Tag Archives: African-American Politics
Ilyasha Shabazz: Who Killed Malcolm X (Reflections from his Daughter)
We’ve Seen This Political Dance Before: Why The Shift from Biden to Bloomberg Says So Much About Inept Black Political Leaders
Maybe it is God’s fault for making Blacks the way that they seemingly are. Meaning the propensity to be so eager to forgive any non-Black person who issues half-hearted insincere requests for forgiveness. On second thought it could be Black parents who should be blamed for not developing a semblance of common sense in their offspring. Better yet, it may be the school system that shoulders the brunt for Black America’s on-going failure to recognize their collective interests, develop a plan, and then execute the plan. Regardless of where the blame should be placed, I am sure that we agree that there is something wrong in regards to how Blacks deal with what can only be termed the commonsense political matters.
Evidence of Black America’s penchant for forgiving political figures who dedicated significant portions of their public life rallying the White community to aid in their efforts to further oppress their darker brothers and sisters abound. The latest example of what can be best termed Black America’s political stupidity is found in their escalating support of former New York City Mayor Michael “Stop and Frisk” Bloomberg.
Black America’s affinity for White political leaders who led the charge to harm them may be the lynchpin that activates Black political support. Could it be that the reason Black political leaders have advised their constituents to shift their support from Joe “Crime Bill” Biden to Michael “stop and frisk” Bloomberg is a subconscious, yet omnipresent self-hatred referenced by Black psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s “Black and White baby doll test?” When one considers the illogical decision-making of Black political leaders, questions regarding pervasive self-hatred are rather reasonable. Put simply; does the self-hatred of Black America run that deep?
I honestly thought it a joke when I heard that Black political and civic leaders in Houston, Texas were orchestrating a political rally called “Mike for Blacks” in support of “Frisky” Michael Bloomberg. After a moment of incredulous laughter, I realized that the alluded to event is what I have come to expect from a Black political leadership cadre perched between the lack of wisdom and political strategy. If nothing else, the alluded to leaders have proven consistent in their ability to fumble political opportunities.
Nevertheless, here we are AGAIN, witnessing self-appointed and White endorsed Black political leaders shifting their political allegiance from Joe Biden, the architect of a draconian crime bill that disrupted Black America in untold ways, to Michael Bloomberg, a man whose policies reveals a segregationist heart that reminds one of Strom Thurmond and Bull Connor. Although unfashionable to state, Joe Biden’s Crime Bill and Michael Bloomberg’s rationale and execution of his “stop and frisk” policy would be applauded by ardent segregationists of yesteryear and even today. Let me be clear on this matter, Michael Bloomberg, Black leaders political darling of the moment, was a key cog in the building, maintaining, and executing of institutional racism throughout New York City.
It is time that Black America wakes up and realizes that the thoughts, viewpoints, and activities that Michael “stop and frisk” Bloomberg executed as Mayor New York City represent his true identity and only a fool will believe that his public affinity for Blacks is anything other than a ploy to secure the crucial Black vote in his pursuit of the Democratic Party nomination. In many ways, it is criminal for Black leaders to convince naïve trusting constituents that Michael Bloomberg has had a “come to Jesus” moment that turned his heart of stone into one of flesh when it comes to Blacks.
As mentioned earlier, I am unsure of who to blame for the continuing existence of an uninformed Black electorate whose political expectations are not met by the rewards they have historically received for their crucial support. There is no room to argue against the assertion that the tradition of Black elected officials being installed for decades to serve as modern-day members of the know nothing and do- nothing party serves as a prerequisite to Blacks pervasive pessimism regarding the political process.
I am sure that you understand my hesitation to term the current Black political economy as an occurrence of “plantation politics”; I have no choice considering the evidence. There is no doubt that an uninformed Black populace has placed their votes in the pockets of opportunistic leaders whose most meaningful actions are the trading of those precious votes for a personal favor.
Black America’s never-ending “have not” status leaves one to deduce that Black leaders are some combination of grossly inept in their dealings with powerful Whites and sly like foxes in their dealings with uninformed, yet very trusting Black voters. This wicked formula invariably results in a continuation of Black misery and suffering of Black men, women, children, and babies. And as you well know, when mired in such a terrible situation the question of whose fault it is, finds itself a distant second to how do we get out of this situation. One thing is for certain, the solution to Black America’s problems will not be provided by inept political leaders who seemingly have made the alluded to suffering secondary to their opening of increasing their personal situation.
What a shame!!!!!!
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.
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If The Killing of Qasem Soleiman Leads to WWIII, Should Blacks Serve American Interests Abroad
Although I did not foresee the frenetic fears and scuttlebutt regarding how the Trump ordered drone attack that ended the life of Iranian military General Qasem Soleiman could affect Black America, I am not surprised by the robust discussion.
From what I have been able to glean, there appear to be two strands of discussion occurring within Black America.
- Will the draft be reinstated?
- Should Black Americans support this nation in its conflicts abroad?
It is the latter of these two matters that delivers an unmistakable feeling of having been here before.
This question regarding “should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” is a familiar one that invariably arises during every military conflict.
Consider for a moment after Germany sunk the Lusitania, an act that guaranteed the U.S. would enter WWI, non-Whites (a populace that included new immigrant populations from Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, etc.) were called on to prove their loyalty to “the land of the free and home of the brave.” W.E.B. Du Bois, the foremost leader of Blacks during this period, felt that we must serve and “prove ourselves brave” as this would be the war to “make Americans.” He later realized that his analysis was severely flawed as it failed to recognize how deep racial hatred ran through the veins of non-Black Americans even during times of war.
