Quote of the Day: Marcus Garvey on Politics…

The political readjustment of the world means that those who are not sufficiently able, not sufficiently prepared, will be at the mercy of the organized classes for another one or two hundred years.

Marcus Garvey

Source: African American Quotes

About Ralph Nader and “Talkin’ White”…

Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader on Barack Obama:

“There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,” Nader told the paper in comments published Tuesday.

“Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards,” Nader added.

It doesn’t take one long to realize that this is not really about “talkin’ white per se, but really about selling out…The term “Sellout” is utilized by all races, but in the African-American community it has a rather heinous connotation. To call someone a sellout is to say that they are willingly complicit in placing other members of his own race in danger, often while simultaneously removing themselves out of harm way or gaining a better position for themselves.

Many members of the black community have made similar statements to the one that Nader made, both in public and in private. Many say that Barack doesn’t support the black press, or that he goes out of his way not to be associated with black organizations or black causes. This ultimately raises the question that Nader asked in his interview, that being, Why?

What’s most peculiar is that this argument, while mostly hinted at in the black community, is made most forcefully by a seventy-something year old white man. I have often questioned Obama’s campaign strategy of not being painted as a “black” candidiate, but I have never extrapolated it out to the level of “selling-out.” Nader did. Basically he is saying that by not taking a more pronounced stand on issues related to poverty and discrimination, issues which disproportionately affect black people, he is selling out his race.

That’s a serious charge. In the end, I think that Nader is just trying to draw some attention to some consumer advocacy issues that he has been working against for many years, but to call Barack a sellout in the process? It’s either genius or senility. Is it fair to expect Barack to speak on issues like Jesse Jackson? Since he wouldn’t be where he is right now without African-American votes, and because he is a black man, does he owe a special debt to black americans? Or should he just attack these issues on a moral basis alone? As a president hopeful, I say that he would have to lean towards the latter.

How Can the World Stand By and Watch Mugabe Steal Zimbabwe?

The latest news from Zimbabwe via Democracy Now!:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Don Imus Shows Old Racial Habits Die Hard…

From Pro Football Talk:

Less than 15 months after losing his gig on WFAN and MSNBC for making racially charged comments regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team, radio icon Don Imus has danced dangerously close to, and arguably over, the line again.

On Monday, Imus had the following exchange with Warner Wolf:

Wolf: “Defensive back Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, recently signed by the Cowboys. Here’s a guy suspended all of 2007 following a shooting in a Vegas night club.”

Imus: “Well, stuff happens. You’re in a night club, for God’s sake. What do you think’s gonna happen in a night club? People are drinking, they’re doing drugs. There are women there, and people have guns. So, there, go ahead.”

Wolf: “He’s also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.”

Imus: “What color is he?”

Wolf: “He’s African-American.”

Imus: “Well, there you go. Now we know.”

Dr. Boyce Watkins speaks on Imus, Stereotypes, and Racial Bias…A MUST LISTEN!

Here’s A Video of The Incident…

“Marry Your Baby Daddy Day”: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

From District Chronicles:

Fort Washington, MD, resident Bernadette Williams is encouraged that someone is finally taking a stand to encourage Black single mothers to wed their baby daddies. “I think it’s a wonderful concept that Mary Ann Reid came up with,” said Williams, a senior counselor in the School of Communications at Howard University. “It really takes two parents to raise a child.”

Reid’s idea is to take unmarried couples who live together and share biological children 13 years or younger, and coax them into tying the knot in exchange for an all-expense paid wedding. Reid, a single New Yorker, conceived the idea three years ago after she was stood up by a suitor at the alter. She decided to channel that hurt and frustration into a book, “Marry Your Baby Daddy;” a non-profit organization, Marry Your Baby Daddy, Inc.; and a national day of Black marriage celebration, Marry Your Baby Daddy Day.

The book chronicles the stories of three sisters who had to marry their significant others in order to receive their grandmother’s inheritance. “It was a satisfying experience but I didn’t want it to end there — in the land of fairytales,” Reid wrote in a commentary in the Christian Science Monitor in April 2006. “I wanted to see tangible results - an actual wedding. And so I set about searching for 10 couples who would tie the knot for the first time on Marry Your Baby Daddy Day in exchange for an all-expense paid ceremony.”

There’s no question that strong family units are important to the strength of the black community, but should we organize to pay for individual weddings? I guess at the end of the day it won’t hurt, especially if large churches from around the country sign on.  But I just wish they would pick another name…

Mrs. Obama Makes Waves With “Cheap” Dress…

Well, it seems like after introducing America to “dap”, more widely known as the “fist bump,” Michelle Obama is setting trends once again. During her recent guest appearance on “The View”, she mentioned that her dress was from a relatively inexpensive store at the mall called White House/Black Market. Well since the show, the company reports that the dress she wore is flying off the shelf. Well, I’ll go out on a limb here, and predict that she’ll be getting a few phone calls this week from designers looking for a windfall…

Bloomberg Steps to the Plate for Obama…

Say what you want about New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, but there is a reason that he is successful at just about everything that he does. That’s because he’s not afraid to push the envelope, and he’s not afraid to say what needs to be said. People respect that.

Case in point, check out what he recently said about the “Obama is a Muslim” e-mails targeted at jewish voters:

Bloomberg, mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for both parties, warned a Jewish group in Boca Raton, Fla., on Friday that the attempt to portray Obama as a shadowy Muslim with a hidden agenda often targets Jewish voters online and with e-mails.

The deceptive campaign against Obama, who is Christian, “threatens to undo the enormous strides that Jews and Muslims have made together in this country,” the New York mayor said.

The lies are “cloaked in concern for Israel, but the real concern is about partisan politics,” said Bloomberg, who is Jewish. “This is wedge politics at its worst, and we’ve got to reject it — loudly, clearly and unequivocally.”

Which Way will African-American Conservatives go in November?

Some say that Black Conservatives are torn between supporting Republican Nominee John McCain or Democratic Nominee Barack Obama…Check out this discussion between Armstrong Williams and Michael Fauntroy regarding the dynamics behind their indecision….(From NPR Radio)

Choir Director Prays for Cheaper Gas…

From News Net 5 in Cleveland:

TOLEDO, Ohio — Rocky Twyman would disagree with anyone who thinks consumers don’t have a prayer against high gasoline prices.

The choir director from the Washington, D.C., area has come to Toledo with what he calls his “Pray at the Pump Movement.” Twyman said politicians have been unable to do anything about rising fuel costs, so it’s time to ask God to intervene and lower prices.

He planned to lead pray-ins Friday at two local service stations, followed by a 12-hour prayer vigil at Toledo First Seventh-day Adventist Church.

I know a lot of people will laugh at the notion of praying for cheaper gas. I mean, the Almighty must have more pressing matters to attend to, such as Global Warming, typhoons in the Philippines, or making sure the dress that Michelle Obama wore on “The View” is in stock for all the women that watched the show and now have to have it. Anyway, I think it may not be such a bad idea. After eight years of Bush in office, we need to pray about a lot more things..

Quote of The Day: Carol Moseley Braun on Stereotypes..

I’ve always maintained that black people and women suffer from a presumption of incompetence. The burdens of proof are different. It just gets so tiresome.

Carol Moseley Braun

Source: African American Quotes