Tag Archives: Politics

POLITICS, RACE

Mansfield, Ohio: The Home of the Sambo Preacher

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My reading of history indicates that in the period following American chattel slavery that it was common to find that the only literate person in the community was the local preacher. It was his ability to read that made him the liaison between whites and downtrodden blacks. This tradition of the preacher being the representative for Black America lasted for a full century as evidenced by the centrality of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to the modern civil rights movement.

It is difficult to argue against the fact that “Passa” has served as the spokesperson for Black America for far too long. If I did not know any better, I would be convinced that mastery of subjects from legal battles to history was an accompaniment to the “call” to preach.

There may have been a period when it was sensible for “Passa” to represent an illiterate and largely uneducated population surrounded by white terrorists such as the Ku Klux Klan and Knights of the White Camelia. The black preacher was called on to be a good shepherd by standing strong for the seemingly helpless sheep that relied on them for wise counsel and courageous leadership.

As I reviewed recent reports of a select group of Negro clergy members in Mansfield, Ohio, I could not find an ounce of courage or a mustard seed of faith. I am alluding to the Negro preacher’s public resistance to the recently proposed resolution to study the impact of institutionalized racism on the health of local blacks. As I pondered what I read, the voice of The Notorious B.I.G. whispered the following lyric into my ear. “Damn, things done changed.”

Although I was not totally surprised by the absence of wisdom and the unadulterated display of cowardice by Mansfield’s black “Passa’s” in the face of white power, I was still taken aback to see Reverend El Akuchie, a Negro preacher at Godsfield House of Prayer and the Executive Director of the Richland Community Prayer Network, scratch his head and buck his eyes as he reassured powerful whites by telling them to

Hush yo’ mouth regarding that doggone Black Lives Matter mess. No suh’, not here. Rest assured that I am on the case.

This good Negro Reverend did his best to assure local white powerbrokers that Black Lives Matter is a worthless political movement and anyone advancing black interests are scum.

BLACKFACE1

I am sure that you agree that the only thing worse than a single Sambo preacher who dances to entertain whites the moment that they appear, is two such Negroes. You know the type of Negroes that I am speaking of. The type who is so afraid of whites that they will blame any and everything under the sun for black suffering other than discrimination, prejudice, bigotry, and institutionalized racism. According to this Negro, black suffering “…is spiritual and deals with the heart, period.” From all appearances, it appears that Mansfield has become a haven for Sambo preachers passing themselves off as “Passa’s”. As if the buck-dancing of El Akuchie was insufficient to quell the rapidly rising anger of local whites, here comes Elder Moe Hill to double-down on the initial Minstrel performers chicanery.

Minstrel Moe Hill of Grace Evangelical Free Church shudders to think what will become of the city, the nation, heck the world if any of the monies used to employ officers who have failed to serve as a significant deterrent to local crime is shifted into social services to aid Mansfield’s socioeconomically marginalized citizens; a move that would aid whites as well as blacks. According to the Negro Moe, “I do not want any part of this resolution if it leads to defunding the police. I adamantly oppose that.” The problem with “Elder” Moe’s position is that nowhere in the resolution is there a single call for the defunding of the police. Apparently, Negro Moe thought that he could curry more favor than El Akuchie by defending whites’ from invisible threats. In many ways, it is humorous that Sambo Moe is in such a rush to fight against anything that his infantile understanding of racial matters can conceive.

Equally puzzling is Negro Moe’s insistence that racism is not Black America’s problem. According to this preacher, the problem holding black folk back is sin. Apparently, the good Negro Elder believes that Black America’s salvation is found in them humbling themselves and returning to the Lord. Although I realize that he does not know any better, this Negro actually stated the following. “The root cause of racism is sin not skin. Society will continue having these issues until we finally seek Bible-based solutions.” I would love to ask this Negro how much more church and praying is needed for Black America to rise? His juvenile point is not only laughable but one of the most reliable signs of a Sambo preacher who is more afraid of white folk than he is of the God he proclaims to represent.

