Important Issues

If Toni Morrison gives the stamp of approval to Brother Ta-Nehisi Coates, then that means a lot. Ta-Nehisi Coates is brilliant and he’s a great writer. His words are eloquent. Yes, I have known about the Negro Report of 1965. Now, the Moynihan Report was created in 1965. It offered no solutions or explicit recommendations. We have to keep it 100. The report blamed not just black culture (which is ignorant since black culture is diverse). It also blamed matriarchal society (which is code language for single black mothers when matriarchal, progressive societies have existed for thousands of years) for the problems in the black community. This report has slandered single black women and the Moynihan Report has been used by conservatives and other folks who love misogynoir as a means for them to promote the myth that forcing all black people to have nuclear families will cure poverty and racism. Now, Moynihan became bitter and he allied with Nixon (who wanted to hurt black poor people as admitted in his secret tapes). Also, Moynihan even wanted black males to have jobs even if it meant that black women lose theirs in some measure. That’s sexist. Black people of both genders have the right to have a job. The view that black culture in poor communities inherently leads into pathologies is racist period. I don’t believe that black culture is inferior to other cultures. I don’t believe that the suffering poor should be neglected. They should be empowered with resources and investments from all levels of government. The stereotypical lie of the black poor as solely seeking welfare dependency, violence, and social nihilism is the height of overt racism and classism. There is a lot of talk about personal responsibility, but the report lacked to emphasis the social responsibility of society to promote the general welfare.

The conservatives talk about welfare, but in the past 40 years, the social safety net has been depleted in communities nationwide (via deindustralization, our civil rights gains being rolled back, urban renewal of the 50's and the 60's, bad trade deals, discrimination, and other neo-liberal policies from both major parties). What can be done? The solution is diverse. Now, we do need to improve ourselves. I have no problem with self-determination and building more of our institutions. There is nothing wrong with us using grassroots programs in our community to help us as a people (from mentorships, apprenticeships, and other social actions). There is nothing wrong with advancing integrity, and a more communal spirit. Yet, I also believe that the mass incarceration state must end. There is a consensus in this country that the prison industrial complex as it is must go. It has ruined families, promoted more discrimination, and ruined so many lives of our Brothers and Sisters. There should be a nationwide increase of the minimum wage. There should be an end to the War on Drugs with alternatives like investments in drug treatment programs, ending mandatory minimum sentences, etc. Community based programs to help families must be increased. We want our families to be strengthened. There are strong nuclear, single, and extended families. A strong family doesn’t have to be a nuclear one. There should be job creation programs in especially poor areas. We have a structural problem of oppression that must be addressed. In essence, there must be federal, state, and local social policies to address racism and economic oppression. I believe that Melissa Harris Perry had a great discussion with Ta Neheisi Coates (his article on Moynihan and mass incarceration was superb) on this issue.

Progress is when poverty is gone in our communities and when we own our institutions (and use them to help our people progressively excluding exploitation). Many have mentioned about some non-whites exploiting our culture for profit and they are right. That is why we have to not only create and produce resources. We have to own our resources and institutions and fairly distribute power to our poorer Brothers and Sisters (so, they can be empowered to live their lives without poverty). From the 1960’s to the present, there has been a certain amount of economic and political power given to a select amount of upper class and rich black people (we see the growth of some black millionaires and black billionaires in the States since 1968), but the masses of black people still suffer massive injustices from discrimination to economic deprivation. One reason for this reality was the growth of economic inequality, classism, the continuation of poverty, racism, discrimination, and the lax efforts to address poverty (with the evil growth of austerity) in the black community. Black people of all classes suffer racism to be fair. I have no problem with embracing a class consciousness too since economic justice is about making sure that the working class has power over their own lives without capitalist exploitation (as capitalism is linked to the Maafa as documented by Eric Williams. I don't support neoliberalism or the 1% having disproportionate power over the masses of the people). We do need to grow our infrastructure. I have read where the Polish people, Jewish people, Irish people, German people, Arabic people, etc. came into America to set up newspapers, cultural centers, and other large institutions to develop their interests.

We should do the same in a wider scale. We all know that we had the Chicago Renaissance, the Harlem Renaissance, Black Wall Street, etc. Yet, I do believe that during this generation, we should do that in a higher level since we have a serious problem of cultural exploitation and tons of our people are hurting. We abhor cultural appropriation and we love to see more growth of our cultural institutions. I learned that any movement for social change readily starts at the grassroots level or in the streets. The slave revolts, the civil rights movement, the cultural movements of our people, etc. began in the streets or in the grassroots level. So, we have to execute grassroots work (like community based programs that can help mentor people, educate people, and build up communities in general in a cooperative fashion. We are a cooperative, communal people as shown in our history and in our culture. We have a beautiful culture). Also, structures of oppression must end, so we have to build our own institutions and fight against racism, poverty, the prison industrial complex, and other evils. That is why I do agree with living wages, universal health care, voting rights, ending the War on Drugs, paid family leave federally, and fighting police terrorism. The prison industrial complex has harmed our people and it must go. We defend the rights of the poor and the working class. We can’t do this alone as black Americans. That is why I do advocate international pan-African discussions, forums, and collaborations with all black people of the Diaspora since oppression isn’t just a national problem. Oppression is an international phenomenon. The system of racism/white supremacy is a global system. Solutions will be multifaceted not monolithic. We all play a role and we can all do something. As you have mentioned, more rich black celebrities have to step up to the plate and be involved in developing black institutions and helping the poor (including speaking out in favor of social and economic justice). We need more hotels, schools, and other forms of power bases that we own and control. There is nothing wrong with power if it is used correctly and for the benefit of the masses of the people. Black children do need the opportunity to express themselves as many have outlined. We advocate freedom, justice, and equality for all and we mean it. Also, black mothers and black fathers have great value in the Universe. Their sacrifice, their strength, and their love must always be recognized and respected.

Of course, she or Bristol Palin wants to omit that many white people have advanced racial strife and outlined phony claims of "victimhood" for centuries. We didn’t originate the Maafa or Jim Crow. We didn’t originate racial strife as great people has mentioned. Bristol Palin is wrong on so many levels. Palin is expressing distracting commentaries as a way for her to ignore the serious problems of Islamophobia and racial injustice. First, racial strife in America existed long before Obama was born. President Barack Obama has gone out of his way to issue speeches that talk about race in a moderate fashion without inflaming racial tensions. Also, Ahmed was a victim of an injustice of being arrested unjustly. Britsol is just hating plain and simple . Haters will hate, but we will keep on moving as nothing will stop our shine. No one can stop our glory. She is certainly following the same talking points as the reactionary extremist Sarah Palin is expressing. She injected herself into a discussion and outlined falsehoods and distortions about Ahmed's injustice. We need more of the youth involved in STEM fields. I have noticed that she used the code word "victimhood." Bristol spoke in that way since she has a guilt complex and she hates the fact of people sincerely standing up against Islamophobia (when we have an epidemic of white racist terrorism going in American soil) and racism. We are undeterred, we will eloquently speak up for justice and tranquility, and we defend our black Brothers and our black Sisters.

By Timothy