Bringing back the Black Codes.

I have written about a sort of new post Reconstruction fever sweeping over the United States since the election of Barack Obama in the past. It is now republicans and not democrats, and it is 2014 and not 1877; but the similarities are clear.




I still tend to think of Southern elected republican politicians as Scalawags. The grand deal to elect Rutherford B. Hayes as president meant that Southern whites could go back to treating blacks the way that they did prior to the ending of the Civil War.




Here we are in 2014, but make no mistake; there are quite a few elected officials who would love nothing more than to bring back the Black Codes.




They do a great job of covering it up, but every now and then one of them slips and we are reminded of what we are dealing with.




"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Tuesday that Georgia state Senator Fran Millar (R) penned an angry response to DeKalb County’s announcement that early voting will be available on Sunday, October 26, and that an early-voting location will be opened at The Gallery at South DeKalb Mall. Millar represents part of the county and is Senior Deputy Whip for the Georgia Senate Republicans.

Millar wrote:

Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election. Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea – what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.Is it possible church buses will be used to transport people directly to the mall since the poll will open when the mall opens? If this happens, so much for the accepted principle of separation of church and state. 

Many predominantly Black churches around the country organize “Souls to the Polls” events that encourage churchgoers to vote after attending Sunday church services. This often relies on carpooling and is perfectly legal, according to the Freedom From Religion Foundation (which advocates for a strict separation of church and state). While Republicans in places like North Carolina and Ohio have pushed to eliminate Sunday voting hours, it is unusual for a legislator to so candidly admit that this strategy is about reducing African American turnout. 

Millar notes that he is “investigating if there is any way to stop this action” and that he and State Representative Mike Jacobs (R) “we will try to eliminate this election law loophole in January,” as it might boost Democratic voter turnout.

 On his Facebook page Tuesday, Millar stood by his comments, writing: “I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters. If you don’t believe this is an efort [SIC] to maximize Democratic votes pure and simple, then you are not a realist. This is a partisan stunt and I hope it can be stopped.” [Source]



Mr. Millar, I don't mean to be picky, but I am guessing that "more educated" voters would know how to spell e-f-f-o-r-t.


But hey, that's just me.




Anyway, I hope that we don't have to bring back the Underground Railroad for you Negroes down in Georgia. 




Finally, the NFL is saying that they tried to get that Ray Rice video of him punching out his wife in an Atlantic City elevator, but they were not "granted that opportunity".




“We had not seen any video tape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video, we asked for the video, we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity.”




Yeah right.




If you think, for a minute, that one of the most powerful organizations in America could not have gotten an elevator surveillance video from the casino that involved one of their players, I have a wonderful antique bell with a slight crack on the side from my hometown that I would just love to sell you.




Sorry Roger, I am siding with Harvey Levin on this one.













 

Memo to FOX: There is nothing funny about domestic violence.

I have always said this, but it should be repeated: The folks over at FOX VIEWS consider black people to be less than human.


Do you think, for a moment, if that was Tobey Gerhart and his "All American" girlfriend on that elevator in Atlantic City that night, that FOX VIEWS would be making fun of the incident? It's a rhetorical question. Of course not.


I could give example after example of FOX VIEWS and their Negro problem. So I am sure that no one would be surprised to know that less than 2% of FOX viewers are black.


So anyway, here is the latest example of FOX being FOX that has me posting about them tonight:


"On Monday after video was released of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his wife in an elevator.


Without giving many details about the assault, the hosts quickly began comparing the incident to other cases of domestic violence among celebrities. But rather than putting any kind of blame on the abuser, the co-hosts pointed the finger at the women.


"She still married him!" Steve Doocy said of Rice's wife, Janay Palmer.
"Rihanna went back to Chris Brown right after [he assaulted her]," Brian Kilmeade said. "A lot of people thought that was a terrible message."


Doocy compared the video to the elevator incident between Jay Z and Solange. To which Kilmeade then-- you guessed it-- defended Jay Z for not hitting back.
"I think the message is, take the stairs," Kilmeade concluded.


No. That's really not the message.


Doocy then chimed in once more.


"The message is, when you're in an elevator, there's a camera."
Nope. Still not the message." [Source] 


Remember that video of the dog getting abused on an elevator by that CEO?


Well guess what? The folks over at FOX didn't think that was funny. But then, that was a dog; not a black woman.


Finally, I am glad that the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens came to their senses and gave Ray Rice the punishment that he deserves. I blogged about this earlier, and I was outraged then.


It should not have taken a video from TMZ to make everyone involved realize what a horrendous act Ray Rice committed with his then fiancé.


"We requested from law enforcement any and all information about the incident, including the video from inside the elevator. That video was not made available to us and no one in our office has seen it until today," the league said in a statement released to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport."


To be continued.


 

Two games for beating his wife, and Rashid gets a shade.

The NFL is a trip. It's not enough that they don't have the guts to try and force that owner down in D.C. to change the name of his team. But they just gave one of their players a suspension of two games for beating his wife. (Let me repeat that: TWO GAMES!)




Keep in mind that this is the same league that just suspended one of their players for a year for smoking the good collie weed.




Now I don't know what happened in the elevator that night, but I do know that Mrs. Rice was unconscious when the elevator door flew open. We also know that both parties admitted that they were in a fight in the elevator, and that blows were thrown.




This is not a good look for the NFL; it is a league already suffering from image problems. The clueless Commissioner and his minions should have thought long and hard before handing out a punishment of just two games for Mr. Ray Rice.




Victims of domestic violence do not represent the typical NFL fan, but they all have families and friends, and the NFL needs to think about that the next time they attempt to punish one of their own.


Finally, shout out to Rashid Polo for exposing what most of you reading this who happen to be people of color and who visit high-end stores already know: Being shaded while shopping is real. 


"Polo said he decided to record his experience of going shopping after he realized he was repeatedly being trailed by workers.


"It happened again ... this time I'm not even mad ... I'm used to it now," he said"  [See video]


Rashid, you should never get "used to it". But hey, at least you are trying to expose it.