The Bricks That Others Throw

ARTICLE: Rape and Race: We Have to Talk About It

In this article on TheRoot.com, Melissa Harris-Lacewell talks about a public discussion that took place in a church in Brooklyn, NY - a discussion of the touchy subject of intra-racial rape in the black community.

I witnessed something truly astonishing on Monday night: a public discussion of black women's experiences of sexual violence at the hands of black men. It was an intergenerational group of black men and women, gay and straight, survivors and perpetrators, all grappling with the legacy of rape and race.

The experience was unusual because black people rarely talk about sisters being raped. We talk about all kinds of things: trivial, critical, humorous, serious, political, painful and frivolous. But as we observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, I am reminded that there are things we don't talk about.

We are silent about black women as victims and survivors of sexual assault by black men.

In African American communities rape narratives are not women's stories. They are men's stories. Rape is tied to the historical legacy of white terror. Strange fruit hanging from Southern trees has led to a legacy of disbelieving women who report sexual violence and intimidation.

Black women raped by black male perpetrators often remain silent because they are alone. They don't want to confirm white racial stereotypes; their own families and communities tell them to shut up; they have little reason to think that authorities will take their cases seriously; they fear the devastating ramifications of a manhunt in black communities if they are believed; and in the history of lynching white women have been adversaries, not allies, on the question of rape.

Recovering from rape is burden enough without having to shoulder this vicious legacy.

If you read the rest of the article, you will see the culmination of black women and men working together to openly address this issue. If we were to have this discussion nationwide, what sort of impact do you think it will have on the black community? How do you think it should be done, and what do you think should be on the agenda?

It's been 40 years. What have we learned?

Today marks the 40-year anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. Dr. King was only 39, but the man was eloquent and mature way beyond what his age would indicate.

Since Dr. King's death, how much closer are we in realizing his dream? King was known for his notable participation in the Civil Rights Movement, but he was also against the war in Vietnam and spoke out about poverty.

The mainstream media turned against the Nobel Peace Prize winner because of his anti-war stance, specifically becaue of comments he made about America's involvement in the war:

A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say: "This is not just."

Yet today, some Americans believe that those who are against the war in Iraq (not the soldiers, but the war) or who point out any of America's weaknesses are unpatriotic, or even worse, traitors. Regarding poverty, the last effort Dr. King was involved in was the Poor People's Campaign, a campaign where citizens of all colors would unite and demand economic aid for the poor, and King pointed out the government's provision of military funds being grossly larger than their provision of funds to help the poverty-stricken. Antagonists called him a Communist because of that, and people today still accuse those who advocate for the poor as pro-Communism or pro-socialism.

ABC News has an article about what Dr. King might say if he were alive today. Hold on to your seats:

Were King alive today, the disciple of Mahatma Gandhi would most certainly be speaking out against the Iraq War, says King biographer David J. Garrow. However, citing the famous "Drum Major Instinct" sermon King delivered from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta just two months before his death, Garrow says people might be surprised to hear echoes of presidential candidate Barack Obama's controversial former pastor.

"God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war," King said of the fighting in Vietnam. "And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it."

While King didn't go as far as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in suggesting that God "damn America," he predicted that the almighty might punish this country for "our pride and our arrogance."

"And if you don't stop your reckless course," he imagined the deity admonishing, "I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power."

Since Dr. King gave America such a tongue-lashing decades ago, does this make Barack Obama unelectable since Dr. King is an inspiration to him? Hmmm...

What have we learned since April 4, 1968? Have we changed for the better, or are we still going through the same cycles that change their outfits every few years? We've gone from Jim Crow to de facto segregation, lynching to the disproportionate imprisonment of black males and from sharecropping to stigmatizing "welfare moms." If America looks in the mirror and does not like what she sees, she should get a face lift.

Finally, for some perspective, here is Dr. King's last speech, "I've Been to the Mountain Top":

Part I


Part II


I ask God to bless America, but I also ask America to bless God by pleasing Him and treating our fellow man a whole lot better than we have been. Let's not allow Dr. King's ultimate sacrifice to be for naught.

VIDEO: Bronx students discuss Obama's race speech

Out of the mouths of babes...

Could this group of hopeful, politically motivated students be a microcosm of America's political future? It would be nice, wouldn't it? :-)

The Rev. Wright Controversy: More Than Meets the Eye?

