Friday News on Politics, History, and on Justice.

Reactionaries like Huckabee, Limbaugh, etc. obviously need to know about religious history. Even the most conservative theologians understand this. Many conservative and liberal religious people have condemned the Maafa, slavery, the Inquisition, the Crusades, etc. (which has been supported by white supremacists and other extremists). The President is absolutely right to mention that some people have exploited religion as a means for them to execute injustices from slavery to Jim Crow. Overt legalized Jim Crow only ended a few decades ago. Today, we still the New Jim Crow in the form of the prison industrial complex, the War on Drugs, etc. People like Huckabee, Hasselbeck, Limbaugh, and others distort what the President has said too. The President didn’t blame every Christian throughout human history for many atrocities. He did mention that some people have committed evil injustices in the name of Christ and that’s true. The overall point is that we should support religious freedom, but we must always oppose religious tyranny (including any other tyranny). First, the Equal Justice Initiative did the right thing by releasing the report (about lynchings historically during American history). Some people want to ignore, minimize, or ignore the lynchings that black men, black women, and black children experienced in the 19th century and in the 20th century. These acts are forms of terrorism. Black people suffered terrorism at the hands of evil white racists. Also, it is important to know the history of resistance. Our people suffered, but many of our people stood up to combat injustice. Black people utilized tons of rebellions as a way to fight back against the Maafa and slavery. Also, black people formed self-defense units to combat lynching and other forms of injustice that black people experienced. The struggle did not end in 1965 either. The struggle continues. Black people still are oppressed in many different ways. We should use our history as motivation for us to stand up for the truth and to believe in liberation for our people. That's the irony. How can these white racist imperialists lecture anyone on land when they stole the land in the Americas and exterminated Native Americans. They also enslaved black people unjustly. These racists even established artificial borders all of over the land that they stole (under the guise of "Manifest Destiny"). So, hypocrisy, brutality, injustice, and insanity are real components of white racism.



First, it is great to see many people in Chapel Hill coming together in standing up against Islamophobia. There is the debate on the motives of Craig Stephen Hicks. One thing is true though. Craig Stephen Hicks is a murderer. There is no excuse for murdering innocent human beings at all. There should be at least an investigation to see if Craig enacted a hate crime based on religion. According to the Raleigh News-Observer, Abu-Salha said his daughter told her family a week ago that she had "a hateful neighbor." He added, "Honest to God, she said, 'He hates us for what we are and how we look.'" There has been an increase of Islamophobia in America since 9/11. According to the latest FBI statistics, there were more than 160 anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2013. Mosques and Islamic centers have been firebombed and vandalized; seven mosques were attacked during Ramadan alone in 2012. Craig's current wife denies that her husband committed a hate crime. Craig Stephen Hicks must be punished regardless if he committed a hate crime or not. It is truly a shame that 3 young people (who were not even 30 years old) are dead as a result of the actions of one demented, evil man. These young people never deserved to be murdered at all. The victims' families are extremely strong and brave. We all send prayers and condolences to the families and friends of the victims. These three, young Muslim people had their whole lives ahead of them. It's a very terrible story and it shows how cruel some people are. That murderer in my view should at least have life in prison. The murderer can easily do many things without killing 3 innocent people. If the murderer just walked away from the situation, the 3 Muslim human beings would be alive today. Of course, the murderer will deny that he committed a hate crime since he wants to cover up his own evil. Regardless if he committed a hate crime or not, the murderer should experience punishment for his deeds. We need more caring in the world. RIP to Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha. #Muslim Lives Matter



Freedom is not just about political liberation and economic justice. It is about our consciousness being freely expressed in public. The Afro sends a strong, sacrosanct statement that our hair is beautiful, our skin is beautiful, and Black is Beautiful. People have every right to reject cultural colonialism and to affirm their blackness in a diversity of ways. There is nothing wrong with natural hair and there is nothing wrong with us standing up for what is right. The Afro will always be a part of black culture and it is a symbol of our human power as Brothers and Sisters. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” was an excellent speech. By 1967, he realized that civil rights and voting rights were not enough. We also need a fundamental change in the structure of society where the poor, black people, and oppressed have justice from oppression. Therefore, we must deal with economic and social issues. There must be a radical redistribution of political and economic power. That speech stood up against the reactionary foreign policies of the Democratic President Lyndon Baines Johnson. That speech showed the world of the intellectual strength and courage of a strong black leader. It also gave another strong manifesto of the anti-war and human rights movements. He calling the United States government the greatest purveyor of violence in the world was not only courageous, but accurate. The Vietnam War was not only unjust and evil. It included the usage of napalm, it restricted a real progressive settlement for years, and it has tragically harmed both Americans & Vietnamese human beings physically and emotionally. So, we certainly need to continue to be anti-imperialist and pro-human justice.


