Tag Archives: Black America

POLITICS, RACE

Here We Go Again: The Looming Battle for Affirmative Action — It Does Not Look Good For Black America

Leave a comment

There may be no more difficult lesson to teach Blacks than the following one. The battle for racial equality will never end. ­The struggle will never end, but Blacks must also be mindful that opposing forces threaten their “victories” every moment. The concept of an irreversible gain in the American political system does not exist—anyone doubting the above needs to look no further than the anticipated reversal of Affirmative Action. The Affirmative Action issue landed in front of Supreme Court Justices 44 years ago with the Regents of The University of California v. Bakke.

The looming threats to Affirmative Action display why Blacks must be more vigilant regarding Black political and legal gains. Hilary Clinton’s failure to get Blacks out to vote during an uninspiring Presidential bid will serve as the foundation for decades of challenges to hard-fought legal rights gains for Blacks and many other groups in the new millennium. The above-anticipated challenges guarantee an uphill battle for the foreseeable future.

The long-term consequences of Donald Trump’s Presidency extend further than white supremacists and conspiracy theorists’ public appearances. The most significant accomplishment of the Trump Presidency was the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Please make no mistake; today’s overwhelmingly Conservative Supreme Court will dismantle what were always tenuous rights regarding Indigenous people, the LGBTQ community, and other people of color. The most violent assault the U.S. Supreme Court can execute against Black America is the dismantling of Affirmative Action. The dreaded moment that politically astute Leftists feared was inevitable is upon us.

Only the politically naïve are shocked that the present debate over Affirmative Action nearly seven decades after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision that desegregated American schools is occurring. All surprised by this latest attack fail to recognize that a central pillar of this nation is white America’s determination to turn back the hands of time opportunely.

Challenges to Affirmative Action from places such as Harvard University and the University of North Carolina will eventually mute race as a factor in collegiate admissions. This issue of how impactful race should be in the college admissions process has been debated around for decades by Supreme Court Justices. Over time, we have witnessed opinions pivot from race being permissible to it now being a mere “plus factor” during the selection process. I fear that this latest manifestation of the U.S. Supreme Court with its three Trump nominees will deal the final blow to Affirmative Action.

Trust me when I say this is an awful moment for Black America. Yet, Black organizations and leaders have said little about this colossal development. There may be no more frustrating element to working on behalf of my people than prominent Blacks and the organizations they head remaining silent in the face of disaster. The looming attack on Affirmative Action may not be sensational enough for such people.

Yes, the battle for Affirmative Action is not as shocking as white law enforcement officers’ unjust killing of a Black man on American streets. No dramatic footage is associated with significant issues such as Affirmative Action, gerrymandering, and red lining. However, the consequences of such measures appear on the dashcam and body cam footage of law enforcement officers murdering an unknown Black man, woman, or child.

It is past that Black America abandons being so reactionary to sensational media-driven occurrences and applying a strategy toward being politically educated and astute because the failure to do so will result in Black America continually losing against well-organized adversaries. The old saying goes, “if you do what you always did, you gonna get what you always got.”

Let’s work to get racial equality; that would be different for Black America.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2022

 

Please remember to subscribe to the Manhood, Race, and Culture YouTube Channel.

 

You can always contact me at ManhoodRaceCulture@gmail.com with ideas and issues that you would like to have addressed.

 

 

 

Uncategorized

Why Joe Bayou Buckeye Burrow Is Only Partially Correct that Black America needs White America’s Help: It is Time that White America Cleaned Its House of White Bigots

2 Comments

It would be disingenuous to feign surprise regarding the stream of athletes who have come forward to address the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am sure that we all agree that the murder of Black men by law enforcement officers has become so common that it is neither shocking nor surprising to any of us.

In fact, the ritualistic murder of Black men has been a psychological release for many Whites who revel in modern-day lynching’s the same way that their ancestors did throughout the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries. If nothing else, the George Floyd’s murder by so-called law enforcement officers and the hunting and killing of Ahmaud Arbery by private citizens raises difficult questions regarding my White countrymen. A reasonable person is left with no other conclusion than to say that it is time for White America to get its house in order.

Let me be absolutely clear, it is White America that dug this rugged-path of racial bias and animosity centuries ago, not Blacks. Blacks have been trying to survive this hellish ride as best we can. Yet, these facts have never lessened a prevailing narrative that continues to resurface at inopportune moments. It has risen yet again via a Twitter post by the Bayou Buckeye Joe Burrow.

