Reparations Means No More Clinton Sanctioned Genocide

On tonight's "Democratic You Tube Debate" the issue of Darfur was raised. Senator Biden said that US troops need to be on the ground in Darfur, enforcing a "No-fly Zone." When Hilary Clinton was asked if US troops should be on the ground, she said no. Further, she stated that "now is not the time for US troops to be in Darfur." I wonder if that is what her husband, Bill Clinton, said while millions were being slaughtered in Rwanda...

Reparations means that we DO NOT allow the Clinton Regime to cost us another million African lives.

Reparations means: Gay Rights are not Civil Rights!

I'm watching these "You Tube Debates" and Anderson Cooper is going to ask Senator Obama about the difference between inter-racial marriage and gay marriage. I am so tired hearing people try to compare the struggle against slavery and Jim Crow to someone's right to be gay. IT IS NOT THE SAME!!!

Has any gay person been lynched, tarred and feathered, rapped by their master, bought, sold, bartered? Has any gay person ever had their families stripped from them? Have gay people been packed on ships? Have they been stolen from their homes and forced to work for free? Have police dogs ever been released on them? Have gay people ever been beaten by mass forces of police? Have homosexuals had firefighters unleash water cannons on them? Have they been whipped to a pulp? Have they had limbs severed in search of freedom?

Now, I don't wish that experience on anyone. However, until homosexuals share in our experience they have no right to share in our legacy. You do not hear anyone making comparisons between the struggle of immigrants and the plight of holocaust victims. Yet, the experience of Black Americans is continuously belittled and degraded. Reparations mandates that we defend our legacy from those who would trample upon it for their own gain.

Reparations means: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE of the Presidential Elections

I sit here watching the Democratic Pandering at Howard University. I love this, because most of the questions are specifically pertinent (to be redundant) to the Black community. If you listen to all of the candidates (except former Senator Gravel and maybe Senator Biden) you would think that they all care about the Black community.

Yet, how many of them speak up and out now?

We hear them speaking very eloquently about what needs to be done (to resounding applause). Yet, I do not hear them saying anything on the Senate (or House) floor. Have you heard Hilary speaking about the disparities of race in this country? She spoke about the injustice of mandatory sentencing laws (which came into law under her husband), yet has she ever been arrested in protest of the sentences for any of the inner city children for which she cares so dearly?

Reparations means: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!

Every election year the Democrats run to the Black community to show their "compassion." And, every election year we jump on their band-wagon and usher them into office, only to be jaded and jilted. For some reason we refuse to hold these tricksters accountable.

Now, some will tell you they cannot speak out because they might loose their seats. But, if they cannot speak out for fear of loosing their seats what is the point of being in office?

We hear them speak about what they would do to stop the genocide in Darfur. Yet, they all have positions of stature. Only Senator Biden has actually done something. Even Barak (whose people are from similar tribes [if you know the tribal patterns of Ancient Nubia] as those who were being slaughtered. As Senator Gravel said, "none of the people on this stage have the moral judgment" to act.

We should all be tired of this charade. Reparations demands that we refuse to be hoodwinked and bamboozled. Reparations mandates that we realize: none of these candidates will do anything for the Black community - unless we force them so to do. And, we can only force them to act once we're activated.

Repair our nation! Come and get your REPARATIONS!

Reparations Means DC Residents should Keep Their Eyes Open and Open Their Mouths

See this article

It is indeed strange to see a city that's majority Black have the heads of most departments be White. One thing comes to mind: the plantation. On the plantation there was a majority Black population headed by a White minority. Yet, despite the numbers the Blacks never opened their mouths.

Yes, we have a Black mayor. But, what if he was put in power by the White people? What if he was just a face on an ulterior agenda? What if these White appointees were thank yous to the true power - the White folk behind the Black face? What if we're being hoodwinked, bamboozled, run a muck? Will we wait until it's too late?

Reparations means that we must speak up and speak out before it is too late. We cannot wait until they move us all to PG County and make way for the young White folks intended to be the new face of the District. If we wait, it will be too late. And, if we wait we have forfeited our right to complain.

Are we saying there are no competent Black people to do the job? With all the "progress" that is being claimed to be made, we know there are Black people - even young Black people - who have similar and better qualifications that those White people being appointed as our overseers.

Now, I'm not saying that White people are not to be hired. It's just that if I were White, and elected mayor of Elkton, Maryland, I would not bring in a young Black female police chief. I would not have my public safety officials be Black. I might hire some Black people, however they would be few - at most, in proportion to their representation in the community.

But, the policy of Affirmative Action dictates that fairness only applies to the minority (in the District that's White people), to the detriment of the majority (in the District that's Black people). Reparations means that we demand control of our community; it dictates that we must not allow the Government to push us out of our community. Reparations demands that we remain active participants in the shaping of the Government that we chose. Repair our nation...change your thinking. Get your Reparations!

Reparations and Barak Obama

Ok...it was a bit disturbing around the time of the commemoration of Bloody Sunday. Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama were both on hand and gave speeches at separate churches. Hilary's speech - lackluster; Obama's speech - rousing as usual (that's not bias - even though it is - that's a fact...everyone knows Hilary's not a rousing speaker.) None of that was disturbing.

What was disturbing was the interview with Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta, GA. I found it quite amazing to watch and listen to him say how torn he was over who he should support - Hilary or Obama. Here's what makes it amazing - especially on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Congressman Lewis was at the original Bloody Sunday. (He's the one in the foreground, on his knees, with a billy club coming towards his head.) He endured this beating so that people who look like us - and ultimately himself - might have a say in American life...hence he's a US Congressman. So - to beg the question - how does one go from enduring a beating so that Black people in this country could one day hold the highest office in the land, to being torn on whether or not to support the first Black man who actually has a chance?

We - as a people - are idiots! I'm so tired of hearing about how much the Black community owes the Clintons? What do we owe them, and why do we owe them? Even if he did something for the Black community, do we owe him? Is that not what a President is supposed to do? Are we now to the point where we accept mediocrity and reward people for fulfilling their job descriptions? Yet, let's look at what the Clintons did do...Rwanda? What about mandatory sentencing laws and more blacks being sent to prison than under Bush I and Regan combined? (See here) But, we want to induct him into Blacks in wax museums, and call him the first Black president because he smokes weed, plays a sax and lives in (and helped gentrify) Harlem.
Maybe he is Black - after all, he did sell "his people" out...helping them spend more time behind bars.

Yet, Rep. Lewis is "torn." And, his way of thinking represents that of countless of our people. Brother Malcolm was right: the Black man is - indeed - sickest of all, politically.

Reparations makes it a no-brainer that we ought to support Obama. Not simply because he's Black (I would not recommend supporting Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton.), but essentially because he's a reputable Black candidate who not only has a great chance to win but also has a social and political savvy that will enable him to do things of which others would be incapable.

Reparations demands that we not be fooled. Many will talk of what the Clintons have done for the Black community. Where was Senator Clinton (and her White counterparts) in 2001 and in 2005 when we needed her? When Members of Congress challenged the certification of ballots in the Presidential election, she would not join the objection so that debate could go forward. We might give her a pass in 2001 - she was just sworn in, but surely in 2005 she had clout and capital to expend. Can we really trust her to stand for us?

Now, we have to "controversy" over Obama not supporting the Congressional Black Caucus. But, how relevant is the Black Caucus? As Janet would say, what have they done for us lately? I cannot recall anything the Black Caucus has done that is worthy of support. They are nothing more than the watchdog for White Democrats. For instance, the CBC's tacit-at-best support of Kweisi Mfume didn't do much to help him against Ben Cardin. Also, the Black Caucus surely lent no support to Michael Steele. As individual politicians, yes they must be aligned with their Party. But, as the Black Caucus they are to be aligned with Black people. They have yet to prove that their agenda is for our people. It all seems to be for their Party.

