Black bloggers from around the afrosphere are blogging about the role of community organizers. for me it's about how community organizers in America have historically responded to the needs of America particularly African Americans. We canot kid ourselves that the importance of community organizers was recently highlighted by Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Palin and Rudy Guiliani in their remarks that actually spit in the face of the hundreds of thousands of community organizers, many who have been African Americans and many other Americans. community organizers worked to change our society from a segregated society to a more open a free society.
Both Rudy Guiliani's and Palin's ugly, sarcastic, and ignorant comments about Obama's experience as a community organizer during their speeches at the Republican National Convention had clear racial connotations.
Ms. Palin's remarks made this AAPP believe that Ms. Palin would like to send us back to the days of a segregated
society like the days experienced by so many Americans.
In the Republican National Conventions words and deeds it would have black folks as segregated as it's 2008 Convention or as segregated as the 1950's.
But thank God there were Civil Rights community organizers both black and white, who wanted this madness to stop. Thank God for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, CORE, the NAACP, the Urban League, the Economic Research and Action Projects of the Students for a Democratic Society, The Black Panther Party, the Nation of Islam, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Fredrick Douglas, these groups and individuals fundamental positive social change. We all know how many of these groups were infiltrated by the FBI and their leaders harassed, jailed or murdered. Last week I got the sense that under a Mccain administration wemight just go back to a day when political community organizers may just be harassed, jailed or God forbid other things that Republicans have been known to do against black activist.
I like a number of black bloggers had the opportunity to attend the Democratic National Convention last week in Denver. I also had the opportunity to watch the Republican National Convention last night. Talk about tales of two conventions. At the Democratic National convention in was a sea of black folks, from all walks of life, people with disabilities, rich, economically challenged and the midde class. Candidly, i though I was at a NAACP, or Urban League convention there was so many black folks. At the Republic Convention that I watched last night, all I saw was a sea of white faces. Blogger Shay of the blog, Booker Rising, reported about this earlier in the week.
The Washington Post has a great article on how "Republican organizers conceived of this convention as a means to inspire, but some African American Republicans have found the Xcel Energy Center depressing this week. Everywhere they look, they see evidence of what they consider one of their party's biggest shortcomings. As the country rapidly diversifies, Republicans are presenting a convention that is almost entirely white.
Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates seated on the convention floor are black, the lowest number since the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies began tracking diversity at political conventions 40 years ago. Each night, the overwhelmingly white audience watches a series of white politicians step to the lectern -- a visual reminder that no black Republican has served as a governor, U.S. senator or U.S. House member in the past six years.
"It's hard to look around and not get frustrated," said Michael S. Steele, a black Republican and former lieutenant governor of Maryland. "You almost have to think, 'Wait. How did it come to this?' ead More HERE
Barack Obama has to watch his back now that he has agreed to provide Hillary with the opportunity for a floor vote. But it is not only Hillary he has to watch out for. He also has to watch out for liberal rags like the NY Mag.com as so-called liberal magazine that is dogging out Obama with outragious statements like, "The description of the Obamas’ life together displays no evidence of their connections to black culture."
AAPP: OK, here we go again with Barack Obama and his wife are not "black enough" bull. This time with an academic twist.
This rag, the New York Mag.com went out to find anyone they could to lend credibility to the story. They found someone to degrade the 21st century black bourgeoisie involved in U.S. politics. Yes, Gayle Pemberton was dug up from some academic cave to say as much silly garbage about obama as possible. asking questions like, "And what does the white world know about black people like the Obamas, really? “The black middle class is the most invisible, unknown group in the country,” said Gayle Pemberton, a professor of African-American studies at Wesleyan University.
“There are millions and millions of people in it, and yet we know nothing about them.”
AAPP: Them? Them says, Gayle Pemberton? we already know where she is coming from.
Here are some more excerpts from the article:
One would think that the Obamas enjoy being called the black Kennedys, but maybe they don’t. “This Camelot myth has formed around Barack and Michelle, but they come from almost the opposite place in the world from the Kennedys,” says Obama’s friend Kenneth Mack, a law professor at Harvard University. “If you saw Barack on a yacht, that would be pretty unseemly. He’s the guy from the basketball court who used to go around in jeans and a leather jacket. In law school, he was really uncomfortable with the markers of elitism, like even dressing in a suit.”
