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Shirley Sherrod and USDA Discrimination |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/26/2010 08:03 PM
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BLACK FARMERS & AGRICULTURALISTS ASSOCIATION
Contact: Gary R. Grant, President at (252) 826-2800
As the president of the 20,000 plus members of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) and the sixty-six year old son of two lead plaintiffs in the Wise v. Venneman class action, the late Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant whose 30 year old case was supposedly settled but painfully never paid, I would like to weigh in on the racially embedded political/media controversy and the “destroy the black woman syndrome” of the Shirley Sherrod incident. |
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The Rise of the Modern Day Black Public Intellectual |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/20/2010 10:55 PM
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| The great Pan-African and scholar W.E.B. Dubois spent most of his life actively working to improve the social conditions that plagued African Americans during the 20th century. During his life, America was, as it still is, a cesspool of institutional racism and injustice. Despite his countless accomplishments, Dubois tirelessly worked on behalf of African people worldwide. Beyond authoring masterpieces such as The World and Africa he significantly contributed to organizations like the NAACP, Pan-African Congress, organizing five Pan-African Congresses, the Council of African Affairs, as well as his work on the Stockholm Peace Petition. |
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The New “We the People” |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/18/2010 07:21 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone 7/10
This July 4th marks 234 years of US independence. And although America’s ongoing “melting pot experiment” is theoretically unbiased to Blacks, Latinos and Muslims, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that hate groups, like the well-armed Hutaree militia, have increased 200 percent since President Obama’s 2008 election.
Texas, the former rebel republic and current headquarters of the Guardians of the Free Republic is now waging new ethnic and ideological battlefronts, by arming schoolchildren with conservative-bent textbooks that re-sculpt some of America’s most traditional outlooks. In Arizona, new immigration legislation now gives a tacit eyewink for police to roundup and shakedown Latinos. And if you didn’t know, the catchy slogan “If you see something, say something” is a discreet way of saying “keep a close eye on all Muslim people.” |
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Placebos of Black Political Power |
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Posted by: monkmo on 12/09/2009 05:12 AM
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By Ezrah Aharone
The election of President Barack Obama is shifting America’s axis of race in ways that have yet to be politically quantified. But from a standpoint of Black political leadership, it signals a definite “changing of the guards.” The once-popular preacher/protester ilk of leadership from the 1960s finds itself gasping for 21st century oxygen, as young Black leaders are card-carrying democrats who can now “eyeball” whomever they please.
Perception suggests that African Americans are finally becoming politically powerful as a people. But every industrialized nation with an ethnically diverse population has a general “pecking order” of power, starting with the dominant group most able to leverage capital might into political influence that shapes foreign, domestic, and military policies. All other simulations of power (freedoms of speech, press, assembly etc.) are like political window-dressings of democracy that may boost patriotism, but lack utility for minority people to command such influence. |
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Advocacy Groups Decry Profiteering by Vulture Funds in Liberia |
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Posted by: monkmo on 12/09/2009 05:08 AM
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UK Judge Awards Funds $20 million, More Than Liberia’s Total Spending on Education Last Year
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Leading global development and Africa advocacy groups reacted with outrage today to news that a London court recently awarded two Vulture Funds a $20 million judgment against Liberia. This amount of money represents the country’s entire education budget and 150% of their spending on health in 2008.
On November 26, the British High Court announced that Vulture Funds Hamsah Investments and Wall Capital were to be awarded $20 million based on a default judgment received in 2002 by previous creditors in New York courts. The Vulture Funds had recently acquired the loan to Liberia on the secondary market. The original credit, dating back to 1978, was estimated to be worth $6 million, but it had been in default since 1984.
