Black in America: CNN (Where Do We Go From Here?)

I must say, I was glad to see a major
national news network, CNN run a series, CNN Presents Black in America about the modern lives & struggles of Black families in America. Soledad O'Brien contrasted the disparities as well as the striking similarities between the have's and have nots of Black America. As a bi-racial American, she was the perfect face & moderator for this expose, fitting though since CNN (which I've had the pleasure of touring) is based in one of America's most prosperous Black metropolitan areas, Atlanta.

Let's be real about it though, this series did not teach Black people anything that we didn't know already. Re: Black women--we already know that single mothers and the economic & social struggles they and their families face are one of the most storied representations of the Black experience, HIV/AIDS is prevalent among our women b/c they are faced with lack of preventive care, stigma in the community & lack of support from the church, plus many don't know that they are carriers of the disease. Hypertension, diabetes & heart disease run rampant due to a health care system which is inadequate to meet the needs of poor non-payers, most of whom must go to the emergency room as their only (reactive) health care option. Yes, we already know that Black women are starting to date outside their race to compensate for the lack of educated brothers due to disproportionate incarceration rates among Black men (both byproducts of the Willie Lynch Theory).

Re: Black men, we already know that corporations are more likely to punish Black men coming out of the prison system, hampering their rehabilitation in society, demeaning their self respect & forcing them to resort to undesirable means to support their family. We already know that an educated Black man starts off on a un-even playing field in which a Black man in his job search is likely to be told he is underqualified b/c he is not privileged to be part of many of the social, business or economic networks that his White male counterparts belong to in order to get "the hookup". Oh & we already know that an "over-educated" Black male is going to be branded as "overqualified," meaning, "We dont' want to pay you what you're worth & we don't want you to think you can come in an take our jobs that we own (e.g. reverse discrimination)". (Trust me I had that experience coming out of b-school, MBA). Yes, we already know that society treats light skinned & darker skinned folks differently, no where more apparent that with the touching story of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a foremost author & academic & his brother, serving a life sentence for an alleged drug killing. We already struggle daily with the dueling realities of hip hop culture. And the list could go on and on and on and on, but I digress lest I wear myself out with words.

So who was this series addressed to? It was addressed to the White Americans and others who still mistakenly believe that stereotypes, prejudice & racism no longer exist in our "open" & tolerant society. These are the folks who will tell you that 40 years of affirmative action (which has primarily benefitted White women--look up your statistics) is adequate to make up for 400 years of slavery and its resultant economic, social, religious & political oppression. These are the folks that will always champion "personal responsibility" as if our society bears no fault or accountability for the way things are. These are folks that believe that b/c one hard working Black man who went from food stamps to Harvard to closing in on the Presidency, must indicate that we're not as bad as we thought, that now the playing field is officially level for everyone.

Really the only thing to take from the series as a whole was that regardless of how far we have come, we still have a long way to go. Despite folks like D.L. Hughley making it from the Bloods gang as a teen to enviable position of influence in international entertainment (comedy, movie acting, sitcoms, etc) there is still another group that has been forgotten--"the rest of us".

Are We Ready for a Black President (Or Just Another Rich White One?)

I wish that more of my Tampa Bay area friends had been present on Wednesday, 7/16/08 (although we did have a standing room only crowd) as Motown Maurice and The Combination facilitated lively debate between panelists and audience from many different perspectives. That's what The Combination, and Wide aWoke Wednesday are all about--uniting us despite our many differing perspectives on the same topics.

While it's true that maybe the color of the President should not matter, unfortunately it does due to to a variety of historic, social, economic and political factors. After all if it didn't matter then I'm sure we would have had a Black, Native American, Latino, or Asian President w/in the last 400 years, seeing as how those were the people that built the America we enjoy today. However, it does matter in the context of our western/Eurocentric mindset, and historically, socially, economically, politically, and symbolically.