It’s a sitcom, this miscommunication between black and white people: In fact, a manager in Hollywood told me that he’s getting calls from producers searching for TV writers to work on All in the Family–style shows for next year—they know the country will be hungry for this type of comedy if Obama is elected.
While Michelle hasn’t made many interesting statements in public—it’s a very small canon of comments, over the course of almost two years of campaigning—they’ve taken on enormous meaning. She’s not quite as smooth a political player as Barack: “Whenever Obama enters the room, there’s a sense of calm and satisfaction,” says a former campaign aide. “Michelle can get a little more tense. Before she goes on-camera for interviews, we’d have to give her a couple of minutes to compose herself. She’ll sit down, raise her hands over her head, and go, ‘Ugh, God!’ ” That’s a mask she’s wearing in public, most of the time, and we aren’t sure what is underneath. When she uttered her fateful words about how, for “the first time in my adult life, I’m really proud of my country,” she unleashed an explosion of emotion, because everyone who’s awake could read between the lines—she was angry about the treatment of black people in America. And anger will not do. Besides, what does she have to be angry about, with her Ivy education and Hyde Park mansion? Isn’t she herself an example of the fact that racism is over in America? More HERE
All of this as Barack Obama's plane was forced to endure an emergency landing after the Democratic presidential candidate's aircraft suffered mechanical problems over Missouri.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Authority confirmed to The Times that there had been an emergency landing in St Louis last month after the pilot notified air traffic control of problems. It is understood that the pilot of Mr Obama's plane had warned that he was having problems controlling the "pitch" of the plane and requested emergency assistance.
A controversy has erupted over the landing. According to a US news channel, control tower tapes show that the pilot of Mr Obama's plane demanded an emergency landing. At the time, both the FAA and Midwest Airlines insisted that there was no emergency.
But Laura Brown, a spokesman for the FAA said that she had said minutes after the incident happened that there had been no emergency because of what she had been told by the agency's public affairs staff for air traffic control. More HERE
AAPP: Right! Something seems just a bit fishy with this story. I wonder what Samuel L. Jackson would say:
I guess Barack has to look out for Hillary, The NY Mag, Liberals and Snakes on the planes.
Is it getting ready to be ugly at the Democratic National Convention?
There are some crazy reports coming out of main stream media and the blogosphere. Take for instance, Stephen ohlemacher at the Associated Press is reporting that Hillary Clinton supporters "aren't buying the unity theme planned for the Democratic National Convention." He writes, "One group intends to paper the city with fliers, promote a video detailing what they contend were irregularities in the nominating process and unleash bloggers to give their take on the proceedings. Another group has purchased newspaper advertisements demanding that Clinton be included in a roll-call vote for the nomination. Meanwhile, the Obama Nation of Barack Obama continues.
Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton in many ways contributed to this book by the way they campaigns and attempting to degrade Barack Obama.
AAPP: This is looking pretty ugly to me. and I'm not the only one wondering what the hell is going on with Hillary and Bill trying to upstage Obama at the convention. Check out comments from Democratic National Committee member and former Texas Democratic Party Chairman Bob Slagle in the Dallas Morning News, who said he'd write to fellow Clinton delegates and urge them not to push a legitimate roll call vote.
"They may have it choreographed where there is some stage play," Mr. Slagle said. "She could go up there and give a flowery speech and then ask her supporters to vote for Obama. I don't know why she would want a roll call vote and then go down in flames."
AAPP says: Yes, the Obama campaign (which now controls the Democratic National Committee) has agreed to allow Sen. Hillary Clinton's name to be placed in nomination. To this AAPP this is more than just symbolic as some major news media outlets are trying to play it. This is a divisive effort on the part of Bill and Hillary Clinton to negatively impact on the campaign of Barack Obama. Can you imagine the impact of seeing black delegates having to cast votes for Hillary Clinton Vs. Barack Obama in the state delegate/ballot count? Black delegates being placed in the position of voting for Hillary who is suppose to lose the nomination? Black delegates have already taken a beating at home for supporting Hillary. Hillary has limited grass root support in black communities across America. But then again she must be playing to win the nomination away from Obama even at this 24th hour. More HERE
Ok, Were Family right, so can we talk? OK, so Barack Obama was heckled and accused of not focusing on black issues recently. Obama appeared in St. Petersburg, Florida and was interrupted when 3 black men stood up, put up a banner that said, "What about the black community, Obama?" and hollered, What about the black community? Ok folks they did break the decorum, and Barack, rightfully told them they would have time to ask questions after the speech was over, and they did.
