Friday, June 19, 2009

"The end of civil rights"?


I have been thinking about civil rights a lot lately, and how far we have come as a country from the dark days of Jim Crow and the likes of Bull Connor. I look around and there are positive signs of progress and people of conscience among us who no doubt will make whatever battles we face in the future easier to win.

I had this in my mind while I read the following article by Richard Thompson-Ford in the Boston Globe:

"America's racial problems are persistent and vexing, and since the 1960s, the nation has used a powerful weapon to fix them: the ideas developed during the civil rights movement. Courts and government agencies enforce legal prohibitions against discrimination; private businesses and universities fashion their own diversity policies based on civil-rights principles. Even private individuals think about race relations in civil-rights terms: we aspire to the ideal of "colorblindness," and condemn the evils of discrimination and bias.

For a long time this way of thinking made perfect sense. In the past, the biggest impediment to racial justice was overt discrimination, inspired by a widespread belief that blacks were inferior to whites. And in fighting this kind of outright prejudice, civil rights have been an astonishing success. Race discrimination in restaurants, theaters, and hotels was quickly and thoroughly eliminated by the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Discrimination in employment - while still a problem - has been dramatically reduced and is widely and roundly condemned. Public figures who make overtly bigoted statements typically suffer widespread contempt and often lose their jobs. As a result, each successive generation is less bigoted than the preceding one. Polls suggest that racial animus today is at an all-time low, and Barack Obama's election demonstrates that race is no longer the impediment it was in the recent past.

But in dealing with the worst racial problems we now face, the civil rights approach is no longer the right tool for the job. Today's most serious racial injustices aren't caused by
bias and bigotry; instead they stem from racial segregation and the many disadvantages that follow from living in isolated, economically depressed, and crime-ridden neighborhoods. These problems are a legacy of past racism, but not, by and large, the result of ongoing discrimination. Civil rights litigation and activism have hardly made a dent in these formidable obstacles. It's tempting to believe that we just need more of the same - that we've only been too timid in enforcing civil rights laws or too conservative in interpreting them. But the real problem is inherent in the civil rights approach itself: faced with racial inequities that are not caused by discrimination, civil rights law is impotent and civil rights activism too often a distraction from the real work we need to do.

To say discrimination is not the cause of our worst racial problem is not to deny that racism is still a serious problem. Even today, too many people distrust or belittle others based on casual stereotypes; racial tensions continue to trouble social interactions in schools and workplaces, and the racial hatred and contempt that underlay the Jim Crow system is far from gone. Civil rights are an important response to these problems"

The rest of the article can be found here.

I liked what Thompson-Ford was writing here; not because I agree with everything he said, (I disagree, for instance, that "racial animus is at an all time low". Polls say it is for the very reasons the author cited: it's not cool to be a racist these days. So who is going to tell a pollster how he really feels about race?) but because his article was about solutions and ways to try and attack whatever problems we have dealing with race in A-merry-ca.


It's certainly worth discussing. At least we can learn from each other.

102 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:21 PM

    I can't believe I'm first in line tonight but by the time I write this it probably won't be so.

    I read the entire article and the most important part was what you mentioned, we all have to talk to each other about this subject.

    AND as to your picture word/association all I have to say is refer all to the neat video put up by Willie Geist on MSNBC at
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31450134#31404456

    Aloha from Makaii on Maui

    ReplyDelete
  2. Right on re: animus--I wonder if he wrote this BEFORE the murder at the Holocaust Museum and never having the read the comments section in the average wingnut blog post on race/Obama.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maui, first coment for a first class person.:) See how I am sucking up? It's cause I still want to crash at your place when I come to your Island.

    Christopher, I think you are right, my man wrote this article before certain people in A-murder-ca started revealing their true colors. (No pun intented)

    ReplyDelete
  4. So what was new?

    While solving the other problems, one can not let up on the Civil Rights goals. Those chads in Florida are as insidious as Jelly beans.

    ReplyDelete
  5. One thing that I see left out way too often in calls for inner city school reform is a call for curriculum reform. A lot of my peers who never made it just lost interest because they found the educational system to be irrelevant to their experiences. But past that, the article did seem to be mostly filler... true, not much new added, and the real question is: Who's going to the fields to work?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:28 AM

    Racism is alive and well, I watched Hardball with CHRIS MATTHEW today, and he became angry about AMERICA apologizing about SLAVERY! he showed a side of him that gave me confirmation! and I will never look at him in the same way! as far as I am concerned, he is in step with RUSH and all the rest when it come's to RACISM, it's sad to say but, soon as you think you have a somewhat sincere WHITE person, they will do or say something to let you see their true color's!

    The truth is, it is not minority's that are keeping RACISM alive, BLACK'S have alway's reached out to the WHITE RACE, they didn't want us in their school or neighborhood's, and the list go's on, it's 2009 and old WHITE MEN are still killing young BLACK MEN, white men are allowed to have TV program's to try and incite a RACE WAR! and yet we still wait to have discussion's, and to discuss what? a certain segment of WHITE AMERICA have made it perfectly clear, that they do not want a BLACK PRESIDENT nor do they want to join hand's with MINORITY'S and sing "WE are the WORLD".

    HI, GRANNY* PROPHETESS WALLACE

    ReplyDelete
  7. When Cory Booker first ran for Newark NJ mayor, then Mayor/boss Sharpe James said Cory was a carpetbagger & "not black enough" & "We don't have the time to teach him." Newark is now nearly 50% other than black, & Sharpe's attitude pointed up a serious problem: Self-segregation as an expression of pride. That attitude was needed in Newark in the 1970s & 80s. James never got past it. Continuing to treat Newark as a black city prevented it from it becoming a whole city. Booker, who was indeed an outsider, saw Newark more clearly than James. James made a show of partying at the mansions of black celebrities in the burbs. Booker leans on them to invest millions in Newark.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous1:02 AM

    Good post. People really have a hard time seeing racism as a structural thing and as more than (and different from) personal prejudice / a personal failing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Prophetess Wallace. I've been sleep all day today. Besides which, from here on out,the only thing I'll be doing is reading the comments. GBU. BTW, that was a good post you posted.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:14 AM

    @Granny-"Besides which, from here on out,the only thing I'll be doing is reading the comments."

    I'll miss your comments, Granny. But it's good to know that you'll still be reading the posts. I hope you are doing well.
    A+

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey FN:
    I agree with much of what was expressed in the post. My husband is not originally from the Bay Area and he works in San Francisco. If you could see the number of homeless and indigent Black males out there your heart would sink.

