Anger over immigration plan surprises GOP senators
By Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In his speech Tuesday on immigration reform, President Bush was trying to provide political cover for members of Congress to support the legislation. That could be tough.

Republicans are getting an earful on immigration. "I have learned some new words from some of my constituents," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, said.

The angry response comes as a shock. "The level of intensity and volume is, I think, surprising,'' CNN contributor and radio talk show host Bill Bennett said. "We've talked to a number of Republican senators, and they confessed to being surprised by the reaction."

There's a big difference in intensity. Among those who favor a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, 28 percent say the issue is extremely important to them, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. Those who oppose a path to citizenship feel much more strongly about the issue. Forty-seven percent say it's extremely important.

The poll, conducted May 4-6, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

President Bush said the legislation puts enforcement first. "If you're serious about securing our borders, it makes sense to support legislation that makes enforcement our highest priority," Bush said Tuesday.

Conservative critics responded with a scathing indictment. Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said, "The folks out there in America who, when they see Washington saying we have this wonderful plan, they say 'Yeah right. We saw what you did with Katrina, we saw what you did with corruption, we saw what you have done in terms of managing the war. So when you tell us you fixed immigration, we are not buying.' "

President Bush used equally harsh language to assail his critics. "If you want to kill the bill, if you don't want to do what's right for America, you can pick one little aspect out of it. You can use it to frighten people,'' Bush said.

But critics of the legislation are not frightened. They're angry.

You don't see as much intensity among supporters of the legislation. "People have begun to realize that the bill is not quite as bad as those who said it was before they had read it," Kyl observed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, put it this way: "Our product is better than those who want to do nothing.''

Those who favor the legislation are not demanding that Congress act, or else. Those who oppose it are threatening retaliation.

Which is why President Bush felt he had to say: "It takes a lot of courage in the face of some of the criticism in the political world to do what's right, not what's comfortable."

President Bush may not be in a position to offer much by way of political cover. When he spoke at the event in Georgia, only one Georgia lawmaker -- Sen. Saxby Chambliss -- appeared on the platform with him.



Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/29/bush.immigration/index.html

Senate votes to reduce guest workers allowed in U.S.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to cut in half the number of guest workers that would be allowed into the United States under a controversial immigration overhaul backed by the White House.

The 74-24 vote was the first major change to a "grand bargain" unveiled last week and sent to the Senate floor for debate on Monday.

Senators voted to reduce the number of guest workers that would be allowed into the country from 400,000 to 200,000. (Watch precedents for top Republican's censored take on billVideo)

Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the leading advocate of the amendment, said 200,000 guest workers would be "plenty."

"This is an unproven, untested, brand-new program," he said. "We need to see how it's working. We need to see the impact that it's having on other wage rates in this country."

But Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said the 400,000 figure was chosen as a result of "very careful analysis and consideration."

"We had hearings in the Judiciary Committee where prominent economists stepped forward to testify about the importance of immigrant help," Specter said. "We have an economy that relies on immigrants for hospitals, for hotels, for farms, for landscapers and many lines."

The immigration bill is the result of a deal struck after nearly three months of bipartisan talks and endorsed by the White House last week.

It would offer the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants now in the United States a path to citizenship, boost border controls and establish a guest-worker program that would grant workers a two-year residency.

Conservative critics have blasted it as "amnesty" for illegal immigrants, while liberals have raised concerns that the guest-worker program would create a permanent underclass.

Bingaman's amendment was the second of two Democratic proposals aimed at drastically altering the bipartisan "grand compromise."

The first, which would have eliminated the guest worker program, was voted down Tuesday.



Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/23/immigration/index.html

Ma'at Hotep Family

Got to give it to whitey. He is still able to pull the wool over most Black peoples eyes while he screws them in the butt with no grease. Or he will have one hand on your back and the other you your back pocket stealing your shit. Slick willie at his best. It too bad that most people cannot see throught this illegal immegration bullshit because of the blinkers or blinders there wear. This whole mess is a facade, intended to lull-you-to-sleep while they go about the business of making money through shear and utter bull shit. They are the best when it comes to thievery. They are the best when it comes to trickery. They are the best when it comes to starting some shit and then leave it to others to finish the shit they started.

I would like for someone to explain to us 'proletarits' what the fuck is going on with this immegration bull shit. Makes me mad how they are still able to 'willie lunch' us with this bull shit knowing that they don't give a fuck about us. Damn right I'm mad becaause they got us fighting for them once again. When are Black people going to wake the hell up and see this facade for what it is. The people who put this so-call immegration bill together probably did it over a couple of beers, some Mexican or Chineese food, cigar smoke and some jack daniels and ever still a couple of hookers (males or young boys) no doubt. Their war is still the most important issue to them because it is a money making venture. Immegration makes money for the rich and super rich off the backs of the poor and super poor. It about the 'money' folks. Nothing else other than racism. Plus wars are a test ground for weapons of mass destruction just like the wars in Viet Naum and Korea. They are test grounds to test weapons of mass destruction, (like the 'atomic bomb') on peoples of color. Notice the last few wars did not envolve wars between white people. They know that killing each other is not in their best interest. After all, they are only ten (10) percent of the worlds total population.

Amerikkka will not mess with China nor some other 'non-white' well armed countries because they don't have enought body bags for their dead. They invaded the countries like Granade, Panama, and Iraq because they were beatable and they are also people of color. Black folk, look at the countries in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and that should tell you something. No non-white countries in NATO. People from the NATO alliance have no problem immegrating into this country. There are thousands of illegals from this alliance. Even the Russians, supposeably amerikkka's most hated enemy, are allowed to immegrate into this country. Thats because they are 'white' which makes a big difference. The Asian Indians, Viet Naumese and Pakistian's are allowed to immegrate here because of their educational background. However, they had better watch their backs because they will eventually be stopped as will other non-white countries of Asia. Countries of the newly named 'Middle East' will be attacked if they don't submit to the will of the europeans because the europeans want that part of the world for themselves as well as all of Afrika. Oil and valuable minerals don't-cha-know. Remember SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization)? Amerikkka wanted in on this alliance so that they can keep an eye on these 'people of color' and they got in. It never stops.


Wake up Black people, wake up. They are willie lynching us again. Stay clear of this bull shit immegration fight and let the CBC (Congressional Black Carcus) jump into the frey. Strange, how silent they are about immegration as they are about most issues concerning Black folks welfare. Their job is to protect 'our interest'. However, they are only interested in protecting theirs. If they are not doing the jobs they were elected to do, then vote their sorry ass'es out and put others in with some back-bone or 'balls' as the white folk like to say. It' stand up and be counted' time. Don't let those sorry slick-ass-pimping-preachers off the hook also. They need to get into the frey as well. They make much more money than the politicians. Different platform, same game. Hotep Black People. Listen to Black Liberation Radio ('www.wblr.com') and learn the truth. All of this is covered on this web site as well as the truth about many important issues.
Again, HOPEP Beautiful Black People. OLU

You know, Carl ...

While I can definitely understand your anger, I would suggest to you that you don't let it debilitate you. One of the biggest problems we as a people have is "letting the White man continue to do what he does" without interruption.

You are always telling Black people to "wake up!" And rightfully so. But, what they need to wake up to is the fact that you can't possibly win the game if you're not in it!

I, for one, am not willing to sit back and wait for something to happen to me. Instead, I'm going to be a full participant in what happens not only to me but for me, as well. It may be that not all issues regarding the immigration issue directly affect me (which I tend to doubt), but, for those issue that are going to affect my life and status ... I'm all in it!

Rather than being satisfied standing on the sidelines and watching what's going on around you, you (and a few hundred of your closest friends!) need to be making sure you are both seen and heard and that the trickery that's been heaped on all of us for the last 400 years is put to a stop once and for all! Rather than doing nothing and watching yourself be relegated to a status that is less than what you have and where you are right now, you should be trying to stand up and demand that you are counted.

