Andrew M. Manis is associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia and wrote this for an editorial in the Macon Telegraph.
Andrew M. Manis: When Are WE Going to Get Over It?
For much of the last forty years, ever since America "fixed" its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, "When are African Americans finally going to get over it?
Now I want to ask:
"When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?
Recent reports that "Election Spurs Hundreds' of Race Threats, Crimes" should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in "Bombingham," Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than "talk the talk."
Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.
We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.
But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we're back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we've proven what conservatives are always saying -- that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president.
But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to "assassinate Obama."
Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, "How long?"
How long before we white people realize we can't make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us?
How long until we white people can - once and for all - get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color?
How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior?
How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?
How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin?
How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations?
I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?
How long before we start "living out the true meaning" of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that "red and yellow, black and white" all are precious in God's sight?
Until this past November 4, I didn't believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don't believe I'll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem.
But here's my three-point plan:
First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I'm going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people.
Second, I'm going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama.
Third, I'm going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can "in spirit and in truth" sing of our damnable color prejudice,
"We HAVE overcome."
**************************************
It takes a Village to protect our President!!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Is Abortion A Key to A Racist Agenda?
Niece of Martin Luther King Jr:: "abortion has done what the Klan only dreamed of."
One Quarter of Black Population Missing from Abortion Genocide Says Dr. Alveda KingDr. Alveda King, the niece of legendary human rights campaigner, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., told a meeting of Priests for Life, that the killing of a quarter of the black population of the US has not been from the lynch mobs of her childhood days, but from abortionists, “who plant their killing centres in minority neighbourhoods and prey upon women who think they have no hope."
“The great irony,” she said, “is that abortion has done what the Klan only dreamed of.” King was speaking Sunday at the unveiling of memorials at the Birmingham, Alabama church served by her late father, the Rev. A. D. Williams King.
***
Dr. King pointed out that the killing of the unborn in the US, which has taken the lives of well over 42 million American children, is overwhelmingly concentrated in the African-American community. “In the last forty-plus years,” Dr. King said, “15 million black people have been denied their most basic civil right, the right to life. Roughly one quarter of the black population is now missing.”
The abortion movement’s history is inseparable from that of the eugenics movement that held the genocide of the “dysgenic races” races as a central goal and for which the poor were the “enemies of the people.” In the US, the abortion facilities and offices of Planned Parenthood are concentrated in poor areas where the black population is especially targeted.Margaret Sanger, the foundress of the organisation that eventually became Planned Parenthood, had as her goal the control and subjugation of the poor ethnic peoples including blacks.
Dr. King said, “It's time that we remember the sacrifices of men like my father and my uncle who worked and died so that our children could live.”“It's time to stop killing the future and keep their dream alive.”
Friday, January 22, 2010
Macomb County Ministerial Alliance holds annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast
A lesson about segregation
Remembering a dream
Macomb County Ministerial Alliance holds annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast
By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer
MACOMB COUNTY — Intent on never forgetting Martin Luther King Jr.’s important message, the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance held a gathering to remind others of what the activist stood for.
The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast took place on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at Penna’s of Sterling in Sterling Heights. Local politicians, school officials, students and community activists attended the event.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel was the keynote speaker, and spoke about how Martin Luther King Jr.’s work is what has led to the first black president, Barack Obama, being elected in 2008.
“We watched together as America judged a man based solely on the content of his character. One small part of Dr. King’s dream became reality,” said Hackel. “It is beyond question that President Obama’s election would not have been possible without Dr. King’s sacrifice and his unwavering commitment to equality.”
Hackel also spoke about the importance of parents setting a good example for their children and how being a mentor to a young boy in Clinton Township has meant a great deal to him over the years.
“Seeing him waiting anxiously on his front porch for me to arrive, looking to see if I was watching when he catches a football or makes a tackle, looking for comfort when he misses a ball pitched to him or talking non-stop about his experiences at school and interactions with his classmates. Just knowing he is looking to make someone proud of who he is, makes me realize how important we as adults are to the children we are all responsible for,” said Hackel.
The program also featured speeches on what Martin Luther King Jr. means to several Macomb County preachers who are part of the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance, a group that formed in 2001 to work on social and economic equality for all residents in the region. Moreover, the audience saw various musical performances, including one from the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance Mass Choir.
Awards were handed out — Hackel received the Distinguished Public Service Award after his speech — and the Rev. Alexander Minor Jr. of Turner Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Mount Clemens received the Distinguished Warrior Award.
Communities in Schools, the organization that took over the Cairns Community Center in Mount Clemens when it was in danger of shutting down, was also honored at the ceremony for their work.
“Communities in Schools … stood up and said ‘Yes, we will help you stabilize this center for the kids,” said Greg Murray, spokesperson for the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance.
“There are hundreds of children who have received services … that otherwise would have had to do without,” added Murray.
Local children who attended the event were then taken on a bus ride to the Cairns Community Center for a field trip, where the facility was segregated for students to learn about what life was like before the civil rights movement.
“They will come out with a better understanding of why the day is celebrated,” explained Murray.
Students were given a black ribbon or a white ribbon to determine which race they would represent. Various places in the Cairns Community Center were segregated, such as water fountains, as was the bus ride on the way there.
“There are a number of people who have only an intellectual understanding of what Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting against and this brings it a lot closer to a real experience,” said Murray.
Remembering a dream
Macomb County Ministerial Alliance holds annual
Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast
By Sarah Cormier
C & G Staff Writer
MACOMB COUNTY — Intent on never forgetting Martin Luther King Jr.’s important message, the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance held a gathering to remind others of what the activist stood for.
The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Fellowship Breakfast took place on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at Penna’s of Sterling in Sterling Heights. Local politicians, school officials, students and community activists attended the event.
Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel was the keynote speaker, and spoke about how Martin Luther King Jr.’s work is what has led to the first black president, Barack Obama, being elected in 2008.
“We watched together as America judged a man based solely on the content of his character. One small part of Dr. King’s dream became reality,” said Hackel. “It is beyond question that President Obama’s election would not have been possible without Dr. King’s sacrifice and his unwavering commitment to equality.”
Hackel also spoke about the importance of parents setting a good example for their children and how being a mentor to a young boy in Clinton Township has meant a great deal to him over the years.
“Seeing him waiting anxiously on his front porch for me to arrive, looking to see if I was watching when he catches a football or makes a tackle, looking for comfort when he misses a ball pitched to him or talking non-stop about his experiences at school and interactions with his classmates. Just knowing he is looking to make someone proud of who he is, makes me realize how important we as adults are to the children we are all responsible for,” said Hackel.
The program also featured speeches on what Martin Luther King Jr. means to several Macomb County preachers who are part of the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance, a group that formed in 2001 to work on social and economic equality for all residents in the region. Moreover, the audience saw various musical performances, including one from the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance Mass Choir.
Awards were handed out — Hackel received the Distinguished Public Service Award after his speech — and the Rev. Alexander Minor Jr. of Turner Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Mount Clemens received the Distinguished Warrior Award.
Communities in Schools, the organization that took over the Cairns Community Center in Mount Clemens when it was in danger of shutting down, was also honored at the ceremony for their work.
“Communities in Schools … stood up and said ‘Yes, we will help you stabilize this center for the kids,” said Greg Murray, spokesperson for the Macomb County Ministerial Alliance.
“There are hundreds of children who have received services … that otherwise would have had to do without,” added Murray.
Local children who attended the event were then taken on a bus ride to the Cairns Community Center for a field trip, where the facility was segregated for students to learn about what life was like before the civil rights movement.
“They will come out with a better understanding of why the day is celebrated,” explained Murray.
Students were given a black ribbon or a white ribbon to determine which race they would represent. Various places in the Cairns Community Center were segregated, such as water fountains, as was the bus ride on the way there.
“There are a number of people who have only an intellectual understanding of what Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting against and this brings it a lot closer to a real experience,” said Murray.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Should the NBA assist white players with affirmative action?
Should the NBA assist white players with affirmative action?
This is an interesting twist on the merits, or rather lack of merits, relative to affirmative action.
This is an interesting twist on the merits, or rather lack of merits, relative to affirmative action.
Monday, November 2, 2009
If You Don't Know the Charter, Vote NO
"The proposed Macomb County charter, as written, has many of what I call “dead zones” that justify voting no on November, 3, 2009. So many people have not read this charter that the anthem should be, “If you don’t know, vote no.” If it fails this time, the charter commission can (within 180 days) submit it to the voters again with all the dead zones removed. Let’s do right by getting it right.
What’s a charter dead zone? Giving powers to the Governor to remove the county executive; the only problem with that is that the Governor, by law, has no power to remove a county executive. Yet, it’s in a charter written by many seasoned lawyers; go figure.
The size of commission districts will double. A 100 percent increase in district size will make access to a commissioner problematic. Right now, each commissioner represents about 33,000 citizens. With the increase in population since 2000, that will change to approximately 70,000 plus. Ed Bruley, who worked hard to create the 26th commission seat in 2001, stated in an April 19, 2001 Macomb Daily article that, and I quote, “County commissioners are supposed to be close to the people they represent….If you have big districts, you get away from that.” Made sense then, and it makes sense now.
A huge dead zone is that the proposed charter does not clearly state that the 13 commissioners “shall be part-time,” There is no law preventing charter commissioners from attaching those four words. The county commissioners can later claim their districts are so large that they need to be fulltime AND need a staff. They should re-write that part.
Another dead zone is that there is no term limit attached to the county executive position. Three terms might be more than some can stomach, but to not put a limit on it means a politician could possibly hold that position forever (Ed McNamara comes to mind).
The charter creates a Public Defender’s Office. The PDO is in the charter without budget details. Where is the money coming from for the administrators of the PDO when the county is laying off workers, slashing services, and cutting county department budgets? If you don’t know, vote no.
The biggest dead zone is the power to adjust the property tax millage up from 4.56 to 5.19. There’s some slippery language in Sec.8.5.2 that everyone should read. Property owners beware: If you don’t know, vote no.
The charter also allows the commissioners to adjust the county executive’s salary 60 days after the charter goes into effect. Wait for it. There goes those so-called savings right out the window.
Again, voters can demand more clarity by voting no. A no vote does not doom the charter: it sends it back for more fine tuning. There are serious flaws in this charter that scream for attention. It can be re-submitted when it is fixed.
The only way to go, if you don’t know, is to vote no on November 3, 2009." "
What’s a charter dead zone? Giving powers to the Governor to remove the county executive; the only problem with that is that the Governor, by law, has no power to remove a county executive. Yet, it’s in a charter written by many seasoned lawyers; go figure.
The size of commission districts will double. A 100 percent increase in district size will make access to a commissioner problematic. Right now, each commissioner represents about 33,000 citizens. With the increase in population since 2000, that will change to approximately 70,000 plus. Ed Bruley, who worked hard to create the 26th commission seat in 2001, stated in an April 19, 2001 Macomb Daily article that, and I quote, “County commissioners are supposed to be close to the people they represent….If you have big districts, you get away from that.” Made sense then, and it makes sense now.
A huge dead zone is that the proposed charter does not clearly state that the 13 commissioners “shall be part-time,” There is no law preventing charter commissioners from attaching those four words. The county commissioners can later claim their districts are so large that they need to be fulltime AND need a staff. They should re-write that part.
Another dead zone is that there is no term limit attached to the county executive position. Three terms might be more than some can stomach, but to not put a limit on it means a politician could possibly hold that position forever (Ed McNamara comes to mind).
The charter creates a Public Defender’s Office. The PDO is in the charter without budget details. Where is the money coming from for the administrators of the PDO when the county is laying off workers, slashing services, and cutting county department budgets? If you don’t know, vote no.
The biggest dead zone is the power to adjust the property tax millage up from 4.56 to 5.19. There’s some slippery language in Sec.8.5.2 that everyone should read. Property owners beware: If you don’t know, vote no.
The charter also allows the commissioners to adjust the county executive’s salary 60 days after the charter goes into effect. Wait for it. There goes those so-called savings right out the window.
Again, voters can demand more clarity by voting no. A no vote does not doom the charter: it sends it back for more fine tuning. There are serious flaws in this charter that scream for attention. It can be re-submitted when it is fixed.
The only way to go, if you don’t know, is to vote no on November 3, 2009." "
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A Painful Truth Others Want Forgotten
A War For Your Soul-Birmingham version on Vimeo
Please click on this link....it is pretty graphic, but watch it all the way through.
Please click on this link....it is pretty graphic, but watch it all the way through.
Monday, August 31, 2009
As Biggest Banks Repay Bailout Money, the U.S. Sees a Profit - NYTimes.com
It appears that we are peeking at a silver lining. Taxpayer money is being paid back, with interest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)