So many of our heroes are passing. It should always be known that Sister Afeni Shakur was a black woman who loved her family so. She experienced the rain, but she blessed others. No human is immune from the rain, but we should learn lessons amidst the rain. Afeni Shakur was a revolutionary black woman, who was the mother of Tupac Shakur (soon, it will be 20 years after Tupac's passing). She worked in the black liberation struggle from her work helping people in the Black Panther Party to her work in the arts and advancing conflict resolution. She was a mother, an activist, and a woman who diligently wanted our people and humanity in general to see peace and justice. I send condolences to her relatives and her friends. Afeni Shakur wanted us to have self-determination and to express a great love for black people not only in the States, but globally. I keep on reading about the courageous Brothers and Sisters in Columbia fighting for their liberation and we believe in Pan-African unity. Afeni Shakur was a legend and her life represents how precious life is and how important the cause is. Afeni Shakur fought the good fight and now she is filled with more glory. Our cause is just and we will keep on going to acknowledge Afeni's strength and her wisdom.
Rest in Power Sister Afeni Shakur.
First, we should reflect and honor the courageous sacrifice of Harriet Tubman. Throughout the ages of time, there are always people who exemplify courage, human dignity, and perseverance. All of those characteristics define Harriet Tubman greatly. When society legalized slavery and had evil bounties on people who wanted slaves to be free from bondage (during the 19th century), Harriet Tubman came into the South to save lives. The Underground Railroad was a key part of the freedom movement. Harriet Tubman throughout her life, from fighting the Confederacy to healing lives, outline the grace, the strength, and the excellent, inviolable qualities of black women. She gave hope to our ancestors and she has inspired us in our time of 2016. No words can describe the total turmoil, the brutality, and the injustices that our black ancestors experienced back then. I do feel that if such a biopic is to be made in our generation, it has to be done right (without historical revisionism and without whitewashing). Her contributions should be known and the lives that she touched. We will never forget the heroism that she possessed and we will always express honor to her magnificent legacy. She has greatness or eminence in the black liberation struggle. She is part of us as black people and we will always fight for the day that all have justice irrespective of background. So, we shall see what this biopic will entail. One thing is clear though. Cicely Tyson played Harriet Tubman in the film called A Woman Called Moses. The struggle continues and we will not only promote our core convictions. We will continuously stand up and speak up for the values that our ancestors bled and died for.
The Indiana primary has finished and we know of the results now. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and billionaire Donald Trump won the Democratic and Republican primaries in Indiana on Tuesday. The Trump victory was significant, because it clinches the Republican nomination for a fascistic candidate who campaigned on a program of racist attacks on immigrants and Muslims, extreme nationalism, and militarism. Donald Trump has supported torture and mass killing of civilians. Anyone supporting Trump should be ashamed of themselves. Trump won 53 percent of the Republican primary vote compared to 37 percent for Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Indiana. Cruz is also another extreme right wing militarist. Ohio Governor John Kasich won 8 percent of the vote. The Manhattan real estate mogul was expected to win at least 51 of the 57 delegates at stake in the primary. Cruz is now trailing Trump by nearly 500 delegates. So, Ted Cruz announced yesterday that he will suspend his campaign. That effectively conceded the nomination. Cruz still didn’t mention either Trump or the Republican Party in his remarks. Cruz’s statement was an extreme right wing diatribe. He said that China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are mortal threats to America. He denounced the Democratic Party for its supposed “path of creeping socialism that incentivizes apathy.” That is ludicrous since the Democratic Party establishment has been heavily centrist and neoliberal. Kasich is still in the race. He hasn’t won any primaries outside of his home state of Ohio and only a handful of delegates. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus declared on Twitter that Trump should be considered the presumptive Republican nominee and that the party should now unite behind his candidacy. The trickle of Republican Party officials and officeholders backing Trump is now expected to become a flood. In the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders won 53 percent of the vote as compared to 47 percent for Hillary Clinton in Indiana. The result did cut little into Clinton’s lead of more than 300 among elected delegates. The reason is that proportional representation gave Sanders only a 43-40 edge among delegates chosen in Indiana. Clinton leads among unelected superdelegates—mainly party officials and office-holders—by 520 to 39, bringing her total support to more than 2,200 delegates after Indiana, compared to 1,400 for Sanders. A total of 2,382 are required for nomination. Indiana was similar to Michigan in their exit polls. Many people were shocked that Sanders won Michigan in March 8, 2016. In Indiana, Sanders won voters in the 18-29 age bracket by 74-26 percent, as well as voters aged 30 to 44, by 64-36 percent. He won nonwhite voters under 45 by the same margin, 53-47, as his statewide victory.
