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I Guess That We All Get A Turn: The Unfortunate Saga of Dr. Armen Henderson and What It Means About the Relationship of Black Men to White Police Officer’s (We’ve Seen This Many Times Before)

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There comes a moment when one has to call “a spade, a spade.” I doubt that it’s possible to find a single African-American man who has a personal story that relates the tenuous nature and unsettled feelings that seem to naturally flow from interaction with law enforcement officers. Every Black man that I know of can inform you of the moment that they came to the realization that the one life that they spent decades developing can be snatched away at a moment’s notice by a rogue law enforcement officer due to no fault of their own.

This unfortunate reality was reiterated yet again by the experience of Dr. Armen Henderson this past week. Dr. Henderson, a medical doctor whose service to the homeless community in Miami, Florida, during the global pandemic was feted by the Miami Herald newspaper has made national news as a result of it being his turn to be in the wrong place, this time it happens to be in front of his house, at the wrong time. Dr. Henderson’s character is best reflected in his taking charge of much of the Coronavirus testing of the homeless in this uncertain time.

If they are being truthful, most Blacks, regardless of gender or socioeconomic status, can tell you that they understand that their life can be ended due to circumstances far beyond their control. For Dr. Henderson, the context was his loading of makeshift tents that he intended for the homeless. This good nearly cost him his freedom, if not his life.   

Dr. Armen Henderson was in front of his home loading up his vehicle with supplies to continue his outreach efforts for the less fortunate in his community when IT occurred. The IT that I refer to is an unwanted and unnecessary conflict with a police officer. A video camera captured the officer’s arrival and a subsequent brief discussion between the law enforcement officer and Dr. Henderson. Video footage also captured the officer placing the famed medical doctor in handcuffs for no apparent reason. In a scene that reminds one of the fugitive slave laws of yesteryear, Dr. Henderson screamed for his wife’s assistance. Fortunately, she was aware enough to rush outside with identification confirming that this harassment was occurring in front of their residence. It is deplorably that this pillar of the community was not released until the officer reviewed the identification in a manner that reminds me of the deplorable antics of slave catchers reviewing manumission papers that identified persons of African descent as free men or women. As expected, Miami’s Chief of police, Jorge Colina, backed his officer’s actions and attempted to explain away the issue as a misunderstanding that flowed from the officer investigating repeated complaints of illegal dumping.

As mentioned above, there comes a time when we must call “a spade, a spade.” For African-Americans who did not already realize that they must be on high-alert every moment of the day, even inside the comfy confines of their homes, this is yet another lesson that you are always only a moment away from a contentious conflict with a rogue element of some law enforcement agency that has convinced themselves that they have the power to be judge, jury, and executioner of any Black person they encounter.

If nothing else, the historical record indicates that we must each understand that we are only a single interaction from having our life and the lives of those that we love permanently disrupted by the unwise decisions of a bigoted officer “following procedures.” Such a context mandates that African-Americans pledge to be careful out there today, tomorrow, and forever because your life is the best thing that you have going for you. Survive conflict with rogue officers and anyone else seeking to harm you “by any means necessary.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

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Why I Am Never Jubilant on Jackie Robinson Day: Reflections on Race, Sport, Ownership, and a Hostile Takeover of the Negro Leagues

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I must admit that I am a rabid baseball fan of the New York Yankees and there is probably no greater disruption to my life at the present moment than the inability to watch MY team make its way to a long-overdue World Series Title. In a world filled with so much uncertainty, I do know this for certain; a world without Major League Baseball is simply not enjoyable.

Most who know my relationship with Major League Baseball (MLB) find it conflicting that although I am a Black man who is an unbridled MLB fanatic, I do not view Jackie Robinson’s integration of the sport with rose-colored glasses. I fully understand that this make me an anomaly among African-American fans of MLB; this point is annually reinforced for me during Jackie Robinson day celebrations.

Where others see cause to celebrate the integration of MLB, I mourn at the losses Black America suffered as a result of this “racial progress.” Jackie Robinson’s selection as the first Black player to play in the “Major Leagues” would come at a rarely discussed cost to black communities as well as Negro League players and team owners. In a world that made the closing of physical distance between Blacks and Whites akin to racial progress, the underside of integration is rarely, if ever, discussed. Jackie Robinson Day has become a moment of forced racial tranquility via the curtailing of critiques around Race, baseball, power, and ownership.

