#1. "In perusing the annals of America’s Historical text and media offerings, it is readily apparent that America is conspiratorially willing to minimize the true lasting effectual stain of Racism on the Mind, Body and Soul of those subjugated to it’s debilitating grasp".
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#2. "As an African-American surveying the vastness of the entity which constitutes the African-American community, a most troubling ascertainment is the lack of commitment by some of our people to the continual pursuit of greatness. Which has been a constant in our painful yet purposeful navigation through American Society".
Sunday, May 25, 2008
In Response To Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan Said What?
Following are some of the remarks Buchanan made:
"First, America has been the best country on earth for Black folks. It was here that 600,000 Black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity Blacks have ever known. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American. Is White America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of White America?
Is it really White America’s fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the Black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent? Is that the fault of White America or, first and foremost, a failure of the Black community itself?
As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence.
Is Barack Obama aware that while White criminals choose Black victims 3 percent of the time, Black criminals choose White victims 45 percent of the time? Is Barack aware that Black-on-White rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that Black-on-White robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?
We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of Black assaults on Whites that are real, we hear nothing.
Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago".
In Response To Pat Buchanan:
Over the years, I have witnessed numerous individuals and groups wield statistical data as a weapon to convince people that their (usually biased) stance is one supported by factual numbers. What I find amazing is how two differing groups (like Democrats and Republicans) speaking on one common topic can shape questions and extract data to support their polar opposite views. Depending on How, Who and When we Present, Ask and Collect data, it seems to fit neatly into to biased box containing the desired content of information which supports the view we wish the world to see. So I will not spend this whole article refuting Mr. Buchanan’s statistics with those of my own. Although I have little doubt that I could find a mountain of statistics which contradict his.
First Mr. Buchanan, how can you decide or judge if America has been the best country on earth for Black folks? Have you ever been Black to know what we feel? It is ridiculous for you to make a statement like this when you are not able to know and feel the experience of being Black in America. Many Blacks have traveled to many other countries and found that the level of respect and acceptance of us as a people far exceeds that which we find within our American homeland borders.
You speak as if growing from the 600,000 brought over on slave ships to 40 million was some kind of utopian milestone. We grew in numbers while here; What and How does that represent anything tangible towards your hypothesis that "America has been the best place on earth for Blacks"? While you talk about us multiplying to 40 million here, why don’t you include how White Americans (slave owners) helped grow our population by breeding us like cattle during slavery time?
Do you really believe that you introduced Africans to Christianity? Acts 8:27-38 tells the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian (which by the way is an African my friend). Not only did Phillip expose him to Christ 1800 plus years before you generous White folks did to the slaves you brought over, but the Ethiopian was reading the scriptures of Esaias while in Jerusalem to worship. So while you think that Reverend Wright should get down on his knees and thank God that he is an American, maybe you should learn more about Biblical Scriptures.
You ask, "Is White America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of White America"? You asked this question as if it is answered strictly by a simple yes or no reply. There are some people (no matter their race) who will commit crimes regardless of their Socioeconomic status, their access to quality education, or their family structure. But to think that racial prejudices, poverty, not having access to exceptional legal representation, attending under funded schools ect., does not contribute to this large disparity between Blacks and Whites is preposterous.
It’s interesting how Mr. Buchanan has chosen to use his statistics. He talks about how the African-American community’s illegitimacy rate has reached 70 percent, But he does not touch on the fact that Black women are less likely to have an abortion than White women. How many White children who are counted as legitimate, are living with one parental figure which is not their biological parent? What is the illegitimacy rate of White Americans living in impoverished settings, such as trailer parks? If we just take these three factors into consideration, How much higher would White America’s illegitimacy rate be? If you factor in, The separating of African-American families during slavery, The historical reluctance to allow African-American men access to Family Supporting wage earning jobs and The financial aide system set up to encourage women to be alone with their children, you can see how illegitimacy rates might soar.