"Dear Jodi: Thank you for engaging in one of the biggest misrepresentations of the truth I have ever seen in sixty-five years." This is how Rev. Jeremiah Wright begins a letter he sent to Jodi Kantor of the New York Times because of an article she wrote that was published on March 6, 2007.

In "Disinvitation by Obama Is Criticized," Kantor quotes Wright in an interview about Obama's decision to disinvite him from giving the invocation at the announcement of Obama's run for president:

“Fifteen minutes before Shabbos I get a call from Barack,” Mr. Wright said in an interview on Monday, recalling that he was at an interfaith conference at the time. “One of his members had talked him into uninviting me,” Mr. Wright said, referring to Mr. Obama’s campaign advisers. ...

In Monday’s interview, Mr. Wright expressed disappointment but no surprise that Mr. Obama might try to play down their connection.

“When his enemies find out that in 1984 I went to Tripoli” to visit Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Mr. Wright recalled, “with Farrakhan, a lot of his Jewish support will dry up quicker than a snowball in hell.” Mr. Wright added that his trip implied no endorsement of either Louis Farrakhan’s views or Qaddafi’s.

Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, “The Radical Roots of Barack Obama.”

According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, “You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we’ve decided is that it’s best for you not to be out there in public.”

After Kantor's article was published, Rev. Wright wrote a letter to her expressing his displeasure in what was said, and moreso on what was not said. The letter was published in Trinity UCC's newsletter on March 18, 2007, beginning at page 10. Here's a portion:

You sat and shared with me for two hours. You told me you were doing a “Spiritual Biography” of Senator Barack Obama. For two hours, I shared with you how I thought he was the most principled individual in public service that I have ever met.

For two hours, I talked with you about how idealistic he was. For two hours I shared with you what a genuine human being he was. I told you how incredible he was as a man who was an African American in public service, and as a man who refused to announce his candidacy for President until Carol Moseley Braun indicated one way or the other whether or not she was going to run.

I told you what a dreamer he was. I told you how idealistic he was. We talked about how refreshing it would be for someone who knew about Islam to be in the Oval Office. Your own question to me was, Didn’t I think it would be incredible to have somebody in the Oval Office who not only knew about Muslims, but had living and breathing Muslims in his own family? I told you how important it would be to have a man who not only knew the difference between Shiites and Sunnis prior to 9/11/01 in the Oval Office, but also how important it would be to have a man who knew what Sufism was; a man who understood that there were different branches of Judaism; a man who knew the difference between Hasidic Jews, Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews and Reformed Jews; and a man who was a devout Christian, but who did not prejudge others because they believed something other than what he believed.

I talked about how rare it was to meet a man whose Christianity was not just “in word only.” I talked about Barack being a person who lived his faith and did not argue his faith. I talked about Barack as a person who did not draw doctrinal lines in the sand nor consign other people to hell if they did not believe what he believed.

Out of a two-hour conversation with you about Barack’s spiritual journey and my protesting to you that I had not shaped him nor formed him, that I had not mentored him or made him the man he was, even though I would love to take that credit, you did not print any of that. When I told you, using one of your own Jewish stories from the Hebrew Bible as to how God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?,” that Barack was like that when I met him. Barack had it “in his hand.” Barack had in his grasp a uniqueness in terms of his spiritual development that one is hard put to find in the 21st century, and you did not print that.

As I was just starting to say a moment ago, Jodi, out of two hours of conversation I spent approximately five to seven minutes on Barack’s taking advice from one of his trusted campaign people and deeming it unwise to make me the media spotlight on the day of his announcing his candidacy for the Presidency and what do you print? You and your editor proceeded to present to the general public a snippet, a printed “sound byte” and a titillating and tantalizing article about his disinviting me to the Invocation on the day of his announcing his candidacy.

I have never been exposed to that kind of duplicitous behavior before, and I want to write you publicly to let you know that I do not approve of it and will not be party to any further smearing of the name, the reputation, the integrity or the character of perhaps this nation’s first (and maybe even only) honest candidate offering himself for public service as the person to occupy the Oval Office.

Your editor is a sensationalist. For you to even mention that makes me doubt your credibility, and I am looking forward to see how you are going to butcher what else I had to say concerning Senator Obama’s “Spiritual Biography.” Our Conference Minister, the Reverend Jane Fisler Hoffman, a white woman who belongs to a Black church that Hannity of “Hannity and Colmes” is trying to trash, set the record straight for you in terms of who I am and in terms of who we are as the church to which Barack has belonged for over twenty years.

