Weekend News

Lupita Nyong’o does look very gorgeous in the Vogue cover. While I am getting older, I see that our liberation will not be immediate. We still have to fight, but we should also acknowledge courage too. Lupita gave a courageous, magnificent speech on beauty and about the struggles of our people. Lupita certainly is a representation of the strength, beauty, and intelligence of black women. No one said that the fight will be easy. It a’int going to be easy, but now is not the time to give up. We are going to fight and be victorious. Yes, she does look like a Goddess. So, I wish congratulations to Lupita and I wish more blessings for her and her family. In this day and age, the handwriting is on the wall. We have the profound responsibility to take care of our business, and work together as a team in order for us to reach that prize of liberation. We have every right to dialogue and learn from each other. The fundamental point is that programs helping black males are not evil at all. Programs helping black females are not evil either. True UNITY is better than unnecessary division. The struggle for freedom continues, but we will always believe in integrity, strength, and self-determination. This story is interesting. The Texas Board unintentionally doing this is very ironic on many levels. The issue of reparations is a controversial issue. We know the facts. We know that many people in America were given reparations like Japanese Americans, some Jewish Americans (because of the Shoah), and Native Americans. Many Native Americans received reparations centuries after the fact. Black people in America suffered slavery, Jim Crow, the prison industrial complex, and other atrocities. Also, even after the Civil War, numerous black people were re-enslaved via the peonage system during the late 19th century to the early 20th century (as documented by the PBS Documentary called “Slavery by Another Name”). So, there is a historical precedent for reparations. Racist crimes against black people did not end in 1865. They continued afterwards. Also, those who want reparations should mobilize and organize a specific political strategy in how to get reparations accomplished. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X believed in compensatory justice for African Americans back in the day. Crimes must experience recompense. Accountability should not end just because European slave-owners have died. If that was the case, Native Americans don't deserve reparation payments back as late as the 1980’s. Do I believe in reparations? Yes.

Cheney is totally deluded in his own deception. Cheney is desperate. That is what he is. He and other neo-conservatives intentionally promoted war mongering rhetoric as an excuse to cause the Iraq War. Now, we know that their claims about Iraq are false, but some of the neo-con crowd is still desperate to advance their deceptions. Certainly, Iraq was not a direct threat to America and Iraq in 2003 had no extensive, long range weapons of mass destruction at all. Not to mention that the Bush/Cheney team wanted America to invade Iraq long before 2003. The crisis in Iraq with ISIS, etc. existed before the current President was inaugurated. Al-Maliki (who has utilized authoritarian policies) has been a bad leader in failing to institute a political solution, which can cause better relationships among Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, etc. On Thursday, President Barack Obama held an afternoon press conference. He announced that the U.S. would send 300 military advisers to Iraq as part of a military deployment that includes a bombing campaign ostensibly targeting an insurgency led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  Following this announcement, a conference call was held with three unnamed administration officials. When a reporter asked whether US attacks on ISIS would be limited to Iraq, given that ISIS operates on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border, and controls significant territory in eastern Syria, one official responded that “we don't restrict potential US action to a specific geographic space.” “The President has made clear time and again that we will take action as necessary including direct US military action if it’s necessary to defend the United States against an imminent threat,” the official added. ISIS “operates broadly, and we would not restrict our ability to take action that is necessary to protect the United States.” The official also included “our homeland” among the regions threatened by ISIS. So, this means that the administration could use more military strikes and more advanced weapons to the U.S. backed opposition in Syria. The overall deal is that the imperialist war in Iraq has harmed Iraq in many ways from spreading ethnic/religious tensions to destabilizing the infrastructure of Iraq. This conflict could threaten to involve all of the Middle East including Turkey. This war on terrorism is filled with contradictions. The West is targeting Islamic militants, but it has covertly funded many of these same forces in Syria, Libya, etc. The civil war in Syria is linked to the sectarian violence in Iraq. Maliki has been a puppet of the occupation regime. All of this is being carried out in complete violation of international law. At Thursday’s press conference, not a single reporter thought to ask Obama what was the legal justification for the announced troop deployments. It is the position of the Obama administration that the president has the right to wage war against anyone, anywhere, without even the pretense of a Congressional, let alone popular, mandate. “We had a good discussion,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said, adding that Obama “indicated he didn’t feel he had any need for authority from us for steps that he might take.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, added that she did “not believe the president needs any further legislative authority to pursue the particular options for increased security assistance discussed today.” It is clear that most Americans don’t want any reentry of the U.S. military in Iraq or military intervene in Syria too. The twin parties of imperialist war have shown folly to say the least.