Burrow’s tweet advances a well-meaning, yet incorrect belief that it is Black America that needs help; as expected, there is no mention of a desperate need for White America to get its house in order. According to Joe Burrow, the first selection in the 2020 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals,

The black community needs our help. They have been unheard for far too long. Open your ears, listen, and speak. This isn’t politics. This is human rights.

Although I applaud Burrow’s attempt to delve into the shark-infested waters that surround the island of American racial matters, like so many other athletes, Burrow has scant understanding of this complex issue.

The foremost evidence of his lack of understanding is the fact that he believes that “The Black community needs our help.” This common trope is wrong-headed.

Although unfashionable to state, it is not Black America that needs help. It is White America that needs divine help in breaking its pattern of oppression and repression of a Black populace that has asked for little more than the ability to avoid them. Despite what many Whites believe, the average Black person would be absolutely fine if they had no interactions with a community that has produced evil-doers who seem to have dedicated their entire existence to the continuation of racial inequality by any means necessary.

Although it may appear counter-intuitive, the harsh fact is that Blacks have little role in ending bigotry or institutionalized racism. How could they? There is no doubt that these social ills emanate from a White populace infested by a virus that was never impacted by Blacks praying and pleading to their sense of decency. I believe that the only effective counter to racial bigotry and institutionalized racism is the intervention of an army of committed White soldiers willing to dedicate their lives to addressing the ardent bigots in their midst.

Their enemy is not hidden.

Make no mistake about it, well-meaning Whites know the identities of those that have dedicated their entire lives to the continuation of Black oppression. Well-meaning Whites invite them to sit at their table during Thanksgiving, they exchange gifts with them during the Holiday season, and work alongside them in Fortune 500 companies. Virulent bigots take pride in their worldview and are therefore far from anonymous. It is White America’s responsibility to not only expose them, but also deal with them in whatever way that they deem appropriate. In all fairness, there has been a rising tide of such activities; I applaud Whites for their efforts.

One of the foremost thorns in the side of accomplished Blacks is the undeniable fact that their racial identity ties them to other Blacks that they have little to nothing in common with. Whites are not immune to this unfortunate situation. For purposes of safety, Blacks have historically viewed Whites as a monolithic population seeking to execute evil dealings.

Yet, even in this matter, White America’s situation is markedly different from that facing Blacks. White America could use its formidable power to wipe evil-doers from not only their communities, but also the nation. The historical record proves that White America possesses frightening power when determined to make alterations to their society.

I only hope that Whites make the conscious decision to aid Black America by addressing the root of America’s race problem. Albeit uncomfortable to admit for well-meaning Whites, many of these people are family members and close friends. The enemy is encamped all around well-meaning Whites, now they must open their eyes, identify this scurrilous element, and take definitive action to destroy it.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

Uncategorized

Why is Senator Tim Scott Asking Questions that He Already Knows the Answer to?: A Response to a Question of Entitlement

1 Comment

When you think about it, even a broke clock is correct twice a day.

Those are comforting thoughts in the wake of realizing that I agree with Senator Tim Scott’s comments during a Fox News interview. According to the Republican Senator from South Carolina,  

I am just amazed that the last decade Democrats have had an entitlement mentality that they are entitled to the black vote.

In fact, I would extend Senator Scott’s observation. My addition would read that for far too long large swaths of Black America have behaved as if it was their sworn duty to cast a ballot for the Democratic Party. Now let us not ignore the fact that Black America’s migration from “the Party of Lincoln” is grounded in the historical realities of the Great Depression Era.

The harsh reality is that for the entirety of America’s existence, neither political party has offered Blacks a significant opening to exercise the theoretical equality promoted in a series of Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. One of the most obvious examples of White resistance is found in the words of President Lyndon Baines Johnson (D) during his commencement address at Howard University.

In an in-direct manner, Johnson informed Blacks that White America had given all that they were willing to offer with the Civil Rights (64) and Voting Rights (65) Acts. According to Johnson, it was time that Black America did for itself.

Equal opportunity is essential, but not enough. … Ability is stretched or stunted by the family you live with, and the neighborhoods you live in, by the school you go to and the poverty or the richness of your surroundings. It is the product of a hundred unseen forces playing upon the infant, the child, and the man. . . .

Overt job discrimination is only one of the important hurdles which must be overcome before color can disappear as a determining factor in the lives and fortunes of men . . . The extent to which an individual is able to develop his aptitudes will largely depend upon the circumstances present in the family within which he grows up and the opportunities which he encounters at school and in the larger community.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took issue with American politicians’ failure to aid Blacks. According to King,

For the vast majority of white Americans, the past decade — the first phase — had been a struggle to treat the Negro with a degree of decency, not of equality… The outraged white citizen had been sincere when he snatched the whips from the Southern sheriffs and forbade them more cruelties. But when this was to a degree accomplished, the emotions that had momentarily inflamed him melted away.

When negroes looked for the second phase, the realization of equality, they found that many of their white allies had quietly disappeared. Negroes felt cheated, especially in the North, while many whites felt that the negroes had gained so much it was virtually impudent and greedy to ask for more so soon…

Negroes of America had taken the President, the press and the pulpit at their word when they spoke in broad terms of freedom and justice . . . The word was broken, and the free-running expectations of the Negro crashed into the stone walls of white resistance.

It appears that American political leaders of every stripe have dedicated their public lives to ensuring Black suffering continues unabated.

Despite what Democratic Party officials would like to believe, their attractiveness to Black America has been facilitated by the phrase-mongering that serves as standard verse within a Republican Party filled with racial bigots; a hatred that was frequently expressed via the maintenance of Black poverty, public lynching’s, and the rape of Black women.

To the chagrin of Republican Party leaders, the Democratic Party is more attractive to Blacks by default. This no-brainer choice is directly connected to the Republican Party’s willingness to serve as a safe-haven for racial bigots. This willingness to harbor an eclectic collective of racial bigots has done nothing to aid their recruitment of Blacks.

Donald Trump’s futile pandering to Black America for political support via the statement of “what do you have to lose” is revealing. Embed within this statement is the insinuation that the Democratic Party has done little for Black America and maybe it is time that ‘you beautiful people tried a beautiful option to reach a beautiful end, it would be beautiful; really beautiful.’

Unfortunately for the Republican Party, pervasive disenchantment with their current politico-economic marginality has failed to lead Blacks to associate with avowed bigots. From our perspective, the Republican Party overflows with White bigots who have no problem expressing their belief that America is a White man’s nation and all others should be grateful that they are allowed to live here. Until the Republican Party expels its impressive collection of virulent avowed bigots, Blacks cannot consider them a reasonable alternative to the Democratic Party.

I am certain that Tim Scott understands the above matters better than most. Let us not forget that he is forced to associate with such types on a continual basis. Scott will most-likely never commit political suicide by publicly admitting to these truths about the Republican Party, it would be far too harsh for party leaders to digest and not feel the compulsion to expel him from their midst. If injected with a truth serum, the Senator from South Carolina would state that it is in fact the presence of uncouth racial bigots who have no problem expressing their multiple hatreds in public arenas that has produced the sense of entitlement that he alluded to during the Fox New interview mentioned above.

If provided the opportunity, I would ask Senator Scott, “What other choice do forward-minded Blacks have other than to abstain from the political process?”

I hope that Tim Scott and his Republican Party cronies one day arrive at the understanding that Black America is not running to the Democratic Party, they are running from a Republican Party overflowing with racial bigots who have historically been harbingers of death for Blacks.

To uncover from whence this problem begins, Senator Tim Scott needs to look no further than the top of his political party and realize that the hatred hurled from the Oval Office trickles down to the Republican Party’s underlings in a manner that reminds one of Reagan’s trickle-down economics schemes.

Entitlement? No!!!!!

Selection of the most attractive political option by default? Certainly!!!!!

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

Uncategorized

Where’s Huey P. Newton When You Need Him?: How Would The Black Panther Party Have Reacted to the Coronavirus

1 Comment

Over fifty years after its genesis, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense reigns as Black America’s most memorable revolutionary group. For most, the Panther’s longevity flows from iconic imagery that never-fails to escape the limits of time. For an oppressed people starving for strong images, photos and footage of Black men resisting White oppression were intoxicating. There was no doubt that Panther co-founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale had issued a direct challenge to marauding Whites seeking to extend Black America’s misery and suffering.

Although the referenced iconic imagery ensures the Panthers omnipresent importance, it is proving to be a double-edged sword in the following manner. The admiration that Panther guns engender among supporters who continually reconstruct the organization in their minds has led to a cavernous hole in their understanding of Panther history. Such populations are quick to miss the crucial fact that the vaunted “Panther Patrols” — a program of Panther members patrolling police officers as they patrolled black communities — was only one of a series of community service activities. Panther Party community service activities ranged from free breakfast for children and grocery programs to the creation of sickle cell anemia testing/treatment centers.

