The election results of 2016 have been many things. It was historic, it was shocking to many, and it represented a wake up call to progressive people globally. It was not shocking to me. It showed the vicious racism, sexism, and xenophobia found in a segment of America. The country is divided now and it was divided back then. Trump (who admitted years ago that if he wanted to run for President, he would be a Republican because he viewed Republican voters as not intelligent and watching FOX News all of the time) had no massive political experience. This is another Brexit in America. Mostly white voters voted for Trump (who is a misogynist, a racist, and a xenophobe), so most white voting people during this election caused Trump to be elected as President. So, this situation deals with race, gender, class, and other concepts. It showed that the economic crisis in the Midwest, the Rush Belt, in urban areas, and in other communities of America is real and it must be dealt with in a revolutionary fashion. Many of the Trump supporters were racists and sexists. We know this. Also, many of them (including people who oppose Trump) are victims of bad economic policies that spanned decades from deindustralization to Reaganomics. We know that trickled down economics and neoliberalism don’t work. Donald Trump overtly appealed to patriarchy, hypercaptialism, and white supremacy in order to get votes. That is why red states expanded, because people underestimated the racism that many white people were disguising (in both red and blue states). We should never let our guards down as white racism, sexism, xenophobia, and bad economic policies are totally evil and wicked. Some whites even admitted that they lied to pollsters in order for them to not let the world know that they were going to vote for Trump. Hillary Clinton underestimated Trump and she lost by many reasons. Hillary refused to support an anti-imperialist campaign and she refused to explicitly support of the indigenous people of North Dakota heroically opposing the pipeline. One big reason was that the Democratic Party establishment refused to respect the progressive movement that sought to end college debt, that wanted an end to imperialism, and that wanted universal health care for all Americans. The leaders of the Democratic Party didn’t do enough to respect the needs and aspirations of poor and working class Americans (of all colors). They certainly didn't do enough to address the needs of the black community in dealing with police terrorism, poverty, closing schools, and massive structural racism in America. That Democratic Party establishment took black people for granted while the Republican Party makes no bones about their alliance with a misogynist like Trump. The majority of black people, Latinos, and Asians didn't vote for Trump. The opposition to Trump was highest among black people then Latinos and Asians. We have to realize that Hispanic and Latino isn't a race. It's an ethnic group, so there are white Hispanics, Hispanics of diverse heritage, and black Hispanics (or Afro-Latinos). We know the beauty and the diversity of black people and Latino people. It is also true that tons of black people, Latinos, indigenous people, Asians, and other progressive human beings desire justice, freedom, and equality. These people represent humanity. If Hillary Clinton advanced more policies of economic equity, opposition to capitalist exploitation, health care, and justice in urban and rural communities in a high level, this election might be different. Hillary Clinton (who is a blatant advocate of militarism and ally of Wall Street interests) received more popular votes than Donald Trump, but Trump had more Electoral College votes, so he won the election. Even the majority of white women voters (in 52%) supported Trump than Hillary Clinton. That shows me that many white women put race above gender. Also, the revelation of WikiLeaks, the email scandal, and other events presented to the world the corruption found in the two party system overtly. Scandals existed throughout the Hillary campaign. The Klan supports Donald Trump. Also, white nationalist racists are emboldened to do evil. Recently, a school in York, Pennsylvania is where white racist students have promoted white racism in the classroom. Many Trump supporters have thrown rocks on black girls. White Trump supporting children got suspended for telling black children to "go back to Africa." White students in DeWitt Junior High School in Michigan created a wall to try to prevent Latino students to go into the junior high school. A white racist and a Trump supporter called Madison Amelia, who is a black woman, racist slurs. Swatikas have been painted in locations nationwide. A racist remark was written in the Burge Residence Hall at the University of Iowa. A white manager at the restaurant in Lexington, KY assaulted teenage black girls and called them racial slurs. The police didn't immediately arrest the manager. In Alabama, someone put up a handing black man in effigy in a restaurant.