Now, does the possibility of Obama mean that racism will seek to exist? NO. Does it mean that the single Black mother working 2 jobs at $7/hr to get through college and to put food on her family's table will suddenly have an easier life? NO of course not. Does this mean that cops will stop racial profiling or our prisons will not continue to be 80% filled with the blacks and the poor? NO--although a President can actually have some impact in reforming the criminal & civil justice system. (Recall Pres. Ronald Reagan's alleged "War on Drugs" and how that has forever impacted the legal system. More recently, recall Pres. Bill Clinton’s controversial 1996 “one-strike” rule which made first-time offenses by those in public housing as punishable by incarceration? By the way, the "President and Congress have direct control of the federal prison population". Now there were more things that the average Joe without proper legal representation could rot in jail for.)

The bottom line is that the Presidency represents the world's most prestigious job in the world's richest country, and up until now, anyone with a drop of Black or non-WASP blood had absolutely no chance of navigating the networks or making the path that it takes to become President. This accomplishment is symbolically important b/c it tells the rest of the world, that yes, there is hope that ONE DAY it won't actually matter what color a person is as long as they are a capable leader. Until that day, we still have a long way to go, but as the old commercial says, "You've come a long way, baby."

For more information on Wide aWoke Wednesdays, please visit http://www.wideawoke.com/

http://www.thecombinationtv.com/ or call 813-951-0794. Our once monthly forums are typically held the 3rd Wednesday, 7:30pm with refreshments & a Meet & Greet at 6:30pm at USF Alumni Center - Traditions Hall 4202 E. Fowler Ave. Tampa, FL 33620.

Anatomy of a Black Mind: How Black is Black Enough?

I was deeply troubled recently by Jesse Jackson's Fox News comments on Barack Obama.

Some of our Black leaders would rather see an incompetent, warmongering, criminal white President in power who cares nothing except how to enrich his already rich friends (e.g., Bush, McCain, etc) than to support a progressive brother who is both Black and White, but chooses to identify himself as Black, taking on our struggles voluntarily. When Pres. Clinton was elected, Blacks across the country voted over 80% for him, and Black "fans" called him "The First Black President" without EVER questioning his "Blackness". Now that we have someone who could legitimately make the government "by the people, for the people" a reality for the first time since FDR, it seems we can't go a week or two without some Black figure wondering publicly whether Obama is "Black Enough."

Apparently unless you agree with the world view of EVERYONE who is a major Black figure, you can't expect their support. ...Not realizing that to a Eurocentric culture, we're ALL the same (Black Americans, non-American Blacks, Indians, Caribbean people, Hispanic/Latinos, Arabs, etc.) If Blacks stuck together, we could be THE most powerful voting bloc in American politics, far surpassing Latinos, Jews and other voting blocs who tend more often to vote for those that represent their views.

Yes, these things are symptoms of hundreds of years of the Willie Lynch Theory being propagated throughout American society. However, with education and knowledge/self-awareness at our fingertips, we have no one to blame but ourselves if we don't get IT right!

Sen. Clinton's Concession E-Mail

Dear Keto,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely, Hillary
Hillary Rodham Clinton

My Note to HillaryClinton.com Following Sen. Obama's Nomination

On Tuesday night, I watched the post-primary speeches of Sen.'s Obama, Clinton & McCain following the South Dakota and Montana Democratic primary contests in which Senator Obama passed the milestone in delegate endorsements to become the presumptive nominees for Democratic party presidential candidate. While watching Clinton's speech, I was intrigued by what I saw, so when she said, "Go to HillaryClinton.com and leave me your suggestions" after stating that she would not be making any decisions last night, I decided to do just that. So I wrote the following in a letter I posted to her site. Let me know what you think! KH

"Good afternoon, Hon. Senator Clinton! I do start by congratulating you on a spirited Democratic primary run which has inspired women and my daughters that they still can break the biggest glass ceiling of all. The competition between yours and Sen. Obama's campaign represents many positive firsts, and lets everyone know that you don't have to be a "good old boy" or a white male to run for a major party nomination.

