How Far We’ve Come with ObamaWright to lunch on Jefferson Davis Boulevard

An interesting, no, remarkable thing happened to me recently in Atlanta while visiting friends.  It also happened that at the time I was on my way to lunch in a suburb outside of the city, the Barack Obama, Reverend Jeremiah Wright controversy was escalating.  The regressive corporate press had finally caught on to what many of us already knew – that our hero of black liberation theology was going to be a problem for the African-American presidential candidate.

The brilliant preacher has been speaking truth to power for decades, unashamedly black and Christian.  And while present day prosperity pimps (pastors), black-white and yellow, demand that their followers turn a blind eye to the ravages of its government and the virulent racism that defines the nation’s history, it seemed as though only Reverend Wright had the courage and good sense to insist that followers of the “Prince of Peace” hold fast to the true faith.

With the neo-fascists in utter control of the electronic media, certainly the major outlets, there was little if any support forthcoming for the right reverend and the issues that he addresses.  Poor Barack had to cower and distance himself from his spiritual mentor, even though he gave a persuasive speech that reinforced his patriotism without denigrating Wright. 

But reparations, health care, Iraq, Haiti, jobs and other critical topics effecting people of color, and the U.S.’s lurid history became hate speech in the minds of every political talking head on T.V.  The public was told by both republicans and democrats that Reverend Wright’s brutal candor was only divisive, racist rhetoric. And why shouldn’t they demonize Wright and advocate a righteous American nationalism?  Look at where I was eating lunch!

I was invited to brunch actually, at the Stone Mountain country club with some very fine people from Atlanta.  For African Americans, I can’t help but believe this area of the country is quite impressive.  It certainly was for me.  DeKalb County is the second wealthiest county in the country for blacks. Beautiful new homes abound in rich communities.  Legendary black colleges Clark, Spellman and Atlanta University are located there. 

But despite the food and the scenery, and the brothers polishing their golf clubs, I simply couldn’t get over the fact that we were dining on one of the most revered and symbolic pieces of land for adherents of white supremacy and racism.

Stone Mountain’s claim to fame includes hosting the revival of the Georgia Ku Klux Klan in 1915 and the mountainside carvings of three confederate heroes/racists – Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.  It’s a conundrum, this notion of racial harmony and progress.   A thriving black middle and upper class, comfortably flourishing amidst many of the most revolting markers and references of white supremacy.  So how far have we and Barack come?  Would a group of Jews feel comfortable kicking back at a club located on Adolf Hitler Avenue?  Let’s discuss it at lunch, on Jefferson Davis Boulevard in the town of Stone Mountain, right outside of Atlanta, Ga.

SPEECH

BRC

Sometimes it seems almost futile to talk about social justice, reparations and resistance when one thinks about the fact that we can claim, quite assuredly, that we are citizens of the country that poses the greatest threat to the peace and security of the world.  Maybe it’s nothing new, but it seems even more apparent that the nation is run by greedy ideologues, who are intent on global domination – neo-fascists/white supremacists supported by a corrupt media and a completely neurotic constituency.

Haiti, Venezuela, Iraq, Florida 2000, Ohio 2004, 2 million incarcerated, Kyoto, (Carillas), Negroponte, Katrina, Jena, Sean Bell and on and on and on…

It should come as no surprise that white supremacy is alive and well in America – this being the birthing ground of two holocausts.  A nation with a patently distorted history is bound to repeat the evil it has already perpetrated; never really having to answer for its sins of the past – it inherently does what is natural to it and what it is good at: take.  Convinced of its divine right to everything, the US is precipitously headed on a downward path as it tries to dominate, exploit and expropriate everything that is not nailed down.

It is within and against this backdrop of hateful, dog-eat-dog hyper capitalism and militarism that we find ourselves working for equality, fighting for justice and demanding reparations.  Reparations – payment or remuneration for the evil of enslavement and the ensuing century long oppression of Americans of African descent – is so long overdue, but nonetheless remains the most important and foundational element of our demands for justice and the central theme of our resistance efforts.  Without it, our collective accomplishments – such as they are – stand hollow and flaccid – when considered next to the scope and scale of this country’s crime against our humanity.  If we are unsuccessful in holding America accountable for its lurid past, it is virtually impossible to imagine us derailing the madness it is currently undertaking.

With this in mind, I want to switch gears a bit to reflect on what we are faced with here in Philadelphia, as we approach the end of the first decade of 2^nd millennium.  In my mind it’s very hard as individuals and members of struggling but noble organizations to implement substantive, progressive, even revolutionary change of national policy, when we seem incapable of effecting or even addressing the serious conditions our people are up against here in this city.

If you’ll indulge me, allow me to speak for a few moments on what some refer to as internal reparations – or what Blacks should and must do for themselves.

