All posts by Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Lynching: One of America’s Grandest Traditions (HIST 1323)
There is little room to debate against the idea that the horrific crime against humanity known as lynching was a fixture in this nation for nearly four centuries after the first stolen Africans arrived in a British mainland colony. In many ways, lynching was a primal expression of Power in this nation. We must also remember that Blacks were not the only victims of this nation’s lynch culture.
What you will find below are two relatively short videos (approximately 10 minutes each) that discuss American lynch culture.
Please view the videos and leave a comment that describes how you feel inside after being exposed to this information.
WPA SLAVE NARRATIVES (HIST 2813)
During the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt commissioned writers and folklorists, the most notable being the esteemed writer Zora Neale Hurston, to travel throughout the South and capture the voices of the last living victims of American chattel slavery. What grew out of this research was volumes and volumes of interviews from the last living enslaved Africans. Their accounts are in a word, riveting.
Your task is to view the theatrical portrayals of these irreplaceable stories and chose at least one to highlight as your favorite and please explain why it stands out to you.
Click on the video to view U.S. History. I am sure that you will recognize many of the actors participating in this brilliant project.
Why Trump’s Radio Ads Should be Considered Offensive by Black Men: Joe Biden’s Ads Are Not Any Less Offensive Either
Earlier this week, I discussed that Joe Biden’s campaign was making a concerted effort to reach out to the often-ignored Black male voter with two political ads. Undoubtedly, these efforts by the strategist behind Joe Biden’s campaign are being conducted to ensure that the votes of Black men do not slip through the Democratic Party candidate’s hands.
I am sure that the Biden campaign is not overly concerned that Black men will vote for an embattled Donald J. Trump. However, there should be some concern that Black men may very well stay at home and not cast a ballot for either candidate. Hence, Joe Biden’s decision to court Black men with barbershop talk ads is a strategic move designed to encourage them to get out and vote in key battleground states. There is no one who believes that the Trump campaign will convince many Black male voters to vote for the embattled incumbent. Yet, the politically astute realize that he may not need many more than the 8% who cast a ballot for him in 2016 to steal a battleground state from Joe Biden.
As a firm believer in the saying “monkey see monkey do,” I knew it would not be long before the Trump campaign sent some form of communication to Black male voters residing in urban America. I did not have to wait long. The Trump campaign unveiled new radio ads that will run in urban areas such as Detroit, Flint, Raleigh, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The new ads featuring Herschel Walker and Georgia State Representative Vernon Jones are attempting to convince Black voters that they have nothing to lose by voting for Trump over Joe Biden. It would be wise for Trump to remind Black America that it was Joe Biden who created the 1994 Crime Bill that proved disastrous for many Blacks.
In the Trump ad, Herschel Walker shares the following fond recollections of the polarizing Donald J. Trump.
I’ve known Donald Trump for 37 years. He keeps right on fighting to improve the lives of Black Americans.
Vernon Jones is quick to second the spirit of the famed NFL running backs feelings by adding,
I’m a lifelong Democrat and I’m part of a large and growing segment of the Black community who are independent thinkers and we believe that Donald Trump is the president that America needs to lead us forward.
The above blasé statements by Herschel Walker and Vernon Jones remind me of automobile commercials that advertisers aim at urban Blacks. Ads that tell their target audience nothing about why they should purchase the advertised product. Positioned in the place of pertinent information such as miles per gallon or safety features is blaring music, neon lights, and stylishly dressed actors. Unfortunately for Black America, the alluded to fluff advertising has historically worked on Blacks. And as you well know, in the political world, if a piece of propaganda works, candidates will use the strategy over and over again.
It is time that Black America forced all politicians, not just those seeking the Oval Office, to provide substantive information regarding their platform and timetables for implementation in exchange for their political support. A bland blasé statement by Herschel Walker and Vernon Jones fails to meet that standard; in fairness, I must state that the Biden campaign usually fails to meet that mark as well.
I am certain that the politically astute within our community, regardless of their political leanings, care little that Herschel Walker and Donald J. Trump have been friends for nearly four decades. Friendships and connections to notable Blacks is a ridiculous reason for anyone to cast support for a political leader. Black America must develop its own political agenda to address its particular issues and demand its acceptance and implementation in exchange for our political support. Failure to do so proves that Black voters are still naïve enough to follow political leaders who remain committed to the grand tradition of “talking loud and saying nothing.”
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.