Reparations dictates that we cease supporting any organization that doesn't support us. Have you seen the CBC working to better the situation in your community? If so, then you might want to support them. If not, what allegiance is there to them?

For those of us serious about Reparations, Barak Obama is the choice to make. Even if he doesn't win, his candidacy is an opportunity for us to highlight the issues of race still hindering us as a people and as a Country. And, as a people disfranchised, we ought to use every opportunity to state our case.

Reparations and the Aspiring Black Athlete

When I meet young brothers pursuing a career in sports, they're always thinking about football and/or basketball. I always try to sway them to baseball...not only because I think it the greatest game, but also that is makes the most business sense. I mean, yes you are an athlete, but you should see yourself as a business owner...the business: yourself. How many 44 year olds do you know in basketball or football? How many 48 year olds? Yet, in baseball you have Julio Franco - 48 and Roger Clemens - 44. Then, of the 44+ year olds that might be in basketball and football that I don't know about, can any of them match Clemens' one-year contract for $28,000,022.00? (on top of that sum, he won't even be playing a complete season!) Yet, we let "them" convince us that basketball and football are better choices, and we perpetrate that thinking to the youth so intent on being professional athletes. A Reparations ideology tells us that we must put ourselves in the best position to uplift ourselves. Now frankly, with the obscene contracts in professional sports even a pro-ping pong player might make a decent living! (LOL) But, if you have the ability to play baseball, then that makes the best business sense. Michael Jordan is now 44 years old, and he's one of the greatest to ever step on a court, yet I don't know if some team would pay him $28 million to step on the court for one season. As Tupac (or should I say Makaveli) said in his song (ironically) "White Man's World," "Use your brains! It ain't 'them'...it's 'us.'" Peace...

Reparations means FINALLY listening to Malcolm X

"The Black man in North America was sickest of all politically. He let the White man divide him into...a Black 'Democrat,' a Black 'Republican,'...when a ten-million Black vote bloc could be the deciding balance of power in American politics..." This is what Brother Malcolm told us in his autobiography, and what he said could not have been more timely.

I'm watching the news recently and cannot help but wonder, "where is the place for the Black man in American society?" If society is politics - which it is - then more specifically, "where is the Black man's place within the American political system?"

We - Black people - have this sickening allegiance to the Democratic Party. It does not matter what they say, whether they keep their promises, or whether they truly do anything to support our community. If it is Democratic it is right - or so we think. On the flip-side, some of us who run against the grain would like to be Republican...thinking that trying a different Party will bring us different results. Oh, how futile such hope is!

Conventional wisdom says that if all (or the vast majority) of us are Democrats, both Parties will ignore our issues. The Democrats ignore us because they see us as a guaranteed vote to which there is no need to cater. The Republicans ignore us because they know we will vote for the Democrats.

The Black community shouted for joy when the Democrats won majorities in the House and Senate after the mid-term elections. Many thought that we would now receive the benefits due to us...those benefits that the Republicans had denied us. We felt that with so many Black Democratic Congresspeople, we would be in a great position as a people and that we would benefit greatly from the gains of the Democratic Party. Yet, we should now see this hope to be vain.

Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings was the next Democrat in line on the House Intelligence Committee, and should have taken Chairmanship according to all House precedent - which is supposed to be an honored thing to Congress. Yet, he was passed over for this post (who could trust a Negro with the White man's National Security information - after all Chevrolet has already shown in their recent ad campaign that this is their Country). They will say he was passed over because he was impeached as a Federal Judge in Florida. However, he was acquitted of any wrong doing prior to impeachment. Moreover, he was recently elected to his seventh (7th) term in the US House since the impeachment. His District obviously trusts him. Everyone says he has served the House admirable (including Ms. Pelosi). Yet, he was passed over. Is there any other reason than because he is Black? Things that make you go hmmm..... Maybe Ms. Pelosi will still appoint a Black person to the Chairmanship - but maybe that is simply wishful thinking.

But wait! There's slaps in the face to go around. Those of us who felt we could jump to the other side of the fence and do better - balancing things out so as to receive a "Fair Deal" for our people should now see that that door has been slammed in our face. Recently, the Republican National Committee decided who would become the Party's Chairman to replace Ken Mehlman.

Maryland Lt. Governor and Republican Senate Candidate Michael Steele - a brother endorsed by Cathy Hughes and Russell Simmons (among others) - was in the running for the post. Having been the State Chair for Maryland, we know he has the requisite experience. Moreover, no one can deny that he ran an impeccable campaign. Many would say that he was the only bright spot for the Republican Party this election cycle. Yet, he too was passed over in favor of Senator Mel Martinez of Florida - a Cuban American, which signals that instead of fixing the domestic problems that led to the Party's demise, they will be even more active in meddling in Cuba's domestic affairs. Sen. Martinez is also a proponent of the so-called "comprehensive" immigration reform. Thus, his appointment also signifies the Party's position that fighting with the Democrats over the Hispanic vote is of greater interest than seeking the Black vote.

I ask again, "where is the place for the Black man in American politics?"

It is a shame to see how a people so gifted at adapting to an environment to ensure their survival have failed to realize that this system under which we live is beat by mastering this political system. Every grouping of people has affected change on their own behalf through a group-first political platform. Every grouping of people has been able to shape the way politics, government and the law affects themselves through realizing the strength they posses by uniting at the very foundation of their grouping's existence.

Corn farmers, dairy farmers, peanut farmers, etc. have all united to serve the farmer's - every farmer's - political agenda. Doctors and educators have both made numerous political gains because of their commitment to better policy in both health care and education respectively, which works to benefit all physicians - surgeons, dentists, pediatricians, and etc. - and all educators - teachers, principals, administrators, and etc. The National Rifle Association has been able to dictate the way policy affects gun control because they decided to unite on the basic foundation of gun ownership.

The nation's labor force has united to form one of the most powerful Political Action Committees. No policy is passed into law without the Labor Lobby's opinion. And, no policy will be passed into law if the Labor Lobby firmly objects.

Even this nation's military veterans have been able to unite, in spite of the differences and rivalries existent between divisions of the armed forces in order to shape government, politics and the law to their advantage.

Each one of these groups have used the idea of a group-first political platform so well that the government has specific agencies to address their respective needs: Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, and the Veteran's Affairs Administration. Veterans have so much political power that they have their own thrift stores, credit unions, hospitals, and etc. Through group-first politics, others have accomplished these things.

Now if the African here in North America were to realize the strength in a group (race)-first political platform, we too could make these kinds of gains for ourselves within America. Through a race-first political platform, we can and will affect change for the betterment of our people and ourselves.

Whether you be light-skinned or dark, male or female, Democrat, Republican, Green or in between; whether you are rich or poor, educated or not, integrationist, segregationist, separatist or nationalist, if we come together at the root of our existence, our African ancestry, and address politics from a race-first perspective, we will affect change that will benefit not only the African in America but also the entire African Diaspora.

You see, every nation of people in this country has either achieved or is on its way to achieving the so-called "American Dream" by recognizing the importance of nationalism, and specifically political nationalism. Every nation of people in this country has not only bettered themselves, but also those of their nation in other parts of the world through this nationalism. We are now witnessing the benefits such nationalism is having for the Hispanic community: Special Sessions of Congress, appointments of Party Bosses, extensive media exposure and etc.

Why can they and others achieve such gains and we still wallow like swine in the mud? Simple: we have failed to develop a race-first, nationalist political platform. We have placed our faith in Democrats and Republicans, rather than in God and ourselves. Our allegiance should belong to Him alone. When it does, we will have better leverage with which to guard the sheep from the wolves.