According to the SPLC, there have been over 200 incidents of hate crimes in America in the week following the election. I can go on. So, we are in a war against racism, against Islamophobia, against sexism, against xenophobia, and against all injustices. People have every right to protect themselves against racist brutes. Protesters in New York City, Richmond, Virginia, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hampton, Virginia, Norfolk, Virginia, Boston, Seattle, and throughout America are exercising their First Amendment right to oppose the agenda of the extremist & demagogue Donald Trump via nationwide protests (Trump has incited violence against protesters). Many sellouts voted for Trump too not just white bigots. People had to sue in North Carolina just for numerous people to vote. The Voting Rights Act was gutted by the Supreme Court. Many Tea Party supporters are now new Governors. Trump once allied with the slander of Birtherism too. Today, the Republicans control the House, the Senate, the future Presidency, many governorships, and could put more Supreme Court justices in the Supreme Court. Extremists like Stephen Bannon (of Breitbart news), Rudolph Giuliani, and Chris Christie are close allies and advisors to Trump. This is the new rightwing backlash in America and we oppose it. Hillary Clinton talks about using an open mind about Trump, but I will not. I know his tactics and I know what he stands for. I disagree with Trump and I have the right to do so. Also, a great point is to be made. We will survive this. We have faith and courage. No President will deter us and we are in solidarity with wisdom, justice, and truth. Therefore, we have to organize our power in advancing political independence outside of the major 2 party system in America. American society has made it clear that it is hypocritical with the treatment of my people. We have to build and unite in our own communities. We believe in black liberation. We must unite and fight for justice as black people. Justice for all is a sacrosanct precept that I will always believe in and cherish.
Today, it's Veterans Day. It is a day of reflection. A lot of people don't know that many World War II and Korean War veterans were active in the civil rights movement. James Forman was a military veteran and he was involved in SNCC. Many veterans were in the Deacons of Defense which fought against Jim Crow tyranny in the South. My father and my older brothers are veterans. They supported me and I do support them in many ways. Their sacrifice are immeasurable. I honor the veterans who defeated the Confederacy during the Civil War. I honor the veterans who defeated the Nazis. I honor the veterans who stood up for economic rights and human freedoms throughout the ages. One of the many ways that we can honor the veterans in our time is to stand up for the rights of black people, of the rights of immigrants, of the right of veterans to have health care, to respect the right of the indigenous human beings (who are against the pipeline in North Dakota), and to honor the sacrifice of veterans who believe in justice. This is a time where we have reflection and we express our commitment to freedom, liberty, and social justice.
Happy Veterans Day to all.
Anyone that doesn't support voting rights for all Americans is an enemy of freedom and democracy. There is documented evidence of voter suppression, bad voting laws, and other tactics by extremists who want to suppress the vote. That is why court decisions have restricted the reactionary voter ID laws in many states recently. I don't agree with the NAACP (this was the group that kicked out WEB DuBois for his radicalism and its leaders criticized Dr. King because of his opposition to the Vietnam War) on every issue. We know their history. Yet, I will support voting rights and I do believe in the strengthening of the Voting Rights Act. Doing that has nothing to do with claiming that the NAACP is perfect. It has to do with promoting human rights. The gutting of the VRA is a disgrace. White supremacists have been around for centuries in America. They do what they do. They are savages, hypocrites, liars, and bigots. They are what they are. So, it is our responsibility to defend our voting rights as Dr. King has done, as Ella Baker has done, and had SNCC members have done throughout the nation. The fake nationalist types (or HOTEPS) want to criticize social activism since their views are equivalent to white supremacist views (the only difference is that they are black supporting such evils like xenophobia, misogynoir, and poor scapegoating). This problem is not a partisan deal per se as both parties have enacted mistreatment of black Americans for a long time. We believe in political independence. We need more pan-African unity, the promotion of social justice, and progressive investments in our community. Also, I believe in unity in our community as authentic black unity along with self determination in a positive way begets strength and positive change in the world. We want justice.
We should always believe in freedom. Many of the skeptics and faux conscious people want us to just never engage in the fight for justice. Yet, these faux conscious people forgotten that a true revolutionary is not about selfishness or ignoring important issues. A true revolutionary advocates for environmental justice, for racial justice, for economic justice (as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has heroically advocated) for gender justice, for universal health care, for living wages, for adequate & quality housing, and for pan-African unity. These concepts or precepts are what I respect. Those precepts represent the views of real conscious human beings. Dorothy Dandridge was brave and she was a lover of performing intrepidly. In her life, she wanted to be loved and we love her humanity as a person. Even when I was very young during the 1990's, I always watched her on Carmen Jones (which was a movie during the 1950's about love, about WWII, and about life in general). She was a gorgeous woman. Her spirit soared with talent and compassion. Dorothy Dandridge had incredible wit, talent, and poise in the midst of racism, sexism, and discrimination. She was forced to go into certain hotels, because of discrimination. She experienced disrespect and abuse from many people. Yet, she stood up for herself and she stood up for what was right. As a life long advocate for civil rights, she promoted civil rights for African Americans. She lived long enough to see the passage of the Civil Rights Act including the Voting Rights Act and she was a friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She passed away in September 1965. She was ahead of her time and many African American women from Angela Bassett to Loretta Devine were inspired by her. Halle Berry played her in the autobiography entitled, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge." My father has the VHS tape of the movie and it was a great movie. So, we acknowledge her courage and today, she still inspires us as a soul who exemplifies Black Excellence.
Sweet Dreams Sister.
Rest in Power Sister Dorothy Dandridge.
By Timothy
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