A Fleeting Thought
Commentary by Chitown Kev
Somewhere in one of the folders on my laptop, there’s a pdf of a story from the Chicago Defender dating from, I think, 1915.
The story is of an incident that took place a Chicago bus.
A black woman sat in a seat on a bus and began to be harassed by a white woman. I don’t remember all of the details of the story, but I seem to remember that, at some point, the white woman requested that the black woman give up her seat, the black woman refused, of course, and a war of words started between the two woman that culminated in the white woman spitting on the black woman and the white woman was in such a rage that she followed the black woman off of the bus; I seem to recall that there were some sewing needles involved in this white woman’s assault on the black woman.
The story included the commentary of some of the other bus passengers defending the black woman’s right to have that seat with one (presumably white) man exclaiming to the white woman that, ‘’She has as much right to that seat as you do.’’
I’ve thought of that story that I read in the Chicago Defender online archives quite a bit lately as from Starbucks to the Waffle House(s) to the golf course...some white folks simply don’t want black folks and other people of color to be around waiting to conduct business talk or to request plastic utensils or to enjoy a leisurely golf outing or sitting down at a Waffle House with friends or meandering in Granny’s backyard, much less receive a coveted acceptance letter to Harvard University (news flash to white folks: black folks have been getting accepted to and graduating from Harvard University for almost 150 years)...never mind legislating and presidenting.
(Lately, I’ve started to wonder if we’ll see a return of those lynching picnics with happy, smiling white people and a dead, hanging black body or two that’s so well attested to on early 20th century)
Yeah, most black folks know that there’s an awful lot of white people that simply think that black people shouldn’t exist much less occupy the same public spaces that they do.
From the very beginning of there being a ‘’black press,’’ we’ve documented the nasty ways of a lot of white folks.
Oh, we have centuries of receIpts, TRUST.
Some in the black community concede that to be in an at-large public space supposedly open to all citizens is to be in a state of a vague but perceptible danger. So, yes, some black folks do talk of and, sometimes, follow-up on crating our spaces where we can be ourselves as opposed to being made to feel like ‘’a problem.’’
And some white folks even have a problem with THAT!
I want to return to one element in the 1915 Chicago Defender story
The story included the commentary of some of the other bus passengers defending the black woman’s right to have that seat with one (presumably white) man exclaiming to the white woman that, ‘’She has as much right to that seat as you do.’’
Given my angry and, frankly, frightening and frightened language here about ‘’white folks,’’ there will always be those white folks that go through the pains of informing my obviously uninformed black self that ‘’not all white folks like what you say’’; why they feel the need to say this, I don’t know.
I know that when I do read it, that it pisses me off.
As long as I can remember, my elders have always pointed to me who the ‘’good white folks’’ are, in their estimation. Of course, as an adult, I can and do make my own judgments as far as who ‘’the good white folks’’ are.
Which doesn’t mean that good white folks are perfect or that they can dismissed as having a ‘’saviour complex’’ or anything of the kind.
Yes, all of us saw and understood that even as we looked at the Starbucks video of the arrest of Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson.
We have the receipts on those good white folks, too, and have for centuries.
In fact, I will say that, for myself, it’s part of what gives me hope that this country won’t continue to regress, even in these decidedly dark times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I have two gentlemen at my cafe who are refusing to make a purchase or leave,” the manager of the Starbucks told the 911 dispatcher. She calmly gave her address, and after being reassured that law enforcement would be on the way shortly, she thanked the dispatcher and hung up. The call, of which audio was released by the Philadelphia police department, lasted roughly 20 seconds.
Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, the two men, both black, did not know the manager had called the police. They say that only a few minutes had passed between when they entered Starbucks and when they were surrounded by Philadelphia police officers.
Americans, on the whole, make millions upon millions of calls to 911 each year requesting police assistance. But there are differences in who makes such calls, and for what purpose. That’s in part because black Americans have a much more contentious relationship with police officers than white Americans—and that has a pronounced impact on the differences in the tendency to seek help or report crimes.
*******
In the days following the Starbucks incident, several people, including Karen Attiah of The Washington Post and Jason Johnson of The Root, have noted that in case after case—black children at a swimming pool, a black Harvard professor trying to get into his house, and the latest, two black men waiting for a business meeting at Starbucks—white people have routinely called the police for situations that could have likely been resolved with a conversation.
