Arkansas 9/Jena 6

Hey All,

I have so much to write, in so little time. I don’t want to be so “long winded”, but who cares. Most of you are at work wasting time anyway why not read what I have to say about events that affect us. The first topic of the day relates to the 50th anniversary of the Little Rock
school integration. If you’re not familiar with the situation there you can read about it at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/23/national/main3289554.shtml . I make mention to Little Rock 8, not because I think integration was the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement, I make mention to it because it shows the resiliency of our community. Something that I believe should be recognized every time we get a chance.
The attempt to integrate schools and other public places hasn’t been successful in the least bit. 70% of Black and Hispanic students attend majority minority schools. You can tell what race someone is, for the most part, by their address. You can even tell in some cities by the first three digits that follow the area code in their phone number. If the success of situation is based on the reality of an integrated America, the historic courage of the Little Rock 8 unfortunately is a failure. If the success of situation like Little Rock is seen as one victory in the in war against white power and the attack on oppressed people around the world, then it was an undeniable triumph. The latter, is why the Little Rock 8 should be recognized, for their contribution to our ongoing fight against the powers that be. For that I apologize and would like to take a moment to celebrate the courage of all those that had the will to take the steps toward progress in Little Rock Arkansas.
The anniversary of the Little Rock 9 was overlooked in my daily e mails primarily because of the comments made by Bill O’Rielly. I watched the Bill O’Reilly show last night to get some insight on what exactly he was thinking. He tries to make the argument that his comments were taken out of context. In my humble opinion, they were not. The conversation that was going on was an attempt on his behalf to convince white America that Black people are safe and civil. His attempt to “defend” Blacks failed. His tone was condescending and done deliberately so, in my opinion. His entire approach was disingenuous and I believe this to be true by the way he speaks about the situation. No humility at all, not that I would expect that from him anyway. The fact that we got sucked into the Bill O’Reilly foolishness, neglecting to mention the Little Rock 9, and their contribution to our struggle against the intuition of white power, is inexcusable. For that, I again apologize. The contribution deserves to be recognized and anything less would be uncivilized. LOL
Moving on to the next topic of interest. On the show last night O’Reilly tried again to explain to whoever would listen what is wrong with the Black community. His primary reason for the situation in the Black community is the percentage of children born out of wedlock. As hard as it is for me to agree with Mr. O’Reilly, I will concede the fact that it is a HUGE problem. So HUGE, that if that one area of our livelihood was resolved, to a degree, many issues in our community would begin its resolution phase. What I can’t concede is that it is the catalyze of the problems that exist in our community. I believe that the family breakdown is a symptom of a larger problem in our community. That larger problem is what O’Reilly represents, the white power structure. If every household had a mother and father, which they rightly should, the contradictions that exist in our community wouldn’t change drastically, and in some cases not at all. Would there be movement toward positive change, for sure. But, having a household with mom and dad won’t stop mom from loosing her job. It won’t stop dad from getting harassed by the police. It won’t stop Jr from being taught lies in history class. The break up in the family is a symptom of a larger problem, that folks like O’Reilly tend to ignore. Many of us get tricked in to becoming die hard supporters of this backward logic. Let me give you some stats to back up what I’m writing.
In Illinois, 60% of drug use and sales in the state occur in the white community and 13% in the Black community. 70% of arrests made in the state are made in the Black community, and 10% in the white. So when you say 70% of black children grow up in single parent homes. What can we concluded about, why their fathers aren’t at home in large part… these children’s fathers are in JAIL, on their way to JAIL, or recently released from JAIL. I can go into a whole rant about how the prison system is feeding the white community in many rural areas, but Ill save that for another day. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what going on here; we just have to equip ourselves with the information to make an informed decision.
Many Black people, every night, go to sleep blaming themselves in large part for the condition of their family, finances, relationships, etc. etc. That’s not to say that we don’t have to work twice as hard to fix our problems or lay the complete blame on an institution separate from ourselves, because we do have to work!!! We need to look our enemy in the eye and work twice, three times as hard to fight the resistance that we meet everyday. The greater lesson in that despite how well we do and try there is a corrupt system that needs more than reform, that affects our lives in major way. Despite that fact, we need to continue to make positive movement forward.
This brings me to my final point of the day, and then all of you can get back to work. The Jenna Six situation is deepening everyday. Mychal Bell was released from jail, it’s a happy day. The DA in LA, took time out on this happy day, and had the nerve to say that it was an act of God that Jenna didn’t get destroyed on Thursday. Why, might I ask would Jenna be destroyed? In his mind the same reason, why O’Reilly said what he said about the civility of Black people. Maybe the DA can make the same argument as O’Reilly that he was speaking on behalf of what the white world believes to be true. They believe us to be animals, people without any constraint or civility. You can check out the DA comments here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21000774/. At the conclusion of O’Reilly’s interview with Jessie Jackson, Jessie said that I hope I have contributed to your civility (speaking to O’Reilly), O’Reilly then responded “I don’t think that is possible”. The assault continues…


BREAKING NEWS

Fight at the church, between board member and the pastor caught on tape. http://hellonegro.wordpress.com/2007/08/18/black-folks-fighting-outside-the-church/the-church/