Thursday, April 02, 2009

With friends like these.....



This post is going to pain me, but in the spirit of keeping it real, I have to do it.

Growing up I didn't have a brother, I am one of only two children and obviously the only boy. So when I tell you that the man I am going to to write about is like a brother to me you have got to understand where I am coming from. I was in his wedding, he was in mine, and I can't begin to tell you the stuff that we have done together. We have been as "thick as thieves" ever since we met some twenty years ago. And since I know that he will read it, I just hope this post doesn't change the nature of our relationship.

So anyway, Tony Clayton is the chairman of the board of the Southern University System, the largest land grant African American system of higher learning in these divided states. They are charged with educating thousands of our young people who are primarily from the state of Louisiana. The board consists of 16 people who were all appointed by powerful political people down in Louisiana, and who are, themselves, players in the very complex political world that is the Bayou state; a world I know all too well.

The Southern board recently voted 11-5 to give the System President, Ralph Slaughter, the Donald Trump treatment. (Yes Ralph, "you are fired") And no one was more surprised than Slaughter himself. I hear from very good sources that Slaughter was making nice with Clayton over dinner not too long ago, and that he was assured by the Chairman that he wasn't going anywhere. "You are my man Ralph, I am with you all the way." Well, not so fast.

“This had nothing to do with the president’s evaluation,” said Clayton of Port Allen. “Just like the president of our own country, sometimes it’s time for a change."

But why now Mr. Clayton? Why when you are going before the state legislature really soon to beg for more money for a very important HBCU? They are already telling you that they are going to slash your 30 million budget by 18%, and you are possibly taking an interim president to go and meet with them? Why not take the man who has been at the helm of the University, and who, by all accounts, have been doing a good job? "Oh field, come on, who cares about what happens at some HBCU down in crawfish country?" Well I will let student Jamal Taylor answer that for you:

"Student board member Jamal Taylor, who is the student body president of Southern’s Baton Rouge campus, also backed Slaughter.'This is the wrong time,' said Taylor, noting that the Southern system is facing about an 18 percent cut in its state funding. 'We’re putting ourselves in a predicament where we may be sending an interim president down there (to the State Capitol).'There is no place for politics in higher education, ' he added. Taylor said Slaughter scored a 3.64 in his evaluation on a scale of one to five, with one being poor and five being excellent. Southern Faculty Senate President Sudhir Trivedi said he is disappointed the board acted against Slaughter without faculty input."

Thank you Jamal, you nailed it! "There is no place for politics in higher education". And faculty member, Sudhir Trivedi, nailed it as well. But isn't this typical of some of you Negroes here in A-merry-ca? You get a little power and you get drunk with it. You forget how and why you got that power in the first place. Memo to Southern University board members: Your job -and only job- is to look out for the welfare of those children who you are supposed to be educating. Your job is to give them a good education and send them out into the world to become better citizens and human beings. Your job is not to play politics with the lives of these young people.

And another thing: I know Bobby Jindal had his plant on the board as well, and I am going to bet that Al Kaline baseball card of mine that Jindal's guy on the inside had something to do with the vote to remove Slaughter. Let's see what he has to say for himself:

" Board member Patrick Magee of Lafayette, who was named to the board by Gov. Bobby Jindal last July, offered the motion to remove Slaughter from office. But Magee declined comment and directed questions to Clayton after the meeting. "

Hmmm, so was it you who offered the motion to remove Slaughter Mr. Jindal appointee? Now I am really pissed. Because I know damn good and well that "slumdog" Governor does not have the Jaguar Nation's best interest at heart.

Something else about this story stinks: A couple of years ago a young lady was allegedly sexually harassed by a former board chairman while on an alumni retreat. The terrified young lady came forward and reported it to President Slaughter. What followed was an embarrassing attempt by the University and the board to cover up what happened to the poor young lady. (I wonder why I didn't hear any of this from any of the blogs that always advocate for women?) It took Slaughter coming forward to expose the alleged serial harasser; but instead of praising him the board closed ranks around the scumbag who allegedly harassed the young lady in the first place. It took a lawsuit and public pressure to prevent the university from getting rid of him, but unfortunately for Slaughter, like Napoleon, his Waterloo was bound to come.

"Clayton also said the decision had nothing to do with Slaughter’s 2007 lawsuit against the board.."

Yeah, Okay, and I don't find Lark Voorhies in the least bit attractive. Come on Tony, I love you man, but you have to start keeping it real. Stop playing politics with our children's lives and tell your buddies on the board to do the same. You are the student's last defense against the poli-trick-sters in Louisiana who would love nothing more than shut SU down, or change its mission completely. Don't let the "slumdog" Governor influence what goes on in Jaguar Nation, he doesn't care, but you should.

Oh, and one more thing before I go: Can someone tell me why Matt Drudge featured this story today? Hey Matt, we get it, I know it's an inside joke, but us black folks aren't laughing.

I'm out.















43 comments:

Black Diaspora said...

Nothing like being first. I'll leave my thoughts later.

Anonymous said...

My head hurts. People, my people, what the hell is y'alls pro'lem?!?!

(at the dOOd with the Fresh Coons sign....)

I beat my head into the wall a la ron scheider in All That Jazz---

Anonymous said...

Hello Field:

I agree with you that they could have picked a better time remove Pres. Slaughter, and politic may have played a part. However, everyone has unclean hands in this fiasco, because Slaughter is no saint and there were many reasons they could have gotten rid of him. I should know I attended SU. Let's list a few the financial aid scam, the embarassing College Hill show on BET with the crazy girl nicknamed "NO Draws". Sorry, Field I am not crying for this guy being gone. But I am in total agreement to watch out for Bobby Jindal, a.k.a. slum dog Gov. when I was at SULC I remember hearing how he thought the capital only needed one law school and wanted to close us down. Nevertheless, the only thing I agree is its not time for an interim president, but let's be clear he needed to be fired.

field negro said...

Anon.10:52PM, I know you are right there, and I agree with you that Slaughter's hands weren't totally clean,but was this the time to get rid of him? And was it retaliation for for blowing the whistle?

"My head hurts. People, my people, what the hell is y'alls pro'lem?!?!"

I guess the coon sign dude was appropriate for this post:)

Dr. Nuwang said...

First, I personally find the slumdog comment a bit racist. I'm no Jindal fan, but come on? How are our issues going to get heard if we're publically doing the very things we call out "others" for doing to us?

Moving on, I'll tell you what I've learned in 42 years. If a group of people conspire to get rid of you, there isn't much you can do especially if mistakes have been made. Slaugher doesn't seem to have had an ice cubes chance, but it's clear that no matter who initiated the motion, a few other people had to be in agreement as well for it to have been approved.

Anonymous said...

Gotta agree with ya FN, Governor Slumdog is just...I don't know...., Slimy,,,reminds me of every Quik-Trip clerk who can't get my Quik-Pick Lotto numbers right, and drops the change in your hand like you're a friggin untouchable...

Anonymous said...

"Anon.10:52PM, I know you are right there, and I agree with you that Slaughter's hands weren't totally clean,but was this the time to get rid of him? And was it retaliation for for blowing the whistle?"
...............................

Field Negro:
No, it was not the right time to get rid of the man. However, he needed to go for sometime. I'm sorry to say but I have seen ole boy do shady stuff in the past. One or two good deeds by Former President Slaughter does not erase all his other past dealings for me.

As for Jindal that is one man who needs to go. I wish Dems down in Louisiana would find someone to get run against Jindal.

Anonymous said...

Field, I hate to tell you this but Larks eloped with the coonman late this evening. She said she liked a hard working man with creative work ethics who knows how to cook country style!

Doesn't that just make you wanna holla "my lord! my lord! what have you done to me," and run down Broad St?