    I had a white gal from Maryland ask me once: "Where are all the professional Black people here Mahndisa? Seeing all these Black bums totally different than where I grew up. I am used to seeing Black professionals etc."

    The racism in the West Coast is primarily institutional. You can go to the jails and prisons and see it. You can go to schools in the ghetto and see it. You can walk down the streets of San Francisco and see it and it is so incredibly painful.

    Californians like to think that we are in the future and that we are beyond racial issues. However, the racism is subtle and namely institutionalized in our state. And I would argue that this type of racism is far more slippery to uncover and prosecute because it is encoded into the LAW as you well know.

    In any event, we have come a long way because tons of white people voted for our President and they elected him by sheer numbers. After all, we don't have the population to have solely elected him.

    Anyway good post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Chris Wallace is a white guy who no doubt propbably struugles with the issue ofd race.He is,after all,an row house Irish Catholic from Philly who grew up here in the fifties and sixties.Think about it,how enlightened could the guy be?

    Sure he went to Holy Cross and has been in Washington for awhile now.But it's hard for a leopard to change his spots.

    So don't be surprised at anything he does.

    ReplyDelete
  13. "The racism in the West Coast is primarily institutional. You can go to the jails and prisons and see it. You can go to schools in the ghetto and see it. You can walk down the streets of San Francisco and see it and it is so incredibly painful."

    Mahndisa, that could be Philly or any other city here on the East Coast.

    "One thing that I see left out way too often in calls for inner city school reform is a call for curriculum reform. A lot of my peers who never made it just lost interest because they found the educational system to be irrelevant to their experiences. But past that, the article did seem to be mostly filler... true, not much new added, and the real question is: Who's going to the fields to work?"

    H.rw, that is a great point. Are you an educator? I don't think the issue of school curriculums is discussed enough. It's something my mother used to talk about all the time. Amd it's an area we need to explote more often.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous8:49 AM

    Field what would you change about the curriculum? Are blacks not competing in the same job markets? I understand the argument about different backgrounds, however the same could be said for the white kid coming from a population of 500 or less competing with a white city kid say taking SAT's?

    Just curious?

    ReplyDelete
  15. "Just curious", that's a good question. But why do we have to limit it to blacks? We could change the curriculum for poor white children, or poor Hispanic children, or whatever. Of course, we have to still challenge them to learn, but we should consider their backgrounds as well.

    Again, I am talking about younger children here. Kids in elementary or middle school. Dealing with the agencies that prepare standardize tests calls for a whole new discussion.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:09 AM

    Dear Baby Jesus
    Please do not let these people wake up and see that Education, Healthcare and Poverty are the big three that affects all people. Please let me keep them divided and distracted, focused on their victimization. We know a unified voice would change the big three, but I will not be able to profit from my own unless I continue to fool my own.
    Remember Baby Jesus my words; “You cannot serve the people if you can not fool the people…you cannot serve the people if you can not fool the people”
    Yours in service
    Your local, regional, national Race Profiteer.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I would qualify Thompson-Ford's statement by saying that outward racial animus is at an all time low. It is at an all time low because outward displays of racial animus can be costly. However, I suspect that deep seated racial animus has remained constant-- I can spot fakers a mile away.

    Contrary to popular belief, this deep seated racial animus is not monopolized by whites.

    There is a lot of deep seated racial animus held by persons of all hues, with blacks being the target of most the animus, in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:41 AM

    Been doing a series on this for a while, under "The New Jim Crow". I think most people have a grasp on how the drug laws and inequitable justice system conspire to create a permanent black underclass - but a lot of folks don't really grasp how things like the cost of meeting the escalating job requirements limit the ability for black and minorities to transition from poverty or even lower middle class into full membership in the middle class.

    It goes like this, blacks and other minorities tend to have fewer economic resources, not inconsequentially as a result of Jim Crow. Minority students, especially lower middle class, blue collar, and poor typically take 6 years to complete a 4 year college degree - typically working to supplement the average $40,000 cost.

    Popular in many technical and business fields today are a group of external "bolt ons" called certifications, which can add $1,500 to more than $20,000 to that cost of being "qualified" for a job - meaning another 1-2 years of study. A kid with a computer science degree now needs a Microsoft or Cisco certification to get a job. A business a management degree? You need a PMI or Six Sigma... And the list goes on, with near 1,000 different "certifications" - many of dubious validity.

    Vint Cerf, the inventor of the Internet couldn't qualify for a job as a Internet technician today...

    Because he doesn't have a Cisco or Juniper certification (don't cry for Vint, he's done well).

    Functionally this prices out minorities at a much higher rate than whites due to the family income differentials, and provides a substantial barrier to entry to poor minority kids.

    The result is fewer and fewer opportunities.

    Outsourced government, under the Bushit massively whitened the Federal Government through the manipulation of job requirements and the elimination of federal rules relative to employment fairness by placing the jobs into the commercial sector under wholly different, and much less enforced rules.

    That wasn't unintentional.

    So.. Is Jim Crow still out there?

    You betcha.

    The only difference is - it isn't directly legislated.

    ReplyDelete
  19. No doubt that education helps. It increases one's chances of success dramatically. However, one is foolish to believe that education is the sole factor to success.

    Luck, WHO YOU KNOW, etc are greater force multipliers to success. I see it frequently in my field (defense contractor).

    One can be highly educated and still get passed over for a secure government job. The system is so rigged by "the good ol boys." Ironically, I find more equity in the private sector of "defense contractor" than on the government side.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:49 AM

    btx3, it was intentional. Just like the funneling of school funds to christian skools or other oversight-free institutions.

    The staffer caught sending the President Spookface pic knows that racism ain't kewl..but sent it anyway.

    On 4chan there is a pic showing Black Men (WWII servicemen) and Ni**ers (urban losers). Our society accepts, grudgingly, AfAm adults (President Obama) but still has no truck with lazy losers who only want to steal.

    Mold

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous11:36 AM

    I wonder if he wrote this BEFORE the murder at the Holocaust Museum and never having the read the comments section in the average wingnut blog post on race/Obama.