I am however ashamed of several things, one of them being that [campaign chairman Terry] McAuliffe introduced you as "the next President of the US" at last night's rally. How disengenuous is that when everyone else in the country knows that Obama had gained well over the 2,118 delegates needed to secure the nomination? I watched your speech and while I applaud your followers, it showed poor sport for you to not once congratulate Sen Obama on having won the nomination, when he was gracious enough to speak well of you during his victory speech in MN. Often in this campaign your staff seems to operate in denial of the most obvious facts of this Democratic contest often relying on misstatements to polarize Clinton voters against Obama's campaign. (The "Sen Clinton has won more states, popular vote, and delegates" is one of the most obvious misstatements meant to confuse those who don't know any better b/c they don't bother to do research for themselves.) Obviously if this were true, YOU would be now the nominee instead of Obama, right?

I ask you as a former resident of Arkansas while Pres. Clinton was Governor, an under-30 Black male, college educated, lifetime Democrat and voter that for the sake of party unity, the opportunity to take back the White House from one of the most corrupt and shameful presidents in history, nominate the next Supreme Court Justices, bring home the troops, revive the economy, etc that you throw your full support and encourage your "18M+ voters" to do the same for Obama to ensure this [next] President is a Democrat. Whether he offers you the VP spot or not after you stated in the campaign that Obama has not crossed the "threshold" necessary to be C-in-C is not even an issue. This presidential contest is so much bigger than you or Obama, and if you and Pres. Bill Clinton can throw your support fully behind Obama to ensure that he wins, then those of us who are all on the same side will see you as a true winner and not a sore loser. Thank you, Kéto Hodges"

Reasons Why I Would Not Vote for Hillary (EVER) by Kéto

This week, I was conversing online with one of my friends, we'll call him Bro. H. We were discussing the current political scene, and he posed this question to me, "How do you feel about the possibility of Hilary R Clinton getting the nomination over Obama in the DNC?" Well that really got me into some deep thinking as this really IS a possibilty considering that Sen. Clinton has already stated publicly that the popular vote does not matter as much as how the delegates vote (even though the delegates are appropriated based on the popular vote except of course for uncommitted "super" delegates). As of the Pennsylvania primaries, Obama leads Clinton by over 500,000 votes. Clinton has further stated that delegates may change their vote, meaning that even though Obama has a lead of over 100+ delegates over her, giving him the path to the nomination, she would not object if a sufficient number defected to her, giving her the final lead in delegates--it's as simple as that. Well, I decided to enumerate for H, my feelings on his question, and why I felt that way, so check out my post below! Let me know what you think too. KH

Bro. H, I feel...Uneasy. I feel that if Clinton gets the nomination with fewer earned delegates, fewer superdelegates, and fewer states (half) than Obama has won, then the Democratic party will lose quite of few of it's constituents--like me. (If the party nomination rules don't count then what's the point of running? Candidates might as well just pay off key party figures and call it a day.) And that is not in their best interest when trying to take back the White House and Congress, and future Supreme Court nominations in an election that they have a good possibility of winning. I was a supporter of Bill Clinton in his Presidency and up until this election cycle when I feel he and his wife started acting like Black voters owe them something. I certainly don't plan on voting for her due to several major factors among others:

1) claiming experience that she doesn't have (as if going to meetings during her husband's presidency automatically qualifies her for anything other than first lady status.) Given this logic, Laura Bush should be the President,

2) her inability to tell the truth about simple things (Bosnia sniper fire, named for Edmund Hillary, health care stories, implying that Obama is Muslim as a scare tactic, she fought AGAINST NAFTA etc),

3) trying to pit Black voters against female/feminist voters & white male voters,

4) agreeing to rules then trying to change them after she sees they (dis)advantage her (MI, FL delegates, caucuses...),

