Love Rejected

By Lucile Clifton (Pictured)


Love rejected
Hurts so much more
than Love rejecting;
they act like they don't love their country
No
what it is
is they found out
their country don't love them.

Breaking Ground: The National Museum of African-American History and Culture

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former-First Lady Laura Bush attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Museum of African-American History and Culture ("NMAAHC"), which is set to open 2015 as the 19th Smithsonian museum.  In preparation for its opening, the museum has collected over 20,000 artifacts, including but not limited to Harriet Tubman's shawl, Nat Turner's Bible, and an airplane flown by the Tuskegee Airmen.

The NMAAHC is the first African-American museum sponsored by the government of the United States.  It will sit on a five-acre site in Washington, D.C.  Click HERE for more information. 

Amongst Kings

I have come to have a greater appreciation of Martin Luther King, Jr.  His personal restraint and advocacy for nonviolence is amazing and inspring because it transcends time.  It would have been easier and frankly, justifiable to retaliate, but King (and his followers) looked beyond their personal brutalization and stayed focus on the purpose behind nonviolence - equal rights and equal treatment.  These ideals seem so common now, but during his life they were radical.  This notion shocked the national conscious.  This desire sparked rage.  This dream caused death.  How was it possible for black and white, men and women, to live as equal?

This radical idea and vision of America was not original to King.  Instead, it was that of Thomas Jefferson and the framers of the constitution, who cavalierly promised that America would be a place where "all men are created equal".  I say cavlierly promised because the drafters did not intend to enforce this bedrock principal of our democracy.  Instead, they allowed the bastardization of this progressive principal.

King through nonviolence made America examine the hypocrisy in its founding and forced our country to live up to its potential and honor its promise.  King was more than a dreamer.  He was a doer.

One Freedom

"Success and prosperity breed selfishness and indifference.  These vices undermine the fire society that spawns them.  Eternal vigilance remains still the pric of liberty.  Freedom for one's self cannot be divorced from responsiblity for one's fellow.  Nor is freedom divisible.  There is not one freedom for thought, another for speaking, another for reading, another for association and yet another for travel.  As citizens, our obligation is to guard, jealosuly, complete freedom for all Ameicans.  Only this vigilance will keep America strong and keep us free."

- Henry Arthur Callis

Birds Douse Heat

Buried on the back pages of the sports column, nestled between professional wrestling – what up Rock – and professional bowling there was a brief mention of the Atlanta Hawks handing the Miami Heat their first loss of the season.  The Birds beat the Heat 100-92.  It was total team victory with 10 players contributing.   Joe Johnson led the team in scoring with 21 points.   Al Hoford led the team in rebounds with 9, and Jeff Teague led the team in assist with 5 dishes.

I know it is still early in the season, but I would have thought the Birds would have gotten a little more publicity, but I guess when the college football season is wrapping up and the NFL post season is about to start, the NBA (especially the Hawks) is regulated to back of the sports page.

On last Friday, Bean and I went to the Highlight Factory to watch the Birds beat up on the hapless Nets.  Jay-Z needs to get the Nets logo changed immediately. About a month ago, I saw a mock Nets logo, which incorporated the Brooklyn Bridge; it was nice.  Although the Highlight Factory was practically empty, Bean and I had a great time because the Hawks put on great show, beating New Jersey 105-98.

I was surprised to learn that Tracy McGrady is on the Hawks’ roster.  Man has it fallen into obscurity.  At one time, he was battling Kobe Bryant for the throne.  I guess back-to-back knee surgery slows you down.  Either way, I think he will be a good addition to the team to fill the absence of Jamal Crawford.  Folks are sleeping on the Birds, but I think when you couple their continuity, athleticism, and youth with a shorten season, they are prime to go deep in the playoffs.  If the Hawks could pull a San Antonio and win a title after a lockout, that would be special.