    How many blacks are killed by whites every year? How many are killed by other blacks? Look a the enemy within.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:39 AM

    Another problem you face is that people tend to favor those like themselves over others. Who can surprised that white males choose other white males to mentor in their careers? Civil rights will never be able to get rid of that kind of tribalism; it's an inherently human trait.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous11:57 AM

    Field I can see why you would take exception to the statement you did. AS long as the baby boomers outnumber everyone else, that statement is probably false. But that being the case, there is no way that future generations will be as infected with color bias because it is being filtered out of acceptable societal norms. That small minority of hard core white supremacists won't be able to reestablish that mindset as a general paradigm.

    In fact, that was such a minor part of the overall point, that I wonder if you let it distract you a bit. Was there some other part of the essay that you didn't agree with? I for one have not heard a more clear and concise evaluation of the problem we face today from anyone in a very long time.

    I was just making a similar point over at Skeptical Brotha, that even our push for Reparations for descendants of African-American slaves should be rooted in the idea of creating an overall environment of equity. Rather than just something to enrich Black people at the expense of someone else. That tit for tat stuff should have played out a long time ago. Black people should be the first to realize and understand that our struggle for equality cannot diminish anyone else, else it is nothing more than hypocrisy; wanting to change the white oppressive regime to a Black oppressive regime is simply wrong.

    And trying to address systemic racism in the face of the public consensus that already denounces racism is counter-productive. I absolutely agree that the law enforcement tactics many of us decry as "racist" are being applied in large part on Black communities, by Black law enforcement personnel and administrators, at the specific behest of Black political and civic leaders. How can we then turn around and blame whitey? Thus the discussion is diluted and ultimately derailed by a a singularly misdirected focus.

    I must agree with Anon 10:09, that the entire system of identity politics as it is practiced today is more a function of economic rather than racial tension. We continue to assist in that system, we are in fact contributing to the divide and conquer paradigm, when we place too much focus on civil rights, which is ultimately a Black vs. White issue, instead of focusing on the real problem of haves vs have nots, an issue that has no color boundaries.

    ReplyDelete
  24. @field: Not yet, but I'm working on it... kindof an internal battle right now too.

    "Are blacks not competing in the same job markets? I understand the argument about different backgrounds, however the same could be said for the white kid coming from a population of 500 or less competing with a white city kid say taking SAT's?"

    @Anon: That's very true, and I agree... your education should be focused on uplifting you no matter what cultural environment you come from. But the problem is that the contributions of Blacks to society is often left out. Of course, we learn about MLK, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, etc... along with watching Eyes On The Prize every single year, but what about the accomplishments of Classical African civilizations or those of antiquity? When our history begins on a slave boat, we know no role but that of the oppressed. I think the focus on the job market is another issue, since if we're treating an education primarily as a means to make money, Black youths will find other quick ways to make money. First and foremost, if we want our youths liberated, they should want to learn for the sake of intellectual development. Once we have a proper foundation, then we can start making decisions about what career paths we want to take... How many of us were told by our elders "Get good grades in school so that you can get a good job and make good money?"

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous12:08 PM

    Exodus,

    You've made some very good points there. Capital has a vested interest in continuing identity politics. The more divided a community and work force is, the less power it has to challenge the status quo. The issues of class are completely on the back-burner nowadays. Race, gender, and ethnicity trump any other discussion, so little else makes into the national dialogue. As long as this continues the power of communites to challenge corporate power and lobbies will be nill.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous12:23 PM

    Rudy & Mold - If you are familiar with the government contracting arena, and in particular the defense side, then you may be familiar with the efforts by the Bushit to destroy minority owned small business -

    1. Loan guarantees by the SBC dropped by a staggering 40% for Minority Owned businesses during the Bushit - almost 2.5 times the drop in non-minority owned firms.

    2. Contact bundling channeled massive contracts to the Big 6 Contractors while virtually eliminating contracts for small minority owned firms. by ignoring the Government requirement to do 10% of business with small business, and shifting that dubiously applied reposnibility into the big contractor's hands, they were able to decrease the level of business done by small and minority owned firms by nearly 60%.

    3. To keep number up (when the Dems in Congress started screaming)a number of contracts were awarded with no intention of funding. Ergo, they could count the contract as an award to a small or minority owned firm, even though no work was ever done (because a project has to be funded before work can start), and the firm was never paid.

    4. Falsification of records, including fraudulently identifying companies such as General Dynamics, a $50+ billion firm, as a "Minority Owned Small Business" such as to avoid government regulations, and to falsify the numbers in terms of contracts warded to small business.

    And there is a lot more, for anyone who is willing to dig.

    Identifying conservative racism is not a subjective exercise.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous12:36 PM

    Anon quips - Who can surprised that white males choose other white males to mentor in their careers?

    No, Anon - that isn't that huge of a problem. The corporate dynamic is such that your status is judged by the quality of people you mentor. Yes, there is some old boy. Yes, there is some favoritism for the bosses son. Yes, there is an affinity for folks with the same background.

    However, when the shit hits the fan, decisions start to get real democratic based on success. When the shit hits the fan, most executives reach for the knife that cuts.

    As such, the most "racist" companies either a) have a chief executive who is overtly racist and thus "imprints" the organization, or b) tend to be "fat dumb and happy" like the energy industry, where profitability is virtually assured from year to year - and as such, executive performance isn't as high a premium as "getting along".

    ReplyDelete
  28. btx3,

    I worked for General Dynamics recently. And I know that it is not a minority owned company...lol.

    Notwithstanding GD's lilly-white leadership, it is a good company. They outwardly promote and practice diversity. However, I do not see any diversity in the highest echelon of its corporate leadership.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous1:33 PM

    Back in the 90's there were about 50 black Army Generals, and I believe over 100 in all branches (before Rummey). Since the typical path out of the Military is into one of those companies - you have to wonder where they all went.

    Black officers represented about 11-12% of all Generals or Admirals until the end of Clinton, today, after 8 years of Bushit - that number is down to 5.6%.

    And no, other than the obligatory black HR person, you aren't going to find a lot of diversity in the big companies of the Defense industry - which is exactly why, in better times, there are so many minority owned startups.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous1:34 PM

    Field,
    You don't have to "suck up", it is not becoming for you.

    You and Mrs. Field will always be welcome here on Maui. I know it is a long flight from Philly but who knows you might want to skip Disney land and bring one of your nieces or nephews to paradise instead someday. Our islands are suffering from the recession, Swine flu scare and now a Korean missle from the "dear leader" is being blamed for frightening tourists away. Check the airline prices online and make your plans.

    Aloha nui loa,
    Makaii

    ReplyDelete
  31. btx3, having served in the military. There is one thing I know to be true-- from O-1 to O-10, the officers are prepped for success after the military.