It is time that these Negro preachers take their own advice and return to God and ask for some semblance of courage when in the company of powerful whites. Passa, trust me when I say that the perspective of the vast majority of local whites will not become more favorable because you bow your head, shuffle your feet, and tell them “don’t worry boss, I’m on it. Ain’t gon’ be no darn racial mess here. We’s happy with da way things are.” You could even scratch your head as you display your patented cowardice and selective use of scripture; your oppressor’s view of you will never change.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

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What Does a Powerful Response to the Lynching of Ahmaud Arbery Look Like From Black America?

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There is little room to debate against the belief that the fallout from the modern-day lynching of Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of Greg McMichael and his son Travis has served as yet another reminder of the following things.

  • There is a class of Whites’ that should be considered the personification of evil.
  • Black life does not matter to many of our White countrymen.
  • Black America does not have enough political clout to demand fairness from elected officials.
  • The lynching of Ahmaud Arbery although tragic is not significant enough to cause Blacks to become politically engaged in an unprecedented manner.

I am not compelled to recite the hunting and killing of yet another African-American man by White males who fashion themselves as modern-day “patty rollers” dictating when and where Blacks are allowed to appear in public. My focus is what steps should Black America take in the wake of this latest tragedy.

The lynching of Ahmaud Arbery exposes the inexcusable fact that Black America remains politically disorganized and absent any understanding of political collectivism; it is these deficiencies that their opponents rely on. The absence of Black solidarity has made Blacks the poster children of unnecessary violence from non-Black citizens, law enforcement agencies, merchants, and every other segment of society. Although difficult to admit, it appears that Malcolm X’s admonishment that Blacks are the world’s chumps remains valid to this moment for one simple reason; Black America continues to believe that raw emotion is an acceptable substitute for well-thought out political action.

The failure to understand that the mobilization and organization of political power is a rather mundane and often unemotional process sits at the center of Black America’s political failings. Black America’s political inefficiencies allows opponents to anticipate their every move in the wake of moments such as the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery. One can count on Blacks doing the following in the wake of gross racial injustice.

  1. Issuing an emotionally charged outrage regarding the injustice.
  2. Engaging in public protests such as marches and phrase-mongering from self-proclaimed “Black leaders”.
  3. The issuing of statements by celebrities and sports stars calling for justice.
  4. As emotions subside the vast majority of “activists” who earlier pledged their lives to the pursuit of racial justice will fade away.
  5. Entering a period of deafening silence regarding political matters until the next racial injustice.

Unfortunately for Black America, this well-worn pattern of political ineptitude has been a standard verse since the Black Power Era’s decline.

In many ways, the above inefficiencies have made Black protestors an unexpected ally for White political leaders. One needs to look no further than the Prosecutors who refused to bring charges against Greg and Travis McMichael for evidence. Trust me when I say that those opposing racial justice fully understand the limitations of political movements resting on little more than fleeting emotion. History informs us that if given enough time the alluded to emotionalism will burn out and things will then return to normal.  

The American historical record informs us that emotionalism is a poor substitute for political organization. In fact, there has never been a moment in U.S. History where the more organized force did not prevail during political conflict. To the chagrin of many, the eloquence of Black leaders who move Black America as if they were a down-home Baptist Preacher is worth little in the American political arena. If one removes the rabble-rousing and phrase-mongering that flows so freely from the mouths of Black political leaders, it becomes obvious that these charismatic leaders have little understanding of the steps necessary to mobilize, organize, and strategically use dormant caches of political power strewn throughout a predominantly Black urban landscape.

In light of such political ineptitude, it is crucial that Blacks begin asking pertinent questions such as ‘How should Black America prepare for the next racial injustice?’

Well, I’ll tell you that the only reasonable path forward is an unemotional dedication to fighting racial bigots and structures of institutionalized racism on every front. I am certain that you are wondering ‘How do we put such measures into action?’ The following ideas would go a long way toward advancing the struggle for racial justice.

  1. Understand that politics is a marathon, not a sprint that is engaged in only during the weeks leading up to an election.
  2. Develop independently organized institutions capable of recognizing and tackling issues such as voter suppression. For example, if a new requirement is created regarding the need for a State issued ID, we should not spend a disproportionate amount of time protesting such measures as that time and those resources could be used to develop and execute a plan to secure the required ID’s.
  3. Dedicate oneself to fighting your opponents on every front.
    1. Increase your knowledge regarding political candidates.
    2. Increase your knowledge of the political process.
    3. Create or use a portion of your book club meeting time to discuss substantive political issues.
  4. Recognize that nearly every decision that you make is a political decision that has long-term ramifications.

Of course, the above steps have no impact on avowed White bigots such as Greg and Travis McMichael or for that matter the Prosecutors who refused to arrest them. However, if the above steps were guiding principles, Black America would already possess the political capital necessary to demand, not beg, elected officials, regardless of color, to behave in ways that they may not necessarily want to such as prosecuting all involved in the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery.

It is time that Black America took Malcolm X’s assertion that “Things will never get better until you make them better” to heart and began the necessary steps to mobilize their power for future racial conflict that shall surely arrive at an inopportune moment.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

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RICHARD G. HATCHER: A LIFE OF POLITICAL LESSONS THAT BLACK AMERICA CONTINUES TO IGNORE

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I have attempted to make sense out of Black America’s deafening silence regarding the death of Richard G. Hatcher, the first Black mayor of Gary, Indiana. In many ways, this silence is yet another reminder that far too many Blacks have little understanding of a historical record that holds indispensable lessons regarding what will and what will not work in the struggle for Black liberation.

If nothing else, Black America should know who Richard G. Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes, the first Black Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as they were living symbols of a “Black Power” politic that failed to uplift Black America from an all too familiar position of economic marginality.

Those well-versed in a volatile identity politic driven 1960s that witnessed Richard Hatcher and Carl B. Stokes’ election as the first Black men to lead major American cities will tell you that by the mid-sixties non-Southern Black activist communities had abandoned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. non-violent civil disobedience and pursuit of integration with a hostile White community in favor of a yet to be fully defined “Black Power” politic.

There is no more prominent example of shifting political winds than the fact that the Watts Rebellion began August 11, 1965, a mere five days after President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. While many Americans displayed optimism regarding a potential path to racial reconciliation, Black America abandoned gradualism in favor of an impatient Black Power politic. Black Powerites rallied behind one of two goals.

  • The overthrow of America via revolutionary action.
  • The seizing of central cities via political participation and economic solidarity.  

Ironically, the vanguard organization of the 1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would travel down both of these paths during their existence.  

While outlandish Black Powerites issued threats that they had no power to execute, Richard G. Hatcher became the Mayor of Gary, Indiana. 

Parliament beautifully articulates this unprecedented moment as the arrival of “Chocolate cities and Vanilla suburbs.” This moment of Black political hope was born of equal parts White flight and Black political naïveté.

The ascension of Black men to political power in cities such as Gary, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Atlanta was a test case regarding the utility of the vote. Unfortunately for Blacks, this test of political theory would prove that there was not much that Black Mayor’s could do to reverse the steep economic decline each of these embattled cities would experience.      

Gary, Indiana, much like Maynard Jackson’s Atlanta, suffered mightily as a result of the racial slur that it was now a Black city. While White citizens fled the central city, they carried their businesses and much-needed taxable income with them. It soon became apparent that not even the election of a Black Mayor could significantly alter the fortunes of Black urbanites. During a late-seventies interview, Hatcher addressed the worsening struggles of cities such as Gary in the following way.   

There’s almost a vested interest among a lot of powerful business people, the tax assessors and other county officials who keep business taxes low here, in proving that a city run by a black will fail.

Unfortunately for Blacks who dedicated their lives to expressing “Black Power” via electoral participation, it became increasingly clear that such efforts were incapable of staving off poverty, violence, or other social maladies that flowed from the river of economic inequality.

In the wake of his ascension to the apex of local politics, Hatcher shared lessons learned during the journey. According to Hatcher, there was no balm for the suffering that the ‘powerless’ experienced at the hand of “affluent elements of our society.” In fact, this nation’s central cities were nothing more than “repositories for the poor, the Black, the Latin, the elderly.” Hatcher now understood that such groups were incapable of accomplishing significant change. Hatcher now believed that the only hope for meaningful change would occur via a coalition of liberals, Black Powerites, and radical Whites who were truly committed to concepts such as “power to the people.”

Unfortunately, it appears that such concepts are as meaningless to present society as the death of Richard G. Hatcher, a man whose political life once held so much promise. 

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.