The CBC isn't really as silent as we are lead to believe they are! They say and do a lot more than is ever reported on the nightly news. The problem is, we want them to fight for us but we give them no weapons to go into battle with or even our support or encouragement, for that matter. No, Black folks sit back and wait for something to be done for us ... expecting that we can get something for nothing!!

We are where we are today because of warriors ... most of them everyday, ordinary people who actually stepped up and decided to do something about what was being done to them ... who stopped sitting around watching and waiting for what was right to come and knock at their door and be placed at their feet! They marched, they sang, they prayed, they protested, they sat, they stood ... they got themselves seen and heard ... and only then was their change.

That change has enabled you to voice your opinion, it has enabled you to vote and to be counted as a whole human being! And yes, the powers-that-be are still trying to turn back the clock. And you say let them?? I think not, Mr. Prather.

I suggest you stand up and be counted ... rather than sit down and be looked over.

Commentary: A Guest Worker Program for Immigrants is a Slap in the Face to Unemployed Black Citizens

Date: Friday, June 01, 2007
By: Judge Greg Mathis, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com

Plenty of media and political attention has been placed on America’s current shortage of skilled workers. According to USA Today, utility companies are especially in need of staff. This includes welders, plant operators and engineers. If staffing needs aren’t met, sections of the country may be prone to blackouts and electricity shortages. Several law makers have suggested that an immigrant guest worker program could help with the worker shortages and help the country control illegal immigration.

While illegal immigration is a pressing issue, it is not the only issue this country is grappling with. America is also dealing with -- or should be dealing with -- rising unemployment rates in the African-American community. Our people want work. Too bad the opportunities aren’t always open to us.

Eight percent of African-Americans are unemployed, twice the rate of whites. More African Americans are unemployed than any other ethnic group. Gone are the days when the majority of workers could find a blue collar job -- at an auto plant, for example. In Chicago, for example, the number of manufacturing jobs decreased by 49 percent between 1991 and 2006. The remaining jobs are more complex than those of years past, often requiring much technological skill and experience. Add to that drastic cuts in trade and job training programs, and it has been difficult for blacks to get the training they need to access these types of jobs, despite the desire and the will to work.

So it comes as a slap in the face that many believe a guest worker program is the solution to the country’s current worker shortage. A proposed guest worker program would allow immigrants, including the 11 million or so illegal immigrants already in the U.S., to apply for three-year work permits. Each would then be matched with an employer (illegal immigrants would have to pay a fine prior to joining).

The thinking behind the program makes sense; the U.S. wants to give those who come to our country an opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families. But what about African-Americans, on whose backs the wealth of this nation was built?

Much of this shortage of skilled workers can be blamed on the government’s inability to provide an adequate public education system that equally prepares young people for the college and the workforce. We got ourselves into this mess. And we need to get ourselves out of it. The guest worker program is one way. But African-Americans should not be excluded from the solution.

If you or someone you know would be interested in a program that trains low-income individuals in the inner city, write your legislators. Share with them your personal struggles with unemployment and your job search. Encourage friends and families in similar situations to do the same. It’s these types of stories and outreach efforts that will bring about change.

---

Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Low-Income Blacks and Illegal Immigration
By La Shawn Barber
Thursday, May 31, 2007

I first read the name “Carol Swain” while scanning a 2004 Boston Globe column by Cathy Young, who’d written about a panel discussion that took place around the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education – the Supreme Court case that outlawed government-mandated racial segregation in government schools.

Swain, a professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, talked about subcultural factors that impede the academic progress of black students, such as a lack of parental involvement in schools, the “acting white” phenomenon, and lowered standards and expectations. Quoting Swain, Young wrote that these factors “created a negative incentive structure for African-Americans who have either internalized societal messages about inferiority or have chosen an easier path of not exerting themselves too vigorously.”

While Swain probably wouldn’t describe herself as politically conservative, her ideas certainly are atypical of many liberals. She’s written about the negative effects of illegal immigration on low-income black Americans and the Congressional Black Caucus’s (CBC) stunning silence on the issue.

Because the CBC has “elected to organize as a racial caucus,” Swain wrote in a Washington Times op-ed, members have “placed upon themselves the obligation to represent the interests of the millions of black constituents who have faithfully and repeatedly sent them to Washington.”

Swain cites statistics that show the national unemployment rate was 4.5 percent in April 2007. For Hispanics, it was 5.4 percent. For blacks, 8.2 percent. For black men, the rate of unemployment was 9.7 percent.

Swain accused the race-centric, taxpayer-supported caucus of turning a blind eye on a mounting pile of data that reveals illegal immigration is harming low-income, low-skilled black Americans. In a new book of essays, Debating Immigration, Swain contends that lax enforcement of immigration law helps businesses hire wage-suppressing illegal aliens at the expense of citizens.

But the CBC couldn’t care less. The group hasn’t listed immigration reform as a legislative priority, according to Swain, and it mentioned illegal immigration in only one press release out of close to 100 on the web site. Instead of focusing on the well-being of constituents, the CBC is forming a black-brown coalition with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to “create a task force to study immigration issues and provide information about the impact of immigration reform on the black and Hispanic communities,” according to The Hill.

The CBC’s lower-income constituents don’t need a task force to “provide information” on illegal immigration’s “impact” on them. They live it. A national black-brown coalition is nothing more than an excuse to waste even more tax money studying the obvious. And it’s all for show, anyway. Hispanics are just as race-conscious as blacks, and they have no interest in forming a meaningful partnership with another racial minority.

Speaking of which, one government policy affected by the surge of illegal aliens is race preferences, purportedly put in place to make amends for slavery and Jim Crow. Hispanics are benefiting from this odious policy, and Swain scoffs at historical comparisons between Hispanics and blacks. “Most illegal immigrants have willingly left their homelands to seek their fortunes in a more prosperous nation. They were not brought in chains,” she said.

The battle between blacks and Hispanics for preferred minority group status is only beginning. But blacks don’t need to look to pencil-pushing politicians to “lead” them on this issue. All that is required is common sense and the will to demand that elected officials support immigration law enforcement and oppose any bill that grants the blessing of American citizenship on people who have no regard for this country’s laws.



La Shawn Barber is a freelance writer and Townhall.com book reviewer who blogs at www.lashawnbarber.com.
.

Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.

Very interesting article, zodo! Thanks for posting it!

Perhaps Carl Prather is right and the CBC needs a little "push" to get them started actually doing something about this, huh?

Hmmmmm ... a Black-Brown coalition to study the impact on both of our communities? Very interesting, indeed!

quote:

Originally posted by EbonyRose:
Very interesting article, zodo! Thanks for posting it!

Perhaps Carl Prather is right and the CBC needs a little "push" to get them started actually doing something about this, huh?

Hmmmmm ... a Black-Brown coalition to study the impact on both of our communities? Very interesting, indeed!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zodo,

Ma'at Hotep Family'

Maybe it's just me but I still don't understand what this immegration crap is all about. Especially where it pretains to Black folk. Ms. Swain should be focusing on the 'better' jobs being out sourced rather than the menial paying jobs being filled by so-called illegals. Our sourcing is the problem that the CBC should look into and not bother with the illegals or the menial jobs being filled by them? Ms. Swain, like most white folk, don't give a damn about Blacks or Hispanics. Our complaints about out sourced jobs will only fall on death ears because it is a plan supported by the government which is endorced by both democrats and republicans. Big business still run it and the government co-signs. This is amerikkka baby and non-whites don't count because we are not a part of the new-world-order. Out sourcing will continue until there are only two classes of people: The rich and the super rich. The rest (the poor and the super poor) will not be considered a class because they will be relegated to more of a caste system of maids and servants. House 'niggers and field nigger' if you will. Out sourcing by big business is the enemy of Black people, not illegals. Blacks cannot follow those jobs like the so-called illegals follow the jobs here.

In her analogy apparently she feels that the menial jobs are reserved for Blacks only because she is of the good-ole-boy opinion that we are not qualified for the better paying 'skilled or high tech' jobs. Please don't be fooled by this woman. A blind person can see through her bull shit. She is a part of the problem and not the solution because she is a part of the ruling class. I don't know this woman and never heard of her but I know her kind. A twinkie: left wing liberal-democrat on the outside and right wing ronald reagan-ultra-conservative republican on the inside.

Black folk should give no credence to any studies conducted by white sociologist relative to us or our situation. Why do they continue to study us when they know us almost better than we know ourselves. They have been studying us and trying to figure us out since they crawled out of their cavern homes. Ain't figured us out yet because they are still on the outside looking in. With the influx of more anglo-saxon negros' they are getting a much better look (inside) than ever before. This study is just another ploy being used to keep us on high blood medication and fighting amoungst ourselves for whats left. If the CBC is not doing what it was elected to do then we, not her or her associates, will see to it that they do. We don't need any more outside interference. White folk need to study themselves and try to figure out why they are the killers, murders, rapist, thieves, liars and felons of the world. Now that's a report every non-white needs to read.

Somebody please tell Ms. Swain to take her study and shove it'. We don't need her or it. Hotep. OLU

quote:

Originally posted by Carl Prather:
Ma'at Hotep Family'

Maybe it's just me but I still don't understand what this immegration crap is all about. Especially where it pretains to Black folk. Ms. Swain should be focusing on the 'better' jobs being out sourced rather than the menial paying jobs being filled by so-called illegals. Our sourcing is the problem that the CBC should look into and not bother with the illegals or the menial jobs being filled by them? Ms. Swain, like most white folk, don't give a damn about Blacks or Hispanics. Our complaints about out sourced jobs will only fall on death ears because it is a plan supported by the government which is endorced by both democrats and republicans. Big business still run it and the government co-signs. This is amerikkka baby and non-whites don't count because we are not a part of the new-world-order. Out sourcing will continue until there are only two classes of people: The rich and the super rich. The rest (the poor and the super poor) will not be considered a class because they will be relegated to more of a caste system of maids and servants. House 'niggers and field nigger' if you will. Out sourcing by big business is the enemy of Black people, not illegals. Blacks cannot follow those jobs like the so-called illegals follow the jobs here.

The "immigration crap" is about an influx of millions upon millions of men, women and children, who have entered our country without permission and are now living and working amongst us in every state in this nation and the affect that is having on the country and it's citizens. Seeing as how you live here, it does affect you, and all the rest of us, in some way. You don't have to care about that and can ignore it if you wish. The affect may be good, bad or somewhere in the middle ... but to say it is simply a fantasy is not really reality.

Now, granted ... illegal immigration can't be called our most pressing problem!! I can see things like education and keeping so many of our young men out of the revolving door of the injustice system as a couple of things that precedence. But, I also believe that some of those "menial" jobs you are talking about could be the difference between being on the inside and being on the outside if they were available to many of our young men (and women) who have little to no education (they've dropped out of school), little to know parental supervision (parents are absent or have stopped caring), are untrained to enter the workforce for jobs requiring even moderate skill level, and who have fathered more children than they know what to do with!

We have a double-digit unemployment rate in our community which raises even hire among our 18-25 year olds. By the same token, you have about 10 million unlawfully present individuals in this country working jobs that legal citizens (Black people) could and would be working were they available.

What I took from the article was about the CBC's inactivity as far as pursuing remedies to a situation that is negatively impacting low-income African Americans (if, indeed, such a negative impact does actually exist - which I believe it does, but, I'm still trying to separate fact from fiction! ) It seems like her facts are reasonably easy to investigate, I will do a little more research. But, I didn't read into it all that you did ... (which doesn't mean it wasn't there ) ... just that I didn't see it!

I agree that we need to be up in arms about outsourcing, though, because it is definitely affecting us negatively.

quote:

In her analogy apparently she feels that the menial jobs are reserved for Blacks only because she is of the good-ole-boy opinion that we are not qualified for the better paying 'skilled or high tech' jobs. Please don't be fooled by this woman. A blind person can see through her bull shit. She is a part of the problem and not the solution because she is a part of the ruling class. I don't know this woman and never heard of her but I know her kind. A twinkie: left wing liberal-democrat on the outside and right wing ronald reagan-ultra-conservative republican on the inside.

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, CP ... but Ms. Swain is indeed one of us ... well, she's Black, anyway ... and more than a little on the Conservative side of the aisle! Perhaps that's why she gave you the impression she was "one of them"!


Carol Swain is Professor of Political Science and Law at Vanderbilt University. Her work on representation and race relations has earned her national and international accolades. In 2003, Swain founded the Veritas Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting justice and reconciliation among people of different races, ethnicities, faith traditions, and nations.[

Ma'at Hotep EbonyRose,

In my last post I neglected to congradulate Ms. Swain on her educational statue and achievements. I, unlike Ms. Swain, am only concerned with the status of our people and less that of others. Let the other races take care of themselves. They always have and always will. In amerikkka race relations will never get better for us because of our ability to have survived the carnage we have been put through. Also to prevent us from returning to our natural status in the world: on top where we once were. Make no mistake about it; white people are afraid of this because they know who and what we are even thought most of us don't. We have proven our ability to survive in the most inhumane situations that a people have beeen put through.

Malcolm and Stokley, along with other warriors of the past, realized that the racial problems in this country will always exist because the white race knows that their population numbers are shrinking fast. They realize that they are on a conllision course to extinction. Martin Luther King found out the hard way that this white race has no desire to share the wealth with people of the Black race or people of color in general. When he woke up from his dream it was too late. Never did share and never will. People who delude themselves into thinking other wise are living in a dream world. Racism in amerikkka will always be and nothing we do will change that. Studying anything about 'reconcilliation among people of different races, ethnicities, faith trations and nations' will change nothing, even the understanding one another. Justice in their system is reserved for them, not us. That will never change. We are stuck with their faith (christianity) but what has changed? What has their christain faith got us but made a few 'preachers' rich. White folk have taught us, in their christian faith, to 'love your enemies'. Now that's a good one. Do they practice what they preach? Hell no, just ask the arabs or native americans. They teach us to 'turn the other cheek'. Name me one incident where this country has done that. You turn the other cheek and you'll be kicked on that side of your ass next. Do unto others!! Now, thats the only thing they keep true to their religious teaching. You mess me them they, in turn, will mess with you. Love amerikkkan style.

Racism will never, ever disappear in amerikkka because racism is what keeps this capitalistic system afloat. The sooner Black folk understand this, the better off we will be. The rich keep the poor at each by fighting for the left overs while they are forever stealing everything under the sun and under their very noses. They use poor whites against blacks as a buffer against the so-called illegals for their economic protection. Doesn't hurt them any. So, why should they care? Plus, they have no idea how many illegals there are in this country but they are good at throwing out numbers. How many, ten million? How do they know this and where is the proof? They use this to scare poor unknowing people. They use 'terrorism' to keep people scared of the unknown. Ask them how many non-Hispanic illegals are in this country. They don't have a clue and really don't give a damn. Thats because the majority are white illegals which they need to replenish their shrinking white race. Read 'Before the Mayflower' by Larome Bennett as a start to understanding what racism is all about. Our people need to understand the 'why's' to formulate an understanding of the 'how's'. Hotep. OLU

Well, Carl Prather ...

As usual, you're not going to get much of an argument out of me about the things you've said here. I do take exception to one or two of your points ... but on a very specific scale and not generally speaking.

One of those is:

quote:

In amerikkka race relations will never get better for us because of our ability to have survived the carnage we have been put through.

This statement would actually depend on what you're comparing "better" to!

To be clear ... I absolutely agree that racism will never go away and that it is, still today, one of the biggest problems we face as a people. However, 'race relations' are better now than they were in the 60s when Black people were getting bitten by dogs and assaulted with water hoses just for showing their faces in public!

There are less White people showing open hostility and hatred for Black people .. we've come to a point where generally in society overall ... our presence is 'accepted'... whether they like it or not! While, indeed, there are some places that we still cannot go or are not welcomed, we can now be found just about everywhere in both places of business and pleasure.

So ... if you're talking about race relations being "better" as in total equality without hindrance or hesitation .. no, we are likely to never get there. But, with Blacks and Whites intermingling and intermarrying without somebody getting lynched or shot for it at the rate it happens these days ... I would submit that race relations are indeed "better" than they were and getting better all the time!

I believe it has come to a point where our inactivity on taking hold or and actively finding the proper solutions to solving some (most/all) of our own problems is a bigger obstacle to our progress than what White people want or don't want for us or whether or not they approve of what we do! We already have the knowledge, the ability, the economic power, and the strength inside us to improve our own lot in this country. And it really doesn't matter what the 'White man' has to say about it!! We have reached the necessary status to be able to navigate our way through the system enough to make sure that they can't stand in our way ... if we really had the drive to push forward.

What we lack is the unified will and determination to make ourselves and our communities the strong, solid and powerful forces that they/we need to be. White people never wanted/expected/intended for us to be standing as tall as we do today ... so, left to them, we would still be 1/3 of a person!

The fight and the struggle from our first chained and slaved ancestors who arrived on the shores of America all the way down the descendant line to who we are now has most definitely been victorious we are the recipients of those dividends thus far. It ain't over by a long shot, though ... and indeed, our children will have to carry it on long after we are in the ground. But, that doesn't leave us off the hook ... as long as there is breath in us and we are standing in an upright position, we must continue to do what we can and is necessary to do.

But, Black people today are at a standstill. And you can't blame that entirely on the White man trying to hold us back. If we really wanted to, we could mow him down like roadkill right now. But, again, the question really seems to be in the statement: If we really want to ...

'Cause from what I see, it doesn't really look like it to me.

Hotep EbonyRose,

I will concede that race relations are better now than perhaps ever before. Having traveled all over amerikkka (I have been in all of the lower 48 states) I still see vestiges of racism in all 48 states. When racism affects one of us it affects all of us because we are looked on in the same racial manner. Sure, there are those who's overall lot of success puts them on a different economic level than, say, a poor Black person but to a racist white person a 'nigger is a nigger is a nigger'. That will never change. You see racism in every asset of our lives and now the europeans have gotten slick with it. When a white or even a Black baseball picture is featured striking out a batter, nine times out of ten the batter is Blac especially if the picture is white. Don't take my work for it, notice this for yourself. They always level the playing field to suit themselves. Remember the young Jamacian Sister who won the 'Spelling Bee'? That will never happen again. White amerikkka was pissed so they changed the rules to insure that a amerikkkan either wins or comes close to winning. When the Asian's started to continuously win the 'Little League World Series', they changed the rules to insure that an amerikkkan team is in the finals. Don't take my work for it, look it up for yourself. When other countries started to win the basketball Gold Metal in the Olympics, amerikkka started allowing professonal basketball basketball players to represent them. Remember, at one time, the olympics were reserved for amateurs only. Amerikkka changed all of that.

Consider this. If Hank Aaron were white, he'd be on top of the baseball world. But all you hear is babe ruth, who they claim is the greatest baseball player of all time. Ruth was a beer and liquor drinking drunk who was also a brawler. If Michael Jordan was white, he'd be twice as rich as his is now. Go to some sports chat rooms and you will learn that most whites consider larry bird as the greatest not Michael. Tiger Woods married a white foreign european woman which lifted his status with once group of whites and lowered his status with another. Who do you think most white folk root for when Tiger takes to the greens? The tennis world changed when Venus and her sister took to the tennis courts and just took over. Look at tennis now. Look at how racist some of the people, in and out of the tennis' world have treated them. Wasn't it either Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe or some other white male tennis player who challanged them to a match to prove their mastery over them? White males against Black females? Look what they did to Muhammad Ali. If Jack Jackson were alive today they would find a way to but him in jail for the white slavery act.

You say our presence is 'accepted'. I say our presence is 'tolerated'. Sure, in my travels I have seen Blacks in the most unlikely places. It would amaze you. However they will tell you the same thing I am telling you. Racism is alive and well and will always be. By both races intermarrying this only hurts them not us because they made it that way. You know, that 'one drop of Black blood' thing. I would like nothing better than to see a 'united states of america' but that ain't gonna happen my friend, not in your lifetime, your kids lifetime and their kids lifetime. Won't wash. Ever. We have no problem intermingling with them, they have a problem with us. Thats because they know us and the power GOD gave us. If Black people put down their bibles, then it's over and done with.

People like billy graham, pat roberson, and the rest of the lying all-amerikkkan preachers have a large Black following. These Black people I consider brain-dead. Jimmy jones all over again. A friend of mine lost relatives in the jim jones camp in Guyana. She told me that she believes that her relatives commited suicide as jim jones instructed them to. Thats how brain washed they were. Have you ever seen the Morman Tabernacle Choir? Ever notice the Blacks in the choir? The mormons think less of us than most white religious organization and the reasons are spelled out in their bible which is different than the regular king james version. Religion and ignorance of self are the main problems confronting us. We can handle the europeans once we become united. That seems highly unlikely because of the obstacles in front of us. We don't think of ourselves as a cohesive unit as we did in the 60's. We still think the 'white mans ice is colder than the Black mans ice'. Do you recall the letter thanking us for elevating white people rather than ourselves? The letter is extremely true in more ways than one. I'm sure you know the letter I am speaking of. The letter from a white person to Black people witten by someone in Philly. We can turn everything in the letter around if the church would take a stand and get off their knees, stand up like the proud people we are. But where are we? We sing 'We shall Overcome' and 'Amazing Grace' which are slave mentality songs of which I hate. When I hear them I just about lose it. Thats the state of our union. We are, indeed, at a standstill but not entirely of our own doings. The europeans must share the blame for many things that they create in a negative way. They control the resources that could help us but why should they help us? Remember, we are supposed to have come from "ham' (swine) according to the biblical text. Ham did some bad things that we are still paying for today, according to the biblical text. For anyone who believes this shit there's some dry land at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean for sale that you can purchase real cheap. Hotep. OLU

Carl Prather:

My points in this debate are home/community based; in my postings I've stated my belief in Black Empowerment, strong Black communities and family; plain and simple. Seeking coalitions with non-Black others in my opinion is futile.Reports have indicated how African-Americans have stretched out their hands to other non-white groups for coalition building without result and how many times should we be the "extendors" before we wake and smell the coffee? If todays theme is "TO EACH HIS OWN" then I'll have to buy a pound of that as it pertains to the African-American community.

The educational and economic level in the Black communities in America are a cruel joke (via the external white capitalistic forces) which is something we as a people need to rectify by ourselves.

The CBC are a bunch of punks who are failing to address the needs of the African-Americans unemployment issue. WHY? The reason is that they have bought into this idea that they will not be elected if they don't court the Latino population. Their jobs right now are to save their own behinds and forget about black folks.
I wholeheartedly agree that we shouldn't try to unite with any other group until we are able to unite among ourselves and achieve our own goals, whatever they may be.
Many latinos, couldn't care less to what happens to the black folks in their own country what do you think they feel aboutus?
I think those who believe in that, need to get a reality check...