How much longer?
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
I'm not even sure why I am asking this question, except right now I'm tired. Saw this graphic on twitter yesterday and it made me think. Not about B'More, though the news and coverage and outrages, and finger-pointing triggered my thoughts.
The debate will rage-on...the pundits will weigh-in, the politicians will take stances, the police will continue to abuse our communities, community leaders of all stripes will attempt to find band-aids, there will be hundreds of people quoting sanitized Martin Luther King at us, (never Malcolm or Gandhi) and the next city will be...take your pick.
Anyone who tries to talk about root causes will be accused of promoting, or condoning "violence" and "thuggery". One must carefully parse how you talk about this. We will hear about good police and wounded police, and criminal youths till our ears bleed.
I'm tired.
Being tired doesn't mean I give up. It just means I didn't get more than two hours sleep, and I haven't got the energy to rant right now. I'll wait to see if there is a follow-up to the Washington Post news item that got buried in the flames. Somehow I doubt it.
I don't even listen much to rap music but somehow the soundtrack in my head to all of this is more vintage N.W.A than Marvin Gaye.
I could write a long detailed piece on the neighborhoods I've lived in, the street protests aka "riots" I've been in, the sane solutions that get proffered (and ignored) but that wouldn't make much of a difference right now.
I could ask...what will...and how long will it take?
Too tired to attempt answering my own question.
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News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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Michael Eric Dyson explains the why. The New Republic: Seeing the humanity of those I criticize is vital to every claim I make under the banner of #BlackLivesMatter.
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Complaints of length aside,1 many wondered why I published my essay now. After all, West has been extremely hostile and unapologetically vicious for quite a while. Did I time my article, as some suggested, as a bid for Hillary Clinton’s attention, and to show the Democratic establishment that I could make mincemeat of one of their most vocal critics? I have often accused the Democrats of lacking spine, so that makes little sense. There’s a far simpler and unsexy answer: I published it when I finished it. I’m working on a book on President Obama and race and that has taken the bulk of my writing time. Between teaching classes, offering lectures, preaching in churches, and, yes, protesting the death of black folk and speaking at marches against police brutality, it took me nearly a year to compose this essay. When I got it into good shape, I offered it to The New Republic.
Why this magazine, many have asked, even those who tended to agree with my vigorous criticism? The New Republic has had a horrible reputation for publishing racist work that insults and stereotypes black life. My worries about racist legacies haven’t kept me from teaching at major American universities either, so I usually stay and fight the good fight. Why not publish in, say, Ebony or Essence magazines, two venerable black publishing institutions? My essay is not quite in their wheelhouse; neither magazine, where I’ve published quite frequently, is geared to the philosophical meditation on prophetic vocation, scholarly craft and writerly art—or the sharp polemics—that I offer in my essay. I can’t remember the last essay at the length I wrote appearing in either publication. As for The New Republic’s checkered racial past, no one made that argument more forcefully than, well, The New Republic. It performed its own racial autopsy and did what I’d like to see more white institutions, brands, and entities do: own up to their racist past, navigate past guilty racial catharsis, and broaden their intellectual horizons by seriously engaging the ideas and identities of black folk and other people of color. The reborn New Republic is pushing forth with its history at its back and the digital future looming before it, all while preserving its pedigree as a place for serious thought. I welcome the opportunity to offer my reflections between its covers.
But it is the fact that I published my thoughts about the tragic missteps of a brilliant black thinker at all that has a lot of folks upset. Why not simply call up West and resolve our differences? West and I have talked on occasion, though admittedly not in a long time given his bitter denunciations of me and others in the media spotlight. But our differences aren’t merely personal; West’s diatribes and unprincipled attacks hamper the quest for truth and damage the debate—even if one agrees with the substance of his arguments. One might ask, why not sign off on West’s views even if they happen to be harsh and vicious when there is agreement about some of his claims? Because in black culture, and surely beyond, how one says what one says communicates moral intent beyond the words spoken. The means to justice are just as important as the ends pursued. If, for instance, I can’t see, and insist, on Obama’s humanity, as I criticize his actions, then I undermine every claim I make under the banner of #BlackLivesMatter. If all black lives don’t matter, then no black lives matter. West himself said that we “must have an unconditional commitment to try to keep track of the humanity of each and every person to give us the courage to love, serve, and sacrifice.” Using hateful language to describe or decry former comrades is a failure to observe West’s own principle.
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It’s an obscure part of antebellum history, but members of no fewer than five Native American tribes participated in chattel slavery. Color Lines: ‘By Blood’ Tackles the Untold Legacy of Slave-Owning Cherokees.
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Before they were driven from their lands in what’s now known as the U.S. South, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole nations all had members who bought and sold black people as property.
In 1838 and 1839, when the U.S. government forced the Cherokee, the largest tribe, to relocate from their land east of the Mississippi River to what is now known as Oklahoma, enslaved black people, black spouses of Natives and mixed children joined them.
Some 30 years after this forced march that Natives called the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee Nation was divided by the Civil War. Some supported and even fought for the Confederacy, while others sided with the Union.
The Cherokee eventually signed the Treaty of 1866, an agreement with the federal government that granted enslaved black people who were freed voluntarily or by law "all the rights of the Native Cherokee." In addition, "all free colored persons" and their descendants who were living on Cherokee land or set to return in six months received these rights.
With a population about 300,000 members, the Cherokee Nation determines its citizenship not by blood quantum, but by whether an ancestor is on what’s called the Dawes Rolls. In those records black Cherokees were designated as Freedmen without consideration of their lineage. As a result, the tribe has always questioned their membership. In a 2007 special election that resulted in a change to the Cherokee constitution, a majority of voters chose to strip some 30,000 Cherokee Freedmen of their tribal citizenship. These Freedmen have lost access to the healthcare, education and housing benefits funded by the billion-dollar Cherokee casino industry.
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Falling commodity prices will hurt Africa's economy less than previously thought. Economist: No longer the kiss of death.
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IN 2014 commodity prices tumbled. Many economists feared the worst for Africa. For decades the continent has been worryingly dependent on commodities to power economic growth. When prices crashed, economies would go into a tailspin. This time around, though, things seem different. The continent is holding up well.
The map above looks at how forecasts from the International Monetary Fund for African growth in 2015-16 have changed in the past year. Compared to what it was predicting in April 2014, the IMF now expects slower economic growth in most African economies. For instance, the IMF now expects Nigeria to grow by 10% over the next two years, whereas in April 2014 it had predicted growth of 14%. Thus growth expectations have fallen by 4 percentage points, as the map's colouring shows.
Some countries, especially those that are still very dependent on commodities, have seen bigger downgrades. But overall the situation is positive. Only two countries, Sierra Leone (a commodity-dependent economy which has also been hit by Ebola) and Equatorial Guinea (an oil-soaked kleptocracy), will see their economies contract over the next two years. Other African economies, meanwhile, have been upgraded. Lower oil prices are a boon for Kenya, which is a big importer of the fuel. And the Kenyan government is also embarking on big fuel-hungry rail and energy projects.
What explains Africa’s solid performance? We discussed this in detail at the beginning of this year, but a few things stick out. Manufacturing output in the continent is expanding as quickly as the rest of the economy. Growth is even faster in services, which expanded at an average rate of 2.6% per person across Africa between 1996 and 2011. Tourism, in particular, has boomed: the number of foreign visitors doubled and receipts tripled between 2000 and 2012. All this means that even if income from commodity production slips, other parts of the economy can take up the slack.
Better fiscal policy also plays a role. Until a few years ago, nearly all African economies spent freely when their economies were hot, only to rein in spending when things cooled down. That is the opposite of what most economists would advise a finance minister to do. But in recent years, according to a report from the World Bank published in January, fiscal policies in many African countries have become more sensible. These days a fair number of African economies save money during the good times, in order to spend it in the bad ones.
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A day of peaceful rallies to protest the unexplained death of a black man while in police custody in Baltimore turned violent late Saturday, as marchers began confronting police officers. Slate: Freddie Gray Protest in Baltimore Turns Violent, 12 Arrested.
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Two people were hurt and at least a dozen were arrested in what was the largest protest since 25-year-old Freddie Gray died last Sunday. Anywhere between “nearly 1,000 people,” according to the Washington Post and “at least 2,000,” according to Reuters, marched through Baltimore on Saturday. But six hours into what had been a peaceful demonstration, violence broke out as protesters spread out across the city and fought with baseball fans near Camden Yards.
Protesters jumped on police cars and smashed a few windows as “state police in full tactical gear were deployed to the city,” reports the Baltimore Sun. “Protesters shouted ‘Killers!’ and ‘You can’t get away with this!’ and ‘Hands up don’t shoot!’ Some threw rocks and water bottles at police mounted on horses, smashed the windows of businesses and looted at least two convenience stores.”
Gray’s twin sister appeared alongside the mayor asking for calm in what were her first public comments since her brother died on April 19, a week after he suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody. “My family wants to say, can you all please, please stop the violence?” she said, according to the Associated Press. “Freddie Gray would not want this. ... Violence does not get justice.”
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Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
I came across a poll recently, showing that working class whites without four year college degrees, back Republican and TeaBircher policies with great majorities. Makes sense then, why we are hearing calls from Republicans and TeaBirchers to dismantle the Department of Education; if an educated voting public votes Democratic, then assure that the voting public is uneducated.
I have been harangued myself by this group, folks I went to high school with and have found me on the world wide web. I remember them as slackers and partiers, cheaters on tests who had no real expectation of a four year college education. They were very reminiscent of the characters in a parody of the movie, Saturday Night Fever on Saturday Night Live in the '70's, where Dan Akroyd happily proclaims in a disco club,
"To be young and stupid with no future, god I love this life!"
I have been accused by these "friends", because of my BA's in History and English, and an MA in American Literature, to have been brainwashed by the Liberal Educational system. Excepting homeschooling, or attendance at Regent or Liberty Universities, they are of the belief that the more educated one is; specifically, educated in public schools and "secular" colleges or universities; the more brainwashed that person. Never mind that I started Catholic School before Vatican II, never mind that one of my history professors at Portland State for example, Basil Dmytryshyn, could hardly be considered liberal.
The terrible ramifications of such an approach is obvious; from the problems of Science, whether it be Physics or Evolution, to the problems of historical revisionism and the...
Problems of Translation: Problems of Language
1
I turn to my Rand McNally Atlas.
Europe appears right after the Map of the World.
All of Italy can be seen page 9.
Half of Chile page 29.
I take out my ruler.
In global perspective Italy
amounts to less than half an inch.
Chile measures more than an inch and a quarter
of an inch.
Approximately
Chile is as long as China
is wide:
Back to the Atlas:
Chunk of China page 17.
All of France page 5: As we say in New York:
Who do France and Italy know
at Rand McNally?
2
I see the four mountains in Chile higher
than any mountain of North America.
I see Ojos del Salado the highest.
I see Chile unequivocal as crystal thread.
I see the Atacama Desert dry in Chile more than the rest
of the world is dry.
I see Chile dissolving into water.
I do not see what keeps the blue land of Chile
out of blue water.
I do not see the hand of Pablo Neruda on the blue land.
3
As the plane flies flat to the trees
below Brazil
below Bolivia
below five thousand miles below
my Brooklyn windows
and beside the shifted Pacific waters
welled away from the Atlantic at Cape Horn
La Isla Negra that is not an island La
Isla Negra
that is not black
is stone and stone of Chile
feeding clouds to color
scale and undertake terrestrial forms
of everything unspeakable
4
In your country
how do you say copper
for my country?
5
Blood rising under the Andes and above
the Andes blood
spilling down the rock
corrupted by the amorality
of so much space
that leaves such little trace of blood
rising to the irritated skin the face
of the confession far
from home:
I confess I did not resist interrogation.
I confess that by the next day I was no longer sure
of my identity.
I confess I knew the hunger.
I confess I saw the guns.
I confess I was afraid.
I confess I did not die.
6
What you Americans call a boycott
of the junta?
Who will that feed?
7
Not just the message but the sound.
8
Early morning now and I remember
corriendo a la madrugada from a different
English poem,
I remember from the difficulties of the talk
an argument
athwart the wine the dinner and the dancing
meant to welcome you
you did not understand the commonplace expression
of my heart:
the truth is in the life
la verdad de la vida
Early morning:
do you say la mañanita?
But then we lose
the idea of the sky uncurling to the light:
Early morning and I do not think we lose:
the rose we left behind
broken to a glass of water on the table
at the restaurant stands
even sweeter
por la mañanita
-- June Jordan
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