They asked why he was not focusing on issues like the sub-prime mortgage crisis, Jena Six, Sean Bell and "the numerous attacks that are made against the African-American community." Obama responded twofold: telling the hecklers that he had, in fact, been focused on these issues and explaining that there would never be 100% continuity between his agenda and that of the voters.
"Listen, I was a civil rights lawyer," Obama said. "I passed the first racial profiling legislation in Illinois.
I passed some of the toughest death penalty reform legislation in Illinois.
That doesn't mean I am always going to satisfy the way you want these issues framed... which gives you the option of voting for somebody else, it gives you the option of running for office yourself, those are all options.
Did Barack Obama have say all that? Did he have to say, "which gives you the option of voting for somebody else."
AAPP: I wonder why Barack went there on the brothers? why did he have to give the riot act on voting to the brothers? Was Jesse Jackson right, but just said it the wrong way? Is Barack having issues with black men, or is it a tight rope he is walking on? Candidly, i don't think he needed to go there on the brothers. More HERE
Your thoughts, was Obama wrong? Were the demonstrators wrong, or were they both off base?
AAPP says: No 40 acres and a mule, No Reparations for Black people! Only a bull**** shallow apology.
Six US states - Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, North Carolina and Alabama - have approved separate apologies for slavery during the past 18 months, now the United States Congress apologized to black folks for our past mistreatment.
WTF. Past mistreatment? We are still getting Extra-Judicial Electrocutions on the streets of America, like we are slaves. I'm not sure if congress or the Congressional black cacus has been watching or the outrageous police tasing and attempted murder video of the Tasing of a suicidal man and causing him to fall OFF AN OVERPASS AND ONTO THE HIGHWAY, in clear violation of tasing instructions!
I'm not sure if the Congressional black Caucus has been watching the "on the spot pre-trial electrocution" of blacks in this country of African American descent. When the The U.N. says: Tasers Are A Form Of Torture and the government of the United states is providing resources for police departments all across America to purchase tasers with homeland security dollars to torture us. i say, take you apology and stick it in a place that gives you movement. Here are just a few of the many links to some of the worst cases involving black Americans receiving pre-trial electrocutions. This includes the outrageous police tasing of black man on bridge. Top 13 Cases of Blacks receiving pre-trial electrocution via taser.
Ok, back to this apology for slavery by the United States Congress.
Check this out, so we receive a formal apology for enslavement and racial segregation? Some writers say: "The apology resolution marks a unique step forward in the US, coming as the country embraces its first black presidential nominee in Barack Obama. It officially acknowledges that "lingering consequences" from slavery and segregation continue to haunt blacks in America.
"[A]n apology for centuries of brutal dehumanisation and injustices cannot erase the past, but confession of the wrongs committed can speed racial healing and reconciliation and help Americans confront the ghosts of their past," the apology states.
Senior black members of Congress have long sought a formal apology for slavery, often coupled with a look at whether reparations should be paid to the descendants of Africans brought to America as slaves.
Slavery was abolished in the US in 1865 under the 13th amendment to the constitution. Racial segregation persisted in the southern states for up to 100 more years thanks to biased rules known as Jim Crow laws.
If the apology passes today, the Senate would need to approve it before George Bush could sign the measure into law. A formal apology to American Indians for their centuries of abuse at the hands of the government passed the Senate earlier this year but has yet to receive a vote in the House.
The US government has apologised for the abuse of ethnic minorities at least twice in the past. In 1988, Congress admitted culpability in the forced internment of Japanese Americans during second world war, and an apology to native Hawaiian peoples was approved in 1993. More HERE
UPDATE: as reported by Washington Post reporter Darryl Fears, The House yesterday apologized to black Americans, more than 140 years after slavery was abolished, for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow" segregation.
The resolution, which passed on a voice vote late in the day, was sponsored by Rep. Steve CohenCongressional Black Caucus this year. (D-Tenn.), a white Jew who represents a majority-black district in Memphis. Cohen tried unsuccessfully to join the
"I hope that this is part of the beginning of a dialogue that this country needs to engage in, concerning what the effects of slavery and Jim Crow have been," Cohen said. "I think we started it and we're going to continue."
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is considering introducing a companion measure in the Senate, he said.
Cohen faces a tough fight against airline lawyer Nikki Tinker, who is black, in the Democratic primary Aug. 7.
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