In apologizing for the escalation at their store, Starbucks acknowledged that, in this instance, the call to police was excessive. “Now certainly there are some situations where the call to police is justified. Situations where there is violence or threats or disruption,” said Kevin Johnson, the company’s CEO, in a video. He then added that this was not one of them. And yet, the fact that such methods were resorted to is common. In fact, black people are more likely to say that their mere presence has made others suspicious, according to a report from Pew Research.
What makes this continued practice troubling isn’t just that these calls appear unnecessary, it’s also the fact that given the history of police brutality against communities of color, a white person’s readiness to call the police—and ultimate decision to do so—is an invitation to end an otherwise mundane misunderstanding with the opportunity for violence. As the writer Gene Demby recounted during a conversation with Slate, “The police were called into this situation, as a colleague said, to mediate a misunderstanding, like they were RAs in a dorm and not armed agents of the state with broad discretion to use violence and detain people.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Latinx and Black activists and entrepreneurs are challenging marijuana prohibition, hypocritical industry power players and stigma within their own communities to ensure that people of color don't miss out on the legal pot boom. Color Lines: How Advocates and Entrepreneurs of Color Are Fighting for Equity in the Legal Weed Business
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
American attitudes toward marijuana remain inextricably linked to perceptions of Latinx and Black communities. The word “marijuana” originated with Mexican immigrants, who brought smokeable cannabis across the border while fleeing violence of the U.S.-exacerbated Mexican Revolution. White landowners in the Caribbean cultivated the plant on their plantations to “pacify” enslaved Black peoples, thus guaranteeing its introduction into U.S.port cities and their African diasporas.
The subversive appeal of cannabis in America grew through its association with Black and Latinx communities, and so did its vilification. Sensationalized claims that weed fueled crime, treason and sexual aggression by Black and Latinx men filled newspapers and speeches by prohibitionists. Harry Anslinger, the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, once declared that ”reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as White men.” His influence pushed the “Marihuana Tax of 1937” into law, thereby outlawing the most sales and possession of marijuana. Weed prohibition has been a major component of the War on Drugs, fueling the disproportionate policing of people of color and mass incarceration.
A Business Boom in the Making
Today, some states are turning the tide of prohibition against the drug, which research has found to be less dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes. Medical marijuana is legal in 29 states. California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use. Several more have decriminalized pot—that is, pledged to punish the possession of small amounts with fines or less prison time than federal laws mandate. California, Oregon, Colorado, New Hampshire and Maryland have passed laws that allow people who were previously convicted of many pot crimes to expunge or seal their records. These factors have contributed to what CNNMoney reported as almost $9 billion in legal sales in 2017.
Yet this increasingly powerful legal weed industry is freezing people of color out of the boom because people previously convicted of War on Drugs-era offenses cannot enter the industry. California is the only state that allows people with non-expunged felony drug convictions—most of whom are Black and Latinx—to apply for marijuana business permits. A 2017 study by Marijuana Business Daily found that people of color only make up 19 percent of cannabis businesses owners.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A decision to select more black Cubans for the highest levels of government sends a signal in a country where increasing business opportunities have swelled racial disparities. New York Times: In Cuba’s Change of Leadership, More Black Officials in Power
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the outgoing Cuban president Raúl Castro tells it, even too many of the radio and television newscasters in Cuba are white.
It “was not easy” getting the few black broadcasters now on the air hired, Mr. Castro said in his retirement speech Thursday, a remarkable admission considering the state controls all the stations.
So it was all the more extraordinary to see last week how many women and Afro-Cubans were chosen for positions in the highest echelon of Cuban politics in the new government: Half of the six vice presidents of the ruling Council of State are black, including the first vice president, and three are also women.
The new council will serve under the new president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who took over on Thursday.
That the first administration in 60 years without a single Castro would include so many women and black officials was notable in Cuba, where increasing business opportunities have only swelled economic racial disparities. The move also signaled the growing significance of the Afro-Cuban movement, marked in the past 20 years by artists, hip-hop musicians and intellectuals who are more willing to speak out about the problems affecting black people on the island, experts said.
The Cuban government under the Castros has historically been viewed as one made up mainly of white men, especially those of advanced age. Although it has generally had at least one Afro-Cuban in a high-ranking position, cynics dismissed them as symbolic figures.