5) her record on supporting an insane war that she now supposedly opposes,

6) Clinton is supposedly the best candidate to lead on "Day 1". However, if she does win, her financial management style will doom the nation to a continued recession and higher national debt to to her inability to plan for the long run. All you have to do is look at her own campaign for proof. Clinton has known since 1999 that she would run for President in 2008, that's why she started making plans to run for the Senate in New York. She and her husband had built a vast political and financial network over the last 15 years since he was first elected President in 1992. She began raising money long before Obama, did yet she has little to show for it financially. After raising over $100 million prior to Super Tuesday (Feb. 4), Clinton has to take out a $5M loan shortly after b/c her campaign had squandered all that money, expecting to have the DNC nomination wrapped up on that day. This "plan" was admitted by her staff, so it clearly demonstrates that she has little ability to plan wisely for the long-term with other people's money, no matter that the over $100 million she had raised was one of the highest fundraising totals in the history of modern US elections, behind Sen. Obama. In the meantime, paper trails indicated that Clinton left behinds dozens of vendors across numerous states owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid campaign bills. Her staff only paid some of those bills when the vendors came forward on TV or in the media--some of these guys are small businesses who can't afford to go 1 or 2 months without collecting say $10,000 in debt. "Ready on Day 1?" Hardly.

7) finally Clinton is what the Republicans have been looking for. They are still not that excited about McCain (big money Republicans are still not embracing him--and their money is critical to winning). But... if she hoodwinks the nomination, Republicans will unite even more than they were ever able to in Bush' election-stealing escapades due to their hate of anything "Clinton". So from that standpoint, she is is unelectable, the most important argument of all.

All these reasons go to show me that Sen. Clinton practices "do anything/say anything" political opportunism--after Bush we need someone who stands for what is good and right when convenient and inconvenient, not just when the polls tell them. For me that person is Sen. Barack Obama. In a future post, I may detail the reasons WHY I Would (Will) Vote for Sen. Obama. I already voted for him in the Florida Democratic Primaries.

Roll-call: 4,000 US Troops Have Died in the Quagmire That is Iraq

Congratulations Bush & Cheney - jackass clowns- on 4,000 American casualties of Iraq. Look at the [unnecessary] pain and suffering you've caused us by lying us into Iraq! If this is what "winning" the alleged "war on terror" looks like then I'd hate to see what "losing" would look like. This at the end of a week in which Bush & Cheney declare that America is winning. First, the "surge" would allow us to bring our troops home sooner, now b/c the "surge" is working, we CAN'T bring the troops home. Never mind that the main reason the "surge" is kinda working is b/c the US military has been paying off the Sunni tribal chiefs who would normally be bombing us, to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq and others instead. It doesn't take much sense to figure out that militias and armies the world over tend to listen to whoever is paying them the most money or whoever is providing them the armaments...

The White Preacher Double Standard

Friends, Let's use that college critical thinking ability for a moment, and examine the following scenario: A Black minister of a major Chicago church stands up in his pulpit and denounces America for it's racist past against Blacks and other non-whites on whose back this country has been built (Ummm, see notes on Native Americans, Chinese immigrants, Mexican workers, etc.), and states that God is judging America for oppressing the people here. This minister is roundly condemned by the media, political opportunists & conservatives. NOW, let's consider that a good number of the world's most famous, White, Conservative televangelists have made highly similar statements--i.e., "God is judging the US for homosexuality, abortion, etc." but this gets absolutely no media play even though we see these evangelists on TV daily. So what are we SUPPOSED to think when Rod Parsley and other white televangelists blow their stack?
As the article so aptly states,

all of these white preachers have said and done the most outlandish and offensive things you can imagine - and hardly a peep. If the disparity in coverage isn't racist, then what is it?

Shameful Behavior by Amer Air Leads to Death of Haitian Nurse

Horrible story of how American Airlines allowed a Haitian nurse, Carine Desir, to die on the airplane flight from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to the US. First refused to give her oxygen, then both tanks given her were empty, the defibrillator was broken, instead of landing in the Islands or Miami, the pilot maintained the flight, then her body was wrapped an put in 1st class until the flight landed in NYC. SHAME ON YOU AA!