Vantage Point
The Emancipation Proclamation: From 3/5 Human to Second Class Citizenship
January 3, 2012The Emancipation Proclamation
From 3/5 Human to Second Class Citizenship
[For publication the week of January 2, 2012]
When I first became active in the Civil Rights Movement as a teenager in Youngstown, Ohio, January 1st was always a very important day in the Black community — not because it was the first day of a new year, but it was Emancipation Day. Every year the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the local Chapter of the NAACP would host a major program commemorating the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. This was celebrated as a momentous occasion because with a stroke of a pen, President Lincoln freed enslaved Africans from bondage. Certainly a just cause for celebration! What was never noted in the Emancipation Day Programs was that the Proclamation did not “free” all of the 4 million enslaved Africans.
For Lincoln, the …
The Nguzo Saba and Kwanzaa in a Time of Crisis
December 26, 2011One of the greatest triumphs of the Black Power, Black Nationalist and Black Consciousness movements of the 60’s and 70’s was the widespread embrace of the Nguzo Saba, The Seven Principles of the Black Value System, and Kwanzaa, the African American holiday created by Dr. Maulana Karenga. As an authentic genius and master teacher, a fundamental tenet of Dr. Karenga’s thought is that “the key crisis in Black life is the cultural crisis.” He has consistently argued that an appreciation of one’s own history and culture is vital to developing a healthy self-concept and positive view of the racial/ethnic group to which you belong. Hence, Dr. Karenga “returned to the source,” Africa to construct a value system for the sons and daughters of formerly enslaved Africans in America. He systematically researched/examined the worldview and traditional way of life which has sustained African people for thousands of years. After …
Toward State of the Black World Conference III
December 15, 2011The First Call
State of Emergency in Black America: Time to Heal Our Families and Communities.
Toward State of the Black World Conference III.
Dedicated to the Memory of Dr. Ronald Walters
“Our cities are crime haunted dying grounds. Huge sectors of our youth – and countless others – face permanent unemployment. Those of us who work find our paychecks able to purchase less and less. Neither the courts nor the prisons contribute to anything resembling justice or reformation. The schools are unable – or unwilling – to educate our children for the real world of our struggles. Meanwhile, the officially approved epidemic of drugs threatens to wipe out the minds and strength of our best young warriors. Economic, cultural, and spiritual depression stalk Black America, and the price for our survival often appears more than we are able to pay.” This chilling assessment was penned as part of the …
Implanting a “Black Footprint” on an Economic Renaissance for Haiti
December 7, 2011August is a momentous month in the history of the African world. August 17th marks the birthday of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, arguably the greatest mass organizer in the history of the Pan African movement. August 14th is the anniversary of Bwa Kayiman, the gathering in northern Haiti convened by the spiritual leader Boukman in 1791 which sparked the revolution that led to the creation of the first Black Republic in the world. More than any other Pan Africanist leader, it was Marcus Garvey who relentlessly preached the value of African self-determination and self-reliance through the control and development of the vast human and material resources in Africa and the African world. And, more than any other event, it was the Haitian Revolution that gave people of African descent everywhere their dignity back under the crushing weight of the holocaust of enslavement, colonial exploitation and the propagation of the …
Occupy Wall Street: Black Voices for Economic Justice Must Be Heard
October 13, 2011Struggling to come up for air from a brutal schedule, for several weeks I had been planning to write an article about the necessity of those affected by the Great Recession to take to the streets to express their outrage. Before I could put pen to paper it happened. A disparate band of mostly young protesters from around the country, disgusted with the rapacious behavior of 21st century “Robber Barons,” marched on Wall Street and set up a camp called “Occupy Wall Street.” As an organizer one never knows what event, what incident or action will be the spark that galvanizes a movement for change. In the face of a Great Recession, precipitated by the greed-driven and reckless behavior of the bandits on Wall Street, there has been growing discontent among the American people, but with rare exception (mass actions by labor and allies in Wisconsin and Ohio) there …
Pass the Bill Now
September 19, 2011“Pass the Bill Now”
Obama Finally Takes a Stand … Again