The events of Ferguson have its origin from decades ago. What we see now never came from a vacuum. For a long time, the residents of Ferguson have been scapegoated for the overall national problems of economic injustice, racism, and other forms of injustice. The rebellion in Ferguson developed in response to decades long oppressive conditions. Decades ago, there were racist housing policies (via restrictive covenants) in the St. Louis/Ferguson region. That region in the Midwest experienced Jim Crow (years ago) just like in other areas like in Virginia, in North Carolina, etc. Right now, there is a debate about actions of the Governor as it relates to his deployment of the National Guard. There should be an investigation. I don't believe in innocent property being burned unjustly. Yet, we have to look at the underlying causes of a riot to make solutions. Situations have complexities. I also don't believe in police brutality either. We have to learn about the responses from the Governor and we have to learn lessons. Yet, one point is to be made. All protesters should not be slandered. Many reactionaries are slandering every protester collectively as nihilistic and terroristic people. That slander should be opposed and condemned. The protesters in Ferguson and throughout America include men, women, and children. They include teachers, clergy people, lawyers, athletes, musicians, scholars, and other contributors to society. Now, we have to grow our political and economic power. That means that more strong, qualified, and politically independent people should govern Ferguson & surrounding areas. We have every right to grow the empowerment of our communities. We want the end of the War on Drugs and all aspects of the New Jim Crow. We want the massive militarization of the local police to end. We will still fight for economic and social justice.



From March 8, 1964 to May of 1964 was the transitional period of Malcolm X’s life. This period was from his split from the Nation of Islam to a little after his famous Hajj. During this period, he further developed his views. Malcolm X gave an interview about his views with A.B. Spellman on March 3, 1964. Malcolm X said that he wanted to think for himself and he did. One of his greatest speeches that he ever gave was the “Ballet or the Bullet” speech. No one can understand fully about Malcolm X without reading, listening, and comprehending what that speech was talking about. He delivered it at the symposium sponsored by CORE (or the Congress of Racial Equality. CORE at this time was more militant than the SCLC. CORE became more conservative by the late 1960’s and in the 1970’s. For example, CORE leaders supported the presidency of Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, which was wrong). Malcolm X’s “Ballot or the Bullet” was a historic speech, which took place on April 3, 1964 in Cleveland. He also gave his later, definitive Ballot or the Bullet speech that people know on April 12, 1964 inside of King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan. That speech not displayed black intellectual strength, but it advocated revolutionary political solutions. The ghetto is a domestic colony and Malcolm X supported the interests of the oppressed courageously. Malcolm X knew about the ghetto for real. The Ballot or the Bullet speech was heavily about the legitimate promotion of political independence. He condemned not only liberal establishment figures, but the Democratic Party itself, because the Democratic Party have executed racism against the black community for a long time (Many people have to witness that George Wallace and other racists were Democrats). He wanted black people to display a more united front to fight evil and oppression. He admitted that he didn’t see any American dream, but an American nightmare. Malcolm X in his speech condemned the token acts of both major parties and wanted black people to register as political Independents, so they can vote for the best candidates. Malcolm X was right to say in the Ballot of the Bullet speech that if the government continued to refuse allow black Americans to have full equality (as he eloquently proved how the federal government deprived black people of their human rights), then African Americans have every right to use self-defense by any means necessary to defend plus protect their own communities. The Ballot or the Bullet speech endorsed Black Nationalism (or the view that African Americans should use their own power to govern the affair of their own communities). The speech wanted more political action. His April 8, 1964 speech called “The Black Revolution” outlined his revolutionary views further. The NOI files eviction proceedings against Malcolm X also in early April of 1964. He starts to further travel internationally. He travels under the name of Malik El-Shabbaz. By April 19, 1964, he traveled in to Mecca to have his famous pilgrimage (which is a requirement of every Muslim to do if one is able). While in Mecca, Malcolm X saw an unique brotherhood among people of different colors that he doesn’t witness in America. He gets a more progressive insight on racial matters. He believes that the religion of Islam can contribute to end the antagonism that exists among white Americans. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal honored Malcolm X as a guest of the state on April 21-30, 1964.

By Timothy