The only thing more tragic than the young black men-black on black crime phenomenon in this city is our (as adults) inability or unwillingness to fashion an effective response to it.  And this issue of non or ineffective response by us to our problems is endemic to black Philadelphia.  The problem of violence in our communities did not just begin.  From 1968-73 Philly had the worst gang problem in the country.  When one factors in the crack epidemic of the 80s, what is happening now seems almost inevitable.  You know this city, that is more than 40% black, actually has a statue of a high school drop-out who ordered the public disrobing of a group of black panthers, rode herd over a police department that constantly ran amok, and even failed a lie detector test.  Again, given our population and with the level of political representation that we have, it seems critical to me that we organize for the purpose of developing a progressive black agenda for Philadelphia – one that is rooted in understanding and impacting the city’s resource allocation system, ie. its budget processes.  In short – we must take an activist approach to deciding who gets paid and how much. 

It is a reasonable assumption to make – that our tax dollars – account for 1 to a 1/3 of the city’s budget.  Given this fact, and more importantly, the desperate situation engulfing black Philadelphia, it is almost criminally negligent for us not to be fighting-not to be cutting the absolute fool to ensure that our people and communities get all the resources they need-and all this city has to offer.  We’re talking about city with an operating budget of 3.4 billion dollars, a capital budget of at least another $70 million, a 2.4 billion dollar school budget, and untold millions in the coffers of quasi-governmental agencies such as the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the Parking Authority and the Delaware River Port Authority.

And yet, with all this money at stake, (much of which comes from our taxes) and black Philadelphia mired in an environment of poverty, crime and under-development, we, yes we the adults, the enlightened ones, failed yet again – as we have since we elected a black mayor, to formulate an agenda that addresses the concerns and problems of our people.  Instead of creating the financial, programmatic and operational parameters against which those who pander for our votes can be judged, we sat through another political cycle without a clue of not only what to vote for, but why.  That someone would run and win the mayoralty race on a platform of a greater police presence and a policy of search and seizure really is much more a reflection on us than it is him; for we have indeed gotten what we deserve, given our refusal to act intelligently about the destiny of the communities we share.

Ironically, it is both depressing and encouraging to know that over the past decade, heroic grassroots efforts have been spawned that have not only impacted black life in Philly in a measurable way, but have influenced black politicians to champion causes that were initiated by well organized community organizations. ATAC, NCOBRA and the group that led the fight to have black history taught in our public schools, have all given us a model for how to organize and sustain a fight for what is important for our people.

Although there are differences, in general we’re talking about a critical mass of interested committed community people; an elected or selected body of leaders or representatives who can speak for the group; and with the body’s agreement a cadre of experts or professionals, knowledgeable about the issue who share the same values of the group-who do the “heavy lifting” if you will or the research necessary to fully analyze the issue and come up with alternatives and recommendations that satisfy the larger community.  The importance of the grassroots community cannot be overstated because without the mass support, the memorial to our ancestors, the pressure on Wachovia and the inclusion of African American studies would not have taken place.  Let’s not get it twisted, there are times when we need 100 folks at a board meeting or council meeting letting folks know in clear terms what our demands are.  When we are sophisticated enough to blend non-violent resistance with enlightened scholarship, it is riveting what can be achieved.  The process involves study, debate and consensus building and often times direct action, but it can work and it can change things.  We’ve seen it happen in the instances I’ve cited, but we need to institutionalize this concept – so that it becomes part of what we do as black folks and poor folks in this city. 

For lack of a better term we need one, no probably three or four think tanks established around the critical issues we face, structured and operating along the lines of the grassroots groups that have shown the way.  These think tanks or advocacy groups should have community boards who guide and direct their work, and committed professionals to gather the information needed for us to stay on top of the ongoing governmental thievery that constantly robs our people and communities of what is rightfully theirs.

And we need to demand that our political representatives find the funds to pay for these organizations.  Truth be told it’s rare that one of our politicians gets an idea worth listening to, but on occasion they will listen to what is presented to them, particularly when so much due diligence has been expended on a project and they see the grassroots support going hand in hand with the data presented.  You see, they benefit from this process also because it makes them look good and makes it appear that they are thinking individuals.

We cannot continue to operate in the manner we have, and let billions of dollars pass by us unnoticed, while our people suffer.  We have the models, the question is do we have the fortitude and the humility to come together and begin to build organization that demands answers and resources from those who we elect.  Call it umoja, nia, kujichagulia.  But whatever, call it forth and make it happen. Only a fool continues to do the same thing repeatedly – and expects a different outcome.  If we do not do what we know can be done for the good of ourselves, our children, our communities, for the legacy of Robeson, we will most certainly get what we deserve.