The historical record indicates that there has always been a cadre of Black leaders who pursued integration by any means necessary. This foolhardy pursuit of integration at all costs has historically resulted in the ruin of much of Black America.

Never mentioned in annual celebrations of Robinson’s arrival to the Los Angeles Dodgers roster is the economic ruin that resulted within black communities that were buoyed by revenue flowing from the Negro Leagues. Although it is painful to admit, Robinson’s donning of a Dodgers uniform meant the eventual loss of dollars within black communities that circulated those much-needed monies; we must remember that the circulation of black dollars was partially facilitated by the pernicious effects of Jim Crow mandated racial segregation. The socioeconomic casualties, especially the loss of team ownership, are far too numerous to list in this space. Negro League teams such as the

  • Atlanta Black Crackers
  • Cleveland Buckeyes
  • New York Black Yankees
  • Kansas City Monarchs

were not only a significant source of entertainment for the African-American communities that housed them but also provided the opportunity for team ownership for African-American men such as Joe Green, Andrew “Rube” Foster, Tom Wilson.

By most accounts, including those of MLB players such as Babe Ruth, Negro League players were more skilled and physically superior to their White counterparts. Such comparisons extended to comparisons of folk-heroes such as Babe Ruth whose talent was eclipsed by the great Josh Gibson; Baseball historians tell us that it was Gibson, not Ruth, who was the only man to ever hit a ball out of old Yankee Stadium.

In hindsight, it made little sense for Negro League teams to disassemble and have its most socially acceptable, not necessarily most talented, pieces parceled out to MLB teams. The Black Nationalist portion of my mind hopes that if Black America understood that the most significant consequence of Jackie Robinson integrating MLB for our community was the dismantling of the Negro Leagues and the decline of our socioeconomic viability that they would temper their celebration of Jackie Robinson Day.

Now please do not take my words as a veiled call for an extension of racial segregation, it is not. However, this call is a harkening for Black America to reconsider its rush to abandon institutions they have created and controlled for entities they have no ownership of.

In hindsight, it is obvious that the decline of the Negro Leagues was a hostile takeover executed by MLB owners. There is no other means of viewing this occurrence by MLB power-brokers like Branch Rickey. From the beginning, MLB owners appeared determined to limit the “integration” of their sport to the playing field, not the owner’s box. If figures such as Branch Rickey were truly interested in integrating baseball they would have pursued diversity throughout the entire game from the playing field to the ownership ranks. What makes this matter more despicable is that there is precedence for such an occurrence in the world of professional sports.

There was a time when the National Basketball Association (NBA) faced stiff competition from the upstart American Basketball Association (ABA). Now I do not want you to think that the ABA was some ragtag outfit composed of players who did not possess the talent to play in the NBA. The ABA was very similar to the Negro Leagues in that it featured incredibly talented players who mesmerized fans with an exciting brand of basketball that the NBA could not rival. Here are a few of the greats that began their careers in the ABA:

  • Julius “Dr. J.” Irving
  • Artis Gilmore
  • Connie Hawkins
  • Rick Barry
  • Spencer Haywood
  • Billy Cunningham
  • George McGinnis
  • George Gervin
  • Moses Malone
  • Dan Issel
  • David Thompson

Instead of “integrating” the ABA stars into NBA teams, NBA owners merged with the upstart league and accepted the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and New York Nets into their league. Players from the two remaining teams that folded due to financial reasons were placed in a dispersal draft.

When placed within this context, it is obvious that there was nothing, outside of racial bigotry fueled institutional racism, preventing White Major League owners from merging with the Negro Leagues and bringing several pre-existing franchises into their league. Although I am certain that many will charge that White fans would have boycotted inter-racial games, such an action would have had little impact on profits as African-American fans would have flocked to the games in droves with hopes that black baseball players would once again prove their superiority to their White counterparts. Despite it being relatively difficult to comprehend considering the popularity of football and basketball within Black America, there was a time when baseball was Black America’s favorite pastime.