There is no need to rehash the plentiful data regarding the disproportionate impact that the Coronavirus global pandemic is having on Black America. Ironically, the potential “hotspots” for future outbreaks are the same locations where many of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense’s local chapters were located. An understanding of Panther history leads my belief that it is time for Black America to follow the revolutionary example provided by Newton, Seale, Hutton, Pratt, Rush, and Hampton by ‘Seizing the Time’ and showing the power of the people by taking definitive steps to address this pandemic.

Just as Newton and Seale addressed Black America’s most pressing problems in an organized manner during the volatile 60’s protest era, contemporary Black Nationalists must take similar steps by educating and enforcing guidelines to prevent the Coronavirus spread among our community. Although such community service efforts are neither sensational nor lauded as the “Panther Patrols”, they are as integral to Black survival in this time of crisis as the Free Breakfast for Children, Ambulance service, Sickle-Cell Anemia Centers, and assisting the elderly within our community. According to Huey P. Newton, the Revolutionary’s sole objective is to serve the people.   

If provided the opportunity, I would advise those seeking to walk in the footsteps of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense to abandon their fascination with the gun and paramilitary displays of machismo in favor of developing community service activities specifically designed to aid the community through this trying time. We can no longer afford to waste another moment mesmerized by romantic notions of a by-gone era. It is time that we recalibrate our strategies, tactics, and goals to fit this moment.

All Power to the People!!!!!!!!!

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

If you enjoy the content that you find here at Manhood, Race, and Culture.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would consider purchasing one of the following books.

  • “Foolish” Floyd: The Life & Times of an African-American Contrarian.
  • Creating Revolution as They Advance: A Narrative History of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
Uncategorized

When Fools Rush In: An Examination of Why Black America is Being Disproportionately Impacted by the Coronavirus

2 Comments

I guess that when you write about never-ending race matters in a nation that has been shadowed by the daunting specter since its creation, it should be expected that familiar themes will arise. There may be no more consistent theme regarding Blacks and Race in America than the following one, they have always received a heaping portion of the pain, misery, and suffering that freely flows from this nation. Put simply; when it comes to pain, misery, and suffering, Blacks have been America’s pack-mule.

This understanding of the peculiar plight of Blacks guides my belief that Black America will find itself on the receiving end of a heaping portion of the negative effects of the Coronavirus. In some ways it is understandable that many Blacks reach for conspiracy theories to explain the voluminous misery and suffering that is once again falling upon their community. At their very best, the alluded to conspiracy theories rob Blacks of the very agency they have used to maintain their existence.

It is this unfortunate reality that guides me toward a relatively simple question of “Why has Black America been disproportionately affected by Coronavirus?” as well as a more important question of “What can Black America do about being disproportionately affected by Coronavirus?” Of course, both questions are crucial, yet, the latter is much more weighty.

Recently released data reveals that Black America is once again the pack-mule for American suffering in places such as Michigan where their population is a paltry 14%, yet that decidedly minority population makes up 35% of all Coronavirus cases and 40% of the deaths from the global pandemic. Health experts have pointed to the “Motor City” as being the next hotspot for infections and deaths that are bound to disproportionately impact Blacks. The city of New Orleans has likewise been cited as a looming hotspot for Coronavirus infections and deaths. Medical professionals have highlighted that the predominantly Black, Orleans Parish is the location of 40% of Louisiana’s deaths.

Black America should be asking itself innumerable questions that begin with the simple word of “Why?”

  • Why has our community been disproportionately impacted?
  • Why has nothing been done to slow infections in our midst?
  • Why has Black leadership not stepped forward more prominently?

One thing is for certain, the admonishment that scholar John Henrik Clarke hurled at Black America years ago that “you have no friends” should be the North Star that guides it through this terrible time.

As this nation’s leaders stumble and bumble their way through this moment, Black Americans must refuse to travel down that clunky path in favor of taking definitive steps to protect themselves “by any means necessary.” At a time like this, Blacks must reject a well-worn pattern of skepticism regarding science in favor of the sage advice of medical professionals to stay home and take every precaution if they must leave the confines of their homes. This is not a time for Black America to reject the words of medical experts. Failure to heed that advice will invariably result in an avoidable reminder that “we have no friends” via a phenomenal death toll.

There is honestly no other way that this can be stated. Protect yourself and all that you love from this killer virus, failure to do such guarantees that you will join a growing list of Blacks who have fallen victim to the Coronavirus in a nation where politico-economic realities long ago determined that Blacks would receive a King’s ransom of misery and suffering.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III