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

An evaluation with 3.64 in personnel terms means that he was average. An evaluation and grade point average is entirely two different things. I bet the white employees get 4's and 5's.

Anonymous said...

Granny-
"I bet the white employees get 4's and 5's."

I bet you are right. I was thinking the same. His evaluation wasn't that great. In fact, it indicated to me that he was somewhat mediocre to be President of the SU System.

As for Slumdog Jindahl, I have said before in the past, that he is not to be trusted because he does not care or relate to Blacks. I don't like him.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Anonymous 1:28:


"it indicated to me that he was somewhat mediocre to be President of the SU System."

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. He might not have been mediocre and could have been doing above average work, but most white supervisors have a habit of not giving black folks credit due them on evaluations. They always give whites excellent evaluations and every once in while an above average one, but never an average evaluation. Regardless, if their doing their job or not.

For a black person to get an above average evaluation they have to be doing the work of at least 5 people and show all 32 teeth every time their in the massa's presence. Besides which, he is in Louisiana. They don't treat their black folks too hot. I bet in order to get an excellent evaluation they have to do all of the above and be a master at azz-kissing and feet shuffling.

Not too many of them want to say that black people are good workers and destroy that stereotype myth. They want to cling to that old stereotype that "all black folks are lazy and don't want to work".

However, Mr. Slaughter might not be helping the cause by doing some things he shouldn't be doing. I really can't say right now, because I don't know.

As for Jindal, he calls his self strategically putting his men in place. He is no good. However, I doubt if he'll be re-elected for governor or elected for President.

matw said...

The "slumdog" label really gets under my skin like all those other labels. What goes around comes around friends.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

So, Frank how many people do you come online and pretend to be during the week? How many profiles you got now? About 4,000 and something? A little unstable fellow with multiple personalities aren't you? Are you really a male or are you a female posing as a male right now?

Black Diaspora said...

Field, it took courage to call your friend out like that.

It's easy to do the right thing when it's popular and the risks are low.

It's hard as hell when you might alienate a longtime friend and brother, and risk losing both his friendship and fraternity forever.

Yet, doing the right thing carries with it its own rewards: the ability to sleep at night, to never regret your past actions, and the ability to look yourself in the mirror in the morning while shaving and not nick yourself.

Here's hoping your friend will choose to do the right thing now -- although it may be the harder decision -- than take the easy road, and end up on the refuse heap of regret and remorse later.

field negro said...

"The "slumdog" label really gets under my skin like all those other labels. What goes around comes around friends."

Why? Since when did "slumdog" become some kind of ethnic slur? It's a MOOOOOVIE!!! But maybe one of my Indian friends can educate me, I am always open to being educated about a particular subject. And you know me folks, if I am wrong I will say it.

Anonymous said...

Field, Field, Field, Y'all the ones who threaten to burn down the city when some retard workin at Barnes & Nobels mistakenly reshelves Obama's Bio with the Curious George books... but just wonderin'..who y'all like in the final Fo' this weekend???

Frank

Dr. Nuwang said...

The "slumdog" label is offensive as much as the "boyz in the hood" label is offensive to Blacks.

It became an ethnic slur the monment you used a basically Indian movie to describe a person of Indian decent. You wouldn't say that "Slumdog" rapper Lil' Wayne, would you?

FWIW, I'm not sensitive at all, not that anyone cares since my comment on this was essentially ignored, but I probably wouldn't be too found of being called a "Crooklyn" Scientist by ANYONE.

classysbf said...

Field,
why is ANYONE still reading Drudge???
I quit during the presidential debates;the site didn't even try to be objective.Not to mention accurate....

classysbf said...

OH,and THANKS for making the First Lady the FN of the day for her appearance at the London all girls' school. I was wiping away tears as I watched the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gq6DHt4jo0

Dr. Nuwang said...

As a Carolina Alumnae, I must say that Chapel Hill is in the house, and as predicted by Prez Obama going all the way!

false1 said...

I think the article about the coon hunter got to me more. You tellin' me that Detroit has lost more than half it's population since the good old days? And that the animals are now free to roam about the abandoned slums while the coon hunter chases them down like a cut rate Will Smith in I am Legend? And this all happened before the current depression and housing crisis disproportionately effecting the black middle class?

We should give the land back to the indians if we're not going to do anything with it.

sad

Christopher Chambers said...

You get what you pay for. Negroes in La. count folk like Bill jefferson and Ray Nagin as their august leaders--so what do you expect? That they couldn't band together to stop Jindal's election, that some would even ally with him, is also telling.

Sadly, this episode with SU is but one more item that makes one almost root for Sgt Waters in A Soldiers Story when he talks about "southern negroes."

tjwash said...

But isn't this typical of some of you Negroes here in A-merry-ca? You get a little power and you get drunk with it. You forgot how and why you got that power in the first place.

That pulled a little chuckle out of my normally cynical ass.

FWIW, that is definitely NOT just a black thing. That's a human being thing that transcends all lines. Cripes...I have seen normally rational folks, get elected president of their tiny little HOA's and get so damn flush with their new power, that they they instantly turn into megalomaniac little hitler wannabes, and start doing the exact same things that they were pissing and moaning about, when someone else was doing it.

**ahem**

looks around the room in a paranoid manner

Not that I'm talking about myself or anything like that...

chenna said...

Field, slumdog is a slur, which is why folks in Mumbai were upset about the movie initially, b/c they didn't like the use of the word in the title, they thought it glorified the term & made it ok. It's a derogatory word used to describe the people who live in the slums. You watched the movie, you know that. So yes, it's inappropriate to call Indians that word.

Anonymous said...

"So yes, it's inappropriate to call Indians that word."

I am sure the Gov. has called Blacks a lot worse. He looks down on Blacks. But you might be right, it could be offensive to some Indians.

Anonymous said...

Think this is probably the best commentary on that...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6386K4ixC7U

If There's a Hell Below

Sisters, Brothers And The Whities
Blacks And The Crackers
Police And Their Backers
They're All Political Actors

Hurry, People Running From Their Worries
While The Judge And His Juries
Dictate The Law That's Partly Flaw.
Cat Calling Love Balling Fussing And Cussing


Top Billing Now Is Killing
For Peace No One Is Willing
Kind Of Make You Get That Feeling

Everybody Smoke
Use The Pill And The Dope
Educated Fools
From-Uneducated Schools

Pimping People Is The Rule
Polluted Water In The Pool

And Nixon Talking About Don't Worry
He Says Don't Worry
He Says Don't Worry
He Says Don't Worry

But They Don't Know There Can Be No Show
And If There's A Hell Below We're All Gonna Go
Everybody's Praying And Everybody's Saying
But When Come Time To Do
Everybody's Laying

Just Talking About Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry

Sisters, Brothers And The Whitie
Blacks And The Crackers
Stone Stone Junkie
Police And Their Backers
They're All Political Actors

Smoke, The Pill And The Dope,
Educated Fools From Uneducated Schools,
Pimping People Is The Rule
Polluted Water In The Pool

And Everybody's Saying Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry
They Say Don't Worry

But They Don't Know
There Can Be No Show
If There's A Hell Below
We're All Gonna Go


Lord What We Gonna Do
If Everything I Say Is True
This Ain't No Way It Ought To Be
1f Only All The Mass Could See

But Everybody Keeps Saying Don't Worry


Curtis Mayfield


BT

Christopher Chambers said...

Actually Jindal is a traitor to his own people, having punted his family's traditional Hinduism for this Mel Gibson -like radical Catholicism. He's Clarence Thomas sprinkled with curry. Indeed, he's dropped out of the forefront precisely b/c there are folk chomping at the bit to show is craziness (ie trying to exorcize a white coed when he was in college...I guess the demons were really the roofies someone slipped her). But in backward ass La., he's considered normal. This isn't even anything like the churning castes on our little isle in the sun, or Trinidad, where you have "coolies" both intermarrying and avoiding black folks, and retaining some Hindu identity. He's gone totally white wingnut, and a LOT of Indians are a tad uncomfortable with that. Off the charts.

