Tag Archives: Racism

Jim Crow 2.0

As an American citizen and upon living most of my adult life in a racist and increasingly fascist racial caste system, it’s plain that Whites who fear loss of power and economic dominance will stop at nothing to keep it including resorting to violence. White supremacist ideology is a hatred that impacts too many hearts and minds in the so-called United States of AmeriKKKa. The current attack on Advanced Placement African American studies is its current offense.

I can recall many years ago that I told a colleague, an Ethiopian immigrant woman, who esteemed herself better than me (perhaps due to pedigree or station in life), that when White people “feel” threatened, they will resort to violence, murder. She seemed genuinely surprised at my declaration, possibly because she did not recognize its truth, or because until that point in her life no Black American, a member of the African diaspora, had dared to confront her with the harsh realities of AmeriKKKan racism. Reflecting on these realities led me to this Washington Post article regarding the revival of anti-Black fascism in AmeriKKKa. States’ attempts to stop AP African American studies courses only serve to heighten the awareness of this important and necessary curriculum.

Like most Black people in AmeriKKKa, I too have personally experienced racial hatred at several points in my life, some overt, but mostly they were subtle forms of racism, e.g., a job denial or a discouragement to even try, a harsh judgment regarding my character or nature, or even the general underestimation of my intellectual capacity. Growing up in New England (back in the day) it was the more overt forms of racism usually racial epithets in the form of “nigger” or “go back to Africa” a place to which I’d never been. Nonetheless, these things rarely deterred me, given my resilient nature and capacity to stand. A Black person standing and not bowed down is also something a white supremacist hates. It’s a sure sign to these ignorant souls of a loss of control that must be put down at all costs.

Once again fascist, racist haters are banning books and preventing the truth about AmeriKKKan history from being taught in school. After all, white supremacist haters must control the narrative at all times, the primary reason it was illegal to teach Black people to read during slavery. AmeriKKKa’s anti-Black propaganda and the relentless dehumanizing of Black people have been effective tactics for centuries. Sadly, some Black people have also bought in, like the corrupt Black cops who murdered Tyre Nichols.

At this stage, I believe that until the so-called United States of AmeriKKKa repents and atones for its original sin of slavery and its brutality compounded by Jim Crow apartheid and white supremacist hate, she will not survive or thrive. Reverend Wright was right (look it up). There comes a reckoning. AmeriKKKa is like a drug addict that can’t kick the habit. One day, that drug of racism will destroy you, and it will be your own fault. First, your image and glory are marred, but then your wealth is destroyed (that thing you love) because you won’t turn to do what is right. Oh, well.

So, where does AmeriKKKa go from here if it doesn’t change? Down and likely out of its dominant and influential position in the world. It’s already begun.

Criminal Intent

In these final days of the 2022 Midterm campaigns, the GOP has played its “crime” trump card. It’s a familiar racist trope that has been used for years by Republicans to scare White people into voting for them. Sadly, it works. “Crime” is the age-old euphemism for Black people. After all, it was Lee Atwater who developed the Southern Strategy under Reagan and the Republicans successfully leverage it with regularity. Case in point, George Herbert Walker Bush defeated Mike Dukakis with the infamous Willie Horton ad campaign.

What the GOP won’t tell voters is where the crime is really happening. You guessed it, in red states. In a recent report by Third Way entitled The Red State Murder Problem we find that murder rates are highest in cities run by Republicans. In 2020, eight of the 10 states with the highest murder rates voted for trump. GOP hypocrisy and lies are boundless. In fact, the biggest criminal appears to be trump himself, the titular head of the Republican party, with at least 55 uncharged criminal offenses since 2015.

So, what is the answer? Democrats must fight back with messaging that frames Republicans as the party that is anti law and order to include the fact that most, if not all, of the GOP does not follow or adhere to the U.S. Constitution that they claim to love. It is the GOP that refused to condemn the trump insurrection of January 6th and whitewashed the violence against Capitol Police officers. It is also the GOP that is fomenting The Big Lie. Democrats’ messaging should continue to drive this point while also emphasizing public safety.