People under 45 comprised 47 percent of those voting in the Democratic primary, the highest proportion for any state this year (Michigan had been the highest, with 45 percent). Sanders also won union voters by 54 to 46 percent, slightly better than his statewide margin. Indiana is an open primary. That means that Independents can vote and pick a Democratic Party ballot and vote. Most Independents voted for Bernie Sanders by 72 to 28 percent. Most registered Democrats voted for Hillary Clinton by a margin of 53 to 47 percent. Sanders spoke in a rally in Louisville, Kentucky before the final result in Indiana was known. Sanders is continuing. He has future races in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oregon. By June 7, he has contests in California, New Jersey, and other states. Young people and workers greatly want change. Sanders calls himself a “democratic socialist,” but he is committed to support the Democratic Party even if they nominate Hillary Clinton (who is funded by Wall Street and the military intelligence apparatus). Sanders also supports Presidential “kill lists,” provocations against Russia (via NATO), and drone attacks, which is not progressive at all. So, it seems that both corporate controlled parties will have Trump and Clinton as candidates (who are highly unpopular among many people). Polls have shown 65 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Trump, with more than 50 percent actively fearing a Trump presidency, while some 56 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton. Donald Trump has vilified minorities and women, and personifies the arrogance and ignorance of the US financial oligarchy. Hillary Clinton has a record of four decades of political service to that oligarchy, and is implicated in all of the foreign policies of President Barack Obama’s first term, when she was Secretary of State, including wars in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are a lot of words that I can describe about Donald Trump. So, the following words from me will not hold back what I think. Fascism is still here in America. Since World War II, some thought that fascism is gone. They are wrong, because Donald Trump's abhorrent extremism is antithetical to real principles of human justice, gender equality, and egalitarianism. His rise is attributed to many white people who believe that their country is losing their way and they want to make America "great again" (it is obvious what they want America to revert back to. That's self explanatory). Donald Trump has used profane, vulgar language against people who disagree with him. He has disrespected women in very misogynistic terms. He has called for the banning of any Muslim to come into America and he has advocated waterboarding and torture. Any person who advocates torture is an advocate of sadomasochism and a person that I don't respect. Donald has called for violence against protesters. Donald Trump is the face of a section of America who love vulgarity and intolerance. He is the face of many people who enjoy asinine, evil discourse instead of progressive values. He is the one, who has hypocritical supporters who claim that Trump is a populist, but Trump has benefited massively from Wall Street interests and from the establishment economically for years and decades.
Trump has allied and funded establishment politicians for a long time and now he hypocritically spews his propaganda. He is the one that is against any increase of the minimum wage, which working people want an increase of the minimum wage. He (who has massive narcissism and egosim) is the one who wants to limit the First Amendment by his advocacy of revision of libel laws. So, I see Trump's agenda a mile away. His xenophobia is repugnant. His supporters are dedicated, but I am dedicated too. I am dedicated to the separation of church and state. I am dedicated to social justice and I am dedicated to economic justice. I believe in improving the environment and for an end to police terrorism (as the police institution is filled with corruption). I want the system of racism/white supremacy to end, so a system of justice is made real for all. I won't vote for a fascist. I won't ally with Trump.
By Timothy
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