    Companies assume (sometimes warrantly) that they have the technical and leadership know-how. Whereas, enlisted folks need to prepare themselves.

    How does one even startup a company to procure government contracts? A lot of minorities such as myself are not privy to that information in the IT Defense sector.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous2:43 PM

    After the standard corp set-up ( incorporate, set up bank account, tax-id) go to the Small Business Administration Site which has all the necessary guides to setting up a Government contractor, including how to have the company classified as a small business (which it is).

    They also offer Seminars, which are very worthwhile, in terms of understanding the contracting system, the FAR and DFAR regulations, and the methodology to go after business. They will also go through the process of aquiring a Contractor ID Number - which you need to bid, along with your Tax-ID.

    For the armchair set, there are even E-Gov sites (free) which list each and every contract solicitation by the Government, when and where the bidders conferences are, and how to sign up to participate.

    There are some special requirements to go after Defense business, starting with the employees having security clearances. If you worked for GD, then you already have at least a Secret, so that shouldn't be a problem. Forget about a facilities level clearance until you get some money flow. Clearances are expensive, so stick with S and TS levels unless you have ready access to people with the higher levels.

    The next step is to leverage the hell out of any existing connections in the industry to be included as a "sub", network by attending conferences and meetings, and to find a decent accountant (real important!)with federal experience.

    And if successful, be prepared not to see a paycheck for about 6 months.

    That's the basics.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Rudy said...
    How does one even startup a company to procure government contracts? A lot of minorities such as myself are not privy to that information in the IT Defense sector.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    My husband did it so can you. He planned for it many years ago, first by earning a graduate degree, followed by being an officer in the military. Then he worked for the best companies in his area of training, acquiring all the certs needed to make him more qualified along the way. After that, he worked for a few years targeting companies that contract with the Feds, joined with 3 other men he met while working at one of those companies, and the rest as they say is history.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous3:59 PM

    Seems like Y'all (You All) the ones talkin the most about Race...what with y'alls obsession with skin tone/shade, Hair texture/nappiness, "Field" vs "House" and thats not even considerin y'alls worshipin the illegitimate son on an African head hunter...Was I happy at age 7 when Richard Nixon got elected?? Sure, but I didn't talk about him 24/7/365... Tell you the truth, I don't mind the Mexicans, they work hard, like baseball, and they hate y'all too... I can see a new political coalition in a few years...

    Frank

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous4:10 PM

    Uhhhhhhh... Flea - that's nice but - you don't need a graduate degree, you don't even need a college degree to start a company and do federal contracting. Some of the most successful companies do maintenance or construction of government facilities.

    Try and help the brother - instead of running him off on some wild goose chase with your dumb arsed, juvenile hallucinatory rantings.

    ReplyDelete
  36. btx3, I know a graduate degree is not necessary...lol.

    Exposure to information is key. Thanks for the information. I have been thinking about recycling. IT is too much of a hassle. Some of the best opportunities are low-tech in nature.

    You are correct in assuming I have a security clearance. I have a TS/SCI. I got it while in the military. Who would have known it would lead to good job security.

    ReplyDelete
  37. btx3 said...
    Uhhhhhhh... Flea - that's nice but - you don't need a graduate degree, you don't even need a college degree to start a company and do federal contracting.
    Try and help the brother - instead of running him off on some wild goose chase with your dumb arsed, juvenile hallucinatory rantings.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    Fuck you, you dumb underachieving asshole!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous8:24 PM

    Very good, Mr. Field.

    I would like to point out, the "lazy Mexicans." I have never known a "lazy Mexican". I work in the construction industry, and the best laborers I have ever had the privilege to meet were Mexican American. One can see it in Mexico, where a guy 60 years old, hooks a 5 gallon bucket of dirt on his shoulder and trudges up a 60 degree incline to dump it and scampers back down for the next.

    Same for the American Indian folks, same for the American Black folks.

    Now, as you point out, the Inner Cities are a different story. There is still segregation there. There are White, Black, Hispanic, Oriental neighborhoods. Crime is the same, the outbursts are the same. Therefore, we as a people, should not criticize poverty, as it is equal in all ghettos. However, the black ghettos in the inner cities are more predominant because of racial disparity. That is the challenge. There is still the stereotyping of the black race that far exceeds all other racial denominations in this country.

    Hispanics are more targetted in the southern coastal areas, because whites think of crossing of the borders. Therefore, in the border states, on the borders, the Hispanic population is harrassed.

    Overall, I think we as a Nation have a lot to overcome. No matter color, race, creed, sexual preference, whatever.

    It is time to look once again toward the great teachers of this world; Jesus, Mohammad, Ghandi and my beloved Martin Luther King, Jr., the Reverend Doctor...God bless his soul forever. Such a great man, and as a small child, I was so privileged to meet him!

    Let us only hope that we shall overcome, someday.

    Godspeed to y'all.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I think a lot of the racial segregation is due to present day discrimination, not just past discrimination.

    ReplyDelete
  40. "@field: Not yet, but I'm working on it... kindof an internal battle right now too."

    Good for you;seriously consider it.

    "..In fact, that was such a minor part of the overall point, that I wonder if you let it distract you a bit."

    No distraction EM. In fact, I agree with a lot of what the writer said. However,I felt compelled to make the distinction between our points of views.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I was rereading the first paragraph of this post, I thinking that thing about living in Jim Crow didn't always means there were Bull Connors or the KKK harassing blacks folks. It could be a bucolic life as long as no one step out of their place. Black folk do not have to speak out of turn, but only have to be living well to be perceived as being out of place. There can not be and end to Civil Right because even if all of our problems were solved, all of us moved out of poverty and we created a niche economy, we could be set upon with racist wrath. There has to be a legal watch dog.
    I wonder if you were to ask any Jewish person would they think this is a post racial society.

    Civil Rights is not about making progress, it is about making sure that our rights as citizens and humans are kept.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Blogger Mahndisa S. Rigmaiden s

    "In any event, we have come a long way because tons of white people voted for our President and they elected him by sheer numbers. After all, we don't have the population to have solely elected him."