The Hawks have a chance because Boston is old.  Chicago depends on Derrick Rose too much and I think with Jeff Teague in the lineup full time, they have a good chance of taming the Bulls.   Indiana is young and lacks playoff experience.  Miami is hungry and have the most talented team in the league, but they cannot score against the zone defense and the jury is still out on whether LeBron James can recapture his playoff magic.  Milwaukee, what up Bucks, lacks an impact player; and I am not sold on their defense.  The Hawks handled Orlando last year, plus the Magic will probably trade Dwight Howard by midseason (to a western conference team), so they should not be as dominate. The rest of bunch – Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington have issues and unless they show otherwise or unforeseen events occur, will not contend for a title.    

The Renaissance Man

Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was a renaissance man who excelled in academics, sports, and the arts during his life. As a college student at Rutgers University (New Jersey), he earned membership into Phi Beta Kappa, one of the most prestigious and selective honor societies at a university. When he wasn't studying, he lettered in 12 varsity sports, even earning first team All-American honors in football.

After graduating Rutgers as the 1919 class valedictorian, Robeson entered Columbia University Law School (New York City) where he graduated in 1923. As a means of paying his way through law school, Robeson played professional football in the American Professional Football Association (later then NFL). He was a defensive end with the Akron Pros and Milwaukee Badgers.

He briefly practiced law in New York City, but soon realized there weren't many opportunities for blacks in the field in the 1920's. As such, he turned to entertainment where he immediately gained success singing "Negro spirituals" and performing on Broadway and in Hollywood and British movies. As he practiced his arts, Robeson fell in love with the languages of the world, and reportedly learned 12 to 20 languages.

Robeson impresses me because he was so well rounded and seemed to find success in so many different avenues. Many of us can't find success in one. His accomplishments are even more impressive because he accomplished them in a time where American society institutionalized racism and opportunities for blacks were significantly limited due to thoughts on race and economic reasons.

Dream Song

By Lewis Alexander (1900-1945)

Walk with the sun,
Dance at high noon;
And dream when night falls black;
But when the stars
Vie with the moon,
Then call the lost dream back.

Old Black Men

By Georgia Douglas Johnson (1886-1966)

They have dreamed as young men dream
Of glory, love and power;
They have hoped as youth will hope
Of life's sun-minted hour.

They have seen as others saw
Their bubbles burst in air,
And they have learned to live it down
As though they did not care.

Let America Be America Again

By Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—Except the dream that's almost dead today.
O, let America be America again—The land that never has been yet—And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine—the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME—Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—All, all the stretch of these great green states—And make America again!

Lewis Still Not Afraid of Poky

Earlier today U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.) along with four (4) other members of Congress were arrested for civil disobedience as part of a protest against the humanitarian policies of Dafur, Sudan, Africa. Congressman Lewis and other were arrested after crossing a police line and refusing to leave the restricted area in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, DC.

It’s good to know that Representative Lewis is still not afraid to spend some time in jail for the cause. Almost 500,000 people have died during the conflict in Dafur.

Out-of-Touch

What’s really going on with the Reverend Jesse Jackson? Earlier this week, Reverend Jackson attacked presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama’s recent statements regarding the ills affecting the black community. Jackson accused Senator Obama of “talking down to black folks” when he [Senator Obama] encourages a greater emphasis on fatherhood, advised parents to choose reading books over playing videogames and encouraged young students to stick with school and forget about a career as a rap star or professional basketball player. In addition, Reverend Jackson was caught whispering, “I wanna cut his [Barack Obama’s] nuts off” during a Fox News interview.

It’s unfortunate, but it seems that Reverend Jackson has either lost touch with the problems affecting our black community, or he has chosen to ignore them. The harsh reality is that 1 out of 9 African-American males are in prison; African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, but over half the prison population, and 25% more black men are in American prisons than enrolled in institutions of higher education. As a result of these grime statistics, Senator Obama is correct – parents, especially black fathers, need to take a more active role in their children and promote self respect, the pursuit of education, and a commitment to improving the community.

As far as the nuts comment, I think Reverend Jackson is guilty of being a hater. Senator Obama has obtained unparallel success outside the established black leadership circle and I believe that Reverend Jackson and some other black leaders are threatened by his meteoric raise to political prominence.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all those men who are taking care of their children and playing a central role in the lives of their family.

Earlier today, presidential candidate Barack Obama celebrated Father's Day by calling on black fathers, who are "missing from too many lives and too many homes," to become active in raising their children. Senator Obama continued to say, "They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it."