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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND STUDENTS MARCH ON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING |
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Posted by: monkmo on 11/08/2009 04:44 PM
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S.T.A.R.E - STUDENTS TAKING ACTION TO RECLAIM OUR EDUCATION
Watch clip online at this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWf7rqbL7U4
The student body at the University of Maryland at College Park will be
marching today, Thursday November 5, 2009 From the Nyumburu Cultural
Center down the mall to the front steps of the Administration building
to demand:
1. 1) The reinstatement of Dr. Cordell Black as Associate Provost for Equity and
Diversity. Dr. Black has been essential to the development of diversity on campus
over the last thirty years, from helping to integrate Maryland's faculty to
establishing the Nyumburu Cultural Center and the office of LGBT equity. He has been
an invaluable resource to students and faculty of all cultural backgrounds. His
removal and replacement with a part-time worker indicate a weak commitment to
diversity by the administration and the provost's office. Diversity is not a
part-time job. We demand his full reinstatement effective immediately.
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Uncovering Indoctrinated Racism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 10/05/2009 11:51 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone 10/09
Since he wasn’t the first and won’t be the last president to address the nation’s youth, it’s peculiar that claims and fears circulated that Barack Obama would somehow “indoctrinate” children during his recent back-to-school address. After all, everyone knows that America is a free country, while indoctrination only happens in foreign countries like North Korea . . . Right?
Well, apart from known connotations of brainwashing, “Indoctrination,” means exactly what its 3 words infer: To adhere “In” the “Doctrine” (teachings/beliefs) of a “Nation.” People in all nations are thusly impacted, good and bad, in varying degrees by ideals, ethos, traditions, and politics that are taught and believed. This particularly applies to the US because, more so than citizens in any other country, Americans are “American” by virtue of creed and ideology, as opposed to bloodline or ethnicity. |
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Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement: One-Year Forward |
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Posted by: monkmo on 09/17/2009 10:21 PM
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Wednesday, September 15, 2009 (Washington, DC) – Today is the one-year anniversary of the power-sharing accord that resulted in the creation of the new Zimbabwe unity government in early 2009. One-year forward, Africa Action notes that while serious challenges remain, significant changes have been made to improve the economic and political conditions on the ground.
Gerald LeMelle, Executive Director of Africa Action said today, “The unity government has made some successful steps in providing democratic space in Zimbabwe. Civic leaders have been able to begin discussions on how best to organize and regroup to realize the potential for political and economic reform in the near future.”
Africa Action notes the ban on international media has been lifted and independent organizations and journalists are set to report from Zimbabwe so to allow greater media diversity. |
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Corporate Hip Hop, White Supremacy and Capitalism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 09/17/2009 10:10 PM
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by Solomon Comissiong
Huge media corporations literally bought up Hip Hop in the early to mid-1990s,
imposing “cookie cutter themes of senseless violence, excessive materialism, and
misogyny.” Progressive voices in rap were silenced. The clear message was, “the
minute you dare try to step outside of the 'box' and attack their power structure,
you will be omitted.”
Corporate Hip Hop, White Supremacy and Capitalism
by Solomon Comissiong
“I won't believe the hype I understand the Media dictates The mind and rotates The
way you think And syncopates slow pace… Brains Can't maintain A certain Insipid
inane crass rain. Insane lame Traditions All praise fame Positions Want to be a
star. Drive a big car. Live bourgeois…And won't know who you are. Lost in the source
And praising the dollar” - Kool Moe Dee (1989)
It is undeniable that hip hop culture is one of the most powerful marketing tools
America has seen in quite sometime. Had hip hop been around during the earlier part
of the 20th century the unscrupulous public relations pioneer, Edward Bernays, would
have probably also used it to promote the smoking of Viceroy Cigarettes to women.
Various aspects of hip hop culture, mainly rap music, generate billions of dollars.
However, who is generating this wealth, where is it going and at what cost?
“Their unfettered corporate feeding frenzy was similar to that of the European
conquest of lands inhabited by people of color.”