Mr. Buchanan goes on about how Blacks commit more crimes against Whites than Whites commit against Blacks. Plainly stated, interracial crimes are a small percentage of overall crimes committed. Most crimes are committed by someone of one’s own race (White on White, Black on Black, Asian on Asian ect.). Now in touching the subject of interracial crimes such as rape (in which Mr. Buchanan states is 100 times more likely to happen Black on White, than White on Black), are we talking strictly convictions? Who doesn’t know that you are more likely to be convicted if you are a Black man accused of raping a White woman? Well, I guess it could be worse, we could still be getting hung just for looking at one (That’s another story though). Are you counting in that number, Public defenders who did not give adequate representation to their Black clients? Are you considering how many Black women do not come forward, believing that this judicial system will not diligently pursue justice in a case of a White man accused of raping a Black woman? You say that the Tawana Brawley and Duke rape cases were hoaxes. But you do not state that the reason there was so much energy behind these cases was the despicable past sexual criminal acts perpetrated towards African-American women by White men. Of course none of those cases would be on your statistical data sheet since those men were not convicted. So in your mind, no conviction, no stat huh?
Life is more than manipulated stats and your nonsensical view of how glad someone should be living in America. Maybe you should take the time to really listen, maybe you would learn something to help you make a true and accurate assessment.
This Article Is Part Of The Perspectives Series
By Jonathan Richardson
Author Of The Thought Provoking Book: The Complicated Life Of The African-American Man(What’s on his mind)
The "Race" Debaters
The “Race” Debaters
The topic of Race has come to be the discussion of the hour during the 2008 Democratic Primary for the Party’s Presidential nominee. Early on in this Primary, all parties involved (including the other candidates who have since dropped out, leaving only Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) took great care in either ignoring or downplaying the significance of Race in this Presidential Primary. It has been uttered more than once that Race “should” not matter when deciding whom one should vote for.
As Barack Obama’s ship began to pick up steam and sailed to victory in State after State, racially tinged cannon balls began to be fired across his ship’s bow in a seeming attempt to slow down this once sail boat sized vessel turned luxury liner now plowing “full steam ahead” towards the Democratic nomination. There’s former President Bill Clinton intimating that South Carolina’s Primary was won by Barack Obama simply because Blacks turned out to vote for him as they had for Jesse Jackson in his earlier bid for the Presidency(1984 & 1988). Then we hear from the Governor of Pennsylvania letting the media know that there are some White voters out here that will not vote for a Black candidate. Geraldine Ferraro however, seemed to fire the shot that dwarfed all those before by referencing that Barack Obama’s Race was a great advantage for him in this Primary season.
There were those who probably labeled Ms. Ferraro a “racist”. There were definitely those who labeled her comments as racist. If we are to look in-depth at her comments, we will find (as with many other comments with racial overtones) that there are “layers” to her comments and that it would be unfair, oversimplified and just plain wrong to simply label them as “racist”.
There was a gentleman who works with me, who in discussing with me this Democratic Primary, divulged to me that while he is a registered Republican, he would like to “see the Black guy win”. There is definitely a percentage of White Americans (How large of a Percentage? I do not know) who are fascinated by the phenomenon of a Black man possibly becoming President of the United States. The fact that this co-worker did not know the platform on which Mr. Obama ran, leads me to believe that he (as well as others) are just intrigued by the prospect of a Black President and how it could represent some sort of “ we told you racism no longer exist, because a Black man was voted President” watershed moment.
However Ms. Ferraro, If simply being a Black man gave you an advantage over White men or women of any color (as you said), Why didn’t we have Presidents Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton(2004) or Alan Keyes(1996/2000 & 2008) ? If White men are at some sort of disadvantage, why has every President to this point been a White man? If being a Black man was such a distinct advantage, why do national print media publications and on air News outlets say that Barack Obama has to “win over” White voters to win this election? Aren’t said voters already on his side because he’s a Black man? There are too many cases of racial discrimination, racial profiling and other negative stereotypes connected to the image of the Black male in the country to “simply” say that him just being a Black man is some “great advantage”. Yes there are those who are going to vote for the phenomenal specter of “The first Black President”, but those are far outnumbered by those who are not only NOT going to vote for him simply because he is Black, but are looking at him through the same racially tinted glasses they have viewed other Black men through and are waiting to see him “prove” that he is NOT like “them”.
One of the main reasons for Mr. Obama’s ascension in this Primary is his ability to connect with the people to which he speaks. His oratory skill set is on par (or better) with any other Presidential candidate in U.S. History. When he proclaims “Yes We Can”, he has a large number of those hearing him believing that “We Can”. To try and reduce his meteoric rise to a simple “he’s lucky to be who he is” reference and not exclaim his uncanny ability to connect with people and to give a voice to their aspirations, likes, dislikes and dreams, is like saying that Michael Angelo was a product of his time and proclaiming his paintings to be “just o.k.”.
Race once again was catapulted to the forefront of this Primary when racially charged excerpts from sermons spoken by Barack Obama’s former Pastor began to surface on the News and internet. Mr. Obama Expressed his points of disagreement on certain race related topics that his former Pastor (Rev. Jeremiah Wright) spoke about. For some however, this public condemnation of certain things said by Rev. Wright by Mr. Obama was not enough. They began to question how he could have been so closely associated with this man in the first place. It’s amazing how Mrs. Clinton’s camp could release insensitive, untrue remarks about Obama’s “so called” connection to Islam. A Governor friend of the Clintons could make a “racially divisive” statement of how some whites would not vote for a Black candidate. Then there are the words of Ms. Ferraro and other associates. But who is questioning the very fact that Mrs. Clinton has ties to “such People”? She distanced herself from them and condemned their comments and that seemed to be satisfactory to most voters. But it was (and is) not that simple for Barack Obama. As this firestorm intensifies, Mr. Obama finds it necessary to address the issue of Race in a speech.
In a speech that was all at once Direct, Inspiring, Condemning, Passionate, Personal and Unifying, Mr. Obama challenged America to talk about and deal with an issue which for far too long we have not wanted to address, RACE. This gives America a great opportunity to address an issue that only seems to surface when an incident of negativity is discussed. Although I am concerned with the circumstances and environment in which this topic of Race arose (to the point of this needed speech) I am definitely glad that it did. It is “Time Out” for Americans to be ambivalent to the issue of Race.
This Article Is Part Of The Perspectives Series
By Jonathan Richardson
Author Of The Thought Provoking Book: The Complicated Life Of The African-American Man(What’s on his mind)
The topic of Race has come to be the discussion of the hour during the 2008 Democratic Primary for the Party’s Presidential nominee. Early on in this Primary, all parties involved (including the other candidates who have since dropped out, leaving only Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) took great care in either ignoring or downplaying the significance of Race in this Presidential Primary. It has been uttered more than once that Race “should” not matter when deciding whom one should vote for.
As Barack Obama’s ship began to pick up steam and sailed to victory in State after State, racially tinged cannon balls began to be fired across his ship’s bow in a seeming attempt to slow down this once sail boat sized vessel turned luxury liner now plowing “full steam ahead” towards the Democratic nomination. There’s former President Bill Clinton intimating that South Carolina’s Primary was won by Barack Obama simply because Blacks turned out to vote for him as they had for Jesse Jackson in his earlier bid for the Presidency(1984 & 1988). Then we hear from the Governor of Pennsylvania letting the media know that there are some White voters out here that will not vote for a Black candidate. Geraldine Ferraro however, seemed to fire the shot that dwarfed all those before by referencing that Barack Obama’s Race was a great advantage for him in this Primary season.
There were those who probably labeled Ms. Ferraro a “racist”. There were definitely those who labeled her comments as racist. If we are to look in-depth at her comments, we will find (as with many other comments with racial overtones) that there are “layers” to her comments and that it would be unfair, oversimplified and just plain wrong to simply label them as “racist”.
There was a gentleman who works with me, who in discussing with me this Democratic Primary, divulged to me that while he is a registered Republican, he would like to “see the Black guy win”. There is definitely a percentage of White Americans (How large of a Percentage? I do not know) who are fascinated by the phenomenon of a Black man possibly becoming President of the United States. The fact that this co-worker did not know the platform on which Mr. Obama ran, leads me to believe that he (as well as others) are just intrigued by the prospect of a Black President and how it could represent some sort of “ we told you racism no longer exist, because a Black man was voted President” watershed moment.
However Ms. Ferraro, If simply being a Black man gave you an advantage over White men or women of any color (as you said), Why didn’t we have Presidents Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton(2004) or Alan Keyes(1996/2000 & 2008) ? If White men are at some sort of disadvantage, why has every President to this point been a White man? If being a Black man was such a distinct advantage, why do national print media publications and on air News outlets say that Barack Obama has to “win over” White voters to win this election? Aren’t said voters already on his side because he’s a Black man? There are too many cases of racial discrimination, racial profiling and other negative stereotypes connected to the image of the Black male in the country to “simply” say that him just being a Black man is some “great advantage”. Yes there are those who are going to vote for the phenomenal specter of “The first Black President”, but those are far outnumbered by those who are not only NOT going to vote for him simply because he is Black, but are looking at him through the same racially tinted glasses they have viewed other Black men through and are waiting to see him “prove” that he is NOT like “them”.
One of the main reasons for Mr. Obama’s ascension in this Primary is his ability to connect with the people to which he speaks. His oratory skill set is on par (or better) with any other Presidential candidate in U.S. History. When he proclaims “Yes We Can”, he has a large number of those hearing him believing that “We Can”. To try and reduce his meteoric rise to a simple “he’s lucky to be who he is” reference and not exclaim his uncanny ability to connect with people and to give a voice to their aspirations, likes, dislikes and dreams, is like saying that Michael Angelo was a product of his time and proclaiming his paintings to be “just o.k.”.
Race once again was catapulted to the forefront of this Primary when racially charged excerpts from sermons spoken by Barack Obama’s former Pastor began to surface on the News and internet. Mr. Obama Expressed his points of disagreement on certain race related topics that his former Pastor (Rev. Jeremiah Wright) spoke about. For some however, this public condemnation of certain things said by Rev. Wright by Mr. Obama was not enough. They began to question how he could have been so closely associated with this man in the first place. It’s amazing how Mrs. Clinton’s camp could release insensitive, untrue remarks about Obama’s “so called” connection to Islam. A Governor friend of the Clintons could make a “racially divisive” statement of how some whites would not vote for a Black candidate. Then there are the words of Ms. Ferraro and other associates. But who is questioning the very fact that Mrs. Clinton has ties to “such People”? She distanced herself from them and condemned their comments and that seemed to be satisfactory to most voters. But it was (and is) not that simple for Barack Obama. As this firestorm intensifies, Mr. Obama finds it necessary to address the issue of Race in a speech.
In a speech that was all at once Direct, Inspiring, Condemning, Passionate, Personal and Unifying, Mr. Obama challenged America to talk about and deal with an issue which for far too long we have not wanted to address, RACE. This gives America a great opportunity to address an issue that only seems to surface when an incident of negativity is discussed. Although I am concerned with the circumstances and environment in which this topic of Race arose (to the point of this needed speech) I am definitely glad that it did. It is “Time Out” for Americans to be ambivalent to the issue of Race.
This Article Is Part Of The Perspectives Series
By Jonathan Richardson
Author Of The Thought Provoking Book: The Complicated Life Of The African-American Man(What’s on his mind)
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