To the chagrin of many Blacks and the surprise of no one, the plight of Blacks after their heroic service during WWI remained the same. In fact, their subordinate status was emphasized via racially segregated victory parades and the Red Summer of 1919. A historical period that facilitated a steep rise in the lynching of Blacks, particularly servicemen who had just returned from advancing this nation’s interest abroad.
It is this situation that inspired Claude McKay’s poetic call to arms If We Must Die.
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
Similar events surround Black participation in WWII.
Having learned lessons regarding the evil that appears to be etched into the spirits of so many of their countrymen, Black soldiers entered WWII fighting under the banner of “The Double-V Campaign” — Victory Abroad and Victory at Home. Yet, their final reward was a continuation of their subjugated second-class citizenship.
Participation in neither war appreciably altered the status of Blacks in this nation. Hence, it should be expected that the question of “Should Blacks support this nation in its conflicts abroad?” remains pertinent.
In many ways, the consistent pressure from “Whites” regarding Black patriotism is not only offensive but also reveals our opponent’s well-worn tendency to gloss over historical realities. Within the historically unsupportable assertion that Blacks are less patriotic than their fairer-skinned countrymen is a hidden revelation from Whites that if they were treated as poorly as Blacks have been by this nation, they would not support it in any way shape or form. Even the issuing of this question by a mongrelized “White populace” conveys a historically unsupportable perspective that they are the sole owners of this nation.
Even a cursory reading of American history definitively proves that there has not been a single military conflict where Blacks have not displayed their patriotism. How quickly do people forget that the first to give his life for the establishment of this nation during the Boston Massacre was Crispus Attucks, a Black man.
In actuality, the patriotism question should be placed at the feet of the descendants of Confederates who warred against this nation, not Blacks who have always served this nation with no guarantee that their service would appreciably improve their condition. When viewed through this lens, a credible argument could be made that Blacks are the most American of all.
In regards to the question of should they serve this nation during military conflicts that have historically delivered little tangible improvement to their lives, I am indifferent. My indifference flows from the fact that my countrymen have repeatedly proven to be hypocrites who have yet to display a consistent determination to provide access to much-needed resources on a fair basis regardless of race, creed, or sex.
If the current situation with Iran leads to WWIII, I already realize that Blacks will do what they have always done and defended this nation without either demand or expectation of any tangible improvement in their lives. It is what we have always done and I don’t see any reason that it will change at this point.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.
RICHARD G. HATCHER: A LIFE OF POLITICAL LESSONS THAT BLACK AMERICA CONTINUES TO IGNORE
I have attempted to make sense out of Black America’s deafening silence regarding the death of Richard G. Hatcher, the first Black mayor of Gary, Indiana. In many ways, this silence is yet another reminder that far too many Blacks have little understanding of a historical record that holds indispensable lessons regarding what will and what will not work in the struggle for Black liberation.
If nothing else, Black America should know who Richard G. Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes, the first Black Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as they were living symbols of a “Black Power” politic that failed to uplift Black America from an all too familiar position of economic marginality.
Those well-versed in a volatile identity politic driven 1960s that witnessed Richard Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes’ election as the first Black men to lead major American cities will tell you that by the mid-sixties non-Southern Black activist communities had abandoned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. non-violent civil disobedience and pursuit of integration with a hostile White community in favor of a yet to be fully defined “Black Power” politic.
There is no more prominent example of shifting political winds than the fact that the Watts Rebellion began August 11, 1965, a mere five days after President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. While many Americans displayed optimism regarding a potential path to racial reconciliation, Black America abandoned gradualism in favor of an impatient Black Power politic. Black Powerites rallied behind one of two goals.
- The overthrow of America via revolutionary action.
- The seizing of central cities via political participation and economic solidarity.
Ironically, the vanguard organization of the 1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would travel down both of these paths during their existence.
While outlandish Black Powerites issued threats that they had no power to execute, Richard G. Hatcher became the Mayor of Gary, Indiana.
Parliament beautifully articulates this unprecedented moment as the arrival of “Chocolate cities and Vanilla suburbs.” This moment of Black political hope was born of equal parts White flight and Black political naïveté.
The ascension of Black men to political power in cities such as Gary, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Atlanta was a test case regarding the utility of the vote. Unfortunately for Blacks, this test of political theory would prove that there was not much that Black Mayor’s could do to reverse the steep economic decline each of these embattled cities would experience.
Gary, Indiana, much like Maynard Jackson’s Atlanta, suffered mightily as a result of the racial slur that it was now a Black city. While White citizens fled the central city, they carried their businesses and much-needed taxable income with them. It soon became apparent that not even the election of a Black Mayor could significantly alter the fortunes of Black urbanites. During a late-seventies interview, Hatcher addressed the worsening struggles of cities such as Gary in the following way.
There’s almost a vested interest among a lot of powerful business people, the tax assessors and other county officials who keep business taxes low here, in proving that a city run by a black will fail.
Unfortunately for Blacks who dedicated their lives to expressing “Black Power” via electoral participation, it became increasingly clear that such efforts were incapable of staving off poverty, violence, or other social maladies that flowed from the river of economic inequality.
In the wake of his ascension to the apex of local politics, Hatcher shared lessons learned during the journey. According to Hatcher, there was no balm for the suffering that the ‘powerless’ experienced at the hand of “affluent elements of our society.” In fact, this nation’s central cities were nothing more than “repositories for the poor, the Black, the Latin, the elderly.” Hatcher now understood that such groups were incapable of accomplishing significant change. Hatcher now believed that the only hope for meaningful change would occur via a coalition of liberals, Black Powerites, and radical Whites who were truly committed to concepts such as “power to the people.”
Unfortunately, it appears that such concepts are as meaningless to present society as the death of Richard G. Hatcher, a man whose political life once held so much promise.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.