The president of our denomination, the Reverend John Thomas, has offered to try to help you clarify in your confused head what Trinity Church is even though you spent the entire weekend with us setting me up to interview me for what turned out to be a smear of the Senator; and yet The New York Times continues to roll on making the truth what it wants to be the truth. I do not remember reading in your article that Barack had apologized for listening to that bad information and bad advice. Did I miss it? Or did your editor cut it out? Either way, you do not have to worry about hearing anything else from me for you to edit or “spin” because you are more interested in journalism than in truth.

Although I have watched the video clips of Rev. Wright and do not agree with everything he says, I am curious about why this letter was never brought to the forefront after the controversy about Obama's association with Wright reached its peak this month. I've looked at other articles on the New York Times Web site that Ms. Kantor has written, and there is no mention of Rev. Wright's letter. It seems to me that this letter would tell Rev. Wright's side of the story more effectively, and there is no mention of this letter in the mainstream media as far as I know. Why is that? If I didn't read about this letter on a forum, I would have never known about it.

The question is: Why is Ms. Kantor being mum about this letter? Is it retaliation against Rev. Wright? If so, is the retaliation worth watching a presidential candidate, who did not write or send the letter, struggle to stay afloat?

ARTICLE: Disabled pregnant woman used as target practice

Six people, including a 12-year-old, are in jail on $1 million bond for torturing a pregnant woman with developmental delays who lived with them.

ALTON, Illinois (AP) -- Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor.

Five adults and a 12-year-old child were charged with Dorothy Dixon's murder.

Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin.

They torched what few clothes she had, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle.

Dixon -- six months pregnant -- died after weeks of abuse. Police have charged two adults, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy with murder in the case that has repulsed many in this Mississippi River town.

"This is heartbreaking," police Lt. David Hayes said. "It was almost as though they were making fun of the abuse they were administering. This woman was almost like living in a prison."

Investigators put much of the blame on Michelle Riley, 35, who they said befriended Dixon but pocketed monthly Social Security checks she got because of her developmental delays.

Dixon saw little, if any, of the money, Hayes said. For months she weathered the torment to keep a roof over her head and that of her year-old son, who weighed just 15 pounds when taken into state custody after his mom's death....

Hayes watched the autopsy and found her injuries disturbing. X-rays revealed roughly 30 BBs lodged in her. Deep-tissue burns covered about one-third of her body -- her face, her chest, her arms and feet -- and left her severely dehydrated. Her face and body showed signs of prolonged abuse. Many of her wounds were infected.

None of the injuries, Hayes said, proved singly fatal to Dixon. Her system already was taxed by her unborn baby.

"The autopsy sort of indicates her immune system just shut down," he said. "It was not capable of fending off any more."

In the rental home's basement, Atkins said, he found spots of blood in a shower and tiny smears on the concrete floor, washer and dryer.

"It's disgraceful the way this girl died, as kind and as sweet as this girl was," he said. "She didn't deserve to die the way she did. It's just terrible, senseless. It's just a total shame."

I still have a lot of questions about what happened to Dixon. Who was the father of her babies? If he wasn't involved with the well-being of Dixon and their offspring, why? Were the pregnancies the result of abuse? Was a social worker aware of the circumstances surrounding Dixon's one-year-old?

Four of the perpetrators are between the ages of 12 and 18, which is also tragic.

David Paterson sworn in as NY Governor today

Lieutenant Governor David Paterson became the fourth black person in the state and first visually impaired person in the nation to hold the title. Although he became governor due to the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, Paterson still spoke optimistically about the future of New York, with a sense of humor to boot.

Here is a portion of the speech he gave after being sworn in:

My St. Paddy's Day Parade Photo Album

On Friday afternoon, I decided at the last minute to participate in the parade on Saturday. Since this is not something I do on a regular basis, I decided to bring the camera along and take a few snapshots for posterity.

I hope posterity can forgive me for the outlandish costume I wore that warm, sunny afternoon:




I was trying to be some kind of Irish gypsy, but I think I was more like what Whoopi Goldberg would look like if she joined a roller derby. Anyway, when I got to where the rest of the Kudzu Krewe was lining up, I realized that I met my match in the costume department:












And oh yes, the honorable mentions:








Yes, those dogs were green.

It was a fun experience watching spectators scramble for beads and yell to the top of their lungs for no reason. I also got a kick out of seeing pieces of green body paint fall to the ground as Josh Hailey, et al marched along in the bright sun, shedding like snakes. A word of advice, though: Don't forget your water. I left mine in the car, and by the time the parade was over, my lips were sticking to my teeth.

To see all the pictures, go here to view my photo album. Thanks for the good times, Kudzu Krewe!

VIDEO: Girl in Clinton's "3 A.M." ad an Obama supporter?

You can't make this stuff up.

ABC News Video

The young lady, whose first name is Casey, was eight years old in this commercial, which was originally for a railroad. Whoever produced the Clinton ad bought the file footage and used it for her campaign ad. The irony of all of this is that Casey, who is now 17, has been actively campaigning for Obama (she'll be old enough to vote in November), so she was stunned to see herself in Clinton's ad. No foul play here - just plain weird.

Mental Health Parity on the Way?

{verbatim email} - House Passes Mental Health Parity Bill - March 6, 2008 By a vote of 268-148, the US House of Representatives on March 5th passed its version of the mental health insurance parity bill (HR 1424), setting up what is likely to be a difficult negotiation with the Senate, which passed its version (S 558) unanimously this past fall. Both bills require group health plans to cover mental illness and substance abuse disorders on the same terms and conditions as all other illnesses - equity with respect to durational treatment limits (inpatient days and outpatient visits) and financial limitations (cost sharing, deductibles, out-of-pocket limits, etc.). However, there are important differences between the House and Senate bills that must be resolved.[/i]

ACT NOW!

Equitable coverage of mental illness treatment has been a top legislative priority for NAMI for nearly 20 years. 2008 represents a historic opportunity to finally pass insurance parity legislation. Send a letter to your member of Congress and tell them that Congress cannot allow this historic opportunity to enact insurance parity to slip away. Now is the time to come to an agreement that can get through the House, the Senate and be signed by President Bush. Congress must act in 2008!

Historic Debate in the House

The debate in the House was remarkable in the level of consensus over long held principles that NAMI has sought to achieve. While there were differences among members of Congress over the specifics in the House bill, there was unanimous agreement on the need for federal intervention to ensure equitable coverage of mental illness treatment. Democrats and Republicans of all political stripes spoke on the House floor about their personal experience with mental illness, the burden imposed by untreated mental illness and the need for covering and treating these costly disorders just like any other illness.

What Issues Must Be Resolved To Reach Consensus on Parity?

Learn more about the differences between S 558 and HR 1424 that must be resolved in order to achieve a bill that can pass this year.

Ban Shirley Q. Liquor, blackface minstrel character

What Don Imus did pales in comparison to this disgusting portrayal of black women.

(Los Angeles, CA) – Today, in honor of Women’s History Month and African-American women, activists launched BanShirleyQLiquor.com in an attempt to call attention to Charles Knipp, a self-described forty-five-year-old, fat, gay white man that performs nationwide as his alter ego character Shirley Q. Liquor. Knipp describes Liquor as being “an illiterate welfare mother with nineteen kids who guzzles malt liquor and drives a Caddy.” The character is favorite among his core audience whom Knipp described in Rolling Stone Magazine as being “gay men, their moms, and rednecks.” While in blackface as Liquor, Knipp’s speaks in Ebonics and makes comments like “axe your mamma how she durrin” and misuses words like “ignunt.”

Knipp’s is also known for mocking the Black American holiday Kwanzaa and uses Black faces to make fun of stereotypical sounding Black names in a music video entitled, “Who Is My Baby’s Daddy” where his character Shirley Q. Liquor tries to recollect the names of her "chirrun," “…Cheeto, Orangello, Chlamydia, and Kmartina...”

“Imus may have called Black women ‘nappy-headed ho's,’ but it’s Knipp who routinely tries to bring that image to life onstage as Shirley Q. Liquor,” commented journalist Jasmyne Cannick. “The hypocrisy is sickening. Isaiah Washington was unable to escape the wrath of gay America, but Charles Knipp, a white gay man, can perform a blackface minstrel and be rewarded by gay Americans to the tune of $90k annually. Someone has some explaining to do. This has gone on for far too long under the radar.”

What takes the cake is when Knipp "superimposed the head of Black journalist Jasmyne Cannick onto the body of a nude porn star and posted it on the homepage of his website ShirleyQLiquor.com." Photo here. DISCLAIMER: This is a pornographic photo. Please use caution when viewing it.

Please join me in signing the petition to rid the world of this racist, sexist and inhumane portrayal of black women. Also, tell everyone you know to boycott future performances. To find out more ways to take action, go to banshirleyqliquor.com and look at the sidebar on the left.