Unfortunately for Negro League owners and the black community, the price White team owners demanded for their “acceptance” of African-American baseball players was the absence of Black ownership within the MLB ranks. From their perspective, African-Americans were only acceptable as employees, not as owners possessing a voice in league operations. It is for these reasons that I cannot fully embrace Jackie Robinson Day because it symbolizes for me colossal loss in a host of important arenas, a cost that is so enormous that it is impossible to tally to the present day.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

If you enjoy the content that you find here at Manhood, Race, and Culture.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would consider purchasing my book, “Foolish” Floyd: The Life & Times of an African-American Contrarian.

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The Education of Kyle Larson: Reflections on a Racially Inclusive NASCAR Community and the Fall of a Superstar

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When Senator Joe Biden questioned Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas on October 11, 1991, regarding Anita Hill’s allegation of sexual harassment, the current Presidential hopeful asked Thomas “Do you have anything you’d like to say?” It was at this moment that Thomas tapped into an often overlooked aspect of the White male psyche that I am sure Nascar driver Kyle Larson wishes that he’d mastered. Thomas slyly responded to Biden’s question by likening the hearing to determine his fitness to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice as a “high-tech lynching.”

Thomas’ strategy was brilliant for so many reasons. The most notable reason was because it allowed him to tap into a weakness in the psyche of many powerful White males; a weakness that appears when racial matters conflict with bottom-line financial realities. Clarence Thomas knew that those questioning him, many of whom were racial bigots, would go to extreme lengths to hide their true identities before a national audience.

Whereas Clarence Thomas navigated this minefield as a skilled jazz pianist such as McCoy Tyner, Kyle Larson fumbled and stumbled in such a manner that he has been made a pariah in the public arena. This young man has learned a lesson about Race, representation, cultural wars, and corporate sponsorship in one of the worst ways imaginable. All because of a single word that we all know is used in non-public spaces by those who have distanced themselves from Larson.

Just in case you missed the events that led to the destruction of Kyle Larson’s rendezvous with superstardom, I will quickly rehash it below.

During an iRacing event designed to placate racing fans going through withdrawals due to the absence of sports, Larson’s head phone appeared to lose communication with his designated spotter. It was while checking his microphone that Larson said, “You can’t hear me? N!@@a!” Fellow racers veered from this matter while informing Larson that his microphone was live and that the world could hear him.

The day after Larson’s misspeak, he offered an apology for his use of the racial slur and offered “no excuse” for its occurrence. Unfortunately for Larson, there were things in motion that his quick apology was incapable of stopping. Within hours of the incident, the embattled driver’s three major sponsors one of which was McDonald’s dropped him and his racing team Chip Ganassi Racing fired him forty-eight hours after the incident; the latter occurrence was particularly daunting as it left Larson, a person who is half-Japanese and ironically gained access to NASCAR via its “Drive for Diversity” program, without a racing team. This situation is financially devastating for a young driver who earned $9,000,000.00 last year, an amount that most agree was merely the tip of the iceberg regarding Larson’s earning potential. 

I am slightly surprised by NASCAR’s reaction to this situation. Afterall, it is NASCAR; a sport that has appeared to be a safe-haven for “the good ol boys.” As an outsider, it has always been apparent that the sport has always been lily-white. Most Blacks that I know pay no attention to NASCAR if for no other reason than the belief that the stands and pit crews, not to mention the cars, would be filled with rednecks who own Confederate flags.

Apparently, my father’s NASCAR is not the NASCAR that my son is inheriting. The organization has apparently made a conscious effort to lessen its well-earned reputation as a haven for White bigots. Indicative of such was superstar driver Bubba Wallace who offered the following response to the above incident. An offering that explains why NASCAR’s response to Larson is crucial to the sport’s present and future.

The word brings many terrible memories for people and families and brings them back to a time that WE as a community and human race have tried our hardest to get away from. The sport has made combatting this stereotype one of their top priorities. NASCAR has been doing what it can to get away from the ‘racist and redneck sport’ labels.

Diversity and inclusion is a main priority for the sport across every team, every car, every crew member and employee. With that said, It hurts to see the African American community immediately throw NASCAR under the bus with the ‘I’m not shocked, it’s NASCAR.’ NASCAR has been, and will be way better than how we’ve been represented in the last couple of weeks. As the person that arguably has the biggest voice on this topic in our sport, it’s tough for me to speak to because I didn’t imagine us being here. Can we all do a better job with inclusion? Absolutely, it’s a worldwide problem, not just in our sport. We as humans can always do better.

The efforts of NASCAR leaders are to be applauded as this transformation has occurred without the usual major public relations campaign seeking favor from those that they have previously prevented from joining their ranks. When confronted with evidence of such efforts, any judicious person is forced to re-evaluate their sweeping indictment of NASCAR power-brokers as racial bigots enforcing the tenets of institutionalized racism. If Bubba Wallace’s words are an accurate representation of today’s NASCAR, I, along with the majority of Black America, have to significantly re-calibrate our viewpoints regarding the organization.

Although I am sure that the frustrations of NASCAR leaders will be heightened by the fact that when their present course is weighed against prior patterns it is still insufficient in the minds of Blacks. It should be understandable to all that Black America’s suspicions flow from a host of sources that begin with historical patterns of racial bigotry and institutionalized racism.

Regardless of its fairness, most Blacks will suspect that this alteration to unstated racial policies flows not from goodwill rather the realization that harboring racial bigots whose daunting perspectives are so significant that they can’t be muted even in public spaces is a nightmare for owners who rely on major corporations for their existence. One can only wonder how McDonald’s would be harmed due to its association with Kyle Larson.

Only time will tell if NASCAR’s efforts to be more inclusive and accommodating to non-redneck fans are genuine. One thing is certain, Kyle Larson has learned that wealthy White men, in this case NASCAR owners, will go to extreme lengths to prevent being labeled racial bigots in the public arena. Such a designation is bound to have a horrendous impact on future business. If only Kyle Larson were aware of Clarence Thomas’ slick maneuver during his Anita Hill debacle nearly thirty-years ago, he would still be positioned as the next NASCAR superstar.

If nothing else, I guess that it is a lesson learned; a costly one, yet a lesson nonetheless.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020. � c

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Now That’s What I’m Talking About: The Pro-active Decision of Abdul and Fabien Lovett to Escape Mississippi State University for the Sake of Decency and Respect

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There are moments where I am flabbergasted by the absence of civility or common sense among White authority figures. I have always considered these moments unbridled testimony to how a person really about you. Unlike many of my kinsmen, I long ago decided that I would follow the directive of ancestor Maya Angelou. Angelou was credited with saying “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Apparently, Abdul Lovett raised his son Fabien to adhere to this axiom.

I am sure that you are wondering who Abdul and Fabien Lovett are and why I am writing about them. Well, I will tell who they are and their importance to Black America if provided the opportunity.

Fabien Lovett is a much-celebrated Division I football player whose moral compass led him to withdraw from Mississippi State University in the wake of Head Coach Mike Leach’s tweet of a woman knitting a noose for her beloved husband during this moment of quarantine. Fabien Lovett responded with a quick “WTF” response prior to entering the NCAA’s Transfer Portal; a prerequisite to transferring from Mississippi State and irrevocably severing all ties with Mike Leach. I recently learned that Fabien Lovett has decided to enroll at Florida State University.

When interviewed by the Clarion Ledger, Abdul Lovett shared the following.

I didn’t feel comfortable with my son being down there with a guy like that from a leadership standpoint – that you can just throw anything out there…I feel if he can do it, the kids are going to feel like they can do it.

As expected, Mike Leach offered the standard apology and University Administrators doled out a punishment of forcing him to participate in “listening sessions” and visiting a local Civil Rights museum after the global pandemic subsides. However, I am sure that you understand that this post has less to do with Mike Leach’s horrendous soul and everything to do with the Lovett’s decisiveness regarding this inexcusable offense.

When one considers the level of trust imbued in educators and coaches to pour into the lives of their children, it is frightening to consider that a figure possessing the thoughts, ideals, and worldview of Mike Leach would have access to the lives of any collegian, let along African-Americans. Yet, naïve entrusting parents routinely make the dubious decision to send their children to learn at the foot of someone whose dedication to their development as a person is in a word, non-existent.