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Are All Men Really "Created Equal"? |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/28/2009 11:24 PM
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By Ezrah Aharone
July 2nd, 2009 marked 45 years since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil
Rights Act to initiate racial equality. This anniversary coincides with the recent
Senate Resolution “Apologizing for the Enslavement and Racial Segregation of
African-Americans,” which expressed America’s “recommitment to the principle that
all people are created equal.” While these gestures appear impressive as political
theory, in actuality, “Created Equal” on paper differs from “Created Equal” in
practice.
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Congress Acts to Tame Prowling Vulture Funds |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/19/2009 05:06 PM
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* Africa Action * JubileeUSA Network * TransAfrica Forum *
Today advocacy organizations and debt relief campaigners welcome the reintroduction of the Stop Very Unscrupulous Loan Transfers from Underprivileged Countries to Rich, Exploitive Funds or “Stop VULTURE Funds” Act (H.R. 2932) This bill, introduced in the House of Representatives, is designed to protect developing nations from lawsuits by so-called Vulture Funds.
The Stop VULTURE Funds Act introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) would prevent U.S. companies from buying the debt of impoverished countries at cut-rate prices and then suing to collect exponential profits. The bill would limit the excessive profits that companies and hedge funds collect off the backs of the world’s poorest citizens by capping the interest amounts for which the companies could sue at six percent. The legislation also increases transparency of these funds, requiring full disclosure from any fund that pursues Vulture Fund activity through the U.S. courts. |
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Financial Food Poisoning and the War on Farmers: Where’s a good movie director when you need one? |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/19/2009 05:04 PM
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By Monica Davis
There’s a war going on. It’s happening mostly behind the scenes,
at the desks of a coven of crooked bureaucrats and banksters nationwide. If you
thought the bank bail out ate a hole in your pocket, watch what the banksters,
unindicted bureaucrats and land thieves are doing to the nation’s farmers and to
the security of your food supply.
The ongoing thievery in the banking, insurance and real estate
industry has ripped the heart out of the economy. As the result of organized
financial crime in the financial services and real estate industry, Americans
have lost billions of dollars in real estate equity, retirement accounts and
investment equity. Real estate values have dropped so much, that millions of
homeowners now owe more on their homes than the home is worth.
The drop in real estate value, combined with the catastrophe in
the investment industry has eviscerated the economy, creating a financial
inferno, which continues to consume jobs, home equity and retirement
investments. |
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Environmental Racism: The American Way |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/19/2009 05:01 PM
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Environmental Racism: The American Way
By John Burl Smith
Anytime the word "racism" comes up, white Americans tune everything
that follows out. They view such statements as attempts by blacks and
people of color to blame or paint them as "Ku Klux Klan" types,
burning crosses and spewing hatred. Over the years, many have come to
apply a broader meaning to the term. For them it indicates an
insensitivity by those with power toward those without power and the
use of that power to exploit, injure, deprive or otherwise enforce
standards or laws against a particular race or class that is
socioeconomically and/or politically incapable of resisting. Such
actions may not result from a conscious decision; it may simply be
their job as part of a larger systemic function that is racist in
affect. The actions of ordinary Germans, during the reign of Adolf
Hitler and the Nazis, are a glaring examples.
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The Hypocrisy of American Democracy |
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Posted by: monkmo on 07/06/2009 01:19 AM
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By Solomon Comissiong
"I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and
call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat
some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American....
No I'm not an American; I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims
of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy,
nothing but disguised hypocrisy.... I'm speaking as a victim of this American
system. And I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don't see any American
dream; I see an American nightmare."
—Malcolm X
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Professional Athletics, Corporate Media, and Racism |
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Posted by: monkmo on 05/27/2009 12:24 AM
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Professional Athletics, Corporate Media, and Racism
By: Solomon Comissiong
I almost feel the need to preface what I am about to write with this statement: I
have long been an ardent fan of professional sports. Truth be told, I really have
been a fan of professional athletics, for as long as I can remember. I have
participated in sports on many levels and have enjoyed the often unpredictable
nature of professional athletics. However, as I have gotten older, wiser, and more
knowledgeable about the world we live in; I have also become extremely jaded about a
number of things, professional sports included. Some things that I used to find
extraordinarily regaling, such as pro-sports, have lost much of their luster. With
that proceeding statement alone I can almost hear the cacophony of moans and groans
from “die hard” sports fanatics writing me off as if I am some kind of “wacko”. For
the record, I still enjoy watching a ‘good’ game on TV. However the stakes and
emphasis that I used to place upon professional sports has steadily dwindled.
There are a number of reasons that have contributed to my quasi-new perspective on
professional athletics. One of these many reasons has to do with the glaring
inequities that exist within the games we watch, and dare I say ‘love’.
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100 Days Pass Obama Administration |
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Posted by: monkmo on 05/26/2009 04:46 PM
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100 Days Pass Obama Administration
Thursday, April 30, 2009 (Washington, DC) – As President Obama’s first 100 days in office pass, Africa Action recognizes significant changes in the tone of U.S. foreign policy, including the willingness to engage a wide variety of perspectives and a desire for a more comprehensive approach. This should pave the way for a more positive U.S. policy. However, recognizing the serious economic crisis in the U.S., it would be damaging to U.S. foreign policy to deprioritize diplomacy and democracy in Africa.
Over the coming months, Africa Action and partners will be mobilizing public pressure to hold the President Obama accountable to his campaign promises. Our three campaigns include: End HIV/AIDS, Cancel Africa’s Debt and Peace & Justice for Darfur and All Sudan.
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82-year-old Black farmer arrested, charged with making terrorist threats |
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Posted by: monkmo on 05/22/2009 01:52 AM
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82-year-old Black farmer arrested, charged with making terrorist threats
by Monica Davis
Harry Young holds a lock he had placed on the gate to his land. It was cut by trespassers with a KKK mentality if not membership.
Harry Young holds a lock he had placed on the gate to his land. It was cut by trespassers with a KKK mentality if not membership.
Harry Young, an 82-year-old Black farmer from Owensboro, Kentucky, was arrested and released on $50,000 bond in connection with allegations of threatening U.S. Department of Agriculture employees - terroristic threatening. It all stems from a contested foreclosure and sale of his family farm in 2005. |
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American Exceptionalism vs. Obama’s Idealism By Ezrah Aharone Monday, 13 April 2009 |
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Posted by: monkmo on 04/30/2009 02:44 AM
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During his European debut, a reporter
in Strasbourg, France asked President Obama if he subscribes to the school of
“American Exceptionalism” as did his predecessors. Being the first Black president
and known as a uniter, the question weighs heavy in irony since America’s
self-grandiosity is tied to military aggression and presidential legacies that are
littered with unapologetic ethnic and cultural indifference. Although not a common
term, African Americans should form long lines like voting to get information
whenever the subject of “Exceptionalism” is mentioned.
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Obama's response to Bet Reporter's question on Black Men |
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Posted by: monkmo on 04/30/2009 02:41 AM
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My ears perked up as the BET reporter asked President Obama about the
plight of Black Men in America. See I was looking for hope, opportunity
and acknowledgment. What I received was a cold and calculated response
that sounded like Ronald Reagan. President Obama missed it as he had an
opportunity to invite Black Men in from the land of Invisibility.
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The Black Agenda Report Card |
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Posted by: monkmo on 04/30/2009 02:39 AM
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The Obama Administration at 100 Days:
by BAR Managing Editor Bruce A. Dixon
Why a Report Card At All?
The hundred day report card is an enduring tradition in American journalism for a
very good reason. It's journalism's job to help citizens make sense of the world,
to seek the truth and tell it without fear or favor no matter where it leads. Three
months and a week into a new administration, everybody knows where the mens and
ladies rooms are, most of the key hires are in place, and the bus has definitely
cleared the station. There's plenty of evidence by now to assess where it's going,
and whether it's anyplace we really ought to be headed.
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