Mildred Loving Dies

Mildred Loving, a black woman, is the matriarch of American interracial marriages. Loving and her husband Richard, a white man, challenged Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to marry. The ruling struck down laws banning racially mixed marriages in at least 17 states. The court ruled in a unanimous decision, holding “There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the equal protection clause.”

Mildred and Richard got married in 1958 in Washington, but when the returned to Virginia, they were arrested for violating the law. They plead guilty to charges of “cohabitating as man and wife, against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.” They avoided jail time by agreeing to leave their home state of Virginia. They eventually moved to Washington.

Once in Washington, they launched their legal challenge to the law by writing to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who referred the case to the American Civil Liberties Union and the case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

I remember reading about the Loving case in Constitutional law class, but now that Swamps and I married, it takes on a whole new meaning because it’s easy to forget that 50 years ago we wouldn’t have been able to marry because we’re of different races. The Lovings paved the way for us to get married hassle free (relatively speaking). Although they’re probably in heaven with all our great freedom fighters, I want to thank you for standing up for the notion that love and marriage is really color blind.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright - Right or Wrong?

Earlier in the month video clips surfaced of Senator Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright giving sermons titled “The Day of Jerusalem’s Fall” and “Confusing God and Government.” He gave the first sermon five days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and he not so subtly suggested that Americans should not be so surprised that were attacked because of America’s previous actions at home and abroad. Reverend Wright gave the second sermon on April 2003 and addresses America’s past and present shortcomings as they relate to minorities. News media rapidly picked up the controversial elements of his sermons, clipped them into nice 60 second spots, and continued to loop Wright’s fiery delivery without putting his speeches in context. Conservatives condemned Senator Obama for attending his church and most pundits labeled Wright crazy, unpatriotic, and some labeled Wright a racist.

Through the process, Reverend Wright has remained quite about his motivations for giving the fiery speeches until now. Earlier this week Wright hit the Washington D.C. talk circuit to offer context to his sermons and explanations. The fine folks at ABC News, perhaps as a way of redeeming themselves for their horrible presidential debate, have provided the context for Wright’s controversial sermons. I ask that you break the chains of the media’s interpretation and free think for yourself and determine whether you think Reverend Wright’s sermon is as outrageous as we’ve been told. Contexts for the sermons are below.

From "The Day of Jerusalem's Fall" 9/16/2001

Reverend Wright:

I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday, did anybody else see him or hear him? He was on Fox News, this is a white man, and he was upsetting the Fox News commentators to no end. He pointed out, did you see him John, a white man, and he pointed out, an ambassador, that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Mohammed was in fact true, America's chickens…are coming home to roost. We took this country by terror, away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arowak, the Comanche, the Arapahoe, the Navajo. Terrorism. We took Africans from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism. We bombed Granada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenagers and toddlers, pregnant mothers, and hardworking fathers. We bombed Qaddafi's home and killed his child. Blessed are they who bash your children's head against a rock. We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy, killed hundreds of hardworking people, mothers and fathers who left home to go that day not knowing that they would never get back home. We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye. Kids playing in the playground, mothers picking up children from school, civilians, not soldiers, people just trying to make it day by day.

We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and Black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.

From "Confusing God and Government" 4/13/03

Reverend Wright:

The British government failed, the Russian government failed, the Japanese government failed, the German government failed, and the United States of America government, when it came to treating her citizens of Indian descent fairly, she failed. She put them on reservations. When it came to treating her citizens of Japanese decent fairly, she failed. She put them in internment prison camps. When it came to treating her citizens of African descent fairly, America failed. The government put them in chains. She put them on slave quarters, put them on auction blocks, put them in cotton fields, put them in inferior schools, put them in sub-standard housing, put them in scientific experiments, put them in the lowest paying jobs, put them outside the equal protection of the law, kept them out of their racist bastions of higher education, and locked them into positions of hopelessness and helplessness. The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three strike law, and then wants us to sing God Bless America…no, no, no Not God bless America, God damn America. That's in the Bible, for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating her citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme. The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent. Think about this, think about this.

