The deferment of King's dream continues.

I was going to post about black and brown (Latino) people coming together throughout the African Diaspora tonight. But then I got an e-mail from a regular from the fields named Kimberlie (I hope she doesn't mind me using her name), and she sent me this link.

Now I don't want to keep stating the obvious, because let's face it; people are sick and tired of being sick and tired about racism and all the bullshit that comes along with it. But let's be honest, there are some sick motherfuckers living among us who share the precious air that we breathe.

"Oh come on field, not another post about racism in America?" Yep, another post about racism in A-merry-ca. Because the shit these ignorant ass people are doing really bothers me. Think about it white folks; think about how upset you get when protesters show up at the funerals of dead soldiers, and shout out things that takes away from their memory and their service. This is how upset I get when on the day that we choose to commensurate the death of a great African American civil rights leader these ignorant mother fuckers choose to make their point by marching on Jena. "Oh come one field, there were just a few of them, they don't in any way represent the views of most Americans." Maybe they don't represent the views of most A-merry-cans, but they sure as hell represent the views of quite a few more A-merry-cans than were actually marching today.

I am sorry, there are people in this country who will never change (Sorry Dr. King), and knowing that makes me forever vigilant against these mother fuckers. Call it "Extreme Color Arousal Disorder" like my man Francis Holland , or just pure racism, but it ain't going away.

But I guess I shouldn't be so upset, because these racist- like the ones who marched today- are out in the open. It's the ones who are in the closet that I worry about. The ones who hold real positions of power. The morons who marched today have no real power. The only power they think they have is the color of their skin. That is what gives them hope. I might be a broke ignorant son of a bitch, but I have my whiteness.....ahh you gotta love it. But the racist with real power who hide behind mahogany desks, robes and boardroom walls, scare me. Because they don't strike by marching with their racist friends on the streets of some Southern town. No, they strike with pink slips, long sentences, and bank foreclosure notices. They have replaced the dogs and fire hoses with legislation and slick back room tactics. Our job is to be vigilant, and not be so blinded by what we dream about and what we want the country to be that we don't see the shit that's going on right now. What happened in Jena today was the tip of the ice berg. And I will spend every day of my life trying to melt that motherfucker.

Divine intervention!

"The only way _ let me stress that _ the only way that I believe that me or this community has been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community...."I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that."

I just did Mr. Walters.

But let me get this straight, the only reason there wasn't any trouble at the march on Jena, is because of the intervention of good old JC. Is that it Mr. Walters? Wow, JC must really love the people of Jena to "directly" intervene so that there would be no trouble. I guess the fact that the marchers were well disciplined and behaved had nothing to do with it huh Mr. DA?

Folks, are you as amazed as I am at how certain people can just throw out the name of JC when it suits their own purpose? The thing is, if JC is so omnipotent, why did he (or she) let Jena happen in the first place? I mean since he (or she) prevented the violence from happening shouldn't he (or she) have intervened from the jump and allowed the black kids to sit under that tree?

I gotta tell you though, thank goodness for JC. If it wasn't for him protecting good Southern white towns like Jena and it's DA, Reed Walters, can you imagine how much trouble we would have had with those black folks dowen there ? Thank goodness we have JC, to protect all those God fearing white people. (God is JC's dad in case you were wondering) I mean every body knows that JC is just there to protect them. Not the black folks, they (the black folks) are Godless. I mean if JC was looking out for black people, do you think that three times as much blacks would be sitting in prison than on a college campus this fall? Do you think that damn near seven out of ten black households would be run by single mothers? Do you think that over 300 people would have been slaughtered in the bloody streets of Killadelphia, Pistolvania this year alone? And that most of those killed would be black men killed by other black men? I don't think so.

Nope, JC couldn't love us. The protection we got in Jena was collateral protection. The real people being watched over were the good white folks of Jena. The black people marching were just at the right place at the right time.

But thanks again JC for keeping those marchers down in Jena in line. No wonder all those Southern white people love you so much, and they spend so much time in those fancy homes they built for you. But we built some fancy homes for you in the hood too, how come we don't get that kind of love? I mean you protect the town folks of Jena from us, but you won't protect us from each other.

Oh well, at least you were kind enough to let the subject of all this fuss get out of jail. Hey, he and his family might just want to talk to you, just like the white "christian folks" in Jena do.

JENA IN BLACK & WHITE:ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING.