    First I would like to say that I'm proud of you Sis.I seen your site and I know you are a genius.Quantum Physics, blackholes,you're on the level with Stephen Hawkins and I know that.You and your friend didn't see mostly poor blacks on the street because of the "Bell Curve". Oakland and San Fran have a lot of poor brothers there. Some whites voted for the President because McPain was a outright liar. When Keith Olbermann and David Letterman was laughing at McPain rushing back to Washington to handle the financial situation on Katie Couric's show , that woke them up.White people in cleveland that use to work for the auto plants were living under bridges.A white guy with a Confederate flag flying outside his house put up a sign that said "I'm voting for the Nigger."If it was like that and whites were tolerant, the President should have won by more.Racist without college or high school degrees like Klannity and Rusty know that if the playing field is equal, idiots like them and their friends would have to work as hard as black people. No more free rides.Chuck D said "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back".That's the truth.When President Johnson got the "race reports" in the 60's it had what to do. Nothing was done.If whites don't share the bounty of America with others. the only solution will be Communism.Affirmative Action won't work, we need Affirmative Action X10 to the power of pi.You have so-called intelligent people like Alan Keyes saying that the President was born in Kenya. His mother couldn't have been there during the Mau-Mau rebellion and giving birth. They were killing white people at the time. That's why Barack Obama Sr. was in Hawaii.When white racist make up excuses like "flag pin", secret Muslim and broadcast it on "Radio Rwanda" it shows the world how unfair America is.You have people like Glenn Beck being a "shot caller" having people murdered.Three cops in Pittsburgh, because of a lie about FEMA camps and ACORN.American "Capitalism"don'e work unless you have a group of people that are a permanent underclass to rip off from.Minorities and other progressives are uniting .When peole like Palin and Bachmann are sending dog whistles to kill the President something is wrong in America. The REALLY rich don't want to share.I'm not worried about the future because minorities will outnumber whites soon and we'll be more fair than the folks who watch FOX.Like James Edward Olmos said in "America Me" to the George Jackson character in the movie "we can build this thing up or tear this mother down.The right has already started to tear it down. If I believe that blacks were naturally inferior, then whites should put us in a oven.We had COINTELPRO, Iran/Contra and Ollie North dumping drugs on South Central,Tuskeegee, and we're still here.If no one help the poor, the poor will have to help themselves.It shouldn't have to be that way.

    OT, what's up libhom.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Black Rose1:47 AM

    Field,
    When you have an opportunity read
    "The Mis-Education of the Negro"

    http://www.amazon.com/Mis-Education-Negro-Carter-Godwin-Woodson/dp/086543171X

    Then get back to us about this apologist's article.

    Black Rose

    ReplyDelete
  44. Blogger FlyNMy40s said...

    Rudy said...
    How does one even startup a company to procure government contracts? A lot of minorities such as myself are not privy to that information in the IT Defense sector.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    My husband did it so can you. He planned for it many years ago, first by earning a graduate degree, followed by being an officer in the military. Then he worked for the best companies in his area of training, acquiring all the certs needed to make him more qualified along the way. After that, he worked for a few years targeting companies that contract with the Feds, joined with 3 other men he met while working at one of those companies, and the rest as they say is history.
    ___________________________________
    All that is bull and probably a lie.Go to the library and ask them for a business plan.You can also get books on business plans. Pick the type of business.Now you need money for loans,"angels",(that's what they are called), or a venture capitalist.

    Your best bet is to start a real small business as a trial run.You can sell specialized T-shirts, or food. The biggest growth industry is the service industry. Janitorial companies and housekeeping are pretty good. You also need to learn about marketing.Find out what people are buying.Know about your business so you won't get played.

    If you do what fly says in 40 years you can start a business.

    Here's one thing examine a delivery person's paper route.See how much they have to put in and how much they make back. Then there's the rule of 72.You have to charge three times the amount you put into the product.Then buy Saving Bonds to use as collateral don't touch them.Buy at least one or two a week.Most important don't co-mingle the money.Make the business a corporation and separate it from your personal money.I just gave you $3.000.00 worth of advice .

    One more thing most first time start up FAIL. People get it right the second or third time. There should be a government sponsored Small Business assistants program in your area.Then try the Urban League and the N.A.A.C.P they have mentoring programs as well.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Black Rose2:02 AM

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink



    According to the novel,1984, doublethink is:

    “ The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth."

    The author of the article in the Boston Globe did this well.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Racism is as a serious problem today as ever, but the overt racist is easy to overcome, like you said, it just isn't cool to be racist anymore.
    I have been learning about institutionalized racism lately and it is deep rooted in our government, the legal system and especially in the housing industry.
    Just been reading on "redlining," and that it is widely practiced today, if a person of any color but white, sees a house in a certain neighborhood, and this person loves it and can afford it, but the realtor knows it is a "white neighborhood" they will tell you all kinds of things wrong with the house, or the lender up your points or interest rate to "persuade" you not to buy. But the reverse is also true as well, if I am driving through a nice neighborhood and call on a house I see and meet the realtor and they see I appear white, but the house was in a "Black neighborhood" they will say the same things, they will tell me all the things wrong with it and the problems with getting a loan on it, and then show me a house in the "correct" neighborhood.
    I think we are all well aware of the institutionalized racism in the legal system and in zoning laws.
    When these institutional types of racism are rooted out and exposed, we may see a real beginning to the end of all forms of racism.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hey btx3,

    Thanks for keeping it real.You know and I know she's full of it. That sound like a leftover Bush speech.If you work hard in America you can make it...what a damn joke.

    ReplyDelete
  48. grinder2:58 AM

    I think the biggest bang for the buck would be to intensively focus on the culture of poverty. This is not complicated: Family, education, investment, future.

    ReplyDelete
  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Author's premise:
    "Today's most serious racial injustices...stem from racial segregation and the many disadvantages that follow from living in isolated, economically depressed, and crime-ridden neighborhoods."

    Answers are elusive. They're more elusive when the problem is poorly framed, or poorly perceived.

    Yet, the hurdles identified in the premise above have been around for decades.

    It's not that we woke up suddenly one day and realized the nature and the prevalence of the problem.

    And if the author is right regarding his assessment of the problem, then the solutions are inherent in the problem.

    The problems outlined in the article are not insurmountable, and neither are they easily fixable.

    And if they're not being fixed, then perhaps something else is involved--a possible reality that hasn't been addressed.

    We would all agree that many blacks have surmounted, have achieved, in the face of these overwhelming "racial injustices."

    Somehow I feel that something is being left out, something is missing.

    I'm going to take a guess here, as I'm not as yet omniscient.

    That missing piece, I believe, is that many blacks in the inner city have divorced themselves from the rest of society, especially white society.

    Being white, living white, is not what drives them, but just the opposite.

    A black counterculture has grown up within the society that we call America.

    It's so pervasive, that it's now becoming a value. To act white--to speak white, to think white, to assimilate--is no longer the virtue, or the goal, it once was.

    So, if blacks are acting too educated--hence, too white-- they're seen as being co-opted, and no longer identifiable within the inner city black communities.

    I'm speaking mostly of the youth in these community.

    The counterculture movement has been growing for a time. It's now reaching its apex.

    This culture has its own language, its own music, its own dress, its own set of values (no-snitching being one of them) that define it.

    It grew out of a distrust, disdain, and a repudiation of most things white.

    As long as there's this refusal to cooperate with the larger white society, then the problem will persist.

    These blacks can't reconcile an anti-white value system, which calls for non-cooperation with whites, with a system that calls for economic improvement, by cooperating with whites.

    The only way to make real, and lasting improvements is to cooperate.

    Black rappers have allowed themselves to be so co-opted, and are walking a narrow tightrope.

    Yet, their music, often touting material gain, doesn't generally use education as the way to achieve that gain.

    The two positions are antithetical, and irreconcilable.

    Still desirous of some white material trappings, we see an investment in drugs, guns, prostitution, etc. as a means of attaining those things.

    Having achieved a status within the black community, without selling out their countercultural values by participating within the white values system that they disdain, they get to have it both ways.

    That these countercultural values are destructive to the black community is immaterial.

    What is more important is the system of non-white cooperation, regardless who may be hurt by it.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous7:41 AM

    The civil rights "discussion" is far from over. We have many more miles to go down this road. With any luck at all, we'll go down it together.
    Sarah Deere

    ReplyDelete
  52. kid said...
    All that is bull and probably a lie.Go to the library and ask them for a business plan.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    I posted on this blog how my husband did it and you shit for brains young people like btx3, who think you know so dam much and are obviously jealous, shoot it down.

    YOU son are a House Nigger because only a House Nigger would put down one of the many ways to get to financial independance and freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  53. You know "kid" you're really a stupid ass. Do you think Bill Gates go the idea for Microsoft and learned how to implement them by going to a fucking library?

    ReplyDelete
  54. Fly

    FYI

    Bill Gates didn't graduate college. Steve Jobs dropped out and Steve Wozniak hadn't finished college, when they created Apple.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Hey Fly,

    Gates made his money because he bought the operating system from IBM for $50,000.00. They had to pay him a royality on each one. His background is Business.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Hathor said...
    Bill Gates didn't graduate college. Steve Jobs dropped out and Steve Wozniak hadn't finished college, when they created Apple.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    No shit sherlock! Guess what they all have in common? THEY"RE ALL WHITE!!!

    Excluding the music/entertainment industry, how many Black folks do you know rose to CEO status without a FINISHED college education?

    You even bringing this up is plain ignorant. Black people don't have the luxury of "skin color favor" that whites have and for the overwhelming majority of us, EDUCATION is the ONLY way to a better life. I know many blacks espeically in gov't, that have jobs with advanced degrees that their white colleges and equal were able to get with a 2 year degree and "experience".

    You know I just lost a TON of respect for you for even mentioning white men without college degrees, as if Black men could be as successful without college degrees.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Excuse Fly,

    From the way he sound he went to school. You're telling him to go back to school, get in the service, then work for somebody.Then in 80 years he'll might have a business.Why should he serve for a country that HATES people with his color. They don't even want a President his shade.

    He said BUSINESS, not join the service.Since it's so nice, YOU JOIN !

    ReplyDelete
  58. BTW Fly

    You hate a black President, Affirmative Action, and anything that helps black people.YOU ARE A TOM !

    Black businesses are ALWAYS ripped off.Name more than five black owned hair care companies. That all there are.White businesses destroyed them, it wasn't because we were stupid.Look at the back of your hair care products for the proud lady symbol, it means black owned.There were hundreds of black owned companies.It's the same with funeral homes.NO MATTER WHAT BUSINESS A BLACK PERSON GOES INTO WHITES WILL DESTROY IT.

    When a black person hears that they have to go to the service they run and sell dope.YOU TOLD THE MAN TO GO TO THE SERVICE. You really are a republiklan.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous11:13 AM

    Hate to be the first to tell you Flyshit, but many of the wealthiest black folks in America don't have degrees. While it is a prerequisite to be a Fortune 1000 CEO, and to succeed in certain fields - Medical, Legal, Engineering...

    There are literally hundreds of other occupations, especially in business where it doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

    Got nothing to do with skin color.

    The question is, instead of spending that average $40,000 on a degree, would you be better off spending that money on a buying a franchise?

    For a number of degrees, the answer is buy the franchise. Have a younger cousin who does $20 -30 million a year in facilities maintenance, another who has a multimillion dollar business paving state highways.

    Considering the endemic level of discrimination in some fields, it may well be a better idea.

    Magic Johnson, whose net worth is over $800 million - does not have a degree. Oprah Winfrey didn't actually graduate from Tennessee state before her meteoric career rise, which she attended from 1971-73, and was awarded a degree by the school in 1987, well into her career. Mel Farr, whose automotive empire grosses over $400 million a year, like most professional athletes of the time didn't finish college (I believe after he started his business he did go back).

    So Flyshit, you line about about "special white boy dispensation" is as full of shit as you are.

    Kid - Woz dropped out of college in 1975, he went back in 1981 earning degrees in comp sci and EE.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Hey btx3,

    you should tell her that some white kids learn the business school stuff in jr. and sr. high school.Some get it from jr. Achievement or 4H.This need to be taught to young black kids the same way.

    Man what you did was give $3,000.00 worth of business advice and someone trying to hate on someone.You did everything BUT write up the business plan.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Fly,

    What is the outrage? My comment was in response to this.

    "You know "kid" you're really a stupid ass. Do you think Bill Gates go the idea for Microsoft and learned how to implement them by going to a fucking library?

    Did I misconstrue your logic?

    ReplyDelete
  62. kid said...
    You're telling him to go back to school, get in the service, then work for somebody.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    Look you non reading jack ass. I did NOT tell him to go back to school, I simply told the way MY husband became a govt contracting CEO. Dam, how in the hell did you get into college without ANY reading comprehension skills??

    FYI, I DO support affimative action, you're just another nigger spouting off about shit you don't know anything about. And let me tell you exaclty what makes YOU a nigger. Unlike you, I support ALL my people no matter their political affiliation, and I don't have to put other folks down on blogs because SOME of thier views don't line up with my own.

    So why don't you take your sad, ignorant, ASSuming ass back down to the hole you obviously crawled out of, and don't come out until you learn how to read.

    ReplyDelete
  63. I am not sure, but didn't Flynmy40s mention that her husband was white in some previous comment.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Hey Hathor,

    Usually Alicia and Fly post about the same time. What's weird is that they always complement each other.I don't agree with Field 100%, but Fly and Alicia agree with each other 101%. Can you say multiple personality.They both hate the President and have a chip on their shoulder about black men.

    I think she did mention a white husband and a bi-racial child.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Kid
    The reason I mentioned the husband, if he is white, is that she should not use her husband as an example as how a black man should proceed in business. Especially since she went on a tirade with me saying,

    "You even bringing this up is plain ignorant. Black people don't have the luxury of "skin color favor" that whites have and for the overwhelming majority of us, EDUCATION is the ONLY way to a better life."

    Otherwise, I could care less to whom she is married.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous1:20 PM

    Kid sez - Man what you did was give $3,000.00 worth of business advice and someone trying to hate on someone.You did everything BUT write up the business plan.

    Kid - You look over at the sidebar, and you will see Field teaching a kid to read. I'm no good at that, so I do something I am good at - which is help folks with a good head on their shoulders and who are willing to invest the time and work in starting a business in terms of free mentoring. You go around the black blogsphere, you will find a few folks I've supported and I would like to think helped. I don't limit that to black folks, and have also helped 1/2 dozen or so white and Hispanic entrepreneurs.

    My only goal here was to help Rudy. Flyshit is way too stupid and ignorant to bother with, which is why he/she/it needs to lie so much about imaginary "accomplishments".

    I get paid for doing some of the same sorts of things by bigger companies. When I do that, it isn't cheap - and several of my clients have been wildly successful. I'm also a serial entrepreneur.

    As to the Flyshit's -

    FYI, I DO support affimative action, you're just another nigger spouting off about shit you don't know anything about. And let me tell you exaclty what makes YOU a nigger.

    Ain't it funny how the "n" word suddenly comes out and gets bandied about by some folks pretending to be Negroes?

    Methinks Field should send our little Flyshit on an extended board vacation.

    I mean - I see Field deletes a number of comments, some of which I would believe from my own blog experience to be supposedly white posters using the same sort of racially pejorative language...

    ReplyDelete
  67. "I mean - I see Field deletes a number of comments, some of which I would believe from my own blog experience to be supposedly white posters using the same sort of racially pejorative language..."

    I have NEVER deleted a comment on this blog! EVER! If a comment is deleted it was deleted by the original poster. Just an FYI.

    Now carry on. :)

    ReplyDelete
  68. google7:23 PM

    Hate to be the first to tell you Flyshit, but many of the wealthiest black folks in America don't have degrees

    Generally speaking, the only legsl path to a high income (which often gets pissed away and never actually turned into wealth, which is NOT the same as income) is to be a successful entertainer, by which I include athlete because I consider athletes "kinetic entertainers."

    Just about everything else that's legal, i.e., not drug dealing, requires a college degree and often grad school. And, by the way, entertainers who are uneducated rarely become wealthy. They either spend it on bling or someone defrauds them.

    ReplyDelete
  69. grinder7:24 PM

    Oops, I labeled it google (?!) and not grinder.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Kid, thanks for the advice. I appreciate Fly's input. But at this point, I am not trying to acquire another degree. For some reason, the ROI is not what I expected.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Anonymous8:20 PM

    Google - "One man's boat, is another man's Yacht."

    I suspect what we are talking about in terms of "wealth" and "wealthy" are two, very very different things.

    Up to about $5 million in net worth, the majority of the people indeed have degrees. North of that, the majority do not. North of about $50 million to the billions - 70% don't have college degrees.

    You can look it up... on Google.

    ReplyDelete
  72. racism is no relic

    sexism is no relic

    and homosexuals are increasingly abused by all races politically, criminally, and religiously...

    so

    civil rights issues are no relics politically

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  73. kiddo:

    your quasi-illiterate sexist and insanely selective rants herein truly repulse and enrage me...

    MANY posters herein agree/piggyback/"complIment!" each other etc...

    MANY posters use their spouses as examples/pump their own blogs etc herein...

    you will NOT hold fly and i to any unique rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    especially since FN makes the rules here you juvenile moron!!!!
    NOT U!!!!

    ____

    fly:

    ditto to all my sista!!!!!!!!

    i remain silent as you slay kiddie et al FAR too easily...no tag team action from me is necessary

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  74. btx:

    mere words never offend me

    poverty/ignorance/bigotry...these things offend me deeply!

    the word nigger offends me far less than the house negroes it sooooooo precisely describes

    fyi
    http://www.geocities.com/ambwww/CLARENCE-THOMAS.htm

    ___

    so fly:

    superbly accurate usage of the n word my sista!!!

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous9:35 PM

    FYI,
    ab and Fly are the same person with similar grandiose lies. Haven't y'all noticed?

    ReplyDelete
  76. assnon:

    yet another blatant lie

    you are the resident pathological liar herein

    are these incessant lies all you have???

    pathetic!
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  77. Hathor said...
    I am not sure, but didn't Flynmy40s mention that her husband was white in some previous comment.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    You and kid are pathetically STUPID!!!

    My husband is BLACK, VERY darkskinned, 6'3" chocolate bar of fineness!! An HBCU trained Engineer by training who served this country as an Officer in the military.

    Why in the hell would I have even mentioned my husband to Rudy if he wasn't Black? Gezz, ya'll are some dumb asses! Did you not think it possible that a Black man could achieve the success that he has? Obviously, or else you wouldn't have played that "oh, she's married to a white man" bullshit.

    Who was it that said if you control a man's mind you don't have to worry about what that man will do? Years after slavery you idiots STILL have a slave mentality.

    Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!

    ReplyDelete
  78. Anonymous10:33 PM

    ab,

    You know it's the truth. Stop hiding and shine the light of truth for us. Rev Wright will be proud of you.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Some of you are the reason Blacks as a race will NEVER "overcome" because all white folks have to do is sit back and watch us destroy ourselves, SMDH!!!.

    Or should I say I'll watch YOU fcuk up your own lives because mine will ontinue to be blessed!!!

    ReplyDelete
  80. amen fly:

    i second that!

    arrogantly ignorant, envious, evil... crayfish in a barrel!

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  81. grinder10:41 PM

    btx3, post a link. I'm having a hard time believing it, unless maybe the list of rich people is 70% entertainers.

    ReplyDelete
  82. ditto fly:

    i have never seen the likes of the blatant liars who just create bs herein and post it as fact...

    even when posts herein document/prove said endless lies...

    just psycho wilding by shameless liars herein unlike i have ever seen on any other blog...

    it is truly a disgrace to fn!!!

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  83. It was easy for you idiots to assume I was married to a white man because you needed to fit my conservative, fine, educated, successful ass into some stereotypical box to asuage your pathetic egos and opinions about black conservatives. And one would think that by now you've got the message that as hard as you try, I do NOT fit into your ill spirited opinions about who I am, what I do, and what I stand for. The fact is that I had done more for Black people before I was 30 than some of you will ever do in your lifetime, yet you have the audacity to judge me?

    Nigga's pluuleeezzzee!

    ReplyDelete
  84. Black Rose10:50 PM

    Black Diaspora,
    You almost got it. But missed it by just a little.
    That counterculture you speak of has existed since slavery, but there is a spirit of cooperation without the necessary degradation, that is what is repugnant to some. Quite simply, Black Pride instead of assimilation equaling annihilation of all things within the Black culture through condemnation. FL Michele Obama touched on this in her thesis. Keep trying.

    ReplyDelete
  85. alicia banks said...
    just psycho wilding by shameless liars herein unlike i have ever seen on any other blog...

    it is truly a disgrace to fn!!!
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    I stopped trying to "get it" one week into posting on FN's sight. I've finally come to accept the fact that the crab in the bucket mentality which plagues Black folks will NEVER, EVER go away.

    Yet these same folks were shouting from the rooftops about the first Black president? Fcuking hypocrits!

    ReplyDelete
  86. amen fly!

    and most of the pathological assnon liars who claim you are married to a wm are ojs anyway...

    most of them who are lying about my academic/professional careers are also lying on their own resumes...

    i keep my corp/academic/educator careers separate...
    funny how they hate on me for a 10th of what i have actually achieved...i have earned numerous corp awards that i never mention...

    all because even their fake resumes pale by comparison to my actual one...

    it is projection!

    they are so flawed that they sling their own flaws upon us/others...

    shame!!!!
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  87. One final comment. This post was about civil rights but why in the hell should black folks concern themselves with civil rights when they have yet to master CIVILITY toward each other?

    Good night AB and the other true Black warriors in the blogosphere!

    And Happy Father's Day to all the Black men being true Father's to their children!!!

    ReplyDelete
  88. Opps, I should have said Happy Ftaher's Day to the white men too since I know a few very good white fathers as well!

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous10:59 PM

    "I keep my corp/academic/educator careers separate...
    funny how they hate on me for a 10th of what i have actually achieved...i have earned numerous corp awards that i never mention..."

    Really? What else have you achieved, miss IQ 250? Why don't you call the Prez, he'll be glad to give someone as smart as you a job. Or, call Uncle Thomas. Maybe you could work for his Tomming ass. You two would make a great team.

    ReplyDelete
  90. assnon:

    your envy is tangible!

    i despise obama and ct even more than hater morons like you...neither impress me with their thin resumes and thinner souls...i would NEVER work for either hoaxes!

    fyi
    i am blessed and happily & dually employed

    do not assume that everyone is unemployed and job hunting as you are...so save the job tips for YOURSELF fool!!!!
    _____

    fly:

    good night my warrior sista!

    peace
    ab

    ReplyDelete
  91. Flynmy40s,
    It is interesting that you did not deny saying that your husband was white, you only stated the reason why you would not have. I didn't make that assumption, I remembered some comment which I may have wrongly attributed to you. I noticed that your life's story appears to contain many contradictory anecdotes.

    This my sound trite, but do you remember the story of the "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous1:11 AM

    "fly:

    good night my warrior sista!

    peace
    ab"

    Why write a comment to Fly when your sista is sitting right next to you?

    ReplyDelete
  93. assnon:

    just say no

    are your dumb babies getting contacts
    from your crack pipe????

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous1:15 AM

    Is this the end of civil rights? Yes it is. Why is it the end of civil rights? Because no one can get together and really address issues without resorting to disrespecting and fighting those within the same struggle. If COINTELPRO was partly responsible for some of the downfalls of the civil rights movement during the 60s and 70s, it's no longer needed. We still hate each other. P.E.A.C.E.

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous1:39 AM

    "are your dumb babies getting contacts
    from your crack pipe????"

    I can tell that you are attracted to me. Sorry, I don't have any crack or drugs. What's it like, ab?

    ReplyDelete
  96. Hathor said...
    I noticed that your life's story appears to contain many contradictory anecdotes.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    No lady, my life does NOT contain ANY "contradictory anecdotes". It's simply that you and others in your blatant and conspicuous jealousy, refuse to believe my life is as blessed as it is. When folks write lies about me, such as I'm married to a white man, I'm not a Scientist, etc, you choose to believe it because it makes your own life seem less miserable and empty.

    Your comments only prove one thing and that is that you're NO warrior for Black folks. You're simply a "Tom" in Field Negro clothing.

    ReplyDelete
  97. Mack Lyons9:11 PM

    "I have NEVER deleted a comment on this blog!"

    Never? I think you'd better start, Field. Before the comments page completely turns to pure shit.

    And as a pro tip, try checking the IPs of some of our commentators here. Two or more sharing the same IP? RED FLAG. Most people here are dumb enough to troll blogs and forums without putting proxies up and whatnot.

    ReplyDelete
  98. And when you check those IP's Field, make sure you note that AB and I are NOT posting from the same IP but I suspect those pointing the fingers at others, just may be.

    ReplyDelete
  99. Anonymous4:38 PM

    As long as the limp haired,flat butt racist exist,Blacks are doomed!
    Im counting on 2012 to eliminate large numbers of cancerous crakkkers & thier arab/asian/fake jew khazzar/latino spin offs
    If the black man is the original man,the all the above are cheap degrading copies!

    ReplyDelete
  100. Anonymous4:03 AM

    I was searching for some reference about this particular topic, glad that I found your article in google. Great insight.

    Work from Home

    ReplyDelete
  101. clearwords8:27 PM

    I just finished reading

    The Mis-Education of the Negro
    and it is a truly great book, a good read for
    people of all races to better understand the history of and progress of African
    Americans in this country.

    ReplyDelete