For every one Oprah, a billionaire, you've got 5 million blacks who out of work. For every one Colin Powell, a millionaire, you've got 10 million blacks who cannot read. For every one Condoskeeza Rice, you've got 1 million in prison. For every one Tiger Woods, who needs to get beat, at the Masters, with his cap, blazin' hips playing on a course that discriminates against women. God has his way of bringing you up short when you get to big for your cap, blazin britches. For every one Tiger Woods, we got 10,000 black kids who will never see a golf course. The United States government has failed the vast majority of her citizens of African descent.

Please Step Outside

The AJC reports that last week Judge Marvin Arrington of Fulton County, Georgia asked all White staff and lawyers to leave his courtroom while he chastised Black defendants. Judge Arrington said, “We have insanity going on in the Black community…if we don’t say something, the infrastructure of this community is going to collapse. It will be like living in the wild, wild west.” Judge Arrington thought his message would be more effective if he did it before a Black-only audience. In his opinion, Blacks in authoritative positions have an obligation to speak out to young people who are on the path to becoming street thugs before they turn into killers. Judge Arrington recently apologized for asking Whites to leave the courtroom.

Although I agree with Judge Arrington’s statements regarding Blacks in authoritative positions having an obligation to speak to the young, I would argue that all Blacks have an obligation to speak to the youth. Everyone has experiences, both good and bad, that could assist someone in their transition from youth to adulthood. Some of the most important lessons I learn were from strangers, friends, and family who honestly and frankly told me of their mistakes and encouraged me not to follow in their footsteps.

Insensitive or Too Sensitive

LeBron James made history earlier this month by being the first African-American male to grace the cover of Vogue Magazine. Unfortunately for him, his cover debut was received with criticism as some argue that it’s both racially insensitive and promotes racial stereotypes. LeBron is joined on the cover with Brazilian supermodel (and Tom Brady baby mama) Gisele Bundchen. In the picture, LeBron is dressed in all back athletic gear, he’s shown hunched over, screaming, and dribbling a basketball with his right hand and Gisele snugly wrapped in his left arm.

Some critics say the picture promotes racial stereotypes because it provokes imagines of a dangerous Black man who is aggressive, threatening, and pursuing a delicate and helpless White female.

I disagree with people who find this image racially insensitive because if you flip pass the cover and look through the entire issue; you find this picture is representative of all the other pictures that feature male athletes looking fierce and scowled while the models look beautiful and fierce in their own special way (What up Tara Banks?). Raquel Zimmermann and Jared Rome pictured below.

As a Black male, I fully understand the need to end racially insensitive images and the need for a concerted effort to stop the perpetuation of racial stereotypes. But we as a Black community have to find a balance between finding materials insensitive and being too sensitive ourselves. Just because an African-American athlete is shown on the cover of a magazine, in a basketball player’s stance showing emotion, with a model of a different race firmly tucked in his arm and looking willowy shouldn’t automatically scream racial baiting.

President Bush Finds Noose Displays Offensive

There aren’t many times when I can say I agree with President George W. Bush; however, yesterday was one of those rare days. President Bush stated that the recent displays of nooses are disturbing. The president continued, “The noose is not a symbol of prairie justice, but of gross injustice…displaying one is not a harmless prank. Lynching is not a word to be mentioned in jest.” He went on to say, that “as a civil society, Americans should agree that noose displays and lynching jokes are deeply offensive.” Bush hammered his point by reminding listeners that for decades, the noose was a symbolic part of a campaign of violence, fear, and intimidation against Blacks, which left Blacks feeling intimidated and powerless. He also noted that sometimes law enforcement officers orchestrated the devilish acts.

To read more about President Bush’s statements about the noose and why I chose to say them several months after the Jena 6 episode, please click HERE.

MLK

“We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we shall perish together as fools.”

Today celebrates the life Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was many things to America – a visionary and agent of hope. He envisioned an America were all people were treated equally and encouraged all people to believe that this hope could become a reality. King was an advocate. He lobbied for the oppressed and gave a voice to the disenfranchised, by speaking the truth about the circumstances of poor and Black Americans. King was an agitator. He publicly challenged the status quo by questioning the moral and legal validity of segregation and racism. Most importantly, King was a hero.