Although difficult to admit publicly, moments such as this one serve as evidence of the lack of pride and solidarity among Blacks; a malady that guarantees their failure to activate dormant political power. Consider for a moment if Mike Leach had provided similar negative social commentary regarding the Jewish community and their Holocaust experience, if he had, there is little doubt that he would be rendered to the scrapheap of “hard core employables”. Put simply; Leach would be hopelessly unemployed forever. This well-deserved employment status would be less about the act and more about the inherent power found among those who were offended. Yet, in a world where Black solidarity is an oxymoron, Leach retains his employment and leads a team that is predominantly composed of African-American males. The absence of power mandates that pitiful appeals to Whites unreliable sense of decency Black America’s most frequent and reliable strategy.

Rest assured that in time, Leach will learn from his superiors who have learned how to handle Blacks that it is ungentlemanly to express such sentiments in the public arena; keep in mind that this lesson is a far-cry from the condemnation of the harboring of racial bigotry. The wicked dance of harboring bigotry, yet never displaying it in public or among Whites that one does not know is a clunky two-step that White bigots can attribute their mastery of to decades of repetition.

Unfortunately for Black America, the failure to mobilize political power or economic solidarity has left them without a reliable counter to the alluded to wicked dance beyond appealing to the White conscious. Instead of scientifically mobilizing politico-economic resources, Blacks have learned to “make the best out of a bad situation” and pray for a better day. It is time that Black America follows the lead of Abdul and Fabien Lovett and realize that “times will never get better until you make them better.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

If you enjoy the content that you find here at Manhood, Race, and Culture.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would consider purchasing one of the following books.

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Where’s Huey P. Newton When You Need Him?: How Would The Black Panther Party Have Reacted to the Coronavirus

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Over fifty years after its genesis, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense reigns as Black America’s most memorable revolutionary group. For most, the Panther’s longevity flows from iconic imagery that never-fails to escape the limits of time. For an oppressed people starving for strong images, photos and footage of Black men resisting White oppression were intoxicating. There was no doubt that Panther co-founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale had issued a direct challenge to marauding Whites seeking to extend Black America’s misery and suffering.

Although the referenced iconic imagery ensures the Panthers omnipresent importance, it is proving to be a double-edged sword in the following manner. The admiration that Panther guns engender among supporters who continually reconstruct the organization in their minds has led to a cavernous hole in their understanding of Panther history. Such populations are quick to miss the crucial fact that the vaunted “Panther Patrols” — a program of Panther members patrolling police officers as they patrolled black communities — was only one of a series of community service activities. Panther Party community service activities ranged from free breakfast for children and grocery programs to the creation of sickle cell anemia testing/treatment centers.

There is no need to rehash the plentiful data regarding the disproportionate impact that the Coronavirus global pandemic is having on Black America. Ironically, the potential “hotspots” for future outbreaks are the same locations where many of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense’s local chapters were located. An understanding of Panther history leads my belief that it is time for Black America to follow the revolutionary example provided by Newton, Seale, Hutton, Pratt, Rush, and Hampton by ‘Seizing the Time’ and showing the power of the people by taking definitive steps to address this pandemic.

Just as Newton and Seale addressed Black America’s most pressing problems in an organized manner during the volatile 60’s protest era, contemporary Black Nationalists must take similar steps by educating and enforcing guidelines to prevent the Coronavirus spread among our community. Although such community service efforts are neither sensational nor lauded as the “Panther Patrols”, they are as integral to Black survival in this time of crisis as the Free Breakfast for Children, Ambulance service, Sickle-Cell Anemia Centers, and assisting the elderly within our community. According to Huey P. Newton, the Revolutionary’s sole objective is to serve the people.   

If provided the opportunity, I would advise those seeking to walk in the footsteps of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense to abandon their fascination with the gun and paramilitary displays of machismo in favor of developing community service activities specifically designed to aid the community through this trying time. We can no longer afford to waste another moment mesmerized by romantic notions of a by-gone era. It is time that we recalibrate our strategies, tactics, and goals to fit this moment.

All Power to the People!!!!!!!!!

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

If you enjoy the content that you find here at Manhood, Race, and Culture.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would consider purchasing one of the following books.

  • “Foolish” Floyd: The Life & Times of an African-American Contrarian.
  • Creating Revolution as They Advance: A Narrative History of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense