from Indianapolis was killed in Baghdad. Army Specialist Chancellor Keesling was on his third tour in Iraq. Third tours bring about battle fatigue. Battle fatigue causes soldiers to make mistakes than normally won't be made. The paper says he died from a non-combat situation. That means it was a mistake that killed him. The cost of freedom is death. People die to be free. If the Iranians want to be free then they have to pay with their lives. Is this unfortunate? By all means. Yet, it is the cost of freedom. Iran should not become free because of American lives!! We are not the world's police, and even if some, like you and Dawn (our conservative Christian) want the country to be, right now, the country just can't afford it. I am going to make one more point.
If the United States government engages Iran or North Korea then I would bet that you can bet that part of that war will be fought on American soil. As a military man, which I was, one would have to anticipate how the enemy would respond upon attack. The time to prepare for a fight is before the fight. Therefore, it would be wise to anticipate that both Iran and North Korea have infiltrated cells within the borders of the U.S. just in case they are attacked by us. Are you ready for people to blowing themselves up in Circle Center Mall in downtown Indianapols? As the leader of the country President Obama knows the state of the military. He aptly states the following: "The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothng better than to make this an argument about the United States. We shouldn't be playing into that." Senator Lugar, the senior Senator from Indiana who is also the senior republican on the Senate foreign relations committee, agrees with the President. Jason, you and Dawn (our conservative Christian) should quit playing politics with American people's lives. This is not a video game. This is for real.
Dawn,
I hope you understand what I just shared with Jason. I don't know why you have gotton into calling John and myself names. As a Christian you are supposed to treat people like you want to be treated. Is that how you want to be treated? Bishop Benjamin has been doing a series on "The Scripture According To You." You ought to call the church 317-254-5922 and get a DVD or CD. Your behavior is not lining up with the versed that we should treat others as we want to be treated. This is not an effort to prove that Black men are smarted than white men. History bears witness that white men have made some pretty bad decisions when one looks at world human relations. History is best situated to draw that conclusion. Understand that I am not saying that, history makes its own case.
And why are you trying to make this a gender argument? We are in agreement that women have been discriminated in this country, and still are to some extent. However, the discrimination again was controlled by white men. John and I are Black men. We didn't do it. Don't blame us. Put the responsibility where it belongs then you determine from that history if white men have made good decisions by discriminating against white women and Black people.
Johnnie,
Welcome to the website. I believe that Tavis is showing some self hate when he speaks about President Obama. It just goes to show that the decision by white men to enslave our ancestors is still having psychological affect to this very day. You know, as I know, our struggle continues.
Jason,
President Obama has made strong statements about the situation in Iran. Stronger statements would have caused more demonstrators blood to be spilt on the streets of Iran. A stronger stance eventually would lead to a military response. As I stated above, America cannot stand to take part in another war right now. Anyone that is pushing a decision that would possibly lead to that end is being very irresponsible. This basically republican stance looks like a political ploy to try and have a chance to win some victories in the next round of elections. This is a pitiful strategy that is very dangerous. For the good of America, I have stated that I am willing to help you and the republican party to make decisions that will bring people to you. That stuff that y'all are talking about will draw nothing but old white men. There are not enough old white men to cause any political victories. I am not being funny here. I am just stating a fact. Y'all better wake up. It is time for a change. You better get with the program. God bless.
Black people cannot assumed that Barack Obama
can free you.Black PEOPLE YOU ARE FREE STOP FEELING COMPELLED TO TAKING MONEY AND STOP SELLING EACH OTHER OUT!!!!
THEN WE ALL CAN GET TO THE PROMISE LAND TOGETHER !!!!
Charles Stanley InTouch Devotional
June 24, 2009
Through Times of Trial
GENESIS 50:18-21
If anyone had ample opportunity to become embittered by life's trials, it was Joseph. His brothers treated him with contempt even before they tossed him into a pit. Then, over the course of a few years, he was sold into slavery, transported to a foreign land, framed for a crime, and left to waste away in prison. Despite all the injustice he suffered, this boy who grew up in bondage became a man of diligent work ethic and gentle spirit.
It's almost impossible to understand how Joseph could seem so forgiving, peaceful, and even joyful. His secret to maintaining grace under pressure was a constant focus on God. He must have spent many hours recalling Jacob's stories about the Lord's faithfulness to their family--and also the divine revelations about his own future as a leader (Gen. 37:8-9). In spite of his many afflictions, Joseph trusted that those God-given dreams would become reality.
Imagine what kind of man could have emerged from 13 years of suffering and injustice. Had Joseph dwelled on his unfair circumstances, he'd likely have become cynical and vengeful. With a mind full of escape plots and revenge tactics, a man cannot be a good worker--so instead of achieving greatness, Joseph would probably have toiled at unfulfilling menial tasks.
With his spiritual "eyes" trained on God's glory, Joseph persevered through great trials. In the end, he certainly had the power to punish his brothers for their treachery, but he chose to forgive. That decision probably wasn't an easy one. Yet because Joseph placed himself under God's protection, his heart was unhindered by negative emotions.
Everyone on this blog can see that both Reverend Ajabu and his brother in spirit, John Marshall chose not to follow the example of Joseph.
White women and Black women, in kind, have chosen to focus on God, and despite significantly worse oppression than Black men have faced, being the weaker sex, women have excelled. While men are to be the spiritual heads of their households, they have abdicated their responsibilities. Where men were to defend and protect, they have served selfish self-interest. Where men have chosen to sit on the sidelines, women have become dominant in the classroom. Women do not choose for this to be the way in America, our men have chosen it for us.
While you argue for reparations, Reverend, despite the fact that you have not upheld your personal responsibilities, we women will continue to carry the load....with our children and with our God.
Instead of the constant "truth to power" mantra you espouse, Reverend, I suggest you start to pull the wagon with the honorable men and women who are shouldering the load. There's a lot of heavy lifting that needs to be done. This blog ain't it, brother.
Dawn,
What is it? Now you are a spokesperson for Black and white women? It seems as if you just must find something to be critical about. Your scriptural references to Joseph are accurate. Your what if's about what would have happen with Joseph if he did other than what he did is speculation.
While in Atlanta Black women taught me that they separate their plight from white women because white women seem to want to lay much of their experience of discrimination at the feet of Black men. These Black women impressed upon me that they in no way wanted to appear that they were trying to down Black men because they understood the shenanigans of basically white men and their counterparts. Therefore, instead of calling themselves "feminist", which is the word coined by white women, they call themselves "womanist" so to separate their struggle from the race implications that come with the term feminist. Your words are a classic example of why these Black women did not want to buy in to the white woman's scheme on how to address the discrimination they experience as women. You can see an example of the Black woman disconnect with white women by the words of Lois above. Truly, there are some issues between Black men and Black women that has to be dealt with. But it is not what you depict. There are also the issues between Black men with other Black men, hence the sister's article about how Tavis Smiley is interacting with President Obama. Our struggle is as a people.
Somehow, to me, it seems that your words are to try and divide Black people who read this blog, because, for the most part, we do not agree with you. That's unfortunate. It makes your efforts have a sinister twinge. I hope this is not your intent. We, as Black people, do have our differences, but they are defined by us for us. If you have an issue with men, as you say you do, then you should look first and foremost at white men. They are the one's that have had the power, and the finance to put America and the people that live here in the historical place it now finds itself.
This blog speaks truth to power and also to those with no power. This blog just speaks the truth. I pray that God blesses you, and helps you to deal with your issues with men. I would suggest that in your search to look within, then look around at the people within your space. Most of the time the answer to problems is closer than we would like to acknowledge. God bless.
Reverend,
I do not have a problem with men.
I have a problem with UNGODLY men.
Men who blame their problems not on the human CONDITION of sin, but on age, race, sex, religion or national origin.
Men like you and John.
Godly men do not see race, they see humanity.
They do not see racism, they see sin.
Godly men forgive and seek reconciliation.
They do not seek reparation...which would be impossible, because heaven knows, black men have their share of reparations to pay.
I suggest they pay it on their knees and pay it back to their families and to their churches which they have not carried their burdens with.
Dawn (Our Conservative Christian)
Are you now the judge of who is godly and who is not? Isn't tha God's job? Looks like you got a problem with God. Are you saying that since God made age, race, sex that we are not supposed to acknowledge God's creation. Your words imply that what God made is ungodly!! Shame on you. Do you not see someone getting discriminated against because of their age, sex, race, or gender as being a sin on the part of someone doing the discriminating? Is not to discriminate against these people for these things wrong? Is not wrong treatment against humanity sin? You sound confused!!
Godly men should forgive, but not forget. People who forget their history are destined to repeat it. We are not going to forget what white men, basically, have done to the world, and Black people in particullarly. We can forgive them, if they repent and quit acting like they have acted, but it is not godly for us to forget. Now let me understand this.
Someone stole something from you and you would say that it is godly to let the thief have it? Dawn, your position reads so ludicrous. And when you talk about reparations to people of African descent we are talking about the theft being people, their labor, their children, even their very lives. But you would counsel us to just let that be. In your opinion, God would want us to just let that go!! Because you have benefitted from the theft, I can see why you would want the victims of the theft to just let it go. This is why Black women separate their struggle from the struggle of white women. This is the same Christinity that was preached and teached during slavery to stop the enslaved from rebellion. Dawn, our conservative Christian, we are not going to help you to conserve this type of Christianity. We all need to get on our needs and pray, and in my humble opionion, especially those who profess to that slave mentality Christainity. It is time for a change. God does not support discrimination, and neither does anyone else that is trying to follow in the steps of our Lord and Saviour. I am praying for you. God bless.
Greetings Rev. Ajabu!
This comment is not directly to the article above but more to Mr. Smiley's upcoming visit to Indianapolis. I am pleased Mr. Smiley is coming here to speak, however he picked the wrong day of the week.
The Asante Children's Theatre Academy members supported by members from the Asante Touring Company have worked extremely hard to give life to the script "Who's Loving You Now?" - a cautionary tale about teen relationships. We are performing right next door in Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168 at 8pm on Friday June 26, 2009. The same day as Mr. Smiley and others are speaking at Clowes. His presence and the fact that admission is free are going to make parking for our event a nightmare.
I hope our kids are not too disappointed. Mr. Smiley, if you read this, at least stop by the theatre to encourage our kids. They have worked so hard. Actors call is 6pm.
Until the next time,
Peace.
Keesha Dixon
Executive Director
Asante Children's Theatre, Inc.
P. O. Box 22344
502 North Tremont
Indianapolis, IN 46222
Cell: 317-652-3727 (best way)
Phone: 317-635-7211 ext 228
Email: kdixon@asantechildrenstheatre.org
Website: http://www.asantechildrenstheatre.org
"Who's Loving You Now?" opens June 18, 2009 For more information about us, visit our website: http://www.asantechildrenstheatre.org
Ok,
We need to set up a spreadsheet.
I want to take from the guy who raped me and from the people who stole from my Cherokee relatives. Those people need to go take back from anyone who stole or pillaged from any of their ancestors.
Don't you see how SILLY you sound?
So why don't you start helping people instead of pointing fingers and annoying people who may or may not personally have done a thing to you. Maybe they have an ancestor somewhere you hurt an ancestor of yours, but maybe they have an ancestor who was hurt by one of yours.
God mad us to love one another.
What you do has nothing to do with love.
Reverend,
Black Christian women and I see eye to eye.
How about serving more and pointing less.
Dawn,
How can you take back that which was taken when you got raped? Be for real. Even when you give yourself willingly you can't take back that which was given. For some reason you want to personalize this issue and it is not about you personally, unless you are feeling some guilt. You be the judge of that. Black women during slavery were raped, snatched from their children and families, treated less than human and still are to some degree. Do you equate your experience with that? If you do, then I don't see how Black women would see eye to eye with you. It is funny that you say this. Reparations is not about taking back anything. It is about being compensated for the free labor, the humiliation, the pain and suffering, and the actual death of love ones. I have talked to Black women who know you and they tell me that they don't see eye to eye with you. There may be some that do, but I don't happen to know them. All the ones that I know that know you do not see eye to eye with you. I am sure that there are some things on which y'all agree. But from what I have been told there is some vast differences on how you see life as opposed to how they see it. Go figure. It is obvious that you are seeing something that is not there.
Love does not mean that people forget the harm that has been heaped upon them. We can forgive, but we mustn't forget. It is interesting that I have talked about white men and you have step into the role as being one. It is your appearance that you have in common with white men, not your gender. You really sound confused. We love you anyway. God bless.
Reverend
Let me see if I can help Dawn a little. The Whites in America today did not rape Black men, women, and children like their forefathers did during Slavery. They did not work Blacks from can't see morning to can't see night without pay. They did not kill other Whites for trying to teach Blacks to read. But the current Whites in America have lived deliciously on the fruits of their forefathers brutal inhumane savagery on Black people.
As a business owner, I would be 10 times wealthier if I could work my employees without paying them. The profits obtained from the blood, sweat, and tears of captive Black Africans were passed on to many of the Whites who now enjoy much wealth in 2009. Lets call it trickle down blood money from the slave labor. If we are not given some form of reparations, we who are spiritual know that our God will deal with them. Based on the current economic meltdown by Bush and the Conservative Republicans, I would venture to say that God's Judgment is already on America.
That thick head of Dawn's will not be able to absord and understand such basic scriptures which tell us that, "ye shall reap what you sow, the bottom rail shall come to the top, and go tell Pharoah to let my people go." It is written, so shall it be says the Lord of Host.
John
And I will tell you, Reverend and Marshall, that "reparations" will never be paid in this country because we can't even sort out, anymore, who was wronged and who was not.
And Marshall, you are singularly, the most insulting person on this blog. If you were ever going to be 10 times more successful in your life, it would have occurred with a change in your surly disposition, not from reparations.
Reverend, you have shown yourself for who you are. Everyone take note. Above, Reverend Ajabu has indicated that the "women" he knows who know me say.....
The truth is, he knows one woman who knows me and another who has spoken to me once on the telephone. What he thinks they agree or disagree with me about is a fabrication in his mind. I will not even say what the topic of the conversation was that I had with these two women. Suffice it to say, it did not involve him.
John, if God's judgement is currently on America, it is a very strange judgement. The weak are getting weaker still. That does not sound like God's judgement to me. God's judgement will occur in heaven, John. And God did not promise that on earth that there would be fairness or justice.
What he did say was love him. And he said that we should love one another.
If there is any Godly person left on this blog who thinks that Reverend Ajabu is doing God's work on this blog....this blog is NOT God's work. It is Reverend Ajabu's ego. There is no increasing of understanding going on here.
Everyone I know who knows this man says that it is his way to put words in peoples' mouths and to talk over people.
He twists my words all over the place. It's laughable.
He is a bigot and misogynist.
And John is what he is. Miserable.
I have been asked by people important to me to leave this blog time after time and I am going to take their advice. This Board is nothing but the old generation of angry Black men, who actually had reason to be angry when they were young men, who will never credit this country for the strides it has made so that they can heal with the rest of the country. Their children have paid the price for their anger, while people who chose to forgive saw their children move on.
Make no mistake about the collapse of this economy, people. It was made by foolish spending and greed. It was not made by God.