For months supporters of President Obama have been grumbling that the Tea Party and Grand Obstructionist Party (GOP) have been slapping him around like a rag doll. After buckling to the obstructionists on everything from Health Care Reform, extending the Bush era tax breaks for the wealthy, raising the debt ceiling and awkwardly capitulating to Boehner on the date/day of his speech to a joint session of Congress, the question on everyone´s lips was when will Obama stand and fight. To be fair, the President took a stand during his previous speech to a joint session of Congress last spring when he vowed to protect Medicare and Social Security in any negotiations on the 2012 budget or the deficit and debt. Of course he promptly volunteered to put Medicare and Social Security on the table during his highly touted
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African Leaders and Nations Must Be Accountable
Prescribing Progressive Principles of Pan African Governance
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Implanting a “Black Footprint” on an Economic Renaissance for Haiti
August is a momentous month in the history of the African world. August 17th marks the birthday of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, arguably the greatest mass organizer in the history of the Pan African movement. August 14th is the anniversary of Bwa Kayiman, the gathering in northern Haiti convened by the spiritual leader Boukman in 1791 which sparked the revolution that led to the creation of the first Black Republic in the world. More than any other Pan Africanist leader, it was Marcus Garvey who relentlessly preached the value of African self-determination and self-reliance through the control and development of the vast human and material resources in Africa and the African world. And, more than any other event, it was the Haitian Revolution that gave people of African descent everywhere their dignity back under the crushing weight of the holocaust of enslavement, colonial exploitation and the propagation of the …
Beyond Obama and the Democrats, Part IV – Creating a Force for Progressive Change
August 11, 2011CLICK HERE TO BUILD THE MOVEMENT
Beyond Obama and the Democrats, if there is to be an independent force to fight for progressive change, the question is, what role will people of African descent, Black people, play in the process? This is particularly crucial since the vast majority of African Americans are proud of the fact that America finally has a Black President. Indeed, there are some within the Black community who embrace the notion that the election of Barack Obama marks the advent of a “post racial society.” Others do not go that far but raise concerns about the relevance of a “Black Agenda” with a Black President in office; that is to say, should Blacks pressure a Black President to openly address Black issues. Far from accepting the notion of a post-racial society, there is also substantial sentiment in the Black community that because racism is still a …
Beyond Obama and the Democrats, Part III – A Progressive National Convention to Galvanize a Force for Change
CLICK HERE TO BUILD THE MOVEMENT
To seize the initiative in the struggle to reverse the prominence and dominance of the conservatives, a liberal/progressive counter-offensive must capture and hold the attention of the nation. In an age where the media is the message, to gain national notice, liberals/progressives need a significant gathering, a happening, an event that will garner significant and sustained mainstream media coverage. Now that the 2012 election season is underway, I believe the time is ripe to inject a third political convention onto the political playing field as a focal point of national deliberation on the policy priorities and direction of the nation. Therefore, I am proposing the convening of a Progressive National Convention (PNC) prior to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
With the right cast of participants and proper marketing PNC could be the event that commands media attention and conveys the liberal/progressive message to …
- The Emancipation Proclamation: From 3/5 Human to Second Class Citizenship
January 3, 2012 - The Nguzo Saba and Kwanzaa in a Time of Crisis
December 26, 2011 - Toward State of the Black World Conference III
December 15, 2011 - Implanting a “Black Footprint” on an Economic Renaissance for Haiti
December 7, 2011 - Occupy Wall Street: Black Voices for Economic Justice Must Be Heard
October 13, 2011 - Pass the Bill Now
September 19, 2011 - African Leaders and Nations Must Be Accountable
- Implanting a “Black Footprint” on an Economic Renaissance for Haiti
- Beyond Obama and the Democrats, Part IV – Creating a Force for Progressive Change
August 11, 2011 - Beyond Obama and the Democrats, Part III – A Progressive National Convention to Galvanize a Force for Change
Other Vantage Point
June 17th Forum
Ending the War on Drugs
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