Although skeptics doubt that too much will change to address the disparities faced by many black people in Cuba, even some of the government’s harshest critics acknowledged that the diversity shift was an important development.
“Yes, it has great significance,” said Ramón Colas, a black anti-Castro activist who sought political asylum in 2001 and now lives in Mississippi. “The Cuban revolution has historically been white, and seen from the outside as a revolution by white men, where black people were part of the crowd, spectators who were silent or applauded, but never participated.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shady sports agents have taken a page from human traffickers. They’re luring young men to Europe with promises of fame and exploiting them instead. Foreign Policy: The Scramble for Africa’s Athletes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s no secret that foreign interests have long exploited Africa’s resources: oil, gold, diamonds, and, of course, people. What isn’t widely known is that in 2018, Africa is now mined for its athletes.
For many young soccer players around the world, a professional career under the bright lights of Europe’s famous stadiums is the stuff dreams are made of. Playing for a big club comes with big rewards — even by European and North American standards. When a door opens to a pro contract in Europe, it’s difficult to not step through and see what’s on the other side, especially for a hopeful African player — who often has to contend with a daily grind of poverty at home.
This is where agents with dubious legitimacy step up, offering young men and their families the opportunity for trials with professional clubs in Europe. Research from Loughborough University in England has confirmed what’s informally discussed within the soccer business — there’s always a catch to the pitches from these agents. It usually means families must pay up front to have a chance at the “opportunity.” The fees, never required when following legitimate professional pathways, are huge for most African families. They often never see the money again. It’s a business model torn from the pages of a book used by human traffickers and people smugglers around the world.
Too many stories follow the same pattern. After being recruited from West African soccer hotbeds like Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, athletes pay fees and begin their journey, only to be abandoned upon arrival in Europe. The agent disappears with the money, returning to another country or city with more false promises for other players. The young men are turfed from their cheap hotels and have to fend for themselves, often being absorbed into the black markets and underground economies of European cities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long before it became the first slavery memorial in the French West Indies, the Darboussier Sugar Factory powered France’s Caribbean empire. In the 19th century, the 77,000-square-foot factory, located in Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city on the butterfly-shaped island of Guadeloupe, exported goods produced by slaves to mainland France. In the process, it transformed the Lesser Antilles from a forgotten tropic into an economic El Dorado. Today, the factory, which was abandoned after France officially abolished slavery in its colonies in 1848, is known as Memorial ACTe. Strings of quartz, meant to represent the lost souls of the slave trade, crawl up its black-box-like exterior, embodying what has become the memorial’s unofficial motto: Memory Inspires the Future.
Guadeloupe’s colonial history began when Christopher Columbus first set foot on the island in 1493. It was passed from native Arawaks to Carib Indians to the Spanish until the French expelled them and slaughtered the local population, officially claiming Guadeloupe as a colony in 1635. In 1946, it became a French département, an ambiguous status giving the island a locally elected government that reports to the national government in Paris. The effort to build Memorial ACTe began 58 years later when Victorin Lurel, Guadeloupe’s representative in the French Assembly, announced that the island needed a slavery memorial so that “the children of Guadeloupe [could] create a new humanism based on reconciliation and fraternity.” The decision to build it on the site of the old factory was a symbolic gesture towards “rebirth,” as Lurel put it.
But for some, the very idea of a slavery memorial in Guadeloupe is an odd gesture. Nearly three-quarters of the 405,000 people living on the island descend from West African slaves, but many have little connection to their ancestry. When slavery ended, former slaves were declared French citizens—yet no official record of their ancestors’ arrival to the island exists. It was as if history had been wiped clean, plunging Guadeloupean society into a “cultural amnesia,” as Jacques Martial, a French actor who is currently the chairman of Memorial ACTe, put it. “Everyone wanted to forget the past after 1848, and nobody could. Guadeloupeans were saying, ‘Enough is enough. We cannot go forward and forget our ancestors.’”
