President Joe Biden gave his first major press conference on March 25, 2021. He talked about many issues. He said that he has been hired to solve problems, not create division. His intention is to make a bold infrastructure plan. Biden said that he has more Republican voters supporting him than Republican Congressional people supporting him. Biden was asked on immigration, the virus, and on other issues. He was upset at the curtailing of voting rights in many states of America. Joe Biden called the voter suppression bills in various states as anti-American. Biden wants to run against for President in 2024 with Kamala Harris by her side as Vice President. Biden wants to reform the filibuster to allow policies on climate change, voting rights, and other plan to exist. At the end of the day, we need a bold agenda that ends the archaic filibuster. We desire black liberation without question
Some bad news is that Georgia lawmakers pass a sweeping voting bill that will curtail drop off boxes and other Jim Crow level voting restrictions. This is a sad day for Georgia and America. These voter restrictions are completely racist. Years ago, Georgia was the leader in Voter ID laws. Now, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was gutted by the Supreme Court. The only way to stop this law is to challenge it in court, and for Congress to pass national voting rights legislation. The bill in Georgia is about taking local control from local jurisdiction. It has targeting black Georgia voters. It has curtailed Sunday voting, and bans giving food and water to voters. It's a cruel bill. The For the People Act must be passed. The Georgia bill is unjust, and it will be challenged in court without question. Senator Manchin of West Virginia has been disgraceful. He refuses to support the House gun control bill or the House Voting Rights bill unless Republicans support a token compromise to it. Manchin is in favor of the filibuster, when the filibuster is an archaic throwback that was used to promote slavery and fight against 20th century civil rights legislation. The filibuster was used by racists to try to stop the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This person Manchin says that he supports the people of West Virginia, when many people in West Virginia are not moderates but progressives. West Virginia is not monolithic. The overall point is that we have every to defend voting rights despite moderates. Dr. King was right to say that the biggest hurdle to get social change was the moderates who care more for comfort and the status quo than freedom and justice. We live in a new time in American history. We need a bold vision and bold policies to help human beings here.
There has been a long debate among Roland Martin and the young man King Randall I. I think that both men misinterpreted each other, and both of the men's followers are picking sides. I don't believe we should split black folks against each other unnecessarily. We have one goal, and we can use different tactics in that goal. King Randal said that he is a conservative. King Randal said that he wants black people to Do for Self. I can't be a conservative on every issue, because conservative thinking doesn't adequately address income inequality, the environment, imperialism, poverty, and other human rights issues. Yet, King Randall is a very smart person, and Roland was wrong to call this man "an idiot." Roland can easily disagree with the man without disrespecting the man. King Randall is right that black self-determination is key for freedom. Randall was involved in building a school to help black young people. Also, since we pay money to the government, the government does have a role to solve problems. Demanding the government to solve problems is not begging. It's making a demand, because our black ancestors helped to build up this nation. Our sacrifice deserves compensation economically.
The irony is that both men are right on some points. King Randall is right that black people have the power to use self determination to solve our problems. Roland Martin is right to say that the government does have a role to help humanity as the government should be made by and for the people. True government is an instrument of establishing justice and promoting the general welfare. Martin is right that the new Georgia Jim Crow anti-voting law should be concerned by all black people. This is our fight. Good government is not evil. Corrupt government is evil. There's a difference. In other words, you need both individual efforts and collective efforts in solving problems. Roland underestimated the power of black individuals establishing institutions. King Randal underestimates the necessity of a social safety net in helping the poor, the oppressed, workers, etc. Also, the voter suppression law in Georgia is a disgrace and is akin to Jim Crow. Black Americans are owed reparations. Things like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security aren't handouts. They are resources that people earn to receive in their daily lives. If someone rejects all forms of government dependency outright, but he or she takes Social Security, Medicare, or government pensions, then he or she is mistaken. That is why I am a progressive on economic issues.
Today is the Birthday of one of the greatest singers in human history. She was the Queen of Soul with massive message about love and human consciousness. Always outspoken in favor of freedom, her inquisitive mind defended civil rights, defended the people of Flint, and defended the power of women. She is Sister Aretha Franklin. Aretha sang throughout multiple generations. From her songs like Respect to A Rose is like a Rose, she appealed to a myriad of demographics. Her father was a famous civil rights preacher named C. L. Franklin. Both Aretha and her father were friends of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Like many legends, she was born in the South at Memphis, Tennessee. She lived in Buffalo, and finally settled at Detroit as a child. Aretha played the piano by ear. She started doing gospel music during the 1950's as a child. She made songs like Never Grow Old. She knew the Soul Stirres, the Mavis Staples' family, and other gospel legends. Dinah Washington told Quincy Jones that Aretha was the next one (or the next legend). Dinah was right. By 1967, she was a worldwide superstar with music like I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You), Respect, and A Natural Woman. Her albums of Lady Soul and Aretha Now had hits like Thank, I Say A Little Prayer, Chain of Fools, etc. She earned her own Grammys. She sang in concerts globally until the 2010's. She loves her 4 children. Aretha Franklin passed away in 2018. The funeral on TV lasted for over 5 hours non-stop. Aretha Franklin was our black voice and the voice of the world. Now, in total peace, Aretha Franklin remains that legend forevermore.
Rest in Power Sister Aretha Franklin.
By Timothy
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