"Scenes from America, circa once upon a time.
White men taking sledgehammers to the door of the jailhouse in Marion, Ind., intending to murder three African-American prisoners. The sheriff orders his men not to interfere.
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White men hearing testimony tying two white defendants conclusively to the kidnap, torture and murder of a black boy in Money, Miss. The jury takes less than an hour to set them free.

White men with badges arresting three civil rights workers for an alleged traffic violation in Neshoba County, Miss. Forty-four days later, the workers' bodies are dug out of an earthen dam.

There are other examples -- literally thousands -- but let three suffice to make the point. Which is that African Americans have frequently found the justice system to be about anything but justice. From the day slavery ended, that system has often been its surrogate, a tool used specifically for the suppression and control of black people.
There was no artifice about it. This conspiracy of beat cops and county sheriffs and DAs and judges and senators and attorney generals operated openly and with impunity.
Everyone knew there were simply different rules, different enforcement, and different punishment for blacks.

Maybe your impulse is to seal all that off in a mental box called history, interesting, lamentable, but hardly relevant. In which case, what will you say about Jena?
Meaning, of course, the tiny Louisiana town now infamous for a series of events that began a year ago when a black high school student asked the principal if it was OK for him to sit under a shade tree white kids claimed as theirs. The principal told him yes. But the next day, nooses were found hanging in the tree.

The principal wanted the white kids who did it expelled, but the superintendent overruled him, briefly suspending them instead. Expulsion, he felt, was excessive for this 'prank.'
There followed weeks of racial brawls and even an arson fire. A black student, Robert Bailey, was hit in the head with a beer bottle by a white kid who was later charged with simple battery and released on probation.

After a white student, Justin Barker, supposedly taunted Bailey about it, six black kids allegedly jumped him, kicking and stomping. Barker was knocked out and had a black eye. He was treated and released at the hospital and felt well enough to go out that same night.
Yet the DA called it attempted murder.

Yes, charges against five of the six were eventually reduced. Yes, an appeals court just overturned the aggravated battery conviction of the only student whose case has been adjudicated.

But it is hard to be sanguine. This unjust justice is hardly unique. Consider Genarlow Wilson, 17, sentenced to 10 years for a voluntary act of oral sex with a 15-year-old. And Marcus Dixon, 18, who drew 10 for having sex with an underage white girl. And Shaquanda Cotton, who shoved a white teacher's aide and got seven years from a judge who had earlier given probation to a white girl who burned down her family's house. A 2000 study cosponsored by the Justice Department codifies the obvious: People of color receive starkly unequal treatment in the 'justice' system.

Where blacks are concerned, it seems, that system often still exists not to enforce law and protect order, but to intimidate and compel. But at least they care enough about appearances these days to lie.

'Race? This has nothing to do with race. Oh, no.' Prosecutors justifying the unjustifiable. Utterly convinced of their own blamelessness.
One might ask why it is that black justice so seldom looks like real justice, even today.
The answer is that history does not fit in a box. And once upon a time is now. "

Thank you very much Leonard Pitts, you spoke for me in that essay.

"Much as with the original O.J. trial, the uproar over the arrest of six black students in Jena, La., has white people shaking our heads.

"The facts of the case are not in dispute: Six black students beat a white student unconscious. The blacks were identified, charged and arrested. On the face of it, the only issue was whether the charge should be one of attempted murder or of assault.

It may also have been a hate crime against the white student, but, as usual, the news media only report on such things when the black person is the victim.

Somehow, the story has been turned around. Somehow we are led to believe that the attackers are the victims in this small Southern town. It's Emmitt Till all over again, but wasn't Emmitt Till the one who was attacked and murdered, not the attacker?

Are blacks now to be absolved of crimes simply because they are black?
By the way, the white student's name is Justin Barker. He is doing fine, if anyone cares about the real victim here."

Thank you Abe Krieger, you spoke for the rest of white A-merry-ca with your essay.

Where is Steve when you need him?

" Here are 146 blog posts on dailykos on the Jena Six. I just did a google blog search and found 25000 blog posts on the issue. I've written about it several times. I wrote about it yesterday in fact, mentioning the fact that I was otherwise occupied because the Senate condemned Moveon and we also lost 6 votes on Iraq, habeas, etc. But thanks for the 'white progressive blogosphere' insult, it's appreciated."


These are the times when left wing bloggers really miss what used to be their only ingress into the black community, Steve Gillard. (May his soul rest in peace) My man had a way of telling our side of the story to them which didn't make them uncomfortable. Left wing bloggers lament Steves' passing every time something like this comes up. "Gee I wish Steve was here, he would really tell us what's going on. You know, I never even knew Steve was black until I heard him mention his mother's fried chicken one day.." Sorry, I don't have that particular... ah, skill.


The above quotes was from a guy named Matt Stoller-- who I think is an "A" list blogger-- which he posted as comments over at Jill Tubman's fine and informative blog.


Now I have to tell you, this guy must think that we are all really fucking stupid. Kos, a user driven blog, gets what, a half a million hits a day? And this guy writes a comment and tells us about "140 "posts he found on Kos about Jena. Huh? And I am sure they are posting on the shit now trying to make up for lost time, but too late, I am talking about posts before Thursday's march.


You are fucking kidding me right? You were preoccupied because the "Senate condemned Moveon" ? Gee, God forbid we miss that vote about Moveon and the General Betray-us ad. Sorry folks, I am not in the mood for this kind of bullshit tonight. Not when after all the marching, and the speeches, and the outcry from decent people of conscience; in a move of unbelievable defiance, a Judge down in the "boot" denied bail to Mychal Bell. Yeah, he was a real flight risk that Bell fella. Not to mention, a racist web site, according to CNN, is publishing the addresses of these six boys involved with this case, and the authorities in Louisiana say that they can't offer them any protection because the state cant afford it. Then there was the motherfucker driving around Alexandria, Louisiana with two nooses hanging from his pick up truck (Pic above) to intimidate peaceful protesters. Notice I said peaceful protesters.


And I know some of you don't like me engaging with these ignorant ass motherfuckers on the left. (Max Julian comes to mind) But sorry, as far as I am concerned, they are no different than the mother fucking authorities in Louisiana and the people who perpetuated this kind of ignorance and double standard in the first place. They might not have committed the actual acts; but sadly, they are co- conspirators, and enablers, who will ignore the festering sore of race until it's too late. And then, the ugly pus that has been hiding just beneath the surface, will ooze to the top and explode on all of us in A-merry-ca.

Just don't say I didn't warn you.

With friends like these....

By all accounts the March on Jena, Louisiana today was a huge success. And quite honestly, it could have started a whole new era for the civil rights movement in this country. I felt proud of my peeps and their activism today, and it gave me serious hope for the future. It was amazing to see all the people of color here in Philly, coming together for a common cause, and showing solidarity by dressing in black. And one only has to read the comments section of my last post, to see that that spirit was not only here in Philly, but it was nationwide as well.

That was the good. So now let me tell you about the not so good. It would seem that our so called progressive friends in the "blogosphere" have been strangely silent about Jena. Yes folks, once again, our so called friends on the left, have shown that they only care about our causes when it suits them and their agendas.

Shame on you Kos, MyDD, Huf Post,and all the usual suspects. You guys had a chance to step up to the plate and show us that you are our friends and you came up small. I expect this kind of treatment from the folks on the right, not you guys. Look, I blog about the war constantly, because it's fucked up, and young Americans are losing their lives to make some fucking oil companies rich. So I understand your issues with the war, and the fact that you have to blog about it. But would it kill you to show some passion and blog about social injustice and domestic terrorism in our own fucking country? Would it kill you guys to get a fucking clue and not be so far behind the eight ball? Folks, when the gang at CNN are ahead of Markos and company on Jena, we have a problem. The entire orange crush crew ought to be ashamed of themselves.

But honestly, I don't even know why I bother. I am feeling like a hypocrite for telling people like Francis Holland to leave the progressives alone, when I am doing the same thing by even tripping about this. I don't know, I guess I was just hoping....aah fuck it.

Yep, this was almost a perfect day, until I read this wonderful post, from a blogger with a coffee avatar, and realized that even perfect can be a relative term.

I'm out.

My heart is in Jena

Sometimes you are a part of something big and you don't eve realize it. The Jena 6 case comes to mind. Thanks to the Afrospear movement and other bloggers of color out there, I have known about the Jena 6 case for months now. It seemed almost surreal to watch it grow and take on a life of it's own. A newspaper story here, a local news clip there, little by little the country started to take notice, and now....

For those of us black activist who use the web as a tool for change, we have been e-mailing each other, blogging about Jena,calling each other, and organizing on the web for months, about this travesty of justice down in Bayou country. Now, finally, the rest of America has caught on. This is now national news, and the Jena 6 has springboarded into our national conscience. It also reinforces my belief that the Internet and the world wide web can also be used as a tremendous tool for activism and organizing for social change.

Today is the culmination of all the work that everyone that rallied around this case has done. There will be a huge rally in Jena today in support of those six men, and from all indications so far it is going to be massive. Countless buses have already left my area, loaded with activist and people who want a change, and who are all just sick and tired of being tired. African American College students have mobilized and united around this cause, and activism seems to have taken the place of apathy.

It would also be a shame if I didn't mention one newspaper reporter, Howard Witt, from the Chicago Tribune, who was on top of this story from day one, and who was the first in the main stream media to bring attention to Jena. Yes, long before Jessie, Al, and all the usual civil rights camera hounds, Mr. Witt was on this shit like Skippy on Wonder Bread.

So off to work I go. I wish I could be in Jena, but sadly, I guess I am not such a field Negro after all. The plantation work needs to be done, and massa is calling. If I were a real field Negro, I would have told massa to kiss my ass, flew down to Baton Rouge, rented a car, and headed up to Jena. But that's alright, I will get my protest in somehow.

I am wearing black today. It took awhile, but I pulled it off. Black suit,dark gray shirt, and black silk tie. I look like Regis from those old "Who wants to be a millionaire days". But hey, I had to do my part. I am also going to be heading off to a protest this morning out in Westchester, Pennsylvania, because I just had to be a part of this incredible day somehow.

Let's keep those marchers down in Louisiana in our hearts, and let's walk with them---at least in spirit---every step of the way.

Peace.

Jason vs. Jessie

I read in GQ Magazine recently where some 45 year old guy had Alzheimer's, and you know what I kept thinking while I was reading that article? Why couldn't this have been Jason Whitlock's black ass? I know that was mean, but hey, that's what I was thinking.

"Why field what's your issue with Jason Whitlock?" Well it seems that Jason has a black problem. Or at least a problem with black folks, and as a result, he writes about us in a negative light every chance he gets. If there is a racial issue in America, and blacks and whites see it differently, you can bet your last dollar that old Jason will come down on the side of the majority population.

In his latest hit piece against black folks, Jason lays the smack down with his pen on the Jena 6. To Jason, these boys were out of control athletes who got their just deserts. Jason doesn't see what all the fuss is about, especially given the fact that all these boys weren't Angels to begin with. He goes on to attack the usual suspects, like Jessie, and Al, much to the delight of his white readers, and I am sure, his white employers. Just think of Jason as the LaShawn Barber of the sports world, and you will get an idea of the type of a black person we are dealing with here.

Now let me put this out there right now: I am no big fan of Jessie or Al, and lord knows I have come down pretty hard on them at times myself, especially when they do dumb shit like jump into the middle of the Terry Schiavo fray. They both love the camera a little too much for my taste, and I am still not sure about that story floating around where Jessie was supposed to have put MLK's blood on his shirt the day he (King) was shot. (I always wondered why King's widow never really spoke to Jessie all these years) But I digress. Still, given all of that, there is no denying that Jessie has done some good things to advance the civil rights struggle in this country. And any black person in America who says otherwise is a damn fool. Which is why when I see folks like Jason making a living on tearing down Jackson, it pisses me off. I see other black writers, commentators, and bloggers doing it too. The first person they rip when there is a racial issue front and center in this country, is good ole Jessie. And before you give me the, "but field you do it too" speech, save it. I know that shit, and I acknowledge it. But it doesn't make it right. Hell, one of the reasons I blog is to provide therapy for myself, and writing about shit that I am guilty of myself, helps me to work through that particular problem.

So back to Jason. Mr one trick pony himself. He rips Vivian Stringer, the Rutgers women's basketball coach. He rips America for not giving Don Imus another chance. And every fucking day he rips another black athlete or person who happens to be in the news, for not playing by America's rules. Like who the fuck died and made him the Martha Stewart of race? On a certain level I almost respect Jason's hustle. Because you and I both know that he can't believe all the shit that he writes. But it's working, Jason is getting more popular by the day, because he is just the latest in a long line of black folks who "Charlie" props up to say what he wants to say, but can't, because it would be too politically incorrect. Jason can say it, because he is one of them.

So anyway,I am making a pledge right here and now: I am not going to rip Jessie anymore. He is way too easy. And besides, is it really his fault that he is the first black person "Charlie" goes looking for when there is a racial problem in this country? I don't think so. Yeah Jessie might love the camera too much, but can you just stop sticking it in his damn face please? Is that too much to ask "Charlie"? And the same goes for the other reverend as well. Although lately, Jason has been popping up a lot too. I would dare say even more than Jessie and Al. So go on with your bad self Jason, the hustle is working.