Wednesday News in early October 2016

Sister Deshauna Barber is a beautiful black woman. Her courage is amazing and her haters are of course jealous and repugnant. For thousands of years, black women have worked in many arenas of life, defended Blackness, and have been beacons of hope and inspiration for humanity. It is a known fact that black women have achieved excellence (from the actions of First Lady Michelle Obama to the actions of Allyson Felix) and will continue to do so. When black people are doing what they love, we excel. The infantile words from racists don't mean a thing, because the pristine point is that the worth and precious dignity of black women is priceless. The racists are not the original inhabitants of America, so they have no standing to judge who is a true American. We all are in solidarity with Deshuana Barber, and we love her insights & magnificent intelligence. Additionally, we stand for honoring true beauty (that also deals with compassion, altruism, wisdom, and honoring human dignity). Deshuana Barber has gorgeous dark skin and her life is just getting started. She will do more and she is a blessing for so many human beings. Many people represent hard work. Sister Natasha Hastings is a human being who is a hard worker constantly. She is 30 years old and her passion has been track and field. She was born in Brooklyn, NYC. So, Brooklyn is always in the House. She has Jamaican and Trinidadian heritage as well. Since her youth in the Junior Olympics, she won a lot of awards involving track and field. She made a first place win at the USATF Junior Olympics in the 400 meters in the Youth Girls division. She attended A. Philip Randolph Campus High School in Harlem, New York to further pursue track as well. She performed magnificently in the 400m in the University of South Carolina. She has 2 Olympic Gold medals in the Bejing Games of 2008 and the Rio Games of 2016. At the 2016 Great North City Games in the UK, Hastings ran a personal best 16.67 150m straight track race, finishing second. She is a champion, a down to Earth human being, and a competitor in the realest sense of the world. Bless Sister Natasha Hastings.

The Republican hypocrites lecture people on family values and morality, but many of them support a male (not man) who is the epitome of crassness, disrespect, and obscene behavior. He is the male who believes in the slander that the Central Park Five are guilty and he threatened to have adultery and sexual assault against a woman. Trump has habitually lied about so many people. Beyonce, in her songs, never advocates for sexual assault against any human being. That fact alone refutes the deflection of Betsy McCaughery. I read where the Beyhive are criticizing her too. The fundamental point is that Donald Trump is antithetical to human decency and he has no respect from me. When he supports stop and frisk and used the loaded, coded phrase of "law and order,"he shows how he views black people. Also, the recent email leaks document how Hillary Clinton is tied to Wall Street interests. It is no secret that big corporate interests fund the Hillary Clinton and that she supports a no fly zone in Syria, which is heavily militarist.

For a long time, mainstream politics have been filled with propaganda, deception, and other forms of deception. Many people have been deluded into believing that austerity measures and other evils are palatable in their lives. I have mentioned that many people have voted against their interests. Many problems exist in mainstream politics. One is the excess of corporate control of mainstream political parties. The Citizens United decision greatly harmed the political process. There is the 1% dictating policies in many cases. Also, there is the corporate media ignoring real issues or trying to sugarcoat the extremism of reactionary politicians. There are television based controversies. That's true. Yet, there are also real controversies too. The media exploited the Trayvon Martin tragedy to talk about gun issues, but Trayvon Martin's legacy was about the the serious problem of racial oppression in American society. The Trayvon Martin situation was about race, gun laws, and many issues. The stand your ground law is a real issue. In order for change to come, we have to not only advocate for solutions, but we have to acknowledge the complex issues that relate to the imperfections of the criminal justice system and the pervasive, evil disrespect of black lives. Many people see the problem of the fallibility of candidates among the 2 party system, but people have every right to condemn Trump’s sexists and bigoted words. His words actually condoned sexual assault and his “apology” wasn’t sincere. It was about trying to save face and he hasn’t apologized for his other reprehensible statements too. Voting alone will not solve all of our problems, but a future Supreme Court possibly ruining decades of progress is something that I don’t agree with either. Politicians don’t have to deliver on their promises, but we should continue to advocate for social change nevertheless. We must hold politicians accountable and this takes sacrifice and determination. People can vote for a third party candidate too. The large point is that we have a long way to go to see the full spectrum of democratic representation, but Donald Trump’s statements and agenda are reprehensible.

This debate among feminists have been going on for years and decades. This debate is similar to many issues. First, feminist scholars and leaders are not monolithic. Some are authors. Some are singers. Some are athletes. Women go through a diversity of experiences. I understand where Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is coming from in saying that she is her own woman. Her views on feminism shouldn't be ignored because of the massive popularity of Beyonce. Likewise, Beyonce has the right to proclaim her love of feminism and promote her version of feminism. People have the right to discuss about people in a fair, progressive way, regardless of the sex of that person. Feminism, like many movements, have different branches or schools of thought. This is normal. For example, many civil rights leaders didn't agree on every issue, but they wanted the same goal. Therefore, Chimamanda Nogozi Adichie and Beyonce may disagree on the versions of feminism that they embrace, but they embrace the same goal (which is the equality and liberation of humanity regardless of sex). That is the same goal that we're all fighting for.

It is certainly the truth that one of the biggest excuses racists use in trying to justify irrational racism against black people is to say that they have a black friend. Just because someone is black doesn't mean that this black person is in favor of black liberation. We have seen that Jesse Lee Peterson, Sotomayor, and others who have shown tons of anti-black rhetoric in their speech and actions. Therefore, the system of white supremacy/racism is a global problem that must be addressed and that nefarious system must be eradicated from the face of the Earth. Our standards as black people are never inferior to the white collective. Our self determination and our creative energy must always be cultivate to improve our lives. What is also interesting is that the meteorologist Jennifer Delgado is a member of the National Association of Black journalists. First, I am glad that many people are condemning her evil words. Many Haitians in America and in Haiti are calling her out for her disrespectful comments about Haitian people. When she was caught, she had no choice, but to issue her "apology." Haitian people centuries ago defeated imperialists to form their own nation in 1804. They deserve great respect for their resiliency and their contributions in world history. We are tired of black people being stereotyped and disrespected. We know the racism in the Dominican Republic too. The petition is the reflection at the legitimate outrage that freedom loving people have against the slander of Haitian human beings. The D.R. (in Santo Domingo) has a statue of that terrorist, slave owner, and imperialist Christopher Columbus. Also, we know that the neo-imperialists desire control of Haitian resources in our generation. We are opposed to that. So, the evil words from the meteorologist should motivate us to further promote solidarity with our Haitian Brothers and Sisters and to promote liberation for our black people wholeheartedly.

By Timothy