One thing that I do believe in is that we can look at different experiences and different point of views as a means to see more of the truth. When you learn, you will grow and we are growing all of the time. I truly don’t agree with generalizing in an evil fashion. We have to look at the experiences of others to not only express empathy, but to figure out how conditions can be improved upon. The valuable thing about the Black in Latin America documentary is that he interviewed the poor or the black people directly suffering oppression. A lot of people don’t know their suffering or their pain. Hopefully, their lives can be better via political activism. It is certainly free to treat people fairly. It doesn’t cost a penny to love someone. It doesn’t cost a penny to give someone greetings and encouragement. That is the value of Love. TRUE LOVE IS FREE OF CHARGE. TRUE LOVE IS ETERNAL AND LOVE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE OR BIGOTRY. One valuable part of life is that when it is all said and done, we have learned lessons, we have improved our actions, and we have helped others. When we help others, our souls are blessed. It just feels good to work in the betterment of humanity. I thought about calling this year the year of cleansing for weeks. I have never expressed this ideal publicly before until now. The improvement of the mind, body, and spirit is part of our journeys. The BPP existed from other influences too. The Deacons of Defense and Brother Williams existed before the BPP. Also, the BPP allowed the world to see the power of manhood and the power of womanhood too. They actively created health care clinics, they instituted breakfast programs for children, and they stood up against police brutality. They made so much progress that the FBI used illegal means to harm them. Crooked police from Chicago murdered Brother Fred Hampton in a sick way. Yet, their memories are still with us. Their dedication to truth and justice is forever etched in our hearts and minds. Their overall intentions were just, because self-determination and loving the power of the people can change the globe. They were right to oppose imperialism and to seek community development. Men have every God given right to protect himself, his family, and his community. Also, Sisterhood is important. Women have every God given right to express themselves, to express strength, and to have their human rights protected too. The value and preciousness of Sisterhood is beautiful too. All people should have justice.

It is a sad story and I feel for the victims of the criminal Ephran Taylor. He stole and exploited wealth from innocent victims, which shows the essence of the wickedness of crony capitalism. The actions of Ephran Taylor totally refute the prosperity gospel lie. That faux gospel has nothing to do with real spirituality. It has to do with the lie that wealth is equated to spiritual prosperity. It is about the lie that anyone poor is lacking human dignity when all people have equal dignity irrespective of class, wealth, gender, or background. Mass consumerism and economic exploitation are the wicked fruits of the modern capitalist system & the prosperity false gospel. The criminal Ephran Taylor should experience justice and those hurt by this man should receive compensation. As a people, we ought to experience independent thinking. Ephran Taylor not looking at folks’ eyes does outline guilt and nervousness. It is important to note that the masses of our people need to learn more of our real history, more of real political issues, etc. Many of our people need more inspiration and motivation to fight poverty including any injustice. We are certainly at war against class oppression and racial bigotry. We have to shine a light on this issue as a means for our people to be better. Now, some folks are right that criminal Wall Street bankers ought to be prosecuted and jailed too. For years, I have known about the racism from the reactionary, white supremacist George Preston Marshall. The name is offensive and ignorant. First, Native Americans exist in many skin tones. Second, racists have always used that slur to disrespect Native Americans as well. Third, people have the right to make their grievances known in expressing opposition to the usage of that slur on the name of a professional sports team. The U.S. Patient Office's decision is just one step. The battle is not over and I hope that those who want Native American dignity respected are successful in their case. It won't be easy, but life is not easy. A name change is long overdue. It is so easy to blame the victim for everything under the sun. Yet, we should never do that. We have to be active and teach our people their human worth and their human value. We have to tell them that black is beautiful, that they have a strong legacy as a people, and Africa is beautiful too. We have to be the living examples of walking upright and to not only stand up for morality in our community (but to expose racism plus economic oppression in the world). We have every right to support those who are legitimately fighting crime, fighting poverty, and working in the community too. Individually, we should do the right thing (as in helping our people) and collectively our power should be utilized in helping society as well. The development of our community and being politically proactive independently are wise decisions to enact. If someone refuses to tell people WHY things are in the first place, no solution will exist. WE HAVE TO TEACH, INSPIRE, WORK, AND ACT. We have to tell people the truth.

A lot of people don’t know about the revolutionary views and revolutionary spirit of the late Sister Ruby Dee. She was born in Cleveland, but she was raised in New York City. Throughout her life, she was a screen actress, a writer, and a social activist. Emma Amelia Benson, her stepmother, studied under W.E.B. Dubois, in Atlanta University. She was a teacher too. Dee attended Hunter College in New York and she graduated from the college in 1945. Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis had suspicions about American capitalism. In an interview, Davis later explained, “Ruby came from Harlem, and in Harlem the Communists were looked upon as very friendly, because in many instances people would have their stuff set out on the sidewalk by the landlord, and the Communists would come along and put it back in! The stigma of being a Communist came later. People felt freer to express themselves any way they wanted to. The Depression had sort of broken down the old political assignments, then World War II had come along.” Dee added, “We felt the excitement of our times, and we were asked—both of us, before we knew each other—we were asked to join [the CP]. But we weren’t joiners; I don’t know why. But many of our friends were, you know.” Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis publicly associated themselves with the opposition of the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (the state called them Soviet spies) in 1953. In 1983, Davis recalled how the couple was asked to take part in a rally that had been called to protest the electrocution. “And those of us who dared to take that stand could not expect to go unpunished.… We sat down to ponder what we should do. How might this action affect our future? Should we take such a stand in view of the jobs that we held? A second’s reflection produced the startling information: What jobs? There we were, already blacklisted for being black—what would it hurt if we added a little red and got blacklisted too?” Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis legitimately opposed the reactionary McCarthyite witch-hunts. They opposed the Vietnam War and they fought for civil rights. Ruby Dee worked in the massive March on Washington ceremonies back in August 1963.  In 1999, the pair was arrested outside the headquarters of the New York Police Department as part of a protest over the murder of Amadou Diallo, the Guinean immigrant shot 19 times by police. Davis died in 2005, at the age of 87. They also opposed the Iraq War. So, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis always had revolutionary thinking throughout their lives indeed.

By Timothy