If you have too much debt, you do not take on 4 times as much debt. That is called foolishness. This President is starting to see that he has made a terrible mistake, but his ego is now in the way. He talks about needing to get spending under control because all of his economic advisors are telling him he needs to get spending under control. And then he goes out and spends even more. If you don't listen to anything that I say, listen to this. Prepare for double digit inflation and high energy prices. They are coming. Nobody will loan us anymore money and we are now monetizing our debt. The "cure" for that is low taxes, growth and reduced government spending. That is not what we are doing. We are planning to monetize the debt. Print money. That creates inflation. Read up on how to manage your finances during high inflation. Prepare. Shed your personal debt. Invest in inflation protected vehicles.
From Kennedy, through Reagan, Clinton and Bush...lower taxes boosted the economy from recession. And yes, Bush had a recovery to deal with after 9/11. And what did he do? Cut taxes. That part worked great. He just forgot to reduce spending and he forgot to communicate with the public about what Barney Frank and his buddies at Fannie Mae were up to.
God WILL deal with all of us, someday. Individually. I am leaving this blog because I know that he will deal with me. And he has better things for me to do than to sit and argue with old angry men who created their own anger by losing site of his healing spirit. They have both thought themselves bigger than God and the determiners of "fairness".
When these two men should have been out easing pain, they were causing it. And they still are today. And they will be stuck in their anger for the rest of their lives unless they can learn forgiveness.
They just won't be causing it for me.
God Bless.
Is Sorry Enough? Black Lawmakers Respond to Senate's Apology for Slavery
Cynthia Gordy
With a unanimous vote last week, the United States Senate passed a resolution formally apologizing for the enslavement and segregations of African-Americans. The strongly-worded resolution, which comes 144 years after the Civil War and 45 years after the Civil Rights Act, describes "the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws," and states that Congress "apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States, for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors." It now moves to the House.
Speaking from the Senate floor about the apology, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who first introduced the resolution, remarked that former presidents have acknowledged slavery. While traveling in Uganda, President Bill Clinton expressed regret for America's role in the slave trade, and President George W. Bush called it "one of the great crimes of history" when he visited Goree Island off the coast of Senegal. "Yet, this Congress has never offered a formal apology for slavery and Jim Crow, and it's long past due," Harkin said. "A national apology by the representative body of the people is a necessary collective response to a past collective injustice."
The resolution ends, though, with a disclaimer saying that it does not support or authorize any claim against the United States. In other words: We're sorry. But that doesn't mean you're going to get anything for it. It's a stipulation that has concerned some African-American lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
"I think that was unnecessary as part of the Senate resolution," says Congressman William Lacy Clay, who says he otherwise welcomes the gesture. "But I understand the politics of it. The way they were able to get it voted through the Senate was to have that disclaimer so that anyone, with guilt on their conscience, could not object."
Congresswoman Maxine Waters holds a similar outlook. "There is some discomfort with the disclaimer provision in the Senate resolution," she says, but adds that she's confident that it does not rule out pending reparations efforts, such as Congressman John Conyers's proposal for a commission to study reparation proposals for African-Americans. "In short, this is an apology bill and not a reparations bill."
There is, however, a historic precedent to reparations paid by the U.S. government. The 1988 Congressional apology to Japanese-Americans for internment during World War II, for example, was followed by about $1.6 billion in reparations that were given to victims of internment and their heirs. The government has also paid reparations to some of descendants of Native Americans. So, is an apology to African-Americans without accountability enough?
"An apology is a good start, but the research into reparations needs to go forward," said Congressman Clay, who also supports the creation of a Congressional research commission on reparations for African-Americans. "Apparently it's an issue that most in Congress do not want to deal with, and that most in this country do not want to deal with. But part of healing this country, and closing the divisions to become truly one America, depends on taking an honest look at our sometimes painful history."
Dawn (Our Conservative Christian)
If anyone is angry on this blog its you. Read Cynthia's post above. Your thinking is out of step with most of Black people's thought. Black people, for the most part, are some of the most forgiving people that there are. But history would not treat us kindly if we forget it anymore than we have. You act like you want a free ride, cheap grace. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt and say you are confused. But now you seem like you are intentionally trying to decieve. Quit it!! This is not what God would have you to do. God bless.