Happy hour in A-merry-ca.

It was right out of central casting. (Except for the white butler) Two white guys; two black guys; black and white on each side; the beer placed just right. Isn't race relations wonderful when you plan it right? It was happy hour at the White House. Just a bunch of guys shooting the breeze and working out their differences: "So Jim, are you a saaax fan? Yes Mr. President, I am. Well you guys better do something with Dice-K or you are going to be in trouble. Well I am a Phillies fan myself. We don't have a team in Delaware. I know Joe, I was talking to Jim. Do you like baseball Skip? Is that the one where they score touchdowns? .....Let me stop and leave Skip alone. But he pissed me off when he dissed my Red Stripe and went with some A-merry-can brew. He knows damn good and well that he prefers Red Stripe. How can he have an honest discussion about race when he isn't even honest about the damn beer he drinks?

Now you guys are going to say that this is just the old cynical field being field. But what, exactly, was that on the White House back lawn this evening? Am I the only one saw the the whole thing as some surreal manifestation of the superficial nature of race relations in A-merry-ca? The staging, the forced camaraderie, and --I am sure--- the perfunctory nature of the discussion. Isn't that how we interact with each other on a daily basis? It was perfect.

Politically it might work for his O ness. Most A-merry-cans in the majority population are quite comfortable with racial lip service. They shy away from uncomfortable truths and hope they never have to encounter it in their lifetime like officer Jim had to. They are fine with a co-worker, an acquaintance, the mailman, or a child's teacher, for instance; but real engagement and meaningful social interaction is a no no.

Black folks are in their cocoons (no pun intended) as well. Many live in segregated urban sectors and never have meaningful inter action with people in the majority population. Oh there are the cops, the school teachers, and the occasional civil servant. But none of them have a white person that they can call a friend. Someone that they can tell how frustrated they really feel living in A-merry-ca with the ugly stain of racism, and not having to let some race expert (Rev. Inc.) do it for them.

"I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."

Sorry O man, it will take a little more than happy hour on the lawn. This little "beerfest" tonight isn't going to cut it. This was about two men and politics as usual. And the only thing I learned was that Harvard professors can't even be loyal to their damn beer.

I want to be a good Negro!

*

"Monday, July 27, 2009 Black Female Officer Kelly King defends Sgt Crowley.I came across this video on Booker Rising. This video definitely makes Obama and Gates look very petty in their regards to invoking race into Mr. Gate's arrest. The black female officer is Kelly King of the Cambridge Police Department. I was shocked that CNN actually interviewed her. She sounded very impassioned in her support of Sgt. Crowley. Obama want to talk on about a "teachable moment", the ultimate teachable moment for people like Henry Gates, Barack Obama and others is at the 58 second mark in the video. When I see people like Gates and Obama, I see them as a representation of everything that is wrong in America regarding race relations. Kelly King represents what is right about race relations in our country. I'm not just saying this, because she said she wasn't voting for Obama again. I had to laugh at that one myself."


~posted by conservative brother at 11:28 PM~

I am not in a good mood. The house Negroes are winning. Pretty soon massa will have to build a brand new wing on that bitch to accommodate all of them. See it's like this: Here in A-merry-ca
good Negroes get to set the dialogue when it comes to race and race relations, because good Negroes never rock the boat or upset the status quo. Good Negroes always make us feel comfortable about ourselves and our beautiful country built on racial harmony. Lately, good Negroes are all the rage. Kelly King and Leon Lashley are good Negroes. They can always be counted on to dismiss the field Negroes and their racism chasing habits. Good Negroes don't worry about racism because their white friends and bosses are sooooo good to them. A good Negro will always have a job and a place in the house here in A-merry-ca. To white folks, good Negroes are like pets, and we all know how white folks feel about their pets. Good Negroes feed into all the stereotypes so that white folks don't have to worry about offending them. For instance, if you are white and you have a good Negro over to your house, do you want to be constantly worrying what Negroes eat? Or do you want to be able to say: Honey, we are having some Negroes over, do we have enough Kool-Aid and friend chicken?......let me stop.... *trying to type and get serious, trying to type and get serious*


So I am watching Tina Brown (Editor of the "Daily Beast") this morning and she was talking about her article which dissed his O ness for getting off his health care message and falling victim to ---as she said on "Morning Joe"--- this "distraction". See, for people like Tina Brown, race is just a "distraction." That's what good Negroes do for white folks, they make race a "distraction". For some of us Negroes, it's a little more than that. It's something we live with every fucking day. Even if we are considered the successful ones, or the ones who have "made" it. (Just ask Skippy Gates and his 56% white ass. I bet he is not a good Negro anymore.) Distraction? Hey, I want universal health care as much as the next bleeding heart liberal. But guess what? If every A-merry-can is guaranteed health care but poor and minority people are still treated differently when they go to have it administered, we will be right back at square one. So yes, I would say the problem of race in A-merry-ca is more than just a little "distraction."


Anyway, I don't want to spoil the party. Tomorrow it's beer for the boyz at the White House, and his O ness will throw back some brews with the liar, Jim Crow, (Thanks Rippa) and the good doctor. (Boy I would love to be a fly on the White House wall) I wonder if his O ness will tell the men that some republiklans in congress are trying to pass a bill to force him to apologize to his new beer buddy? Yes, you read right, they are trying to move a bill through the house to force O bama to apologize because they think he abused his presidential power. See, that's what happens when the man thinks you are no longer being a good Negro. He tries to force your ass to be a good Negro by passing laws and shit. Poor Obama, deep in his heart he knows that the SOB is a liar, (I bet Michelle won't be there. I don't think Michelle is a good Negro, do you?) but what can he do? He already promised to have ole Jim over to pound back some brews. He can't back out now. He told the entire country for crying out loud.


After it's over they will all go to the White House lawn, have a quick press conference, and there will be plenty I love you mans to go around.


I have to learn to be a good Negro. I wonder if there is a good Negro school somewhere?

*pic courtesy of "chubby afro.com".

I wonder if Dr. Gates spoke up for her?

What a difference a day makes. I felt so much better today.

Anywhooo, I just caught a little of Soledad O'Brien's Black Folks in A-merry-ca Part 2, and she had some of the usual "black community experts" who brought along some influential people in their lives. Ironically, for Tom Joyner, it was Dr. Henry Louis Gates, a man who has been in the news more than Michael Jackson lately. (Hell, even his O ness talked about the Cambridge beat down at his press conference. Although I don't think white folks will like what he said much. Read the comments after the article I linked.) Sorry people, but the good Doctor disappointed me again. When Soledad asked him about his neighbor who thought she saw a spook sitting by the door and called 911, he damn near apologized for his neighbor. Hell, he even offered to send her flowers.... Dr. Gates, you are a smart man with many letters and honors, but I.... rrriiinnnggg... wait, my phone is ringing....sorry for that folks, it was the Drop Squad, and they wanted to know if I knew Dr. Gate's Cambridge address. Let me stop. (Lord I hope my friends over at The Root don't get mad at me, but they should know me by now. There goes another blogroll. )

But seriously, I got a very deep e-mail from a writer and blogger who I am starting to respect more and more called Eco.Soul. Intellectual. Fam. wrote an interesting piece about the Harvard culture and a young sister who was thrown to the wolves by some of our cousins who inhabit it.

"Several months ago, a burgeoning female scholar by the name of Chanequa Campbell, who hails from Brooklyn, NY, was kicked out of her campus dormitory and not allowed to graduate for her association to a murder suspect. More specifically, she was the friend of the suspect’s girlfriend. The confusing part of this case is that while Campbell was banned and not allowed to graduate, the suspect’s girlfriend, Brittany Smith did graduate and stayed on campus.

Campbell, who says she is from a poor family and was not part of the black elite student circle, has pointed out that it is because of her socio-economic status that she was treated in such a way, and without the support of black Harvard students or faculty. The silence of black Harvard in the case of Campbell drastically contrasting the racket made in support of Gates illuminates the serious class issues that have caused serious boiling points in the African-American community.

Gates is an established historian known most recently for his documentary, “African American Lives,” a series connects noted African-Americans back to their complex lineages such as Oprah Winfrey, Tina Turner, and Morgan Freeman. He is at the zenith of his career. He has achieved what many scholars dream.

On the other hand, Chanequa Campbell was at the beginning of her academic journey. She too has been praised for her academic success, but since her dismissal her whole life trajectory is questionable. At a time when Campbell needed the utmost guidance and support from black Harvard faculty and staff, she was quietly disregarded, suggesting that her less-than-desirable background would possibly mar the reputation of blacks on campus.

Though many do not like to acknowledge the classism in African-American communities, it is prevalent throughout the group. It is a hideous historical social construct that is determined by more than wealth, but also skin color, hair texture, education level, and sadly how distant is one’s slave lineage.

Ironically, Gates, who in his African-American heritage series repeatedly points out the “white ” blood in him to the point that he smiles in delight when a DNA scientist tells him that he has more white blood than black, is nothing but black when the police come. Yet he is “too” black to be rallied and insulated by the black and white Harvard community. Yet Campbell, with her Brooklyn roots, who is a darker, young woman with blatant West African features, is too black, even for black Harvard.

Like in the days of DuBois, who was proud of his European ancestry (Dutch and French) and his Massachusetts roots from a community of free people of color who were educated and reasonably prosperous, his pedigree, which also included his physical characteristics, were perfect for the black elite of that time. DuBois’ elitist ideology was so heavy a belief that he campaigned for blacks to support his vision of the “Talented Tenth” or a group of black intelligentsia that would further the black race and lead the rest of the group. This idea was heavily contested by other thinkers and black activists of the time, but the idea and practice of an insulated, crème de la crème, black circle still remains.

It is not surprising that Gates’ (or should I say gatekeeper) name has been saved, and in some eyes, has been elevated, while someone like Campbell, who could’ve been the next Gates or Oprah, or perhaps furthered his work, is now forgotten.

More here.

It's amazing what a cup of hot chocolate and a good nights sleep can do.