As I said, only in the South, Field. At least we in our little corner had the good sense to purge Michael Steele and kennel Marion Barry...

Rudy said...

Jindal may be a Republican. But I don't think he's as much an outright hater as his Indian compatriot Dinesh D'Souza. Now, there is an Indian person who outright hates blacks.

Anonymous said...

Did'ya Hear what the Indian Student got on his SAT's???...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Curry!!!!!

Y'all kno that S***'s funny

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Frank:

Nah, what's funny is how ignorant you are and what an embarrassment you are to your race. Your a LOSER!!!! smh! Even trailer trash has more class and brains than you have.

I don't believe that you are a doctor either, because they don't vie for a chance at becoming known as someone who has nothing to contribute to society but asinine jokes and comments that are not funny and in poor taste.

Anonymous said...

Frank,
You should have been a late night club comedian.

Javier said...

Granny,

Frank isn't worth the spit. I did touch a nerve with him though. He had to list his insults out (1, 2, 3...etc) He was trying! I'll give him that. It really took me back to the schoolyard in its sophistication. "You can't spell!" Good one! "You're a dumbass!" Ouch! "You can suck my balls!" That one really humbled me, Granny! (Sorry for the crass language.) Yeah, Frank got me good.

Anonymous said...

"Jindal may be a Republican. But I don't think he's as much an outright hater as his Indian compatriot Dinesh D'Souza. Now, there is an Indian person who outright hates blacks."

Dinesh D'Souza reminds me of Shelby Steele. They both hate Blacks, except Shelby has a tougher time doing it because he is Black. Dinesh and Jindahl aren't the ONLY Indians who hate Blacks. There are exceptions, but generally they look down on Blacks. They see Blacks as "slumdogs".

Hathor said...

50 or 60 years ago Jindal would have been black too, unless he could have summoned up a creole accent.

Rudy said...

@Anon 7:07 PM.

I had a first-hand observation of Indians' disgust for blacks when a good friend of mine married an Indian woman.

field negro said...

chenna, I have never seen the movie, but I will take your word for it.

Please folks, ignore Frank, although the poor guy wants so desperately to fit in. :(

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Amen Hathor, and there are some people that belong to other minorities that seem to forget that or don't want to recognize that. If it wasn't for blacks shedding their blood and the Civil Rights Movement, they wouldn't be able to enjoy some of the benefits they have today. He wouldn't even be a governor. Ungrateful!

Jade Star said...

Say that again, Granny! I don't think they heard you in the cheap seats!

Anonymous said...

Much like so many other Asians, East Indians came to the states to get an education with the intent of going back to their country. Most stayed and have great jobs as professionals in high paying jobs.

There are a lot of Asians on campus at top Universities who consider Blacks as being less intelligent. Most have developed a superior racist attitude toward Blacks, and it is a disgrace for an Indian to marry a Black, or to date one.

How Blacks help elect Jindahl is beyond me. His view of Blacks is one step behind David Duke. And he will show it through political actions.

Actually, black politicians in LA screw black voters too. Guess they are easy prey.

Hathor said...

GrannyStandingforTruth,

In 1962 some Indian students belonged to our Black Student Union at the University of Tennessee and protested with us. I guess it was their affinity with Gandhi and his efforts in South Africa.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Hathor:

It's some and in other minorities as well that are still down with the cause, but then, there are some whose minds have been poisoned with televisions, movies, and commercials images of black people.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

BTW, remember that topic back a while ago about Barnes & Noble, you should check out Amazon's fiction section for black people. Now, talking about a doozie,urban fiction books are in the non-fiction section being passed off as non-fiction.

james said...

i wonder if you could explain the slum dog governor reference as i don't understand what you mean when you call him that