November 8th is election day. If we are to preserve the U.S. democracy, get out and vote, and when you do, VOTE BLUE up and down the ballot. Don’t cede the U.S. democracy to a fascist GOP.

Are Trump Voters Crazy?

The Washington Post proves that Trump voters really are quite crazy. Remember, during the GOP primaries, Donald proclaimed that he loved the “poorly educated”. The Donald’s campaign was far more about hate and malice than whether or not the electorate was educated, but it is quite clear from the results that ignorance is not bliss. 

Trump supporters choose to live in a bubble, an alternate reality, a world that is white male dominant and supremacist under the guise of religious freedom. These are the same people that rail against Islamic Sharia law, while imposing their perverse brand of so-called Christianity upon America. This is nothing new after all. Christianity was used to justify slavery, then Jim Crow and now the fool who just won the White House.

RedState Gathering Dumps Trump!

Donald Trump, a fascist, belligerent blowhard has been dealt a blow at the hands of his GOP friends. Kinda like a come-uppance for “crossing the line” with his remarks about Megyn Kelly. RedState Gathering dumped Trump. It’s all too apparent that Republicans have no problem with racist rhetoric about Mexicans, but perish the thought of speaking disparagingly about a white woman. At every turn, conservatives display their full on bigotry. I have no doubt “The Donald” will come back with more ignorance.

Black Churches Burning

Black Churches Burned as of 7.4.2015

Whatever points Nikki Haley made on the national stage after the assassination of State Senator, Reverend Clementa Pinckney and the cold-blooded murder of eight congregants of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church have been lost with her premature, yet emphatic defense of the most recent black church burned in Greeleyville, South Carolina. Mt. Zion AME Church was burned to the ground on June 30, 2015. A total of eight black churches have been burned since the murders at Mother Emanuel on June 17th.

MSNBC questions the assertions made by the South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, that the church was struck by lightning. Joy Reid of MSNBC reports that the investigation is still ongoing by the local fire department, and that a determination has not yet been made of the origin of the fire. The MSNBC Black Churches Burning  video details the latest in this ongoing terrorist attack upon black churches in the south.

I absolutely do not believe Nikki Haley’s feigned tears at the loss of nine precious souls on June 17th at Emanuel AME Church. As an Indian American, it is clear that Nikki Haley has adopted the rhetoric, demeanor and denial of malicious racism perpetrated by southern white supremacists in order to maintain her power seat.

I still marvel that black Americans choose to live in southern states.

Bundy, Sterling and the Supreme Court

Affirmative Action Okay, here we go again. Right on the heels of the Supreme Court’s deplorable affirmative action decision we have more comments from old white men who apparently have a very low opinion or downright hatred of black people. Are we surprised?

The Roberts Court essentially ruled that racism no longer exists, then here comes Cliven Bundy and Donald Sterling. I continue to ask the question, if people could choose to be black in the United States of America, would they do so? Until the answer to this question becomes, “it doesn’t matter what your color…”, then affirmative action will be needed. Affirmative action does not only address inequities of the racist past, it addresses ongoing race inequities and perpetuated race hatred.

The recent shootings of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis substantiate the risk of being black in America. Then there is Renisha McBride shot by a homeowner who thought her to be an intruder. Her car broke down at 2:30 a.m. in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and because her cell phone was dead she knocked on a nearby door and was shot in the head and killed. Her family claims she was racially profiled. How about two black men in their sixties shot and killed in West Virginia while inspecting a newly purchased property. The shooter, Rodney Black, shot them at 2:30 p.m. because he thought they were breaking into a shed on a property that his family had previously owned. How about Roy Middleton, a 60 year-old black man shot by Florida police 15 times in his own driveway (13 bullets missed). He was mistaken for a car thief at the age of 60 ? He survived, but his leg was shattered. Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68 year-old, Marine veteran was killed by White Plains, New York police. He had a chronic heart condition, and the police were called by LifeAid, a medical alert service, to the public housing development where Chamberlain lived alone. He was shot with a stun gun and a bean bag gun and later died as a result. Police are recorded calling Chamberlain a “nigger” on a LifeAid tape. One of the worst incidents is the eight year old boy shot by a Dallas man, Brian Cloniger, simply because “he wanted to”. The child was playing tag outside a Dallas apartment complex and was shot by Cloniger who was arrested and held on $2.2M bond for the shooting, but he has admitted shooting the child. The child has undergone multiple surgeries and suffers from nightmares as a result of this hate crime.

How much evidence does the John Roberts led Supreme Court need to conclude that race hatred in America is still alive. The real-life stories are some of the more overt and blatant examples of this hatred, but every day there are incidents and examples in corporate America, in sports and in society. Cliven Bundy is just an old, ignorant racist who was given a platform to spew his ignorance on FOX news. Sterling was simply caught on tape, but there was plenty of prior evidence to back up his ugly comments about black people. Many have disavowed Sterling for his comments and several sponsors have dropped their relationship with the Los Angeles Clippers. Bundy has had his 15 minutes of shame, so we’ll leave it at that.

The Boston Globe termed the recent Supreme Court 6-2 vote to uphold Michigan’s 2006 ban on affirmative action in higher education admissions as upholding the tyranny of the majority. Justice Sonya Sotomayor’s 58 page dissent (pp. 51-108) has been, of course, attacked and maligned by conservatives on the right. Sotomayor detailed the long history of racial discrimination in the United States by documenting the many ways that southern states, primarily, manipulated laws to ensure that black people were disenfranchised from the vote or remained separate and unequal. Justice Kennedy indicated that he could find “no infliction of specific injury” to restrict Michigan voters from banning affirmative action. In 2006, a majority of white Michigan voters voted in favor of the ban on affirmative action while the majority of blacks in the state voted to uphold affirmative action. Michigan is 80% white. The tyranny of the majority has indeed been upheld.

L. Jackson/04.28.2014

We Are Marching!

John Lewis MOW2013Today in Washington, DC we commemorated, celebrated and marched on the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. The report is that tens of thousands of people were in attendance .  NAACP, Labor, Gay, Straight, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, young and old alike were in attendance and marching to say, “we shall not be moved”. This is what the right-wing racist is terrified about. This is why they obstruct President Obama and subvert the federal government.  But I say, where there is unity, there is power, and the people are uniting to march and stand against injustice — racial profiling, stand your ground, stop and risk, income inequality and the list goes on. This is why we must march on, organize and fight the injustice of racism, classism and any other “ism” that seeks to divide and conquer Americans.

I was pleased to see so many different ethnic groups and cultures coming together to embrace the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Just like Barack Obama, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King has galvanized all kinds of people from many walks of life. Many speakers brought words of exhortation and challenge today. I encourage each of you to find your passion and put your heart and soul into it. I am increasingly burdened by the vicious attacks on voting rights in America as well as the injustice system that continues to incarcerate so many African-Americans. We are 13% of the population yet 44% of the prison population. I will be using this space to focus on those two key issues.

It is utterly appalling and disingenuous to speak of liberty and freedom yet work to subvert and undermine Democracy when the outcome of an election is not to one’s liking. This is essentially what the Republican Party is doing.  Because the Republican Party is pissed that a black man is President of the United States, they seek to delegitimize him. This modern Republican Party is nothing more than former Dixiecrats who were, in recent history, blatant white supremacist bigots who sought to stop black people from voting and receiving basic civil and even human rights.

Well, the Supreme Court under the corrupt leadership of John Roberts, has found a way to undermine the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by striking down Section 4.  I refuse to salute JR as a Justice. He is a racist and works to revive, establish and underpin Jim Crow law. Since the attack on the VRA by the Supreme Court, several southern states, with great haste, are pushing legislation to make it harder for people to vote and aiming these obstacles squarely at black and brown, young and old specifically. All that they do to hinder will backfire because the people are not deceived by these malicious GOP tactics. We will do what we must to register to vote and to acquire official government identification. All that they are doing will simply piss us off so that we will turn out to vote in not only the general, Presidential elections, but in mid-term elections and in primaries. Declare your Party, register to vote, acquire your government sanctioned ID. Help someone to do the same or help pay for them to get their identification. The haters will not win.

L. Jackson/08.24.2013

Good Riddance, Paula Deen!

No Racism

Let me say that I am personally glad that The Food Network terminated Paula Deen. There is even rumor that QVC may also be dropping the food maven. It is high time that there were real consequences for business people who choose to demean and discriminate against African-Americans. Black people have endured the humiliation and degradation of racism long enough in these United States. Now, if only it were that easy to get rid of these nasty, bigoted Republicans. Without a doubt, this incident with Deen is another example of the racism that is still alive in this country. It has raised its ugly head in the attack on the Voting Rights Act and is manifesting itself in the debate about Immigration Reform. What’s interesting is Bill Maher’s defense of Deen on his show this week. While we may have the freedom of speech in America, we are not free from the consequences of that speech.

Tea Party Terrorism?

TPRobert Reich, former Secretary of Labor during the Clinton Administration has nailed it in his recent article The Sequester and the Tea Party Plot by revealing the full intent and purpose of Tea Party Republicans.

Tea Partiers use fear and anger in their war against the government – blaming the anemic recovery on government deficits and the government’s size, and selling a poisonous snake-oil of austerity economics and trickle-down economics as the remedy.

I hear pundits talk of the demise of the Tea Party, and they say that the Tea Party has lost its power and is on the decline. But, even though Tea Party candidates cost Republicans the White House and Senate seats during the 2012 election, the Tea Party, unfortunately, is not going away. In fact, as long as there exists a constituency of bigoted, backward-minded people who hate government and any kind of leadership other than white male leadership, the Tea Party will continue. In my view, the Tea Party has effectively co-opted the Republican Party, and the sequester is proof positive of this.

Tea Party hatred for President Obama is clearly demonstrated by obstinate, recalcitrant  and bigoted Republican behavior. Reich’s article supports the assertion that Tea Party influenced Republicans will do anything to accomplish their hate-filled, propaganda-laden goal of “taking the country back”  including destroying the government of the United States of America and our economy in the process.

The New Republic: Original Sin

Failed GOP

Sam Tanenhaus writes a compelling article in The New Republic about the inevitable decline of the GOP if it remains the party of just white people, which is its current trend. The GOP not only needs to change its messengers, it needs to change its message. The Republican Party of the present day is certainly not the party of Lincoln, but, more apparently, the party of John C. Calhoun. Conservatism has become the code word for bigotry with many Republicans channeling Jim Crow Dixiecrats. I’m happy to say that the Southern Strategy is exposed and failing.

…the GOP is in jeopardy, the gravest since 1964, of ceasing to be a national party.

The article offers a great history lesson of conservatism and the GOP in America. During the 20th century, liberalism is equated to communism. Sound familiar?  But Tanenhaus details that John C. Calhoun, pro-slavery politician and author of “nullification” (also known as state’s rights) influenced countless conservatives for more than a century, including William F. Buckley, Jim Crow proponent and the founder of National Review magazine, Barry Goldwater and the GOP icon, Ronald Reagan.

The politics of “nullification” is nothing new yet it is veiled in the rhetoric and claims of “big government”. It is simply the desire of some conservatives, to no longer be a part of our democratic collective. Tax avoidance is the ploy used to “starve the beast” or make sure that certain groups or factions that are deemed undesirable by the extreme right-wing do not benefit from taxpayer dollars.

We hear the echoes of nullification in the venting of anti-government passions and also in campaigns to “starve government,” curtail voter registration, repeal legislation, delegitimize presidents. There is a strong sectionalist bias in these efforts.

As Tanenhaus asserts, the GOP strategy is a losing strategy stuck in a bygone era of white supremacy. The country has changed both philosophically and demographically, but I surmise the GOP will be the last to acknowledge that fact.