Yet Memorial ACTe, which today receives up to 300,000 visitors a year—nearly all of them foreign—has been a source of controversy since its inauguration on May 10, 2015. On that day, François Hollande, then the president of France, toured the memorial and declared that “France is able to look at its history because France is a great country that is not afraid of anything—especially not of itself.” But outside the memorial, the mood was anything but reflective. Protestors had gathered, chanting: “Guadeloupe is ours, not theirs!” Most of them regarded the presence of a French president, especially one inaugurating a slavery memorial, as an extension of France’s colonial legacy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A former Liberian warlord known as “Jungle Jabbah” has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the US for lying about his role in Liberia’s civil war and the atrocities he committed.
Mohammed Jabbateh, 51, who has lived in East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, for 20 years, was found guilty in October on two counts of fraud in immigration documents and two counts of perjury and sentenced on Thursday.
The judge in the case imposed a heavy sentence because of the nature of the crimes that Jabbateh had sought to hide.
While serving as commander of an armed group during the height of Liberia’s first civil war, which lasted much of the 1990s, Jabbateh either personally committed or ordered acts such as rapes, ritual cannibalism, mutilation, murder and the use of child soldiers, prosecutors said. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the conflict which devastated the country.
The judgment is an important precedent that could lead to much longer sentences for other similar offenders in the future and will help international efforts to bring war criminals to justice, activists said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In july 1967, when President Lyndon B. Johnson formed a commission to analyze the riots then engulfing several major American cities, the radical wing of the civil-rights movement eyed his appointees with grave skepticism. Not only did the 11-person commission abound with the most conventional of politicians—including its chairman, Illinois Governor Otto Kerner—but a mere two of them were black. Racial militants might have tolerated that paltry number of seats had they been occupied by firebrands such as Stokely Carmichael, who popularized the term black power, or H. Rap Brown, who routinely railed against “the honkies.” These brazen embodiments of the new generation of civil-rights activism would have reliably conveyed the concerns and frustrations of black youth—a presumably vital task for the commission, given that most rioters ranged from 15 to 24 years old.
Instead of black insurgents, however, Johnson tapped the longtime NAACP doyen Roy Wilkins and Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, two men broadly regarded as more acquainted with executive suites than with edgy streets. Detractors viewed Wilkins as so fearful of bucking the Johnson administration that they branded him “Roy Weak-knees.” Although Brooke had recently become the first black person popularly elected to the Senate, national media observed that his time as state attorney general and his personal attributes hardly endeared him to black radicals, who stopped just shy of labeling him an Uncle Tom. “Because of his pale skin, his Episcopalian faith, his reserved New England manner,” Time magazine noted, Brooke “is looked upon as what might be described as a ‘NASP’—the Negro equivalent of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.” Both Wilkins and Brooke, moreover, had sharply repudiated the nascent black-power movement, going so far as to equate it with white supremacy. Whereas Brooke called Carmichael and the arch-segregationist Lester Maddox “extremists of black power and white power,” Wilkins termed Carmichael’s ethos “a reverse Mississippi, a reverse Hitler, a reverse Ku Klux Klan.”
With these pillars of the establishment speaking on behalf of African Americans, black-power advocates were convinced that the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—as the body was officially named—would sanitize America’s ugly racial realities. A few months before the commission’s findings appeared in a document typically called the Kerner Report, the journalist Elizabeth Drew confirmed in these pages that “the word has gone out among the militant Negroes that the commission is a fink operation … and is not to be cooperated with.” She added: “No one here is betting … that the commission’s product will differ radically from one that [LBJ] wants.”
Surprisingly, when the Kerner Report surfaced, in February 1968, black-power supporters felt cheered, and President Johnson was chagrined. H. Rap Brown, who was in a Louisiana jail cell for inciting a crowd, released an exultant statement: “The members of the commission should be put in jail under $100,000 bail each because they’re saying essentially what I’ve been saying.” For his part, an infuriated LBJ canceled the White House ceremony where he had been scheduled to accept a bound copy of the report, avoided public commentary on the eagerly anticipated document, and refused to sign customary letters recognizing the commissioners for their service. But Johnson’s effort to ignore the report failed utterly. The Kerner Report became an instant publishing phenomenon; Bantam sold almost 1 million paperbacks in the first two weeks. Public appetite ran so strong that Marlon Brando read aloud excerpts of the volume on a late-night television talk show.
Fifty years have now elapsed since the Kerner Report appeared, but even in our current age of woke-ness, the document stands out for its unvarnished, unflinching identification of “white racism” as the fundamental cause of urban unrest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH