Gloria Dulan-Wilson Blog

Boycott CNN Until They Return Roland Martin to His Post

2012-02-10T09:49:00.004-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Actually, that should really be pretty easy to do since there aren't that many of us who watch CNN on the reg anyway. And I suppose that's what they're counting on. The fact that we really don't subscribe to their brand of reporting.

But we need to send a message. Roland Martin was treated unfairly, stupidly and with prejudice by CNN. As an associate and friend of mine used to say that CNN stood for "the continuously negative news." And I totally concur. But they've gone a little too far with their stuff now. In trying to appease a lunatic fringe, they are about to take on the Black community over a comment about, of all things, some underwear most Black men wouldn't be caught dead in.

No disrespect to Beckham, or his advertisers, or promoters - go ahead and make your money, get your endorsements, play soccer, what ev!! But don't think there's anything sacred or special about the underwear or the people who made it; or those who conceived of that weird advert. Because it's not

What is serious is the fact that CNN has the audacity, the temerity and the gall to fire a prominent reporter over a tweet about the ad, which in no way whatsoever even mentioned the word "gay" or "homosexual." Now if any of the individuals in the "tweet" happen to be of that persuasion, "it sounds like a personal problem to me." But not Martin's.

I am hoping that the fact that NABJ (National Association of Black Journalist), NAACP, Urban League, or the usual "leaders" have yet to speak on this unspeakable insult is because they are operating behind the scenes, and will be forthcoming with a solution to this issue shortly - like now.

I also think the fact that the tweet Roland made in jest, not calling anyone any explicitly negative names, or otherwise denigrating them, should not be inveighed as some sort of denouement of gays.

Right now those of us who are Black, or people of African Heritage, who have had real civil rights violated, have to stand together for our brother, who is likewise facing a public lynching, based in the South, by a group of people who can hardly be considered the most outgoing or supportive when it comes to things Black.

Furthermore, it is Black History Month, and here we sit - are we really too busy, or otherwise occupied, to address this BS? We need to make a little history of our own; be the heroes and heroines we want our youth to read about in the future. We have to take what worked for us in the past, and apply it to this current situation.

It's as simple as this: Return Brother Roland Martin to CNN or we will begin to systematically boycott the station, it's sponsors - especially CoCaCola, and any one or thing else that supports this lunacy.

I will sign and circulate any petition to that end. I expect CNN to hear from Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson, Ben Jealous, Marc Marial, and any and everyone who positions him or herself as being in the forefront of Black leadership.

But we must likewise be leaders, individually and collectively; and make it known that we of the Black community are not going to take this insult from CNN or GLAAD. To silence of one of us is to silence all of us. And we will not be silent.

Roland is a voice for Black people.

Black people had better speak up.

Stay Blessed &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

Gloria Dulan-Wilson

LOW DOWN ON LOW DOWN REP-UGH-BLICANS - Remember I told You So

2012-02-06T10:30:00.006-05:00

BY Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Now, I didn't write this article. It was forwarded to me by one of my favorite blog-sisters, Eduadvocate. It is, however, so full of information, and so compelling a blue print as to why we have to get our acts together, and be both on the offensive and defensive, not only in reference to this upcoming re-election, but throughout the entire year, that I had to put it out here. You need to read it all, take notes, and begin to strategize what we can do individually and collectively to save ourselves and our country. And, yes,I said our country - for our cynical friends who have a problem with that, unless you've made definite plans to move permanently out of the USA, this, for all intents and purposes is our country. And WE, THE PEOPLE, Black, white, blue green and purple, are under seige by the rapacious rep-ugh-blicans who mean us absolutely no good.

This article came out prior to the massive Occupy Wall Street movement. As more and more Americans wake up to this nightmare, and more and more Occupy movements form, I want to make sure that you are occupying the correct perpetrators - so that there is no knee jerk occupy copy cat against the wrong people - like the idiocy that wanted to demonstrate against President Obama in Harlem in front of the Apollo. Clearly clueless as to what the real deal is, and where these actions should be appropriately directed. At the same time, Democrats must step up their game and stop trying to appear to be Mr. and Ms. Nice person. We need to relanguage what we are about so people really get the message.

So read, and respond. We've got a lot to do to make sure that we don't let this information go to waste, and that we don't all end up on some soup and bread line somewhere, while they and their cronies live in these high rise, ugly assed glass houses that have been constructed to tower over us here in New York, a symbol of their disdain for those of us who work (or try to) every day and raise our families in the middle of this madness.

As you watch the Rep-ugh-blican clown show evolve on national TV, remember one of those clowns could end up being the president if we don't do our job, and VOTE.

Not only that, if you don't support those who are running for office in opposition to their oppressive ways, we will still not have delivered the goods we need to make American humane again.

Read the following and be afraid, be very afraid (if you thought Vampires were scary, check out the real ones below):

This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult
Saturday 3 September 2011
by: Mike Lofgren, Truthout | News Analysis

The article opens with two quotes from a movie entitled "Double Indemnity" (1944) Barbara Stanwyck: "We're both rotten!" Fred MacMurray: "Yeah - only you're a little more rotten."

Those lines of dialogue from a classic film noir sum up the state of the two political parties in contemporary America. Both parties are rotten - how could they not be, given the complete infestation of the political system by corporate money on a scale that now requires a presidential candidate to raise upwards of a billion dollars to be competitive in the general election? Both parties are captives to corporate loot. The main reason the Democrats' health care bill will be a budget buster once it fully phases in is the Democrats' rank capitulation to corporate interests - no single-payer system, in order to mollify the insurers; and no negotiation of drug prices, a craven surrender to Big Pharma.

But both parties are not rotten in quite the same way. The Democrats have their share of machine politicians, careerists, corporate bagmen, egomaniacs and kooks. Nothing, however, quite matches the modern GOP.

To those millions of Americans who have finally begun paying attention to politics and watched with exasperation the tragicomedy of the debt ceiling extension, it may have come as a shock that the Republican Party is so full of lunatics. To be sure, the party, like any political party on earth, has always had its share of crackpots, like Robert K. Dornan or William E. Dannemeyer. But the crackpot outliers of two decades ago have become the vital center today: Steve King, Michele Bachman (now a leading presidential candidate as well), Paul Broun, Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx, Louie Gohmert, Allen West. The Congressional directory now reads like a casebook of lunacy.

It was this cast of characters and the pernicious ideas they represent that impelled me to end a nearly 30-year career as a professional staff member on Capitol Hill. A couple of months ago, I retired; but I could see as early as last November that the Republican Party would use the debt limit vote, an otherwise routine legislative procedure that has been used 87 times since the end of World War II, in order to concoct an entirely artificial fiscal crisis. Then, they would use that fiscal crisis to get what they wanted, by literally holding the US and global economies as hostages.

The debt ceiling extension is not the only example of this sort of political terrorism. Republicans were willing to lay off 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, 70,000 private construction workers and let FAA safety inspectors work without pay, in fact, forcing them to pay for their own work-related travel - how prudent is that? - in order to strong arm some union-busting provisions into the FAA reauthorization.

Everyone knows that in a hostage situation, the reckless and amoral actor has the negotiating upper hand over the cautious and responsible actor because the latter is actually concerned about the life of the hostage, while the former does not care. This fact, which ought to be obvious, has nevertheless caused confusion among the professional pundit class, which is mostly still stuck in the Bob Dole era in terms of its orientation. For instance, Ezra Klein wrote of his puzzlement over the fact that while House Republicans essentially won the debt ceiling fight, enough of them were sufficiently dissatisfied that they might still scuttle the deal. Of course they might - the attitude of many freshman Republicans to national default was "bring it on!"

It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant.

In his "Manual of Parliamentary Practice," Thomas Jefferson wrote that it is less important that every rule and custom of a legislature be absolutely justifiable in a theoretical sense, than that they should be generally acknowledged and honored by all parties. These include unwritten rules, customs and courtesies that lubricate the legislative machinery and keep governance a relatively civilized procedure. The US Senate has more complex procedural rules than any other legislative body in the world; many of these rules are contradictory, and on any given day, the Senate parliamentarian may issue a ruling that contradicts earlier rulings on analogous cases.

The only thing that can keep the Senate functioning is collegiality and good faith. During periods of political consensus, for instance, the World War II and early post-war eras, the Senate was a "high functioning" institution: filibusters were rare and the body was legislatively productive. Now, one can no more picture the current Senate producing the original Medicare Act than the old Supreme Soviet having legislated the Bill of Rights.

Far from being a rarity, virtually every bill, every nominee for Senate confirmation and every routine procedural motion is now subject to a Republican filibuster. Under the circumstances, it is no wonder that Washington is gridlocked: legislating has now become war minus the shooting, something one could have observed 80 years ago in the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. As Hannah Arendt observed, a disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself.

John P. Judis sums up the modern GOP this way:
"Over the last four decades, the Republican Party has transformed from a loyal opposition into an insurrectionary party that flouts the law when it is in the majority and threatens disorder when it is the minority. It is the party of Watergate and Iran-Contra, but also of the government shutdown in 1995 and the impeachment trial of 1999. If there is an earlier American precedent for today's Republican Party, it is the antebellum Southern Democrats of John Calhoun who threatened to nullify, or disregard, federal legislation they objected to and who later led the fight to secede from the union over slavery."

A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.

A deeply cynical tactic, to be sure, but a psychologically insightful one that plays on the weaknesses both of the voting public and the news media. There are tens of millions of low-information voters who hardly know which party controls which branch of government, let alone which party is pursuing a particular legislative tactic. These voters' confusion over who did what allows them to form the conclusion that "they are all crooks," and that "government is no good," further leading them to think, "a plague on both your houses" and "the parties are like two kids in a school yard." This ill-informed public cynicism, in its turn, further intensifies the long-term decline in public trust in government that has been taking place since the early 1960s - a distrust that has been stoked by Republican rhetoric at every turn ("Government is the problem," declared Ronald Reagan in 1980).

The media are also complicit in this phenomenon. Ever since the bifurcation of electronic media into a more or less respectable "hard news" segment and a rabidly ideological talk radio and cable TV political propaganda arm, the "respectable" media have been terrified of any criticism for perceived bias. Hence, they hew to the practice of false evenhandedness. Paul Krugman has skewered this tactic as being the "centrist cop-out." "I joked long ago," he says, "that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read 'Views Differ on Shape of Planet.'"

Inside-the-Beltway wise guy Chris Cillizza merely proves Krugman right in his Washington Post analysis of "winners and losers" in the debt ceiling impasse. He wrote that the institution of Congress was a big loser in the fracas, which is, of course, correct, but then he opined: "Lawmakers - bless their hearts - seem entirely unaware of just how bad they looked during this fight and will almost certainly spend the next few weeks (or months) congratulating themselves on their tremendous magnanimity." Note how the pundit's ironic deprecation falls like the rain on the just and unjust alike, on those who precipitated the needless crisis and those who despaired of it. He seems oblivious that one side - or a sizable faction of one side - has deliberately attempted to damage the reputation of Congress to achieve its political objectives.

This constant drizzle of "there the two parties go again!" stories out of the news bureaus, combined with the hazy confusion of low-information voters, means that the long-term Republican strategy of undermining confidence in our democratic institutions has reaped electoral dividends. The United States has nearly the lowest voter participation among Western democracies; this, again, is a consequence of the decline of trust in government institutions - if government is a racket and both parties are the same, why vote? And if the uninvolved middle declines to vote, it increases the electoral clout of a minority that is constantly being whipped into a lather by three hours daily of Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. There were only 44 million Republican voters in the 2010 mid-term elections, but they effectively canceled the political results of the election of President Obama by 69 million voters.

This tactic of inducing public distrust of government is not only cynical, it is schizophrenic. For people who profess to revere the Constitution, it is strange that they so caustically denigrate the very federal government that is the material expression of the principles embodied in that document. This is not to say that there is not some theoretical limit to the size or intrusiveness of government; I would be the first to say there are such limits, both fiscal and Constitutional. But most Republican officeholders seem strangely uninterested in the effective repeal of Fourth Amendment protections by the Patriot Act, the weakening of habeas corpus and self-incrimination protections in the public hysteria following 9/11 or the unpalatable fact that the United States has the largest incarcerated population of any country on earth. If anything, they would probably opt for more incarcerated persons, as imprisonment is a profit center for the prison privatization industry, which is itself a growth center for political contributions to these same politicians.[1] Instead, they prefer to rail against those government programs that actually help people. And when a program is too popular to attack directly, like Medicare or Social Security, they prefer to undermine it by feigning an agonized concern about the deficit. That concern, as we shall see, is largely fictitious.

Undermining Americans' belief in their own institutions of self-government remains a prime GOP electoral strategy. But if this technique falls short of producing Karl Rove's dream of 30 years of unchallengeable one-party rule (as all such techniques always fall short of achieving the angry and embittered true believer's New Jerusalem), there are other even less savory techniques upon which to fall back. Ever since Republicans captured the majority in a number of state legislatures last November, they have systematically attempted to make it more difficult to vote: by onerous voter ID requirements (in Wisconsin, Republicans have legislated photo IDs while simultaneously shutting Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices in Democratic constituencies while at the same time lengthening the hours of operation of DMV offices in GOP constituencies); by narrowing registration periods; and by residency requirements that may disenfranchise university students.

This legislative assault is moving in a diametrically opposed direction to 200 years of American history, when the arrow of progress pointed toward more political participation by more citizens. Republicans are among the most shrill in self-righteously lecturing other countries about the wonders of democracy; exporting democracy (albeit at the barrel of a gun) to the Middle East was a signature policy of the Bush administration. But domestically, they don't want those people voting.

You can probably guess who those people are. Above all, anyone not likely to vote Republican. As Sarah Palin would imply, the people who are not Real Americans. Racial minorities. Immigrants. Muslims. Gays. Intellectuals. Basically, anyone who doesn't look, think, or talk like the GOP base.

This must account, at least to some degree, for their extraordinarily vitriolic hatred of President Obama. I have joked in the past that the main administration policy that Republicans object to is Obama's policy of being black.[2] Among the GOP base, there is constant harping about somebody else, some "other," who is deliberately, assiduously and with malice aforethought subverting the Good, the True and the Beautiful: Subversives. Commies. Socialists. Ragheads. Secular humanists. Blacks. Fags. Feminazis. The list may change with the political needs of the moment, but they always seem to need a scapegoat to hate and fear.

It is not clear to me how many GOP officeholders believe this reactionary and paranoid claptrap. I would bet that most do not. But they cynically feed the worst instincts of their fearful and angry low-information political base with a nod and a wink. During the disgraceful circus of the "birther" issue, Republican politicians subtly stoked the fires of paranoia by being suggestively equivocal - "I take the president at his word" - while never unambiguously slapping down the myth. John Huntsman was the first major GOP figure forthrightly to refute the birther calumny - albeit after release of the birth certificate.

I do not mean to place too much emphasis on racial animus in the GOP. While it surely exists, it is also a fact that Republicans think that no Democratic president could conceivably be legitimate. Republicans also regarded Bill Clinton as somehow, in some manner, twice fraudulently elected (well do I remember the elaborate conspiracy theories that Republicans traded among themselves). Had it been Hillary Clinton, rather than Barack Obama, who had been elected in 2008, I am certain we would now be hearing, in lieu of the birther myths, conspiracy theories about Vince Foster's alleged murder.

The reader may think that I am attributing Svengali-like powers to GOP operatives able to manipulate a zombie base to do their bidding. It is more complicated than that. Historical circumstances produced the raw material: the deindustrialization and financialization of America since about 1970 has spawned an increasingly downscale white middle class - without job security (or even without jobs), with pensions and health benefits evaporating and with their principal asset deflating in the collapse of the housing bubble. Their fears are not imaginary; their standard of living is shrinking.

What do the Democrats offer these people? Essentially nothing. Democratic Leadership Council-style "centrist" Democrats were among the biggest promoters of disastrous trade deals in the 1990s that outsourced jobs abroad: NAFTA, World Trade Organization, permanent most-favored-nation status for China. At the same time, the identity politics/lifestyle wing of the Democratic Party was seen as a too illegal immigrant-friendly by downscaled and outsourced whites.[3]

While Democrats temporized, or even dismissed the fears of the white working class as racist or nativist, Republicans went to work. To be sure, the business wing of the Republican Party consists of the most energetic outsourcers, wage cutters and hirers of sub-minimum wage immigrant labor to be found anywhere on the globe. But the faux-populist wing of the party, knowing the mental compartmentalization that occurs in most low-information voters, played on the fears of that same white working class to focus their anger on scapegoats that do no damage to corporations' bottom lines: instead of raising the minimum wage, let's build a wall on the Southern border (then hire a defense contractor to incompetently manage it). Instead of predatory bankers, it's evil Muslims. Or evil gays. Or evil abortionists.

How do they manage to do this? Because Democrats ceded the field. Above all, they do not understand language. Their initiatives are posed in impenetrable policy-speak: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The what? - can anyone even remember it? No wonder the pejorative "Obamacare" won out. Contrast that with the Republicans' Patriot Act. You're a patriot, aren't you? Does anyone at the GED level have a clue what a Stimulus Bill is supposed to be? Why didn't the White House call it the Jobs Bill and keep pounding on that theme?

You know that Social Security and Medicare are in jeopardy when even Democrats refer to them as entitlements. "Entitlement" has a negative sound in colloquial English: somebody who is "entitled" selfishly claims something he doesn't really deserve. Why not call them "earned benefits," which is what they are because we all contribute payroll taxes to fund them? That would never occur to the Democrats. Republicans don't make that mistake; they are relentlessly on message: it is never the "estate tax," it is the "death tax." Heaven forbid that the Walton family should give up one penny of its $86-billion fortune. All of that lucre is necessary to ensure that unions be kept out of Wal-Mart, that women employees not be promoted and that politicians be kept on a short leash.

ARE YOU LISTENING DEMOCRATS??? HELLOOOOOOO!

It was not always thus. It would have been hard to find an uneducated farmer during the depression of the 1890s who did not have a very accurate idea about exactly which economic interests were shafting him. An unemployed worker in a breadline in 1932 would have felt little gratitude to the Rockefellers or the Mellons. But that is not the case in the present economic crisis. After a riot of unbridled greed such as the world has not seen since the conquistadors' looting expeditions and after an unprecedented broad and rapid transfer of wealth upward by Wall Street and its corporate satellites, where is the popular anger directed, at least as depicted in the media? At "Washington spending" - which has increased primarily to provide unemployment compensation, food stamps and Medicaid to those economically damaged by the previous decade's corporate saturnalia. Or the popular rage is harmlessly diverted against pseudo-issues: death panels, birtherism, gay marriage, abortion, and so on, none of which stands to dent the corporate bottom line in the slightest.

Thus far, I have concentrated on Republican tactics, rather than Republican beliefs, but the tactics themselves are important indicators of an absolutist, authoritarian mindset that is increasingly hostile to the democratic values of reason, compromise and conciliation. Rather, this mindset seeks polarizing division (Karl Rove has been very explicit that this is his principal campaign strategy), conflict and the crushing of opposition.

As for what they really believe, the Republican Party of 2011 believes in three principal tenets I have laid out below. The rest of their platform one may safely dismiss as window dressing:

1. The GOP cares solely and exclusively about its rich contributors. The party has built a whole catechism on the protection and further enrichment of America's plutocracy. Their caterwauling about deficit and debt is so much eyewash to con the public. Whatever else President Obama has accomplished (and many of his purported accomplishments are highly suspect), his $4-trillion deficit reduction package did perform the useful service of smoking out Republican hypocrisy. The GOP refused, because it could not abide so much as a one-tenth of one percent increase on the tax rates of the Walton family or the Koch brothers, much less a repeal of the carried interest rule that permits billionaire hedge fund managers to pay income tax at a lower effective rate than cops or nurses. Republicans finally settled on a deal that had far less deficit reduction - and even less spending reduction! - than Obama's offer, because of their iron resolution to protect at all costs our society's overclass.

Republicans have attempted to camouflage their amorous solicitude for billionaires with a fog of misleading rhetoric. John Boehner is fond of saying, "we won't raise anyone's taxes," as if the take-home pay of an Olive Garden waitress were inextricably bound up with whether Warren Buffett pays his capital gains as ordinary income or at a lower rate. Another chestnut is that millionaires and billionaires are "job creators." US corporations have just had their most profitable quarters in history; Apple, for one, is sitting on $76 billion in cash, more than the GDP of most countries. So, where are the jobs?

Another smokescreen is the "small business" meme, since standing up for Mom's and Pop's corner store is politically more attractive than to be seen shilling for a megacorporation. Raising taxes on the wealthy will kill small business' ability to hire; that is the GOP dirge every time Bernie Sanders or some Democrat offers an amendment to increase taxes on incomes above $1 million. But the number of small businesses that have a net annual income over a million dollars is de minimis, if not by definition impossible (as they would no longer be small businesses). And as data from the Center for Economic and Policy Research have shown, small businesses account for only 7.2 percent of total US employment, a significantly smaller share of total employment than in most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

Likewise, Republicans have assiduously spread the myth that Americans are conspicuously overtaxed. But compared to other OECD countries, the effective rates of US taxation are among the lowest. In particular, they point to the top corporate income rate of 35 percent as being confiscatory Bolshevism. But again, the effective rate is much lower. Did GE pay 35 percent on 2010 profits of $14 billion? No, it paid zero.

When pressed, Republicans make up misleading statistics to "prove" that the America's fiscal burden is being borne by the rich and the rest of us are just freeloaders who don't appreciate that fact. "Half of Americans don't pay taxes" is a perennial meme. But what they leave out is that that statement refers to federal income taxes. There are millions of people who don't pay income taxes, but do contribute payroll taxes - among the most regressive forms of taxation. But according to GOP fiscal theology, payroll taxes don't count. Somehow, they have convinced themselves that since payroll taxes go into trust funds, they're not real taxes. Likewise, state and local sales taxes apparently don't count, although their effect on a poor person buying necessities like foodstuffs is far more regressive than on a millionaire.

All of these half truths and outright lies have seeped into popular culture via the corporate-owned business press. Just listen to CNBC for a few hours and you will hear most of them in one form or another. More important politically, Republicans' myths about taxation have been internalized by millions of economically downscale "values voters," who may have been attracted to the GOP for other reasons (which I will explain later), but who now accept this misinformation as dogma.

And when misinformation isn't enough to sustain popular support for the GOP's agenda, concealment is needed. One fairly innocuous provision in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill requires public companies to make a more transparent disclosure of CEO compensation, including bonuses. Note that it would not limit the compensation, only require full disclosure. Republicans are hell-bent on repealing this provision. Of course; it would not serve Wall Street interests if the public took an unhealthy interest in the disparity of their own incomes as against that of a bank CEO. As Spencer Bachus, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says, "In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks."

2. They worship at the altar of Mars. While the me-too Democrats have set a horrible example of keeping up with the Joneses with respect to waging wars, they can never match GOP stalwarts such as John McCain or Lindsey Graham in their sheer, libidinous enthusiasm for invading other countries. McCain wanted to mix it up with Russia - a nuclear-armed state - during the latter's conflict with Georgia in 2008 (remember? - "we are all Georgians now," a slogan that did not, fortunately, catch on), while Graham has been persistently agitating for attacks on Iran and intervention in Syria. And these are not fringe elements of the party; they are the leading "defense experts," who always get tapped for the Sunday talk shows. About a month before Republicans began holding a gun to the head of the credit markets to get trillions of dollars of cuts, these same Republicans passed a defense appropriations bill that increased spending by $17 billion over the prior year's defense appropriation. To borrow Chris Hedges' formulation, war is the force that gives meaning to their lives.

A cynic might conclude that this militaristic enthusiasm is no more complicated than the fact that Pentagon contractors spread a lot of bribery money around Capitol Hill. That is true, but there is more to it than that. It is not necessarily even the fact that members of Congress feel they are protecting constituents' jobs. The wildly uneven concentration of defense contracts and military bases nationally means that some areas, like Washington, DC, and San Diego, are heavily dependent on Department of Defense (DOD) spending. But there are many more areas of the country whose net balance is negative: the citizenry pays more in taxes to support the Pentagon than it receives back in local contracts.

And the economic justification for Pentagon spending is even more fallacious when one considers that the $700 billion annual DOD budget creates comparatively few jobs. The days of Rosie the Riveter are long gone; most weapons projects now require very little touch labor. Instead, a disproportionate share is siphoned off into high-cost research and development (from which the civilian economy benefits little); exorbitant management expenditures, overhead and out-and-out padding; and, of course, the money that flows back into the coffers of political campaigns. A million dollars appropriated for highway construction would create two to three times as many jobs as a million dollars appropriated for Pentagon weapons procurement, so the jobs argument is ultimately specious.

Take away the cash nexus and there still remains a psychological predisposition toward war and militarism on the part of the GOP. This undoubtedly arises from a neurotic need to demonstrate toughness and dovetails perfectly with the belligerent tough-guy pose one constantly hears on right-wing talk radio. Militarism springs from the same psychological deficit that requires an endless series of enemies, both foreign and domestic.

The results of the last decade of unbridled militarism and the Democrats' cowardly refusal to reverse it[4], have been disastrous both strategically and fiscally. It has made the United States less prosperous, less secure and less free. Unfortunately, the militarism and the promiscuous intervention it gives rise to are only likely to abate when the Treasury is exhausted, just as it happened to the Dutch Republic and the British Empire.

3. Give me that old time religion. Pandering to fundamentalism is a full-time vocation in the GOP. Beginning in the 1970s, religious cranks ceased simply to be a minor public nuisance in this country and grew into the major element of the Republican rank and file. Pat Robertson's strong showing in the 1988 Iowa Caucus signaled the gradual merger of politics and religion in the party. The results are all around us: if the American people poll more like Iranians or Nigerians than Europeans or Canadians on questions of evolution versus creationism, scriptural inerrancy, the existence of angels and demons, and so forth, that result is due to the rise of the religious right, its insertion into the public sphere by the Republican Party and the consequent normalizing of formerly reactionary or quaint beliefs. Also around us is a prevailing anti-intellectualism and hostility to science; it is this group that defines "low-information voter" - or, perhaps, "misinformation voter."

The Constitution to the contrary notwithstanding, there is now a de facto religious test for the presidency: major candidates are encouraged (or coerced) to "share their feelings" about their "faith" in a revelatory speech; or, some televangelist like Rick Warren dragoons the candidates (as he did with Obama and McCain in 2008) to debate the finer points of Christology, with Warren himself, of course, as the arbiter. Politicized religion is also the sheet anchor of the culture wars. But how did the whole toxic stew of GOP beliefs - economic royalism, militarism and culture wars cum fundamentalism - come completely to displace an erstwhile civilized Eisenhower Republicanism?

It is my view that the rise of politicized religious fundamentalism (which is a subset of the decline of rational problem solving in America) may have been the key ingredient of the takeover of the Republican Party. For politicized religion provides a substrate of beliefs that rationalizes - at least in the minds of followers - all three of the GOP's main tenets.

Televangelists have long espoused the health-and-wealth/name-it-and-claim it gospel. If you are wealthy, it is a sign of God's favor. If not, too bad! But don't forget to tithe in any case. This rationale may explain why some economically downscale whites defend the prerogatives of billionaires.

The GOP's fascination with war is also connected with the fundamentalist mindset. The Old Testament abounds in tales of slaughter - God ordering the killing of the Midianite male infants and enslavement of the balance of the population, the divinely-inspired genocide of the Canaanites, the slaying of various miscreants with the jawbone of an ass - and since American religious fundamentalist seem to prefer the Old Testament to the New (particularly that portion of the New Testament known as the Sermon on the Mount), it is but a short step to approving war as a divinely inspired mission. This sort of thinking has led, inexorably, to such phenomena as Jerry Falwell once writing that God is Pro-War.

It is the apocalyptic frame of reference of fundamentalists, their belief in an imminent Armageddon, that psychologically conditions them to steer this country into conflict, not only on foreign fields (some evangelicals thought Saddam was the Antichrist and therefore a suitable target for cruise missiles), but also in the realm of domestic political controversy. It is hardly surprising that the most adamant proponent of the view that there was no debt ceiling problem was Michele Bachmann, the darling of the fundamentalist right. What does it matter, anyway, if the country defaults? - we shall presently abide in the bosom of the Lord.

Some liberal writers have opined that the different socio-economic perspectives separating the "business" wing of the GOP and the religious right make it an unstable coalition that could crack. I am not so sure. There is no fundamental disagreement on which direction the two factions want to take the country, merely how far in that direction they want to take it. The plutocrats would drag us back to the Gilded Age, the theocrats to the Salem witch trials. In any case, those consummate plutocrats, the Koch brothers, are pumping large sums of money into Michele Bachman's presidential campaign, so one ought not make too much of a potential plutocrat-theocrat split.

Thus, the modern GOP; it hardly seems conceivable that a Republican could have written the following:

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid." (That was President Eisenhower, writing to his brother Edgar in 1954.)

It is this broad and ever-widening gulf between the traditional Republicanism of an Eisenhower and the quasi-totalitarian cult of a Michele Bachmann that impelled my departure from Capitol Hill. It is not in my pragmatic nature to make a heroic gesture of self-immolation, or to make lurid revelations of personal martyrdom in the manner of David Brock. And I will leave a more detailed dissection of failed Republican economic policies to my fellow apostate Bruce Bartlett.

I left because I was appalled at the headlong rush of Republicans, like Gadarene swine, to embrace policies that are deeply damaging to this country's future; and contemptuous of the feckless, craven incompetence of Democrats in their half-hearted attempts to stop them. And, in truth, I left as an act of rational self-interest. Having gutted private-sector pensions and health benefits as a result of their embrace of outsourcing, union busting and "shareholder value," the GOP now thinks it is only fair that public-sector workers give up their pensions and benefits, too. Hence the intensification of the GOP's decades-long campaign of scorn against government workers. Under the circumstances, it is simply safer to be a current retiree rather than a prospective one.

If you think Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand-worshipping colleagues aren't after your Social Security and Medicare, I am here to disabuse you of your naiveté.[5] They will move heaven and earth to force through tax cuts that will so starve the government of revenue that they will be "forced" to make "hard choices" - and that doesn't mean repealing those very same tax cuts, it means cutting the benefits for which you worked.

During the week that this piece was written, the debt ceiling fiasco reached its conclusion. The economy was already weak, but the GOP's disgraceful game of chicken roiled the markets even further. Foreigners could hardly believe it: Americans' own crazy political actions were destabilizing the safe-haven status of the dollar. Accordingly, during that same week, over one trillion dollars worth of assets evaporated on financial markets. Russia and China have stepped up their advocating that the dollar be replaced as the global reserve currency - a move as consequential and disastrous for US interests as any that can be imagined.

If Republicans have perfected a new form of politics that is successful electorally at the same time that it unleashes major policy disasters, it means twilight both for the democratic process and America's status as the world's leading power.

Footnotes:

[1] I am not exaggerating for effect. A law passed in 2010 by the Arizona legislature mandating arrest and incarceration of suspected illegal aliens was actually drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative business front group that drafts "model" legislation on behalf of its corporate sponsors. The draft legislation in question was written for the private prison lobby, which sensed a growth opportunity in imprisoning more people.

[2] I am not a supporter of Obama and object to a number of his foreign and domestic policies. But when he took office amid the greatest financial collapse in 80 years, I wanted him to succeed, so that the country I served did not fail. But already in 2009, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, declared that his greatest legislative priority was - jobs for Americans? Rescuing the financial system? Solving the housing collapse? - no, none of those things. His top priority was to ensure that Obama should be a one-term president. Evidently Senator McConnell hates Obama more than he loves his country. Note that the mainstream media have lately been hailing McConnell as "the adult in the room," presumably because he is less visibly unstable than the Tea Party freshmen

[3] This is not a venue for immigrant bashing. It remains a fact that outsourcing jobs overseas, while insourcing sub-minimum wage immigrant labor, will exert downward pressure on US wages. The consequence will be popular anger, and failure to address that anger will result in a downward wage spiral and a breech of the social compact, not to mention a rise in nativism and other reactionary impulses. It does no good to claim that these economic consequences are an inevitable result of globalization; Germany has somehow managed to maintain a high-wage economy and a vigorous industrial base.

[4] The cowardice is not merely political. During the past ten years, I have observed that Democrats are actually growing afraid of Republicans. In a quirky and flawed, but insightful, little book, "Democracy and Populism: Fear and Hatred," John Lukacs concludes that the left fears, the right hates.

[5] The GOP cult of Ayn Rand is both revealing and mystifying. On the one hand, Rand's tough guy, every-man-for-himself posturing is a natural fit because it puts a philosophical gloss on the latent sociopathy so prevalent among the hard right. On the other, Rand exclaimed at every opportunity that she was a militant atheist who felt nothing but contempt for Christianity. Apparently, the ignorance of most fundamentalist "values voters" means that GOP candidates who enthuse over Rand at the same time they thump their Bibles never have to explain this stark contradiction. And I imagine a Democratic officeholder would have a harder time explaining why he named his offspring "Marx" than a GOP incumbent would in rationalizing naming his kid "Rand."
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Again, I didn't write this, but I did warn you!!

NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

EVENT ALERT: Saturday, February 11, 2012 NACA Home Save and First Time Homebuyer Seminars in Queens

2012-02-06T08:36:00.010-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

For those of us who were not fortunate enough to get to Atlanta for the massive NACA Homesave Program, NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) will be holding two FREE Home Save and First Time Homebuyer Workshop/Seminars in the Queens and Brooklyn Area.

On Saturday, February 11, at Mt. Zion Bishop Church 106-60 Union Hall Street, in Queens, NY (near York College), they will hold back to back seminars beginning at 10:00AM and ending at approximately 3:00PM.

These seminars are mandatory prerequisites to be able to receive the free assistance NACA provides.

For those who are facing foreclosure, regardless of what borough you reside in, it is imperative that you not procrastinate, or stand on false pride, or continue to hold out hope that your bank will suddenly see you as a human being and relent. You need to get help FAST! If it's not you, but you are aware of someone who is going through it, then urge them to make it their business to be there to get the assistance they need.

President Barack Obama is working to get the relief we need from the onslaught of banks who have served as predatory lenders and are now trying to take your home; while at the same time lying and saying they don't want them. And while he is dealing with a hostile Congress, and businesses that would rather bleed you dry than see you thrive, you need to go where the help is.

On the other hand, for those who realize that paying rent is a road paved to nowhere, there is no equity, there is no ownership; that you are paying the same money you would if you were paying your own mortgage, but at the end of the day you have no control over the property, NACA'S FIRST TIME HOME BUYER PROGRAM is the only one in the nation that provides you with free counseling, a completely pre-APPROVED loan; Free Down Payment, Free Closing Costs, and a Mortgage 1% below prime. It is indeed THE BEST MORTGAGE IN THE NATION.

Now is the time for you to make that move, while the prices of housing are down, and the interest rates are low. Don't wait or procrastinate until everything is perfect with you. There's no such thing, for one, and perfection is totally overrated for two.

Make it your business to become a homeowner this year. Release yourself from the shackles of being a tenant; you can own a one to four family home and become a landlord (who charges reasonable rents), and reap the benefits of tax deduction that ownership conveys.

New York State Housing Commissioner Darryl Towns recently revealed that over 1600 lis pendens (foreclosure notice) were sent out in Central Brooklyn alone, within the hast three weeks. What to do to save these homes was the topic at a meeting held by Assemblywoman and NY State Banking Commissioner Annette M. Robinson, at Bed Stuy Restoration on January 27th.

It has also been high on the radar of State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who hosted Commissioner Towns at a round table discussion in late December. Both legislators concur that Brooklyn continues to be the hardest hit in foreclosures, followed closely by Queens, because both boroughs tended to have high home ownership ratios.

The scurrilous fact is that while rent is being pushed as the antidote for the housing crises, with so many landlords trying to gouge tenants for higher than normal rents - approximating what one would pay for a mortgage; and with needed employment being slow to the region, there appears to be no relief for those in the middle, who are once again caught in a vicious squeeze play.

Couple that with the pervasiveness of the recent economic downturn, which basically rolled over Brooklynites - employed and business owners alike, and there has been little in the way of the kinds of comprehensive remedies necessary to return these communities to stability.

As a result of the high foreclosure numbers in Brooklyn, NACA will be hosting a Home Save workshop on Saturday, March 11, 2012 in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn address has not been finalized, but owing to the overwhelming numbers, we are anticipating using either the Armory on Bedford and Union, or a facility with a similar capacity.

However, a word of caution to those of you in Brooklyn who need help now, please do not wait until the March 10 workshop. You must go where the help is - and right now that's Mt. Zion Bishop Church 106-60 Union Hall Street, in Queens, NY. Take the F Train to the last stop, and walk two blocks to the facility. It's across from York College. There will be NACA signs posted to guide you to the right destination.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with NACA can go online and learn first hand the story of how this stalwart organization was founded. In fact, someone needs to give NACA's Founder and CEO Bruce Marks and his dedicated NACA staff of NACA counselors, an award for having saved hundreds of thousands of homes throughout the United State, while at the same time providig those would not have had the wherewithal, homes of their own.

You owe it to yourselves, your family, your community to take advantage of these services, and to share the information with family and friends. Don't sit there and suffer in silence. And for those who know, make sure the rest are as well informed as you are.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Check out gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com on BlackList.Net

Farewell to Don Cornelius

2012-02-02T05:47:00.009-05:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Wow! That was all I could say when the announcement came across my computer early this morning. Don Cornelius - an Icon in Black Culture for over 30 years - dead, apparently of self inflicted wounds. I couldn't process it, or wrap my mind around it for a minute. Surely there was some error - you know that "the news of his death has been greatly exaggerated" type hope. But there it was.

The great purveyor of everything Soul was gone from among us. Ironically I flashed back to just two weeks ago, at a party given by artist and sculptor Dudley Vacciana in his Brooklyn apartment, there were about 30 of us sitting in his parlor watching a 60" TV screen as DVD after DVD showed Soul Train Classics, from as far back as 1971! The days when we couldn't wait til Saturday to catch the latest dance, see the latest artist and hear the latest hit song on Soul Train!

There he was, larger than life on that screen. And while everybody else was boogying down in the other rooms, we were checking out the clothes, the artists, the moves - and of course, Mr. Cooler than Cool, Don Cornelius.

On several occasions the party's DJ came from the other room and tried to divert us from our past life revery to participate the party at hand; and each time we ran him out the room. We held him off for nearly two hours. This was real music; these artists played real instruments and sang real songs - there were no "B" words; no put downs, no hostility. The songs had melodies you could rock to.

We relived the in depth interviews Cornelius did with Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson (when he was still a kid). They were priceless.

They were wearing bell bottom pants, platform shoes, natural hair (Afros); the original Black commercials were from Afro Sheen - Watu Wazuri (beautiful people in Swahili), use Afro Sheen! Wow! We were totally entranced looking at the peers of our yesterday, and remembering when we could kick that high, do the splits, wear slits up our thigh - we were fly!

Little did we know that two weeks later we'd wake up to find the hero of our youth was no longer among us. Perhaps we had an inkling, and that was why we clung so dearly to watching those videos at Dudley's that evening.

Don Cornelius was an inspiration to us all. He was confirmation of the greatness of Black artist, talent, youth, creativity, ingenuity. He was a brother who made no bones about being Black and Proud. Always ending with Love, Peace and Soul, and meaning it, he set a standard for showcasing Black talent that has been mirrored to this day.

Who can forget the rise of the divas: Sister Sledge, The Pointer Sisters, En Vogue, following the trails blazed by Gladys Knight and the Pips, Diana Ross - Diva Supreme, and Ms. Patti LaBelle, among others. We got our fashion tips, hair styles, and walks from watching these beautifully put together, elegant Black women.

I only met Mr. Cornelius on one occasion, when the group Mandrill performed live in Hollywood. I'm sure he barely noticed me. However, I remember how cordial, down to earth and unpretentious he was. He admired the group, and the fact that they were a self contained family. He highlighted their originality - composing and playing all their own original work. (I didn't get to dance, though - I was totally outclassed by those kids on the dance floor). It was interesting to watch from the inside out, and experience being in the company of the Mr. Cool.

My daughter, who likewise grew up on Saturdays watching Soul Train, texted me "How bad could his life have been for him to have killed himself." I responded, "You never know what's going on inside a person, what kind of pain they may be experiencing."

I later had a conversation with Public Relations Diva, Terrie Williams, who recently authored a book entitled, "Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting", who stated that Don Cornelius, who had recently suffered a stroke, was indeed undergoing a great deal of physical and mental pain. Whether or not that contributed to his demise is unknown, but it is a strong indication that he may have been facing a lot of challenges.

Condolences to his family, friends, and those of us who have forged a soul relationship with him over the years. The sadness is that he is no longer here among us physically. The wonderful thing is that we have this tremendous body of work, those wonderful happy times we spent finger popping, lip synching, dancing, and trying to style like the dancers on Soul Train, as Don Cornelius brought into our homes on a very personal basis, artists most of us had only seen on album covers, or heard on the radio.

Because of Don we had an opportunity to be up close and personal with so many wonderful, talented people, many of whom have already made their transition on to the next plane of action: Michael Jackson, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Heavy D., Etta James, Nina Simone, Nick Ashford, The Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, Harold Melvin, Teddy Pendergrass - what a Roll Call!

And I'm sure they'll receive Don Cornelius gratefully, cordially, and happily, because he's needed to organize the next level of SOUL TRAIN, and "You can bet your last money, it's gonna be a stone gas honey! In his immortal words, "I wish you LOVE, PEACE & SOUL!"

NOTE: This is the beginning of BLACK HISTORY MONTH. We could do no less than honor Don Cornelius and all the wonderful artists he brought to the Black community via his show, the longest running Black entertainment show in television history.

At the same time, pick up a Black history book and read or re-read it; pick up a Black newspaper and find out what's going on in your community; go see a Black play; take your kid to something that expands his or her knowledge and pride in being Black. If we don't honor ourselves and retain what we've accomplished, we will no longer be here.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

ACTION ALERT: S.O.S. Save Inner City Broadcasting and WBLS From Bankruptcy Mess!

2012-01-31T14:20:00.007-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I hope I have sufficiently shocked you to attention, because there is a disaster brewing right under our noses, right in the Black family community, that has been flying low under the radar. As a matter of fact, I and others would probably not have become aware of it had it not been announced at Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Push 15th Anniversary Wall Street Initiative, during a panel discussion on the disappearing Black media.

Talk about a shock! When James L. Winston, Executive Director and General Counsel for NABOB (National Black Owned Broadcasters), an organization of Black TV and Radio station owners, made the announcement that the venerable broadcast company, founded by the late, great Percy Ellis Sutton, had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy* in the courts, for indebtedness of over $180 million, it was though as though everyone in the room suddenly had been punched in the stomach.

And while the discussion went on to deal with other problems in the Black media, the 800 pound gorilla in the room was: "What are we going to do if we lose the only Black owned radio station in New York City? What happens if it falls into white hands? What happens to the Black voice of New York?"

Ken Smickle of Target Market News (www.targetmarketnews.com), summed it up rather succinctly: We, as Black people, have to wake up. We have to respond in our own best interest. We are losing Black media. When we lose Black media, we re losing Black life as we know it! We're losing political, social power and economic power. We are losing the ability to be seen. When WBLS is no longer available in this town, every white person (as well as our own Black brothers and sisters worldwide) is going to think a litte (a whole lot) less of us. Every single one of you will be affected, not just them {the Sutton family} - oh, no,no,no,no,no! It's not just them; not that it "didn't work out!" or that "they did this; they didn't do that right..." No! It's like, "there they go!" They is YOU, US!!! So it is time to act like 20th Century African Americans who know something about survival!!"

Per Winston, the genesis of the problem stems from 11 radio stations purchased by Pierre Sutton ten years ago for $200 million. With the current economic downturn, and the fact that Newt Gingrich, during the Bush Administration, had had the tax incentives overturned that would have made the purchases profitable, the stations became losing propositions for Inner City.

Couple that with the fact that we're losing a great many of our Black Newspapers and TV stations across the nation, as Rev. Jesse Jackson stated, the Black media is under siege.

When asked what could be done to save the stations, particularly WLIB and WBLS, audience members suggested they contact Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Don King and others who were more likely to have the financial wherewithal to help save the properties, as well as keep it in Black hands. Others also recommended that there be a change in management, once the stations were rescued, in order to avoid future problems.

Producer, writer and entertainer, Verinia Taylor stated, angrily, "This is a Black Icon in the community, how could he not inform the Black community that ICBC was having this problem. We could have had fundraisers, or lobby some of America's wealthy African American millionaires to correct this problem. Now the organization that Black people had a voice is now threatened by white racist media (ClearView, which is owned by Mitt Romney) Now you put him in a position to take out the voice we have in ICBC. To the current management don't let false pride allow you to lose our most valuable asset! See what ViaCom did to BET!"

When further queried about why we were just learning about the situation, Winston further stated, "the owners did not reach out to the Black community," the audience vociferously responded that it was just such a situation that has cause so many to lose homes and businesses. There appears to be a disconnect between them and the community - something that has to be remedied.

Others recommended that they jettison the recently purchased stations and just focus on the flagship stations of WBLS and WLIB. "If we lose them, all that Mr. Sutton worked and sacrificed for for the Black community will have gone for nothing."

Anyone who is interested in assisting Inner City Broadcasting, or who may have a solution to the situation, can reach out to Mr. James Winston, President, NABOB jwinston@nabob.org. We must all pull together as the Black Family Community that we are.

*FYI: Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended primarily for the reorganization of businesses with heavy debt burdens, most often associated with corporations. Chapter 11 allows the debtor to propose a plan for profitability post-bankruptcy, which may include trimming costs and seeking new sources of revenue or income, while temporarily holding creditors at bay. While Chapter 11 provides more time to file a plan and the opportunity to reorganize, it is more time-consuming and costly than other forms of bankruptcy. In the Chapter 11 Process either the debtor or its creditors may file a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Once the petition is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the case begins and an automatic stay of all collections actions is put into effect. This means creditors may not pursue existing or new collection activities for unpaid debts unless the court issues a modification to the stay. This provides an opportunity for the debtor to draft a reorganization plan and negotiate more feasible repayment terms without worrying about its debt obligations.

After the petition is filed, the business continues about its affairs without interruption. Meanwhile, under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, the debtor turns its attention to figuring out a repayment plan for its creditors. Repayment amounts typically are much lower than the original debt totals. Throughout the case, the debtor may review its creditors' claims and make objections where it makes sense. Monthly operating reports filed by the debtor keep the court apprised of its progress. - www.Findlaw.com

The Rev. Jesse Jackson continually commented on the demise of Black businesses and the fact that there are no programs in place among them to come to each others' rescue when faced with the threat of financial ruin or extinction. We cannot expect others to care more about our institutions than we do. It is up to us to develop the protocols and programs that not only shield our business from the onslaught of economic down turns, but to have the wherewithal to provide jobs, assistance, guidance and support while those who have been affected put the shreds of their lives back together. That shows true strength and self-empowerment. It was what the Black United Fund of New York (BUFNY) did, before Elliott Spitzer destroyed it. And it's unfortunate that in the time since it's demise we have not seen fit to either re-establish it, or to come up with a program that does the same or more (Kermit Eady where are you?)

We will be monitoring the Inner City Broadcasting as they go through this challenge. However, a more pro-active on the part of the family community is going to be required NOW if we are to begin to stop the hemorraging that is destroying our institutions, culture and communities..

NOW THAT YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Woodie King, Jr. To Be Inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame January 30, 2012

2012-01-29T18:32:00.005-05:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

This is very exciting and wonderful news! My friend, Woodie King, Jr., who just celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the New Federal Theatre, which he established at the Henry Street Settlement way back in 1971, will formally be inducted into New York's American Theatre Hall of Fame, Monday, January 30th, at the Gershwin Theatre.

Woodie had actually contacted me about his nomination back in October of 2011. He was stunned, shocked, surprised and definitely honored. I can imagine from his tone of voice, that even he, the unflappable, unperturbable Woodie King, was more than a little excited by this great honor. Read "flabbergasted." We were to have sat down for a one-on-one interview, however our busy schedules have not allowed for that opportunity - yet. We'll just have to find a way to make it happen,

In the interim, I absolutely could not let the event pass without alerting you. This is indeed a great honor upon which only a few have been bestowed. The criteria is quite high, and designated for only the creme de la creme - and that would definitely be Woodie.

According to Wikipedia, those who are eligible come from various disciplines of stage and screen, including actors, playwrights, song writers, designers, directors and producers who have had a career on Broadway spanning at least twenty-five years with a minimum of five major theatrical credits.

Selections are made by approximately 400 voting members from the Theater Hall of Fame and the American Theatre Critics Association. Each year the induction takes place at a ceremony at the Gershwin Theatre in Manhattan, where his name would be embossed in bronze-gold lettering on a bronze plaque, which would be hung on the theater's entrance walls flanking its grand staircase and escalator; joining the other myriad of celebrities who have been honored in the past.

As to whether or not he fits the criteria, please note that Woodie King, Jr, is a renowned African-American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the reknowned New Federal Theatre in New York City.

The following are some of Woodie's credits in film and stage direction and production (this a partial list, the complete list would take me hours to compile):

A Raisin in the Sun - Alliance Theater (Atlanta, Georgia) 1994
Eyes (based in Zora Neales Hurston's Their Eyes were Watching God) by Mari Evans American Cabaret Theater (Indiana) 1995–1996
Splendid Mummer American Place Theatre 1987
Checkmates Bermuda International Theatre Festival 1995–1996
Good Black Don't Crack Billie Holiday Theatre (Brooklyn) 1993
Checkmates Broadway (New York) 1988
Joe Turner's Come and Gone Brooklyn College 1996–1997
Home Samm-Art WilliamsCenter Stage of Baltimore, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse 1996–1997
And The World Laughs With You Crossroads Theatre Company (New Jersey) 1994
Ali 1998–1999
Joe Turner's Come and Gone Detroit Repertory Theater 1990
Mudtracks by Regina Taylor The Ensemble Studio Theater 1994
Ford's Theater God's Trombone 1990
A Raisin in the Sun GeVa Theatre 1991
Angels in America Ohio State University 1998–1999
The Piano Lesson Seminole State College of Florida 2012
Co-Produced Plays
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf
What the Wine Sellers Buy
Reggae
Taking of Miss Janie for which he receivedThe Drama Critic Circle Award
Other Awards Include:
1985 Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for Appear and Show Cause
1988 NAACP Image Award for directing Checkmates at the Inner City Cultural Center
1993 AUDELCO awards for Best Director and Best Play for Robert Johnson: Trick The Devil
1997 Obie Award for Sustained Achievement
2003 Paul Robeson Award
2005 Rosetta LeNoire Award
2011 Induction into American Theatre Hall of Fame

On Monday evening, once again,history will be made as Woodie King joins the likes of Eubie Blake, Roscoe Lee Browne, Gregory Hines, Tennessee Williams, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Plummer, and a great many others in the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Congratulations to you, Woodie. You've got many more stars and honors coming your way.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

EVENT ALERT: Rainbow Push Coalition Celebrates their 15th Annual Wall Street Project, January 25-27

2012-01-24T15:20:00.010-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

It's hard to believe that fifteen years have passed since the First Wall Street Project opened in New York City. It was 1997, at at that time we actually were on Wall Street, with many of the events happening either in board rooms, on the trading room floors, or at the World Trade Center.

I can remember sitting in the top of the World Trade Center at one of the luncheons, in a facility where the ceilings were arched, and so low that you had to bend to be in there, and you could not see the speakers because the columns blocked your view.

They've come a long way from those early days of trying to make Black people more financially literate, investment action oriented, and move away from the mentality of a consumer to that of a producer.

It's important that I say this, and that you grasp this and how significant it is that Rev. Jackson saw, and understood early on - before the economic downturn, before the mortgage crises, before the rampant foreclosures - he understood the devastation of not having economic parity for Black people -whether here in the US, or Africa, the Caribbean, or anywhere else we reside.

His mission has been to provide us with as much education, exposure, opportunity and understanding of what Wall Street was about, and what it meant to us, who had been psychologically, physically, emotionally and economically kept out of the loop. The realm of investment, the marketplace, and the high stakes of finance had been relegated to the realm of whites and high rolling Blacks, the few who were allowed behind the "green" door. The rest of us were either part of conspicuous consumption, or the welfare state (at least that is where we were pushed).

When Rev. Jackson first enunciated plans to study Wall Street as a means of breaking down the next barrier of racism, many of his peers in the "movement" thought he had lost it. Others thought he had joined the ranks of the "capitalist pigs." Interesting, since we all need and want money how many of us tried to pick the idea apart as though it was some kind of pariah.

However, we who have given up more free labor on this planet than any other group of people in the world, and have not been compensated for our efforts - for the blood, sweat, tears and lives that went into building this nation - including the hallowed hall of Wall Street, Dow Jones, Broad Street and the other denizens of the almighty dollar. We, more than anyone, need to learn to work smarter, not harder, how to invest in growth funds, how to plan for longevity and retirement, how to make wise deals and purchases. When you think about it, the investment they made in bringing us here from Africa has paid off for everyone but us - big time.

Now it's time to learn how not to make the mistakes that the "smartest guys in the house" made, which caused the economic mess we're in right now, while at the same time begin to develop our own autonomous investment and banking systems, as have other groups, so that we too can underwrite our children's education, purchase our own homes, build quality communities - in other words, call the shots.

The most interesting thing about this is the irony that we live in New York City, the financial capital of the world. Yet we know nothing about it. The major industries in New York are FIRE - Finance, Insurance, Real Estate - yet they are not taught in any of our schools in a meaningful way. Neither we nor our children have ever been exposed to the inner workings of Wall Street. We know it's there, but except for the few Black proteges, we are more likely to see African Americans as security guards and custodians, than having a pivotal role in the high end banking, finance and investment arenas. The schools in New York may teach you how to count money, but they don't teach you how to use, invest, expand it. Why is that?

Last year, the Rainbow Push Coalition quietly celebrated its 40th Anniversary on December 25, 2011. The great thing is that they are as relevant and active today as they were when they were first formed. In October 2011, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. celebrated his 70th Birthday anniversary. And like these stellar programs he's created, he keeps getting better with age. There are few out there who can match his stride, his energy and his dedication to Black people. In celebrating these milestones, we are all winners as well, because he has taken the time to provide us with a blue print that we can follow out of this mess we're in - if we would but follow it (see gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com - January 15, 2011).

The theme of the 2012 Wall Street Project is "Bringing Everyone to the Table." The Economic Summit this year will be lead by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Macy's Inc. It will feature such panels as: Wall Street Project Career Development; Retooling and Retraining Break Out Sessions; The Women's Luncheon; The Minister's Prayer Breakfast and Roundtable. Among the presenters will be John Grant, Author, Career Coach and Speaker; Staci Grant, President C&G Enterprises; Pat Thomas Motivational Speaker and career coach. There will be other speakers and surprise guests as the conference gets underway.

Rev. Jackson indicated, in a recent teleconference, that the possibility of putting together a mutual bank or credit union similar to the Black United Fund of New York, to make it possible for Black investors to underwrite their own programs, has been a consideration for quite some time. "I am quite familiar with the program and the principles established by the late Walter Bremond, and think it would be a powerful tool for Black Economic Development. It would be an natural resource builder for programs that are underserved or poorly underwritten by mainstream finance or charitable organizations." New York's Black United Fund, which was established by Kermit Eady, at its zenith raised more than $111 million a year, which was then put back into the Black community in the form of affordable housing, business incubator programs, scholarships, and business start up loans. (Many will remember it was destroyed by then persecutor Elliot Spitzer in his bid for the gubernatorial nomination - but that's another story for another day).

The most salient points of Rev. Jackson's teleconference was the fact that South Carolina continues to be the bastion of racism and abuse, despite the progress made under Dr. King to destroy many of the negative institutions. The new version of the prison industrial complex is proliferating there, where factories are actually being established within the prison walls, and those who are incarcerated are forced to work for pennies a day. Apparently there are also investors who are underwriting this heinous program in order to save money. If not curtailed, it will be a means of undermining President Obama's move to bring businesses home to make jobs available for Americans who have been out of work since the onset of the economic downturn. How to handle this will be one of the main focal points of this year's Wall Street Project.

Also of concern are our voting rights, which are being target by South Carolina and Arizona. Republicans are pushing these laws in states across the country claiming they are needed to deter voting fraud, but offer no evidence of its existence. In fact, the laws will disproportionately impact African Americans, Latinos and poor people — who are less likely to have a driver’s license. In South Carolina, the Dept. Of Justice concluded minority voters would be 20 percent more likely to be disenfranchised than white voters (excerpted from Rev. Jackson's weekly report)

He will also focus on foreclosures, building and developing decent affordable housing, home ownership, and quality of life issues. Stated Reverend Jackson: "Banks got bailed out; people got locked out." Millions of homes have been lost from the Black community - the largest land grab rip off in history. His 2011 panel dealt with more humane ways to help families in distress than the methods used by recalcitrant banks and lending institutions, who claim to not want their homes, but proceed to foreclose and take them anyway. This year's panel is set to take it to the next level. If you happen to have been a victim of these scams, you'll want to be there as well.

If you haven't attended any of the Wall Street Projects over the past 15 years, make this the time that you break that pattern. Make a paradigm shift. There are a great many contacts to be made, a lot to be learned - networking with peers, as well as establishing new contacts, and expanding those you already have. Come for the seminars - they're priceless! Your input is as valuable as the panel of experts sitting on the dias. With so many opportunities for innovation, you may well walk away with a solution to problems you considered impossible; or you just might make a connection that you thought not possible.

And lest you thought he has overlooked brothers and sisters in Africa, he's just returned from Johannesburg and Bloemfontein South Africa to join other leaders across the globe in paying tribute to the ANC and the people of South Africa. "This is not just an ANC celebration, but one for the entire continent and, indeed, for peace and freedom loving people around the globe. I look forward to giving a report to the American public upon my return," he stated.

Make no mistake about it, Reverend Jackson is “Bringing Everyone to the Table” in a way that has never been done before. We can be either at the table or on the sideline. As President Barack Obama said (sang) at the Apollo: "Let's Stay Together!" It's the only way we'll survive. It's the only way we will win. It's the only way we'll Succeed.

Here's a little history for those who are not familiar with how the organization began: In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appointed Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. to serve as the first director of Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, IL. In 1971, three years after King's assassination in Memphis, TN, Rev. Jackson founded Operation P.U.S.H (People United to Save Humanity in Chicago to continue Dr. King's mission. In 1972, the idea of the "Black Expo" (Black Business Exposition) was developed to "expose" African-American businesses. In 1984, the National Rainbow Coalition was formed in Washington, DC following Reverend Jackson's first presidential campaign. Rainbow's focus was to unite progressive people, historically locked out of the mainstream of American politics, into a "coalition of conscience," dedicated to making America more inclusive. The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity.

The organization is headquarted in Chicago, IL at 930 E 50th St., can be reached by calling (773) 373-3366. For information on this years 15th Annual Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project, visit www.rainbowpush.org. Rainbow PUSH Coalition ✆ publicservices@rainbowpush.org via bounce.bluestatedigital.com

The 15th Annual Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project is being held on January 25 to the 27, and the Sheraton Towers Hotel, 53rd Street and 7th Avenue, New York, New York. See you there.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Who I am, What I Write, Why I Write, and Why Some People Are Blocked from the Blog

2012-01-21T22:42:00.009-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson:

Hello All: I recently had occasion to respond to an individual who is a "self-styled activist" who had invited me to participate in a protest demonstration against President Barack Obama, which would have taken place in Harlem in front of the Apollo while the President participated in a fund raising concert held in his honor.

The email which I received on January 17,2012 was so hostile that I immediately shot back an email to the author, Nellie Hester Bailey, informing her that I was blocking her from my blog, and that her info would no longer be welcome. I also put her on blast as a warning to others that, as I have so often stated, if you have negative things to say about President Obama, "I ain't the one - I'm on his side."

Ms. Bailey retaliated by trying to "call me out" castigating me in the BlackList. However, I have largely ignored her tirade. Until today, when I received an email from a brother, Curtis Moore, who basically stated: "I have a new saying you can lead a human to knowledge. But you can't make think. Gloria has sent a lot of email with I don't agree with. There are people who you send email to that don't agree with what you send them. Just think how the world would be if all people are thinking the same thing at the same time. There may be peace of earth but I feel it would be a dull place. I don't feel that we should ban a person because they don't think the way we." Curtis Moore

And I wanted to set the record straight in reference to who I am, what I write, why I write, who I write for, and why I felt it necessary block this individual from my blog:

Hi Curtis: For you I'll make a response.

I did not ban the Nellie because she did not think the way I did. I banned her for the attack dog, disrespectful attitude she has and continues to make against President Obama.

Now, quiet as it's kept, I certainly don't agree with everything the President says or does - only 97%. And I don't expect anyone else to agree with anyone all the time. What I did say, and I've reiterated it several times during the course of writing my blog, gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com/Eclectically Black News is that I will not be the purveyor of hostilities against the President, or overtly negative attitudes or statements against him. She crossed the line.

Now, me being me - Black feature writer - not just a journalist, but a member of the Partisan Press (meaning, I live here just like you do. I vote, I have concerns and an opinion, and I tend to write from that standpoint), I reserve the right to not be objective when it comes to certain things, issues. When I am writing for the regular Black press or for the meanstream news, then of course I have to speak from that "middle of the road objective tone."

These are some of the things I am for:

1) Black people. I am openly and unabashedly pro Black people
2) African People - I am openly and unabashedly pro African people, except for dictators and those who are killing other African people
3) Japanese People - I am openly and unabashed pro-Japanese people - but their leaders are brainwashed, so they are fair game
4) American Indians (a/k/a"Native Americans"): I am openly and unabashedly pro-American Indians, especially, Cherokee (except for Chad), Creeks, Crowes, Apaches - My family is at least 1/3 Indian
5) President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, the Obama Kids - I am openly and unabashedly pro OBAMAS - except for the 3% of the decisions he makes I don't agree with.
6) Popcorn and Peanut butter: I absolutely and unabashedly love Popcorn
- home popped not that theatre or microwave crap - without butter. I love Peanut butter on practically everything - especially the fresh ground organic peanut butter from the health food store. I think a monument should be raised to George Washington Carver (who invented peanut butter); and all American Indians should be receiving royalties everytime anyone anywhere in the world buy popcorn - whether it be from Orville Redenbacher or the theatres - since they had Popcorn first!!
7. Affordable, desirable homes: I absolutely, unabashedly and totally believe that every body in the world deserves a decent place to live, regardless of who, what, and where they are. Or how much or little money they have. It's why I support NACA. I think when you live in the richest country in the land they can at least provide you with a decent home - not a shelter.

I am an Eclectic Black Woman. I know and love my people, my lineage, appreciate and respect my heritage. And that includes Nellie, as well as some other brothers and sisters I disagree with. That does not mean that I have to post everything they say on my blog. I am not going to allow the denigration of President Obama space in my writing. It's my policy. I put my own people first, of course, but Obama takes precedence. I also try to disagree without being disagreeable - if people let me. Some times they do, sometimes they don't.

I don't do "tit for tat" in the media, because it give the mean stream ammo to use against us. So as far as I'm concerned the ranting and raving and foaming at the mouth like some kind of rabid animal really gets them no where with me. I don't rise to that bait, because there are so many more important things going on right now that I am focused on.

So, just for the sake of balance, here are the things that I am solidly against:
1. Drugs, their users, their abusers, their pushers, and their transporters (we all know who they are and why they're doing it) and those who try to call it an "illness" - I am openly and unabashedly against drugs.
2. Anything and anyone from any part of the Bush family regardless of where in the world they are, how nice they are - if they got one tenth of one per cent of Bush blood in them, they're a Bush - and Bushes are bad - From George I who headed in the CIA, to George II who bankrupted the planet, to all his administration.
3. Newt Gingrich - read statement #2
4. Flies, snakes, waterbugs, roaches, - read statement #2 again - actually I like them more than the Bushes, but not much.
5. Parents who neglect their kids (there is no excuse - sorry, poverty and ignorance are not reasons either).
6. Poverty and being poor (or not having enough money); I openly unabashedly hate not having enough money - and I'm trying very hard to get out of that situation (and I know millions of people who totally agree with me on this); and people who put me in a position to not have access to money are really on my list - review #2, again.
7. Fanatics of any kind - I don't care who you are, what your cause is, where you came from - if you are a foaming at the mouth religious or political or even a social fanatic - you're out! Not going to deal with you. What ever that malevolent force that is driving your mania to a frenzy, I want none of it, will not endorse it or write about it. Fanaticism is just two inches away from insanity.
8. People who talk too loud on their cell phones, as though there was no one else in the room, or as though they're trying to let us in on their business. Cut it out. No one wants to hear it. It's stupid and rude.
9. Educated fools - who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Who can speak $50.00 dialectically intellectual words that mean absolutely nothing; and can communicate with the rest of the world.

Of course, these lists are not exhaustive. I keep adding stuff. Some days my likes are longer than my dislikes, and some days they are shorter. But these thus far are the tops.

Okay, some of that was a little tongue in cheek - but if we don't learn to take some of the things we confront with a little levity, we'll always be frowning, always be in an attack mode, and always be expecting others to attack us. That's not where I'm coming from. We are in the midst of one of the greatest times and the greatest phenomenons in history; we have an opportunity to really make a difference. I am not going to squander it arguing with people who think it still okay to play crabs in a barrel divide and conquer games.

That said, I really want us as people to understand that there are times when we have to draw the line and say "this far and no further". I have an obligation to my readers to maintain a certain standard of quality when it comes to gloriadulanwilson.blogspot.com/Eclectically Black News. I told them there would be no profanity, porn, ignorance involved. I am somewhat 'Old School,' but I do try to be up to date with new info and technology.

I totally embrace the Eclectically Black Community. However, for me "Eclectic" means taking it from the highest and best standpoint of who we are as Black people. And there are some things that we are doing, that just don't make the cut for me.
There area some things that we ourselves are materially responsible for making happen in our community - and we are not going to get it done by picketing President Obama or Mayor Bloomberg. There are some things that we have to take the responsibility for making happen using our own ingenuity, resources and intelligence. If 100 people can waste the time trying to make the President look bad (yeah! I said it!!!), through pickets and signs, they can use that time and energy to put together a real case for resolving the issues.

I don't have all the answers; I'm not even going to try to find all the answers - but certain principles I was raised with when it comes to Black people - loyalty, unity and things Black - were violated, and I will not give it space on my Blog.

I will not openly fight with my Black brothers and sisters - It's against my personal religion. I will not get into spit fights in public no matter how much I dislike you. The best thing I can do is just block you. So, I said what I had to say, and that was the last word on it for me in reference to the issue.

If you have something positive to write or report about President Obama, or anyone else of our Eclectically Black Community, that you would like me to feature on my Blog, feel free to send it to me, and I will be most happy to include it.

President Obama (as well as the rest of the Eclectically Black Community) has enough redneck, racist, rep-ugh-blicans, tea baggers, Uncle Toms and Tomasinas, negroes, and the mean stream press try to bring him down, thwart what he's trying to accomplish, and prevent him from being re-elected so that he continue doing the great work he has started out doing. The man has accomplished more in the 3 short years he's been in office, than any of the other past presidents combined over the last 20 years. You need to recognize!!!

My job is to present the most positive empowering, uplifting reports about him and other Black people that I can find. I am the anti-mean-stream press. I am not just a journalist (and make no mistake I am a journalist) I -as I stated before - represent THE BLACK PRESS. Not the negro who wants to be white press. Not the press who wants to appease the white readers to "cross over".

I only write for Black people, about Black people. I am the one, when someone says some insipid thing about Black men or women, will take them on and at the same time wake other Black people up so that they can likewise deal with it as well. I am not now, nor have I ever been politically correct. I am politically astute, however.

While I am not the voice of Black people, I am a Voice For Black People. It's what I do. Not going to change that.

Again, thanks for your comments, interests and concern.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

PS: by the way, "Black" is a state of mind, not just our complexion; so don't get it twisted - I only deal with consciously Eclectic Black people.
###

FYI: MY ORIGINAL RESPONSE TO THE INVITE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PICKET AGAINST OBAMA, FOLLOWS BELOW:

Hi Nellie:

You are hereby blocked from sending me any more emails. As I have warned you and all others in the past, I will not countenance any anti-Obama mail - period.

I AM FORWARDING THIS BACK TO THE BLACKLIST AS WELL BECAUSE I AM NOT CIRCULATING ANYTHING THAT ADVOCATES DEMONSTRATING AGAINS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA.

You wanna occupy Harlem you need to deal with those individuals within Harlem that have sold Harlem out - long before Obama even considered running for president.
You have your sites set in the wrong direction on the wrong target, and while you're doing that, Harlem is being stolen from right under our very noses, and going to hell in a handbasket.

You need Obama to back you up; so stop trying to tear him down. Deal with those characters who are right there within arms reach that you appear to be afraid to confront. President Obama is a "safe" target and a scapegoat for those who are not willing to really take a stand for the gentrification and ethnic cleansing that is happening in your community.

Ask yourself who owns Harlem? and if cannot see your name on a condo, co-op, Newsbrownstone, or house - ask yourself why? Ask yourself what is happening to the BLACK businesses in Harlem?

Get Real - Get to the heart of the issue Get off Obama's back and back him up, before all Harlem is back on someone's plantation somewhere, because we're too focused on divide and conquer b.s. issues to deal with who's really back of all this crap.
Stay Blessed & ECLECTICALLY BLACK Gloria Dulan-Wilson

EVENT ALERT 1/22/12: Assembly Woman Annette M. Robinson & Bridge Street AWME Church Emergency Preparedness Workshop

2012-01-21T15:33:00.007-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Anyone who lived through the great blizzard of 2010 will immediately recognize the necessity for an emergency preparedness workshop. We had show drifts 6 feet high; buses and trains were shut down for days, and the regular shops were closed. There were many individuals facing life threatening conditions who could not reach their doctors or the hospital because the streets were impassable. The city was paralyzed, literally. Some individuals perished, or suffered life threatening situations. How might those incidents been handled differently had they, or a loved one, had taken an emergency preparedness training course?

On Sunday, January 22, Assemblywoman Annette Robinson and Bridge Street A.W.M.E. Church's Affiliated Community Corporations and Programs (BSACCAP) will provide vital information, equipment, material, supplies and training in emergency preparedness, at Bridge Street Church, 227 Stuyvesant Ave, between Jefferson and Handcock Streets; from 1:30 to 3:30.

Of course, we in New York can consider ourselves pretty lucky in most instances, because nothing of a major catastrophe has hit us since 9/11. But - hey! You never know! As Assemblywoman Robinson said, at a recent presentation at Jazz 966, "It's better to be safe, than sorry. We all think we'd know what to do in an emergency, but you can never know too much. You might save someone's life, or your family."

This is open to all ages and all levels. They will deal with how to prepare for such emergencies as: Hurricanes (remember Irene?); Heavy Show (Blizzard of 2010); Tornadoes; Floods (or extensive rain); Medical Emergencies, etc.

It's free and open to the public. If you require any additional information, Contact, Dr. Robert J. Williams, Chairperson at (718) 452-3936; or robe7775@aol.com.

Remember, the life you save may be your own, or that of a loved one; so come out and learn how.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Open Letter to Yahoo - GIVE ME BACK MY YAHOO CLASSIC EMAIL FORMAT NOW!! If It Ain't Broke, Don't Mess It Up

2012-01-19T00:32:00.011-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

This is a letter of protest to Yahoo from a long time Yahooligan - Me!

It is amazing to me how you can get the finest, most creative minds in one room, and they can still get things wrong. Yahoo has to be convicted of the most egregious crime of throwing out the baby with the bath water in this latest so called "improvement" of their browser.

It is a class-a disaster. Not only does the stupid new format have glitches on top of glitches; but it's slow as molasses in January.

I WANT MY YAHOO CLASSIC EMAIL FORMAT BACK. I think I - as a human being, and a consumer - am entitled to have a say in this matter. And I have put up with this nonsense long enough. It is my pererogative to choose to use the classic version. Not only is it more efficient and easy to read, it actually is more people friendly.

You may say I'll get used to the new way; but how does one go from quality to mediocrity. Your new format is poorly executed and annoying in the extreme. I was content to put up with it though, as long as you left the rest of my email accounts alone. But now you've invaded my other accounts, and this insipid format is spreading like a bad case of herpes. STOP IT!

Your Classic Email Format was the best of all those online to date. I like being able to look at the "TO" line and actually see who I'm emailing to. I think the fact that I have to select "draft" and then hit an additional button to send my copy to "draft" is stupidly redundant. It's amazing to me how some people never know when they have something good. I do not like the color scheme, nor the tabs that don't close when you click on them.

I WANT MY YAHOO CLASSIC EMAIL FORMAT BACK!!!! NOW!!!

I have also noticed that you no longer offer customer service anymore, either, so an individual who has an actual concern has no way of communicating them to you or any of your staff.

It is for this reason that I am going to the open forum and putting you on blast. Stop messing around with the format. If it ain't broke don't mess it up - of course there was another word that I would have used in this space, but I have a policy about profanity, and I am bound to uphold it.

What I am certain of, is that if I am one person who thinks your new format sucks, there are thousands of others who feel the same way.

We, who by the way are loyal Yahooligans, deserve better treatment than this. We deserve a choice. And I CHOOSE YAHOO CLASSIC - for all my email addresses. I don't know where you did the test market for this stuff; they obviously weren't writers or researchers; probably gamers who wouldn't know the difference anyway.

Give me back my YAHOO CLASSIC EMAIL FORMAT.

Stop messing with it.

We love you just the way you are. Don't do anything except continue to be great.

Thanks,
Sincerely & Vehemently
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Anti-Hazing Press Conference in Response to the Death of FAMU Band Student

2012-01-12T02:23:00.008-05:00

Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

I just received an email in reference to the January 17 press conference convened by the National Newspaper Publishers Assn.(NNPA), Black Church, and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Leaders to Announce A New Anti-Hazing Initiative. The conference should be broadcast nationally.

If you can make it, it would be a good idea to be in attendance to show solidarity and support.
My response to the "anti-hazing" concept follows. If you agree (or disagree) please comment with your ideas and concepts:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: First of all, my profound condolences to the Champion family on the loss of their son, Robert, Jr. There is nothing anyone can say or do to take away the pain and agony of the loss of a child. But my prayers are with them as they go through this horrific period.

When we are confronted with the horrors of "hazing" as some poor student falls prey to the overzealous (or, in some cases mean spirited) behavior of their fellow students, or peers, who are apparently lacking in proper supervision, values, or priorities, we are horrified. And each time either a sorority or a fraternity (and in this instance a marching band) comes under scrutiny and fire for the tragedy that ensues such banal activities.

I must admit I never heard of bands having rites of passage. I always thought membership was based on whether you could actually play an instrument or not and march to the music sufficiently not to cause problems with other members of the marching band. When it became necessary to initiate someone into a band is beyond me, and somewhat ridiculous on the face of it. Either you're a musician or you're not!

Most of us who are members of our Black fraternities and sororities have fond memories of having "survived pledge week," and are prepared to regale each other with how "tuff" the dean of pledgees was, and how we handled it (or not). Many of us have decorated paraphenalia from the initiations of Black in the day. We had no reports of anyone dying or being beaten to within an inch of their lives while going through an initiation process.

I have often stated that our Black fraternities and sororities (also called the Divine Nine) are the last bastions of our lost African "rites of passage" from childhood to man or womanhood; and I still maintain that stance.

However, given the fact that we, as adults no longer (by law) have the tools to discipline our children during their formative years, so tragedies like these don't happen; and since so many of our kids have been exposed to a daily overdose of violence - at least from the tender age of three - via TV, movies, so-called gangsta rap music, etc., I think we now need to review and come up with a better plan for our initiations and pledging rites.

And, notice, I did not say discontinue them -- no one "joins" a Fraternity or Sorority - they must pledge. Our rites have reason - to bring about loyalty, discipline and tradition. We are not a club -- we are a society; a social organization. For the most part we have each been a source and a force for good in the Black community for over a 100 years (Delta Sigma Theta just celebrated our 99th Founders' Day Anniversary), and plan to continue to be so. And we will not have our names or reputations sullied by the taint of over zealous individuals who take out their internal hostilities against their brothers and sisters through the forms of brutal hazing.

You realize of course, however, that with the mindset of many of today's youth, you can't just tell them that "hazing" is bad. And you can't just tell them to stop "hazing" either. Unfortunately, in many instances, it's hardwired into our premordial human DNA (regardless of whether we're white, Black, Asian, Indian, etc). It's as old as the "new kid on the block" who has to prove him or herself worthy of being a part of the group or the neighborhood.

Instead of the tired old m.o. of verbally condemning their actions, or preaching them away from our guidance, we need a paradigm shift: Perhaps they should have task oriented initiations in a way that benefits the organization (Fraternity, Sorority, Band, or other group) and at the same time forges a bond between the new initiates. It can be fun or it can be serious; or a mix of both. It can exist over a prescribed period of time (3 to 6 weeks). Perhaps the "pledgees" can perform - dance, sing, act, or do something quirky (which is what we had to do in the early days, anyway) for their fellow brothers and sisters.

Or perhaps they can be required to perform a series of some sort of community service, for which they will be rated in terms of delivery and impact (which is what is done on the grad chapter level of Delta Sigma Theta).

You can't just be against something, without giving them something positive to replace it with; and without the mature adult guidance and mentorship to make sure it is implemented appropriately.

As Black people, we really are in the position of saving our youth, and ourselves in the bargain. We just have to think outside the white box, and look at all the creative, innovative, multicultural Best Practices, and unique ways we have, so that we can reinstate our culture of cohesiveness and progress at the same time (you know that unity that helped us survive and surpass enslavement, racism, and ignorance?).

Again, my condolences to the Champion family. For those who are interested in providing further assistance, contact www.savethefamily.com; or Trice Edney Communications

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Posted by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Long live the memory and the lessons of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Witness to History: What Mt. Vernon Mayor Ernie Davis' Swearing In Means to Black Americans

2012-01-05T06:20:00.009-05:00

bu Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Mayor Ernie Davis' swearing in as Mount Vernon's 21st mayor, and as the first New York mayor to go back and successfully win his old seat (at least in Mt. Vernon's history), is a sign that this year is going to be absolutely fantastic - that is if we do what we're supposed to do individually and collectively.

Generally speaking, the day after New Years Eve is primarily relegated to recuperating from the partying you did the night before; and watching a succession of football games on TV. For some of us, it's also a series of open house hospitality events where we roll from party to party (yes, the die hard New Yorkers still do this), extending the New Year festivities throughout the day.

But for the people of Mount Vernon, the January 1, 2012 marked the beginning of a new regime. The beginning of the return to quality of life and conscientious government. It was the day Ernest D. Davis was sworn in as their 21st Mayor.
The ceremonies were held at the beautiful Macedonia Baptist Church, a masterpiece in architecture and design. And despite the rain, the place was packed, as they watch him pledge to not just bring Mount Vernon back, but to take her further forward than ever before.

The residents had practically begged him to run, stating that they had made a terrible error in allowing rumors and inuendos to sway their trust in him (or words to that effect). However, Davis stated that it was when the youth of Mount Vernon personally came and asked him to run in order to save the city, that he decided to throw his hat in the ring again. It was then he knew it was time; and that he could not lose.

His speech, and his pledge to the community, to put "people over politics", is something we all need to hear echoed all over the US, in every city, great or small. And then we need to make sure that we are part of the process that keeps that mandate in place and the forefront of the policies that are set forth in the weeks, months and years following.

Congratulations to the people of Mount Vernon for having had the conscious and the courage to get out and vote for yourselves, your lives, and not for political expediency.

Far too often, we've elected our officials because they were the friend of someone else; or they were popular; or "it was their turn;" or they had money, which seemed to indicate that we couldn't defeat them, no matter how stupid and inhumane they were. Somehow, having a lot of money obviates the fact that votes are counted individually, and dollars don't vote, people do.

Those bad old days have to end right now. Such lock step mentalities have marginalized whole communities throughout the US in general; and here in New York City it's gone completely out of control. Instead of a democratic system, we have an ersatz dictatorship. Instead of government for, by, of and to benefit We, the People, we have a bulldozer effect where our needs are flattened out, while those of the special interests are give cart blanche.

We need to take a page from Mt. Vernon!! They have a great track record when it comes to electing Black men to key positions. And no, not all of them are perfect. Having a Black mayor may not be the end all, be all solution to our problems - but it certainly a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, Clinton, the mayor prior to Ernie Davis's re-election was African American; and a Democrat. However, he may have suffered from amnesia, which can happen with some of our brothers once they step into office (the kids call it "getting the vapors"). In this case, his concern centered around special interests and political expediency, not the needs of the city.

As a result the City of Mount Vernon found itself teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, with massive cutbacks in practically every area. But they woke up one day and realized they had made a horrible mistake, and moved to correct it by returning Ernest Davis to the rightful role a mayor.

Mount Vernon, like Philadelphia, has consistently managed to elect good Black mayors for the past two or more decades. And the people have thrived. There is something we in New York City need to learn from them!! Maybe we need to go to Mount Vernon and ask them to teach us. We can't seem to get it right. And we keep losing for all the wrong reasons. And as a result, we continue to schlep along trying to stay in the city we all love so dearly, trying to grimace and bear it, while also realizing that these last few mayors have had us in their gun sights from the moment they take their oath. They see us as the soon to be extinct populace of NYC. Oh, they'll allow a few of us to remain. Those who have supported their agenda. But the rest of us are being edged out daily. Look around you, and see if that's not the case in your community.

The monuments to our planned demise in Brooklyn are 66 vacant condominium high rise buildings, that tower over the communities and that were so overpriced not even the Wall Streeters they were built for could afford them after the eonomic downturn. And it was clear that none of those properties (many of which sit on once viable Black communities) were not meant for us. And, though former Governor David Paterson passed a law that these buildings could be make into affordable homes for the use of the surrounding community, to date nothing has been done. Why is that?

Look at Coney Island, which was sleighted to become an exclusive gated, waterfront community - never mind the fact that it's a largely Black population, and half of New York went there for summers in the sun; or that it should have been landmarked decades ago for so many of the sites people all over the world came to visit. No! The developers had a strangle hold on Coney Island. The merchants and residents were basically told to take a hike - or jump in the ocean that bordered its shores.

In both cases, had it not been for the incompetence and greed of the Bush Administration and those who walk lock step behind him, we would have been pushed out of there and other New York neighborhoods. Additionally, the properties that have been confiscated have yet to be returned to the people who reside in the Coney Island communities. Why is that?

The answer is because the mayor of our NYC puts dollars and politics before the people. We come somewhere waaaaaaaay down the line, near the bottom of the Totem Pole.

The people of Occupy Wall Street get it! When Bloomberg said they would be bad for tourism, wasn't that a signal that he neither grasped nor cared about our concerns. When he got a judge to co-sign his callous unconcern for our angst, it was patently clear whose mayor he is. I hope we get it as well.

It's really up to us to be part of the greater strategy that says "never again" will we be the victims of lack of voting and blurred vision; lack of vigilance, and lack of cohesiveness. We can't be armchair revolutionaries; or gripers - you know the ones you hear on the bus complaining about the transit system, or the educational system, but never show up to really get things done?

WE have put ourselves on top of the agenda as well; which is exactly what the people of Mount Vernon did. If Black is beautiful - and it is - we had better be about it. Where ever there are those of us trying to do something positive; something forward moving, we have to make it our business be a visible (or invisible, but viable) part of the process.

The history made on January 1, 2012, was just as important to us as it was to those brothers and sisters in Mount Vernon. We should have been part of the population that packed the church when Ernie Davis made his pledge to the people of Mount Vernon (which by the way has a healthy mix of people of all races and ethnicities), if for no other reason than the vicarious thrill of feeling that finally someone really is there for us, We, the people. For the pride in knowing that this Black man is yet another in the long line of unsung heroes who overcame some real serious odds to make it. *He overcame lies, negative headlines, bogus federal investigations, humiliation. He maintained his dignity, and he triumphed by being re-elected to lead his people once again.

*(It should be a lesson to us as well, that when the mean stream press goes after a Black elected official, think twice before you repeat it or accept it as true - they have hidden agendas and are political tools of a much larger operation. Most of the white counterparts who really are committing egregious acts, never ever come under their scrutiny).

And mark my words, Ernest D. Davis is a leader, not just another "elected official" as so many have become. He is a hands-on leader, who has been an integral part of his community for quite some time. He maintains a love and an interest in what is important to the people of Mount Vernon, Black people and people in general.

I do confess to a slight bit of "mayor envy", as I watched this dynamic Black man move through the crowd and receive the love and congratulations of his constituency. In fact,the immortal lyrics of the of the Pussy Cat Dolls kept running through my mind:
"Don't you wish your mayor was Black like me?"
"Don't you wish your mayor was smart like me?"
"Don't you! Don't you?"
"Don't you wish your mayor was human like me?"
"Don't you wish your mayor cared like me?
"Don't you? Don't you!

We got to be about producing more Ernie Davises in our communities. And mark my words, they are already here - not waiting for some far off youth to evolve into manhood, or womanhood, or wisdom. He have them amongst us right now. They're not glamorous. They're clear, soft spoken, well thought out, and consistently and integrally involved in the daily affairs of our communities. It's time we recognized them, and stop looking for the limelighters; the glamor guys and gals -who have the form, but no substance.

We have to produce more and greater elected Black leaders who will take principled stands for their communities. And we also have to make ourselves committees of one to make sure we are doing our part to make our communities viable as well. A leader should not have to struggle to overcome the negativity of his own people in order to make things happen. Something, I don't think Mayor Davis will have to worry about this time around.

In the days and months to come we've got a lot on our plate. Not only do we have to re-elect President Barack Obama, we also have to make sure we give him a majority in Congress, so that he can get the job done that he pledge to do for us and has worked diligently to fulfill over these past 4 years. He has done so despite the fact that nationally we dropped the ball and allowed the Rep-ugh-blicans to gain a margin that put his programs at risk.

We have to watch and be a part of each and every election that comes up in each and every state from now own. Whether it's dog catcher or congressman. Nebraska is losing their Senator to retirement. We have to be about it. We need to look around and find places where we can expand our Black political base. Notice, I said expand, not replace. If we have an incumbent and he or she is working for us, please don't replace them just for the sake of replacing them. We have too much at stake to play those games. However if you see a seat you or someone viable can fill that expands our political efficacy, go for it.

Give your kids voter registration cards for their 18th birthdays, already filled out and stamped. Make sure your own registration is up to date, and start following the campaigns that are happening in your or other communities. We need more Ernie Davis - as mayors, congressmen, assemblymembers, free holders, state senators, city council members. We need more elected officials who put people before politics and dollars. We need people with Black bone, who understand the name of the game and how to play it to win for us.

We need to be going to so many swearing ins that we complain that they're taking place too close together. If we don't we will find ourselves part of some history marker on the corner of a high rise stating that we used to live here back in the day, but are now extinct. And yes, it could happen.

Today is January 5. Make this the beginning of our involvement in our self salvation.

Stay blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

PS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ernest D. Davis Triumphantly Re-Elected Mayor of Mt. Vernon

2011-12-29T16:19:00.006-05:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

First of all kudos and congratulations to Ernest D. Davis upon his victory as Mayor of Mount Vernon. Talk about a come back! To have been re-elected as Mayor of Mount Vernon, after having lost the election in 2007, following a succession of successful service for three terms, shows not only fortitude and determination, but a love for his city and its residents!

It also bespeaks the fact that that love is equally returned by the constituents, who returned him to his rightful place as mayor -- a role which suits him to a T!!

If it sounds like I'm a fan and a supporter of Mayor Ernest ("Ernie") Davis, you are absolutely, 100% correct. And have been for quite some time. I had the great fortune of having covered his initial campaign for mayor while I was a feature writer for the Daily Challenge. Though his predecessor was an African American, Davis came up against some formidable foes who spent a great deal of time and money trying to split the community, divide supporters against each other, and undermine his election. I actually spent so much time in Mt. Vernon covering the campaign, that many thought I lived there. Needless to say Mayor Davis' election was a victory of sorts for the Daily Challenge, as well, because they totally endorsed his candidacy from the onset.

Over the 12 years that followed, Davis as mayor proved to be one of the best things Mount Vernon could have done for itself. And as of Sunday, January 1, 2012, when Ernest D. Davis becomes the 21st Mayor of Mount Vernon, they can once again breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that he is once again at the helm.

According to Friends of Ernie Davis and the Ernie Davis Inaugural Committee, the official Swearing In Ceremony on Sunday, January 1, 2012, from 4:00 p.m. thru 6:00 p.m. at the Macedonia Baptist Church, 141 South Ninth Avenue, Mount Vernon, New York. A reception will immediately follow in the Rotunda of Mount Vernon City Hall located at One Roosevelt Square.

On Saturday, January 14, 2012, Davis will host a formal Inaugural Ball at the Surf Club, 280 Davenport Avenue in New Rochelle, New York. Tickets are $200 per person and reserved tables for ten are priced at $2,000.
Tix can be purchased online:
www.inaugural2012.com
by calling 914.363.7869, or
by mail with checks payable to:
Friends of Ernie Davis
Post Office Box 2197
Mount Vernon, New York 10550-2197

Proceeds of this event will help defray costs associated with the Ernie Davis for Mayor Campaign.

Now, I could easily end this article right here, and everyone would agree that this is one great accolade. But you know me better than that. There are so many important things to glean from this major coup, and I'm not about to leave it to someone else to point out:

First of all, Ernest Davis has always been a visionary. With his cool, soft spoken manner, and his way with words he has accomplished more than all the bombastic activists put together.

Second, his vision for Mount Vernon has been crystal clear and forward moving from day one, and he's never faltered in trying to bring them to fruition. Mayor Davis' philosophy is based on the philosophy and understanding that if Mount Vernon fails, then all will fail.

Third, he has always been integrally tied in with the community, establishing both his family and his business there. Though he started his career as an architect, he began to observe severe discrepancies in the way things were done in Mount Vernon, as compared to the rest of Westchester County. Rather than gripe about it, he decided to be a part of the process for change instead of being on the sidelines.

I first met him when I served as Minority Business Liaison for Nissho Iwai American Corporation (a big four Japanese Trading firm) that was looking to contract with minority contractors in conjunction with a subway fabrication plant that was being constructed in Yonkers at a former Otis Elevator Plant. The Westchester Minority Contractors Association was an organization with many highly skilled African American and Latino businesses that banded together to bid for major construction projects. He was a member of the organization, and had recently been elected as Westchester County Leader. He was making strides in bringing about much needed change in Westchester. He had a distinguished easy going style that put the different factions at ease, making it possible to make headway in providing contract opportunities to heretofore overlooked African American and minority businesses in the area.

He initially served twelve years (six consecutive two-year terms) as Westchester County Legislator, and made a great deal of headway in bringing about quality of life changes that were implemented throughout the county. During his past tenure as County Legislator, Davis understood the problems facing the Mount Vernon community and fought for solutions, including recycling to help maintain the environment, cutting the cost of garbage disposal; pushed for the registration of hand guns; led the fight against the legalization of assault weapons; helped to create the legislation that established the African-American Advisory Board, and supported funding for day care and health centers.

Fourth, Davis was a master at multitasking, without spreading himself too thin. In addition to serving as County Legislator, Davis also served as Commissioner of Assessment, Chairman of the Real Estate Board, Chairman of the Planning Board and Commissioner of Buildings in the City of Mount Vernon, New York. Indeed, he has always maintained an integral involvement in programs that were of importance to Mount Vernon.

As former principle architect of the E. Daniel Davis Architects, he designed many residential housing, churches, day care centers and government projects. Many residents and businesses point with pride at the buildings that have benefited from his creativity and expertise.

Fifth, Mayor Davis' continued involvement in community and civic organizations included being a Life Member of the NAACP; member of Progressive Lodge #64; The Westchester Arts Council; The Institute for Student Achievement. Davis is also a lifetime member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, where he was voted Omega Man of the Year (we Deltas are most proud of him as well). In addition, he is a member of the African-American Men of Westchester and a lifetime member of the National Council of Negro Women. He is also the recipient of more than sixty awards, including the Nelson Mandela High School "Man of the Year" award, and the Westchester Philharmonic "Lifetime Achievement Award."

Sixth, Mount Vernon, also known as "Money Earnin' Mount Vernon" is home to many greats, including the late rap artist Heavy D., Denzel Washington, State Senator Ruth Thompson, among other. It is a predominantly Black Westchester County Community, directly north of New York City, and shares borders with the Bronx. The community has consistently elected African American mayors for nearly 20 years, something New York City has not managed to accomplish (that's conversation for another article, though). With that comes a great deal of responsibility and opportunity, and Davis, who graduated from North Carolina A&T, an HBCU, in 1960 (in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the first sit-ins took place) with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering, is keenly aware of what that means. His re-election was endorsed by all sectors of Mount Vernon, but is an example to the up and coming Black youth that no defeat is ever final; that when you operate with quality, care and concern, people are not willing to settle for less. But what many may have overlooked was this: while Ernest Davis may have changed his role, in becoming mayor, he is perhaps one of the few to have taken office and maintained his Afrocentricity - his locks were intact, his style was intact, and his consciousness is intact. A lot greyer than when he started out, he maintains that quiet dignity, laced with the right amount of colloquialism to put you at ease.

Seven, the four year hiatus he endured between 2007 and 2011 was, perhaps, just the contrast Mt. Vernon needed to really drive home the point that Davis' administration represented integrity and prosperity. Mount Vernon had been hit (like so many others) with the economic down turn, and then had the problem exacerbated by an administration that further reduced the surplus, undoing a great deal that had been accomplished under Davis' tenure. Clearly, there will be a great deal for him to undertake as he steps back into the leadership role. However, he can be confident that he will have plenty of hands on support and assistance from the residents themselves, who have been known to roll up their sleeves and pull together under the right leader.

Eighth, as he rebuilds his transition team, he is also maintaining communication with the incumbent (who is trying to sneak in as many of his cronies as possible - not going to work though). Davis rolled his sleeves up the day after the election, and pulled out the proverbial drawing board to chart a new course for Mount Vernon. He has called for the City Council, the Comptroller, as well as the lame duck mayor to put the people of Mount Vernon first in their future proceedings, and discontinue practices that will likely do more harm than good to the community.

Now, as in the beginning, his vision for Mount Vernon remains crystal clear and focused. With so much to do to reverse the reversals, look for the news to be filled with innovative concepts and actions over the coming weeks, months and days.

Like President Barack Obama, Davis has a "Yes We Can" spirit that will be instrumental in establishing Mount Vernon's primacy in New York State.

Congratulations also to Mt. Vernon's First Lady Bettye Davis, and first daughters, Rene and Lisa. Ernie Davis is proof positive that you can't keep a good man down.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
KWANZAA KIZURI AND HAPPY NEW YEAR from GDW!!

I Celebrate Dr. Muriel Petioni: A Lady of Grace, Elegance and Style

2011-12-12T13:33:00.006-05:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I was sad to learn of the passing of a living Legend into the realm of the Ancestors. Dr. Muriel Petioni, whom I considered a friend, and an inspiration, made her transition, recently, at the tender age of 97. And if I had not learned so much from her, and enjoyed being around her so much, I guess I would actually be in mourning.

But I have to admit, I had so many fond memories of Dr. Petioni that I think of her and I smile. Whenever and where ever she was, you knew you were in good company; you were at the right place, and you were definitely walking in high cotton.
Dr. Petioni always gracefully entered a room with that beautiful smile of hers, dressed as though she had just stepped out of Vogue; or had a wardrobe detail that followed her around making sure that she was dressed in the most elegant fashions - tailored for her tiny figure.

Her face was always framed with that beautiful silvery short french cut, and she breezed around the room greeting everyone, having small conversations, or involving in deep political or socially relevant issues.

As with her son Mal (a/k/a Charles), Woolfolk - who no doubt got that faculty from his mom -I could (and would) sit and talk with her for hours. We never covered the same subject twice. And it didn't matter if we hadn't seen each other for weeks or months, we always seemed to be able to pick up right where we left off from the previous conversation.

I totally adored that lady, because she let nothing get her down, and kept her hand in everything relevant; with that sharp mind of hers always turning its attention to something new to benefit the community and mankind. There was nothing that she was not interested in; and a great many programs and protocols she was instrumental in getting off the ground, just because we would not stop half way.

She kept up with the times, and was often very much ahead of them, as well. For example, we had a great ongoing conversation about autologus adult stem cells (self-donated stem cells, not embryonic) and the next wave in curing such ills as arthritic knees, diabetes, kidney disfunctions. Her pet peeve is (oh, I mean, "was") how the Black community tended to always be the last to know about medical breakthroughs; or would be afraid to try new protocols unless it appeared to be approved by whites. We discussed the future of medicine as it pertained to Black doctors, many of whom were also mired in the past; with some continuing to dispense outmoded medical treatments, as opposed to bringing innovations into the Black community.

Then we would move to our favorite ethnic (Black) designers - M-Sin (Marvin Sin) who makes wonderful Africentric designer handbags; or Moshood, the African designer. Dr. Petioni never went in for muted colors. She would show up in burnt orange silk, or electric blue, or deep burgandy reds. She was always elegant. 97??? Most folks think that when you're 97 you have blue hair, have a walking cane, orthotics, false teeth, and are doddering around with the considerable help of several people.

Not Dr. Muriel Petioni. You'd see her at the Schomburg Library one day, at Aaron Davis Hall the next, and at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building the next. You might catch her at a jazz session, or at a play. Most definitely at a reception or an awards benefit. She was out and about, all the time.

It was invigorating talking to that beautiful lady who had matured, not aged; who had, at 97, continued to make contributions to the world, and make the world sit up and take notice. Who would not be shunted aside into some dark corner as though she had outlived her usefulness; who was just as sharp at 97 as she was at 17. Who proved that age is just a number, life is a mindset, and being that beacon of light and blessing was not an option, but to her mandatory.

Harlem Hospital, people of Harlem, 100 Black Women, Black people of New York, and Black People the world over, have much to thank this beautiful little giant of a woman. She has joined the other goddesses who are now looking at us and saying - what are you going to do to keep this legacy going? Little feet with huge footprints that have been left behind for us to walk in, and we'd better get to stepping, because Dr. Petioni did not allow any half measures (I was going to say no "Half stepping", but that would have been redundant, wouldn't it?)

Anyway, since I want to be like Dr. Petioni when I grow up, I have decided to start now being the me she always thought I was. And that means that I got a lot to do to make that happen. I certainly want to see 97 this side of the earth and making a contribution to my brothers and sisters as well. So I humbly pledge to be a better me so that I can get my big feet on the path of those tiny gigantic foot steps. I really celebrate the fact that I had the privilege of knowing Dr. Muriel Petioni.

My Blessings to Mal, Carol, and the rest of the family; as well as my condolences and love.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Amb. Dr. Dudley Thompson, Lawyer of Legendary Jomo Kenyatta on "StraightTalk with Chika Onyeani WPAT-AM 930 AllAfricaRadio."

2011-12-01T23:28:00.011-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Tune in to history in the making this Friday, December 2, as African Sun Times publisher, Dr. Chika Onyeani interviews Ambassador Dr. Dudley Thompson, QC., No.1 Pan-Africanist in the world. He defended late (great) President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya during the Mau-Mau trials, and is President of the World African Diaspora Union (WADU). The interview is going to be live on "StraightTalk with Chika Onyeani on AllAfricaRadio," WPAT-AM 930, Friday night, December 2 at 12 midnight.

Kenya achieved her independence from British mis-rule on December 12, 1963, and will be celebrating their big 5-0 in 2013. For those of you who may not be totally aware, Kenya actively fought for her independence, by forming a fierce group of warriors called the MauMaus. Just the very word struck fear and a yellow streak down the back of many a British colonial monster. They had guns, weapons and a knowledge of guerilla warfare that put many a Viet Cong to shame. And they KICKED BUTT big time. Jomo Kenyatta, also called "Flaming Spear" was their leader, but truth be told, as with the Japanese, everyone was a leader unto themselves. Treachery met with death, especially if a Black person was caught fraternizing with the enemy (i.e. white, european settlers). They wanted them off their land and they meant to take Kenya back by any means necessary. And that's just what they did. they fought so hard and so consistently, that even when the Brits had arrested and imprisoned Jomo Kenyatta, they did not stop fighting, but became more and more intense and determined. For the MauMau, freedom was a non-negotiable item.

These are very exciting times for those of us in the 6th Diasporan Region of Africa, because we are in somewhat similar situations now. We have to make our reparations and our independence within this country a non-negotiable item. Not fighting, per se, a battle for the hearts, minds, spirits and well being of every Black man, woman and child in this country, and anywhere else we reside.

And what greater way of hearing about how it was affected first hand, than to listen in on the discourse between Drs. Onyeani and Thompson. So regardless of where you are, or how hard you're partying, if you are an ECLECTICALLY BLACK MAN OR WOMAN of CONSCIOUSNESS, you will definitely want to tune in to WPAT-AM 930, or log-on to www.wpat930am.com and listen live from anywhere throughout the world.

"StraightTalk with Chika Onyeani on AllAfriucaRadio," the most powerful voice for Africa in America, comes on every Friday night at 12 midnight. Call-in numbers: 212-219-9620, 212-219-9629 and 212-219-9634.

Kenyatta was definitely one of my personal heroes. As a kid we heard a great deal about his exploits. He was an African Superhero. And I have always had a great deal of admiration for my Kenyan brothers and sisters because they stood up and fought against european oppression. Kenyatta went on to be Kenya's first president.

The upcoming interview should be very interesting indeed.

One of the key sponsors is the African Sun Times, Africa's No.1 weekly newspaper in America, and acclaimed by the African Union (OAU 2001) as "Champion of the African Agenda in America." However, I'm sure they'd welcome more sponsors of color to help expand the programming. You can reach them to find out how to be a part of this great communication source at the following numbers: Tel.: 973-675-9919
Fax: 973-675-5704 or Cell: 917-279-4038. You can also get more information about the publications or the broadcasts via the following: African Sun Times: www.africansuntimes.com; All Africa Radio: www.allafricaradio.com

Per Chika A. Onyeani, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief: "It is not what you call me, but what I answer to, that matters most" - Capitalist Nigger: The Road to Success, Onyeani's internationally acclaimed No. 1 bestselling book.

Also if you haven't read either of Dr. Onyeani's publications, you must make it your business to do so:"The Broederbond Conspiracy," www.thebroederbondconspiracy.com or www.theblackjamesbond.com, or "The Capitalist Nigger" you really should. They have so much pivotal information of importance for us all.

Did I mention that I wrote for the African Sun Times for 12 years, and it's the best paper on Africa for Africans in America, ever!! I still do special features for them from time to time, but whether you're African from Africa or African American, there is something for everyone.

Stay Blessed &
Eclectically Black

Do not piss off (or on) NEW YORKERS.

2011-11-23T06:40:00.007-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I've said this again and again, and apparently the ersatz Mayor Bloomberg did not get the message: Do not piss off (or on) NEW YORKERS!

We're a pretty tolerant bunch as it goes. True, we're a mishmosh of people and cultures from all over the world, dedicated to the proposition of living the "good life" in good ole New York City. We got more accents than Carter's got Liver Pills, but we understand each other, and manage to communicate with and interact with and work with each other on a daily basis.

We have more than our share of haves and have nots amongst us; we may be somewhat envious of the "haves", but we "have nots" have managed to live side by side with them in peaceful coexistence. The line of demarcation between us and them is pretty thin. In other words, try as they might, there is no true gated society in New York City. We walk where we please, play where we please. And though we may not have had the monumentally successful financial benefits of Wall Street, we can and do go there and hang in the vicinity on a regular basis. So Zucotti Park is no sacred ground to us. It's part of New York and so are we!!

What's not a part of New York is the gestapo like police department that has been assembled by Mayor Bloomberg and Ray Kelly to oppress righteous New Yorkers who are fed up with Wall Street and that oversize Sacred Cow they have erected in the middle of Broad Street to symbolize their bullishness. It is now bullshit - and has been since Bush, Bloomberg, Madoff (who made off with billions of our dollars), and those members of the Bush Administration - the worst administration ever in the US (even the pre-depression era administration wasn't this bad), have tried to make us think that their money is more important than the lives and well being of WE, THE PEOPLE.

It was WE, THE PEOPLE, who Occupied Wall Street, not some dangerous subversives. WE, THE PEOPLE, finally got fed up with the banks and their bogus bail outs; lenders who try to hold us to a standard of FICO scores, and CREDIT RATINGS, while both their credit and credibility have been in the sewer for at least the last three+ years.

WE, THE PEOPLE are denied access to funds, denied decent housing, are set out on the streets, while the real estate industry, the brainchild of this triumvirate, continues to grind and grind and ever more escalate prices and costs right under our very noses.

As in the old movie "NETWORK", WE THE PEOPLE ARE MAD AS HELL AND AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE. Short of throwing our TV sets out of the windows, under the threat of even more ignominious behavior from the so called financial powers that be, they determined that it was time to become visible, and to put some faces with the emails. Wall Street was continuing to profit from their misery, so perhaps, if they could see that there were actually real human beings at the bottom lines of those stats, maybe, just maybe, they could sit down together and revamp the way things are done, so they are more inclusive and considerate of the humans who really are the driving force of this economy.

So to the park they went. Perhaps it was originally just a march, a peaceful protest with the hopes that within a few days they would have things resolved, and everything would be back to normal. However, as we all know, that is not what happened. Instead, Mayor Bloomberg, who I have always maintained really hates New York - if he didn't he would not have lied to the citizens, would not have broken his word in reference to term limits, and would not have thrown up those ridiculous barriers in the middle of the street to stop New Yorker's flow -- gets on TV and his first response is that this is "not good for tourism."

President Obama, who has long been an advocate of government of, by, and for WE THE PEOPLE, has early on endorsed the demonstrations. If people don't stand up and make themselves visible to the meanstream press, they just keep grinding out the same old swill. It was WE THE PEOPLE who saw the value and the humanity in his approach and concern for an America that works for everybody. The fat cats, the lobbyists, and certain elected officials and their financial backers have had it too good for long, and don't want to see the Obama Principles applied in the US, especially not in their cash cow Wall Street. They have been systematically pushing New Yorkers out of their homes and jobs for decades (since 9/11). They certainly did not expect New Yorkers to push back.

Well, here we are! While we learned a thing or two from Wisconsin, we were wrestling with some home grown problems, like a mayor who openly flaunts the fact that he really does not care what New Yorkers want, unless they make more money than he does. He will fire teachers, he will change transit routes and costs; he will block programs, he will sit on funds until he gets his way. And he will callously say, through is actions: I got more money than you and I'm not afraid to use it (against you).

Now what mayor in his right mind, or heart, puts tourists before his constituents?? It took two or three days for his advisors to get him to come out with a more conciliatory tone and say they could occupy the park as long as they were peaceful. Really!

In the meantime, I knew, as did everyone else who was fluent in Bloomology, that he was fishing around for an out, for a way to undermine and thwart what the demonstrators were doing. And as OWS type demonstrations cropped up throughout the US, he became more and more determined to get them out. How dare New Yorkers defy him! How dare they challenge the worst thing to happen to New York City since Robert Moses tried to mow us down and riddle us with highways to no where? How many neighborhoods were ground into the dust under the onslaught of Moses? How many of those crass, glass Bloomberg towers are standing where real communities used to exist? - most of them, by the way, over priced and half empty,and won't last nearly as long as the original architecture they replaced. They stand as monuments to greed and disdain for the everyday working New Yorker, and a mockery to good architectural practice (by the way, what's up with the Landmark Commission, are they paying attention to any of this?)

He is the mayor who literally bragged, while the rest of us were coming up empty in our bank accounts, and were losing jobs right and left - to have started with $5 billion dollars as mayor and now have more than $20 billion (or some ridiculous figure). And we all queried then, how did that happen? How did he make so much money while we, who may even be working two or three jobs to make ends meet, are barely going home with enough to cover our overinflated, chopped up, substandard, rental apartments, or our highly mortgaged homes?

Now mind you, I love money and comfort as much as Bloomberg, and those Wall Streeters who have gotten away with big undeserved bonuses. I think it's wonderful to wake up knowing that you have a ton of money in the bank and everything is hunkey-dorey! Wow -give me that! But if I am walking on the backs of people who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and in some cases their health, to make it happen, then what the hell am I? A Vampire, a blood sucker, Dracula's little sister!! Maybe that's why those TV series about Vampires are so popular. Maybe that's why they try to build their characters so thoroughly; so that the public will have sympathy and acceptance for the very real vampires that are in the government now. They are full of them in the Republican party, and Wall Street likewise has more than its share. If you are worshipping them, it's less likely you're going to go against them when they are trying to undermine you. You can't see the reality for the fantasy.

But digress: Had Wall Street simply resolved to return 40% of its illgotten gains back into the New York Community via community based organizations (don't give it to the Bloombergers, we may never see it), people would have taken a less dim view of their actions. Had they worked out a way for people to have truly affordable homes, in this maisma of foreclosures; we would have at least thought they had a heart.

But, predictably, Bloomberg kept searching until he found a judge he could buy, and then through a carefully scripted scenario, had him decree the OWS could stay in the park, but could have no comforts. With that the panzer movement was on, and with gestapo like precision that would make any German occupation look like amateur hour (and make Hitler very proud indeed), our New York's Finest became New York's most despicable. They moved in on unarmed, American Citizens - New Yorkers, WE THE PEOPLE! And then tried to do it under the cover of darkness. And tried to keep the media from witnessing their guilt - from showing that they had degenerated into something that no longer "serves and protects", but those who attacks and ejects, and apparently, rather liked what they were doing!

The meanstream Post (owned by Murdock, one of Bloomberg's cronies) called WE THE PEOPLE "bums" - so I do wonder why New Yorkers are even continuing to purchase a paper that looks down on US in such a hostile manner. The Daily News was more sympathetic; the New York Times was fairly objective. But the world, having witnessed this debacle from New York, one of the most liberal cities in the US, was shocked and dismayed.

As for we New Yorkers, WE THE PEOPLE, and those who have and continue to OCCUPY WALL STREET, as well as those who have set up encampments in their own cities to return the government into the hands of the people, quite frankly, we're P.O'd, and are even more determined to return our local and national governments to the people, not some bureaucratic, megalomaniac who thinks his "s-t" don't stink; not some one who thinks money is more important than people.

A friend of mine recently sent me this link to a YouTube broadcast of Keith Olbermann's Special Comment On Michael Bloomberg, that even further emphasises where I am coming from. The link in below. Check it out for yourselves. Mr. Olbermann no doubt expresses what many have been saying under their breaths for quite some time -so you may want to play it several times to get your angst out. Then, after that, it's time to get down to the real serious business of making sure that New York City never again has the kind of martinet, or megalomaniacal, or off kilter leadership (and I use the word advisedly, because what we've really had is a lack of real leaders), ever again.

CHECK OUT THE LINK. IF IT DOES NOT OPEN UP, PASTE IT IN YOUR BROWSER, OR JUST GO TO YOUTUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iNmMPVP49I&feature=share

There is nothing more compelling than an Idea that has reached it's primacy. And the idea is that there is nothing, and no one, too big to fail; nothing bigger thanWE, THE PEOPLE, and WE THE PEOPLE COME FIRST, THINGS COME SECOND.
With that said, we are also saying: Watch Out Bloomie, New Yorkers are really mad as hell and aren't taking it any more. New York City belongs to US, not you and your cronies. You don't have enough dollars to buy all the judges, or buy off all of we the people - oh, wait a minute, maybe you do. There are 8 million people in New York City; you've got how much now - $16 billion? Hmmmmmm???? Nah! Not enough.

Oh, well, as Olbermann says in his clip, keep on being the overbearing martinet you are, because it only fuels our resolve even more - and those clones you have in other states as well will learn the hard lesson that WE, THE PEOPLE, really do stand for each other together, and we're taking New York City back.

This is not a threat it's a PROMISE!!

To all my fellow New Yorkers
STAY BLESSED &
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING
WE'VE GOT A LOT TO DO
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

DON'T LOSE YOUR HOME: NACA IS IN NYC AND NEW JERSEY FOR 5 DAYS NOV. 17 THROUGH 21

2011-11-17T03:32:00.006-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

If this seems to be coming at the last minute, it is. But it can't be helped, because that's when I got this information and I'm dispatching it out to you as quickly and efficiently as I can.

For those of you who still have overly high mortgages, whose property values are under water, who are facing foreclosure even as we speak and are thinking about walking away, or filing bankruptcy, help is not only on the way it is here: NACA IS IN NEW YORK CITY NOVEMBER 17 THROUGH 21 AT 7 EAST 34TH STREET on the llth floor.

Those of you who missed out on their marathon home save back in December of 2009, and still need help, don't miss this; those of you who have been lead a merry chase by the lenders, investors, bankers, loan sharks and other charlatans of the real estate gotcha game, get your paperwork together and get over there.

Not only is this epochmaking, but, Bruce Marks, founder and CEO of NACA decided that it might be too difficult for New Yorkers to make it to the Home Save in Edison, New Jersey, at the Edison Convention Center (which also kicks off on the 17th). He wanted the Apple to be able to take full advantage of the program, and the opportunity to save their homes, so he and his staff moved "heaven and earth" practically to find a centralized location, close to transportation, easily reached, regardless of which borough or community you come from.

So this has been put together specifically and especially for New Yorkers - don't miss out and wait until the last minute, like so many did in 2009. You can walk in at any time between 8:00AM to 8;00PM - bring all your doc, including pay stubs, W-2's, loan docs, communication with the lender, if any.

Past recipients have received reductions of between $200 and $1500 in monthly payments, and interest rates reduced to as low as 2%. Bankers will be there to make instant decisions; and your mortgage will be RESTRUCTURED, as opposed to just a temporary "modification."

If this does not apply to or interest you, please pass it on to someone who needs it - don't sit on it - we are the village, we have to keep each other informed, updated, and safe. And what better way than to make sure than none of us lose our homes, and maintain the integrity of our communities.

Per Bruce Marks, "I'm a New Yorker, and it's important to me that my fellow New Yorkers have affordable, decent homes to live in."

NACA is HUD certified, and in the past three years have saved over two hundred fifty thousand homes (250,000+), nationally.

If you need additional info, check out www.naca.com.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Love and God and Redemption: A Love Story

2011-11-11T05:52:00.012-05:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I just had the most remarkable conversation with a childhood friend. He's someone I have not seen since I graduated from high school and went on to college. I'll call him "The Kid"(I must admit that I had some not very complimentary names for him when we were teens - then he was the Brat, the Pain, you know the drift when you have a younger brother or sister and you're trying to be "cool").

His sister was my very best friend from the fifth grade through high school; however she also is someone I had not seen since graduating (I'll call her "Sis"). We used to practice the latest dances in her mom's living room; listen to all the latest records, and learn ALL the lyrics; scout boyfriends; swap gossip, participate in social events -- NAACP Youth Council, Fidi Amici Clubs, Y-Teens and other organizations. She used to cut through our yard to get to the Black owned mom and pop store that was then across the alley in the other block. She was the last one my mom would send home after we had completely exhausted every topic we could think of. She was my best friend.

Our little close knit community in Oklahoma City makes it impossible not to know each and every little secret, or scandal, that goes on; so I was peripherally aware that both The Kid and Sis had undergone some serious drug addiction challenges in their adult lives; especially after their mother, whom I affectionately called "Momma P", had passed. She was the guiding light of the family, and as special to me as she was to them.

Like most Black Oklahomans, we were Black and Indian (Cherokee). "Momma P", and the family had deep roots in a little town called Claremore, Oklahoma. Her father was first cousin on her mother's side to the great Goodwill Ambassador, Will Rogers, whose mother was Cherokee as well. I had the privilege, when I was a kid, of visiting her family on brief trips to take gifts to their maternal grandfather, Poppa Bill (who lived to be 101).

However, as adults, those ties of youth appeared to be broken forever. It was at least 17 years before I even returned home to Oklahoma City. It really was cost prohibitive, and cost nearly $1000 to fly from NYC to OKC, while I could go to the Caribbean for less than $200 - and that included hotel accommodations! So,needless to say, during that time I had traveled a great deal in and out of the country.

Over the next 20 years or so, I had been in and out of love/marriage twice; had three children, a couple of "failed" careers, and was returning to New York City forever, after a mutual agreement with the state of California that we would not bother each other any more. They could stay on the west side, and I was (and am) perfectly content to stay on the East Coast - New York City, more specifically.

I had by that time missed several high school reunions, and was not totally apprised of how dire things were with my two friends, who used to live in one of the most beautiful, custom designed homes directly across the street from me. (I mention the home because "Momma P" designed it and had it built when we were still babies. It was a gorgeous split level home with a huge living room, master quarters, children quarters, swimming pool, guest house - the works! Unique and way ahead of most designs of the day. I went to many a party there!)

But fast forward 40 years, and at our Douglass Senior High School reunion, I learn that things are truly not well with them. The Kid was in California, after having several near brushes with death; and my former best friend, "Sis", who has not been seen or heard from at all, was actually somewhere here in New York City!

But where? No one seemed to know! My classmates implored me to find her, and I pledged to do so; but haven't a clue as to where or how to start.

In the interim, we elect Barack Obama president of the USA; and like the rest of the world, I was going through the repercussions of a miscreant's (Bush) taking the economy down the toilet, literally. So my focus turns away from the search for "Sis", to the more mundane, and oh so important issues of money, food, job, place to live, health, etc. I.e. I had to go into survival mode big time, and searching for long lost friends had to wait in line behind searching for just a basic job.

But here we are now in November 2011, and I though I'm still trying to get that elusive job, I suddenly remember that my friend's birthday happens to fall on 11/11/11!! So, I again began to wonder where she is, and whether she's celebrating this awesomely unique occasion. So I put a call through to OKC to the only relative I still have communication with, her sister-in-law, "T", who was married to her elder brother (he was 20 years older than we were). She's 81 now and is just as energetic and actively involved as she was when we were kids (Aries - you just can't keep us down, you know). She stated that had not heard from my friend, but she had some startling news for me, which is why I'm writing this piece in the first place:

"The Kid" had moved back to Oklahoma City from California, and - wonder of wonders - had gotten married!

Of, course, I couldn't believe my ears, and had to have "T" repeat that a couple of times.

Me: "Wow! What happened? How did that happen? The last time we spoke, he was so glad to hear from me he cried. But he sounded like he was really not very well. What brought about the turn around?" I was totally incredulous.

T: "I'll give you his number and let him tell you himself. All I know is that this young lady went to California to see about him. They got married out there and she brought him back to Oklahoma City."

After obtaining the number, I couldn't wait to call "The Kid" and see what the story was. Mind you, not having seen him since I was a kid, and not knowing his new wife, I hesitated for a moment. This could be an imposition. What if he doesn't want to hear from me? What if she's "hostile"? Nah! This is Oklahoma City. We have a permanent open door policy for family and friends. So it is a little late, it's 11:00PM, New York Time, 10:00 Central Standard Time. But I place the call, anyway. Of course, on first try, there was no answer. So, being the New Yorker that I am, I try again. And this time I meet with success.

Me: "Hey Kid!"

The Kid: "Hi, who's this!"

Me: "It's Gloria Dulan-Wilson!"

The Kid: "Wow! Gloria! How are you? Man it's good to hear from you! Where are you, in New York?"

Me: "Yep! Still here. Just spoke with "T" and heard you had a wedding and congratulations are in order."

The Kid: "No. Didn't have a wedding. I just got married last year, that's all!"

Me: "Nevertheless, congratulations are in order! Wow! That's fantastic!"

The Kid: "You know, Gloria, it's even more fantastic because my wife is a wonderful person. Not just because she married me, but because she cared about me enough to come see about me when I was at my lowest."

Me: "Really?"

The Rest of This is The Kid:
"I was a basket case. I was in a nursing home. I had had two operations because of problems with my spine. They had had to go in and refuse my spine from both the back and the front. I died on the operating table twice! The first time for 31 seconds, the second time for 41 seconds. And both times God kept bringing me back. When they finished the surgery, they put me in a nursing home for 10 months.

"I had reached out to a friend of mine that I had grown up with in Oklahoma City, and was kind of telling him what I had been through. While I was talking, his sister overheard the conversation. She got on the phone and said she was sorry to hear that I had gone through so much, and that she would come out to see about me. So, I said, thanks for the concern.

"In the back of my head I was thinking, "yea right" she's just being sympathetic and polite. The next thing I knew, she was in California. The next thing was that she spent time boosting my morale. I couldn't belive it! Then she checked me out of the home. We got married and she brought me back to Oklahoma City. Now things have been wonderful between us. We don't have a lot of money, but I have someone in my life who loves and cares for me, and that has made all the difference for me. I don't know where I would be had she not cared for me.

"But what was even more important was how God just kept showing up in my life and bringing me back when I thought I was gone forever. When I thought there was no hope whatsoever. He not only brought me back, but he brought me love. I don't know how to tell you how special that is.

"I have been invited by local groups to talk about the evils of doing drugs, and what a long journey it is back to health. And I'm glad to do it. I've also decided to go back to college and finish my degree. I know that God has something for me to do, which is why I am still here, so I'm going to be about doing it. I'm just following His lead now.

As for "Sis", she's in New York. I'll give you her number. I had thought it was her calling when I saw the area code. She will be so glad to hear from you."

I had really wanted to speak with this wonderful sister, but she had already gone to bed. When you hear of a story like this, you kind of want to reach out and touch the person and have some of that miracle rub off on you. It was like watching a beautiful movie unfold. I could see the script for this one right now. And I'm such a romanticist when it comes to love stories for and about us. (We get a lot of the low life crap, you know where all they know how to do is show cleavage and knock boots. That's not love, that's just sex.)

No, this is for Black people who know and believe that we can, and do, still really have love, affection, respect, caring and tenderness for each other (despite what the world tries to do to undermine it). This is about God, love, redemption, transformation, happiness and fulfillment! And this has the makings of a true monumental, inspirational, tear jerker - at least six Kleenex - perhaps the whole box!! (Calling Tyler Perry!)

Truly, though, I was totally blown away by "The Kid's" wonderful story and had to take the time to relate it here in my blog. For those of us who believe in miracles - and I'm one of them - this is truly a monumental one! What an absolute blessing! And how really wonderful to be able to share this with you, rather than the run of statistics we usually regale each other with about how bad things are, how dire things are, who shot who, who hates who, who hit who, etc.

This is the kind of "happily ever after" I'm talking about. And "The Kid" is already paying it forward by talking to youth, adults and peers about the horrors of drugs and how they can take a chunk of living out of your life. He could be called one of the "lucky" ones. But I prefer to call him "blessed" because The Infinite, God The Living Spirit Almighty, really did reach in and pull him through to give him a fresh start and a greater understanding of Who really is in charge.

I told him to stop by and say hello to my mother, who will be so happy to see him. We still live in our same home, directly across the street from where he grew up. He was happy to learn that my mom, 88 years young, was still living, and promised to pop in on her soon.

Joel Osteen said, in one of his many inspirational sermons, when we think things are totally over, and the problems are insurmountable, when we are going around beating ourselves up over things we could, would, or should have done; or when we and the rest of the world thinks we're not worthy, God is a God of "Suddenlies," and he can (and did) suddenly turn things around and put you up on top. It's not how big our challenges or problems are, it's how big our God Is. My friend, "The Kid" has suddenly been blessed and his life has been transformed.

I'm saying this to all of us. My friend, PR Diva, Terrie Williams, wrote a book entitled "BLACK PAIN", that details how we look great on the outside, while we're dying on the inside, and some of the things we do to mask that very real angst. We think we're enduring, coping, handling it. But what we're really doing is allowing it to eat us up alive. For those of us who really do need a message of hope, of promises fulfilled, of really staying in faith - I am sharing this with you. It is definitely never too late, and things can, and do, and have turned around on a dime.

So, get your faith up, and stand for the fact that we all are deserving of God's great good, love, redemption, happiness, abundance, health and joy in our lives###

PS SOME NEWS: I am currently a part time rental agent at ALOTTA APTS in Brooklyn, if you either want to list or rent an apartment, or know someone who does, email me at nynjaalady@yahoo.com. See my listings on CraigsList.

PPS: If you're facing Foreclosure or are behind in your mortgage, NACA is holding an exclusive 5 day nonstop workshop in New York City, beginning November 17, 2011 and running through November 21, 2011. It's free and open to the public. I will be posting the information on my next Blog, or you can log on to www.naca.com, and get the details there. Tell them you heard it from Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Stay blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Smokin' Joe Frazier Has Gone to that Great Boxing Ring In the Sky

2011-11-08T01:43:00.003-05:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Wow! I just had such a sad, surreal moment, as the headlines flashed across my computer screen that former Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Smokin' Joe Frazier has died. I couldn't process it for a moment - it seemed so wrong on so many levels.

First of all, a friend of mine had just learned that Joe Frazier was a relative of hers (and that was yesterday, Sunday, November 6, folks!) Don't even know what brought up the subject or his name, unless somehow his spirit was reaching out to hers. I jokingly said she should look him up the next time she's in Philly.

This evening, I am now looking in retrospect at how many times Joe Frazier and I have crossed paths - literally and figuratively. He was not a friend or an idol of mine in any sense of the word, particularly since, back in the day, I was (and am) a die-heard Muhammad Ali fan and devotee -always will be. And Frazier was considered by many of us revolutionaries a "sell out" of sorts.

The City of Philadelphia had decided to embrace him as their native son, particularly after Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and tried to get those of us who were working for the city, including yours truly, to take some publicity shots to show that we were all solidly behind him and against Ali. They paraded him through the then office of the Deputy City Manager, where I worked as a Career Advisor for Hard Core Unemployed African Americans. To their shock and dismay, we let it be known that we were Ali friends, and would neither be bought off or threatened for our stand. An embarrassing moment for Frazier, but, then we were newly minted militants, and would not deviate from our stance.

I was so stunned by the news that I called my best friend in Philly, Annie G, woke her up and told her the news. She was one of the militants, along with myself and a brother named Giles Wright, who felt it necessary to make it known that we were too"Black and Proud" to stand with Frazier Black in the day. It was slightly before midnight. She had already gone to bed and had not heard - stunned as I was, I needed to speak with someone who had been part of those early days.

The second time I met him was several years later after the Thrilla in Manilla - there was no political axe to grind then, just the fact that Ali had avenged his title was enough for me. I remember being polite but still somewhat distant. Just in case Ali or one of his fans was watching - I didn't want to send the wrong signal. Now, how silly was that? We did tend to take ourselves waaaaay to seriously back in the day, though, didn't we?

But the last two times I met the champ was in Harlem at what was then a favorite haunt of us in-crowd Blacks - PERKS on 123rd and Manhattan Ave. Those of us who were Perk's Regulars remember well the times Smokin' Joe would stop in and hang out. Perk had photos of him all over the place. Now retired, we could kick it and talk about the good old, bad old days, and the fact that boxing wasn't like it used to be.
He was energetic, friendly and a total gentleman. He always seemed to enjoy being around where people were enjoying life - and if you couldn't enjoy life at Perks, you might as well have just rolled the ground over on you and given up.

He and Hank Perkins the former owner and founder, used to mock fight and crack jokes. Meeting him under those circumstances, kind of secretly regretted taking such a harsh stance against him. He was down to earth and positive.

We spoke of Ali and his bout with Parkinson's disease; Don King and the white promoter's jealousy of his success, and a lot of other things. And of course, the brother could, and did dance.

The last time I saw him, on TV, was when he tried to get his son, Joe Frazier Jr., to follow in his footsteps in the ring. I remember thinking how sad it was, because it was clear that the kid couldn't take the punch his dad did, and wasn't really interested in pursuing a boxing career.

I guess over time, if you really look back in retrospect, everything balances out, doesn't it. Both Frazier and Ali have made great contributions to our histories. They were catalysts for other youth who were looking to get into the arena and make names for themselves.

The Bio On Joe Frazier that flashed across my computer appeared just a scant 21 minutes after his demise, which meant someone was aware of and anticipated his passing. I share it below for those of you who were not familiar with him:

"Joe Frazier Dies After Fight With Cancer

—He beat Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila. Then Joe Frazier spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali’s shadow.

That was one fight Frazier could never win.

He was once a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali would say as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971.

But he bore the burden of being Ali’s foil, and he paid the price. Bitter for years about the taunts his former nemesis once threw his way, Frazier only in recent times came to terms with what happened in the past and said he had forgiven Ali for everything he said.

Frazier, who died Monday night after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67, will forever be linked to Ali. But no one in boxing would ever dream of anointing Ali as The Greatest unless he, too, was linked to Smokin’ Joe.

“You can’t mention Ali without mentioning Joe Frazier,” said former AP boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. “He beat Ali, don’t forget that.”

They fought three times, twice in the heart of New York City and once in the morning in a steamy arena in the Philippines. They went 41 rounds together, with neither giving an inch and both giving it their all.

In their last fight in Manila in 1975, they traded punches with a fervor that seemed unimaginable among heavyweights. Frazier gave almost as good as he got for 14 rounds, then had to be held back by trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go out for the final round, unable to see.

“Closest thing to dying that I know of,” Ali said afterward.

Ali was as merciless with Frazier out of the ring as he was inside it. He called him a gorilla, and mocked him as an Uncle Tom. But he respected him as a fighter, especially after Frazier won a decision to defend his heavyweight title against the then-unbeaten Ali in a fight that was so big Frank Sinatra was shooting pictures at ringside and both fighters earned an astonishing $2.5 million.

The night at the Garden 40 years ago remained fresh in Frazier’s mind as he talked about his life, career and relationship with Ali a few months before he died.

“I can’t go nowhere where it’s not mentioned,” he told The Associated Press. “That was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life.”

Though slowed in his later years and his speech slurred by the toll of punches taken in the ring, Frazier was still active on the autograph circuit in the months before he died. In September he went to Las Vegas, where he signed autographs in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel-casino shortly before Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight against Victor Ortiz.

An old friend, Gene Kilroy, visited with him and watched Frazier work the crowd.

“He was so nice to everybody,” Kilroy said. “He would say to each of them, `Joe Frazier, sharp as a razor, what’s your name?”’

Frazier was small for a heavyweight, weighing just 205 pounds when he won the title by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their 1970 fight at Madison Square Garden. But he fought every minute of every round going forward behind a vicious left hook, and there were few fighters who could withstand his constant pressure.

His reign as heavyweight champion lasted only four fights - including the win over Ali - before he ran into an even more fearsome slugger than himself. George Foreman responded to Frazier’s constant attack by dropping him three times in the first round and three more in the second before their 1973 fight in Jamaica was waved to a close and the world had a new heavyweight champion.

Two fights later, he met Ali in a rematch of their first fight, only this time the outcome was different. Ali won a 12-round decision, and later that year stopped George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.

There had to be a third fight, though, and what a fight it was. With Ali’s heavyweight title at stake, the two met in Manila in a fight that will long be seared in boxing history.

Frazier went after Ali round after round, landing his left hook with regularity as he made Ali backpedal around the ring. But Ali responded with left jabs and right hands that found their mark again and again. Even the intense heat inside the arena couldn’t stop the two as they fought every minute of every round with neither willing to concede the other one second of the round.

“They told me Joe Frazier was through,” Ali told Frazier at one point during the fight.

“They lied,” Frazier said, before hitting Ali with a left hook.

Finally, though, Frazier simply couldn’t see and Futch would not let him go out for the 15th round. Ali won the fight while on his stool, exhausted and contemplating himself whether to go on.

It was one of the greatest fights ever, but it took a toll. Frazier would fight only two more times, getting knocked out in a rematch with Foreman eight months later before coming back in 1981 for an ill advised fight with Jumbo Cummings.

“They should have both retired after the Manila fight,” Schuyler said. “They left every bit of talent they had in the ring that day.”

Born in Beaufort, S.C., on Jan 12, 1944, Frazier took up boxing early after watching weekly fights on the black and white television on his family’s small farm. He was a top amateur for several years, and became the only American fighter to win a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo despite fighting in the final bout with an injured left thumb.

After turning pro in 1965, Frazier quickly became known for his punching power, stopping his first 11 opponents. Within three years he was fighting world-class opposition and, in 1970, beat Ellis to win the heavyweight title that he would hold for more than two years.

It was his fights with Ali, though, that would define Frazier. Though Ali was gracious in defeat in the first fight, he was as vicious with his words as he was with his punches in promoting all three fights - and he never missed a chance to get a jab in at Frazier.

Frazier, who in his later years would have financial trouble and end up running a gym in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, took the jabs personally. He felt Ali made fun of him by calling him names and said things that were not true just to get under his skin. Those feelings were only magnified as Ali went from being an icon in the ring to one of the most beloved people in the world.

After a trembling Ali it the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta, Frazier was asked by a reporter what he thought about it.

“They should have thrown him in,” Frazier responded.

He mellowed, though, in recent years, preferring to remember the good from his fights with Ali rather than the bad. Just before the 40th anniversary of his win over Ali earlier this year - a day Frazier celebrated with parties in New York - he said he no longer felt any bitterness toward Ali.

“I forgive him,” Frazier said. “He’s in a bad way.”

As I'm writing this, I'm wondering what Muhammad Ali's and Don King's responses will be upon hearing of his passing. My condolences go out to his family, friends, and all the fight fans across the world, regardless of whose corner you were in, because he was truly one of the great ones.

Smokin' Joe Frazier has now made his transition to that Great Arena In The Sky, where he will always be a champion.

New York Beacon's Walter Smith Opens a Can on Herman Cain

2011-10-30T03:58:00.004-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

You know, I heard the rather acerbic, insipid remarks Cain, who is an ersatz presidential candidate hopeless, has been making in reference to President Barack Obama.

He is yet the clearest example of what we mean when we speak of the ability of the meanstream whites to use divide and conquer to keep Black people off balance and fighting each other. Actually, divide and conquer does not work with Black people at all. Black is not just a color, it's a quality of consciousness, a state of mind and being that belongs to those of us who have truly evolved from slavery, servile mentalities, and the need to please and appease our oppressors. In point of fact, the people who fall prey to the tactics of divide and conquer are negroes, who feel that their existence is not relevant with out the approval and acknowledgement of mainstream whites.
Such an individual is Herman Cain. And of course, who better to set against President Obama, a Black man, than one who has had a slight measure of success in the realm of the meanstream, and can speak negro-ese so eloquently and authoritatively. The meanstreamers speak of how "articulate" he is - and that means a great deal to the rest of our negrified sychophants who have not totally mastered the lingo, or who have mastered it so well they walk around sounding like dictionaries and encyclopedias. They will not doubt NOT be reading my blog, nor will they be reading the New York Beacon or any of the other relevant Black newspapers that we work so hard to write for and publish every week.

So, even though I know you Black people, as well as myself, try very hard not to put ourselves in the company of the UnGodly, I am asking you to make an exception, and forward a copy of this treatise from Walter Smith, publisher of the New York Beacon, to them. It might just wake some of them up. Of course, please forward it to your colleagues, family members and friends as well. I know it's like preaching to the choir, but they may know some of those miscreants as well.

We've got to keep the consciousness focused on the truth, and focused on making sure that nothing and no one is able to prevent Barack Obama from doing what he is trying to do to save this country from Rep-ugh-blicans, and bring it back (forward???) to the level of humanity that speaks to the needs and well being of all of us.

I am including Walter's article below, but feel free to chime in with your own message to the negro, Herman Cain. Now if you happen to be "pro-Cain" - and you're reading my Blog, then all is not lost, and there's hope for you yet. Take a deep breath, you're just waking up to the fact that you've been took, you've been had, you've been "hoodwinked" - but if you just calm down a moment, it will all become perfectly clear - Cain is a contrivance who has had the opportunity to realize a little wealth and has now got the vapors - and has had all this go to his head.

Once you compose yourself and have absorbed the veracity of Mr. Smith's statements; I urge to not run in hide, but take the information you've just learned and share it with others of your ilk who need to hear the truth, and take the chains off their brains as well.

Your sharing this statement, which is published below, with them may well be deemed an act of heroism, and could make up for the time when you yourself were brainwashed as well. Now is the time to take that next step and begin the process of refuting the hostile commentaries made in reference to Barack Obama.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

MESSAGE TO HERMAN CAIN
by Walter Smith, Publisher New York Beacon

The greeting on your web site says, "we are looking forward to hearing from you", but I'm not sure you will be looking forward to hearing from me, Mr. Cain.

I saw on the Internet that you called the President a liar. I deplore what you are doing and the things you are saying about the President in order to gain favor with these greedy, thieving, selfish, Republicans. How dare you call President Obama a liar. You are a pathetic, obviously brainwashed black man who has lost his way and his mind. You have had opportunity and a smattering of privilege in America that has made you forget your roots. I despise people like you and Clarence Thomas, and you both have Georgia roots.

What is it with you black men from the south who grow up in an oppressed environment and end up siding with the oppressor? The recent case of Troy Davis in Georgia is an excellent example of the present day oppression and legal lynching that still takes place in that state and in this country. The political party that you praise so highly is presently enacting laws to suppress the black vote, the student vote, and many elderly voters across this entire country. Yet, you choose to stand with people who display such obscene and un-American behavior. You would throw black people (including the President of the U.S.) and others under the bus to curry favor with these non-caring and hedonistic people.

You were there when your Republican cohorts cheered about the death penalty which disproportionately affects black men and women in this country - some of whom have been proven to be innocent. You should be ashamed to stand with these people and yet, you appear to be proud of such an association.

Yes, President Obama does believe in fairness and sharing the responsibility of the tax burden, it is not socialism nor is it class warfare, and he is not a liar for saying it. That kind of rhetoric from you and those with whom you identify is nothing more than a weak defense for the greedy and despicable philosophy that you choose to embrace.

You had the unmitigated gall to tell Wolf Blitzer on CNN that two thirds of African-American people are brainwashed and incapable of thinking for themselves. You are surely touched in the head. The millions of us who are capable of thinking for ourselves - we know who is really brainwashed - you - brainwashed whiter than snow.

Do you really think those people with whom you stand on the debating platform really respect you and see you as their equal? They as well as others see you as a joke and a person who is engaging in buffoonery. A Republican majority House and Senate would never pass your "so called" 999 plan. They would never deem it in their best interest. Besides, there are many who believe your plan is a coded message from Satan. If you flip the numbers they become the 666 plan.

You will never be President of this country, and I thank God for that. I must say, you certainly live up to your last name. Just as Cain in the Bible so blatantly slew his brother, you are equally willing to do the same politically and economically to millions of black and middle class citizens of this country. Such behavior is extremely ugly, and need I remind you, Mr. Cain, that God does not like ugly.

P. S. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm having a nice day, I would tell you what I really think about you.

IF YOU ARE TIRED OF WHITE AND BLACK REPUBLICANS CALLING PRESIDENT OBAMA A LIAR--PLEASE FORWARD THIS SO OTHERS MAY KNOW THE TRUTH.

As I Mentioned Earlier, Walter published this in the New York Beacon. If you live here in NYC, you should be able to pick it up on the newstand. If not, you can definitely make a copy of this statement from my Blog and pass it on. The more you swat these lies when they spring up, the fewer lies you have to contend with later on, the more opportunity truth has to get through despite the efforts from so many meanstream media and newspapers to distort it.

Together we can make sure that Obama has an even greater landslide and mandate.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Is Marriage for White People? What do you think?

2011-10-25T04:06:00.007-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson:

Hello All: I just received this email from the Black Star Project, a publication from the Midwest that I have been subscribing to for years now (ever since their inception). It's entitled: "Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone," and is written by Ralph Richard Banks.

Way to get your attention!!! I can see us lining up on either side of this one for a long, drawn out debate.

Interesting topic - eh what? I have often wondered how it is that we went from being descendants of kings and queens, from great empires, to being dis-functional and dis-trustful of each other. How we went from being families of great lineages, to this pseudo-independent solo act that we've got going here. I've not read this brother's book, but I find the question to be both deeply interesting and deeply disturbing at the same time. Given the fact that we survived the greatest ignominies because we were able to forge families and thereby our strengths, only to make it to a stage in our evolution where we can't, won't or don't have the wherewithal amongst us to find something so intrinsic within us to bond us and bless us as I see so many of our contemporary parallel cultural brothers and sisters being blessed with love, family, companionship (not talking about whites - but our African, East Indian, Latino, Asian, Caribbean and some "European" brothers and sisters who know "it takes two baby").

As one who grew up in a family of married partners - my parents, both sets of my grandparents, my great grand parents; my aunts and uncles on both sides of my family - all married partners - not stuck or sticking it out, but in it to win it, I find it puzzling and sad that we are ever the statistics that are held up, when it comes to dis-function, dis-integrated, and a few other disses I can name but won't.

We definitely need a paradigm shift. I'm not sure his is the one, but it does bring it all down front, doesn't it?

Can we as a people, individually and collectively, continue to go limping through society pretending to buy into the bull that there are not of us who are any good to go around? Talk about setting up a self fulfilling prophesy! We seem to be good about allowing others to define us, and we actually appear to be jumping through hoops to show that it's absolutely true, and we're "cool" with it.

Whether you call it accommodation, assimilation, resignation, or just stagnation, we are clearly further behind because of integration (should have stuck with desegregation), because the indication is that we on the brink of dissipation.

So for my sisters and brothers who really have yet to find the criteria you think the other should have, check out what you're bringing to the table - and I ain't just talkin' about money, either. Nobody's perfect - including you, or yours truly. And I hate to tell you this, but the person who said you can't love anyone until you learn to love yourself first, lied. Sometimes you learn to love yourself, because you learn to love. PERIOD!!

While I don't buy into the premise that the best answer for Black women is to marry outside their race, I also don't think we should be consigned to a solo life either. And since polygamy is not an alternative in the US - not because it doesn't work, because it does in other cultures - Americans are just too selfish to have it succeed here - Intracultural - I did not say multi-cultural, because that term has been so overworked as of late - relationships may be a positive and valid alternative.

Those who are the descendants of kings and queens, who have deliberately not passed on your legacy via having your own princes and princesses, and think that getting a PhD, or becoming a mega-star is going to do it, are missing the soul satisfaction that comes from nurturing your own (and for the cynics who find my views old fashioned, don't knock it if you haven't tried it. Adoption is also an option - we have so many of our children out here who would truly benefit from a real home).
I don't know where or who I would be without my three - bragging parent (and grandparent) that I am - but I digress.

We, as a people are in a mess - and it's up to us to redirect our paths and get us out of it, unless we really want to have placards in various parts of the world saying, Blacks used to live here, they are now largely extinct, except for a few melanites who reside on the outskirts of reality, and they themselves are a pale comparison of the original.

I would love to hear back from those who listen to or attend the program, as to how you feel about where he's coming from?

This should keep us talking for quite some time. Wonder where we'll end up after this? After the Civil Rights Movement was finally "won," we, who were proudly known as Watu Wazuri (beautiful people in Swahili) ended up at each other's throats for 40 years - drugs, thugs, witches, bitches & "ho's", facing out of wedlock childbirths, baby's mamma drama, baby daddy debacle's, divorces, and a whole host of other perversions that have taken us off course, from being the exemplars of kings and queens who survived, to some sort or retrograde to a by gone era prior to the time when the motto was "education is key", "family first" and "what did you say about my momma??!!" (often followed by a punch in the mouth, now followed by some insipid fools trying to out denigrate each other's mother). THAT WAS TRULY A MOUTHFUL!

Do you somehow get the feeling that we are part of some gigantic behavioral modification experiment, where we are the double blind candidates - we don't even get a placebo - OR like Sister Henrietta Lacks - where we don't even get the cure - they take the information they have gleaned from our disfunction, and give the remedy to others, while we continue to writhe in our own confusion.

Time to buy a clue, get off the late show, wake up from the nightmare, and as Rev. Jesse Jackson has said so often, "turn to each other, not on each other;" and most certainly not away from each other.

Time to ramp up the learning curve, and get back to the spiritual (not religious - spiritual) people we claim to be. It's worth a try.

So, that said, perhaps we can put away the cynicism, drop the distrust, open up a little to understanding each other's angst, as well as glory, take a big cup of respect, mix it with a smile (I'm sorry, the so-called "game" face is really off-putting); drop the smart assed (uh, smart aleck) remarks and trade in the ghetto 4-letter words for something more soothing and uplifting such as "like", "love", "good", "trust", "happy"; and for goodness sakes take that snarky edge out of your voice, as though you're coming for war (did I say snarky? I meant sarcastic) - we're not competing to see who can defeat whom; it's about who can complement whom; who goes together with whom.

Now that I've gone waaaaay off on a tangent, as I often do, let me just end by saying that America is about the "pursuit of happiness." Africans are (or at least we were) about the achievement, attainment and sustainment of happiness.

I think living happily ever after is a goal worth working for. And I'm optimistic enough to think that we can do it together in our lifetime.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

The Press release about this book follows:

The Black Star Project: Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone. The Invisible Institute presents Ralph Richard Banks, Author, ina conversation with
Steve Edwards of Chicago Public Radio, on Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 7:00 pm
The Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone - 1500 east - Chicago, Illinois (for those of you may be in Chi-town and want to be there in person).

The Invisible Institute is presenting Ralph Richard Banks in a public conversation, which is sure to "spark a robust national conversation about race and relationships. Ralph Richard Banks is the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. Banks explores the broad economic and cultural developments that have resulted in a society-wide decline in marriage--a decline that is most extreme among African Americans. Weaving together scholarly research with personal stories of women throughout the nation, he advances the challenging thesis that interracial marriage is the best hope for increasing marriage within the African American community."

Although Black women confront the smallest pool of viable partners due to the myriad struggles of Black men, they rarely marry men of other races. As Banks sees it, Black women would not only benefit themselves by being willing to marry a man of a different race, but would also bolster marriage among African American couples. Although often portrayed as abandonment of the race, interracial marriage by Black women, he argues, in fact serves the race.

Excerpts from the media page of his book's website gives you a taste of the public discussion--and controversy--prompted by Banks' thesis:

* Praise for Is Marriage for White People!
* "Fascinating--and very brave! Banks stays up close and personal as he surveys the brambly landscape of marriage prospects for accomplished African American women bringing into view rarely seen prides, longings, prejudices, and unexpected choices. Banks' probing examination makes a gripping read." - Nancy Cott, Harvard University
* "This brilliant and provocative book tells stories we all need to hear." - Susan Fiske, Princeton University
* "Learned and unflinching, careful but provocative. Banks unabashedly explores the most volatile racial issues. Sure to provoke fierce debate." - Randall Kennedy, Harvard Law School.

The Invisible Institute is a program of an Experimental Station in Chicago. "In the United States, we must teach parents to be better if we expect students and schools to be better. The Toyota/Black Star Parent University teaches more parents to be great parents. (Note: The Black Star Project | 3473 South King Drive, Box 464 | Chicago | IL | 60616)

I would love to be the fly on the wall when this controversy hits little ol' New York City! We are really going to have some serious dialogue around this. Can't wait til they bring that Brother to HueMan Books (hint). Should be very enlightening, indeed!!.

By the way, for those of you who read the title and answered "yes" you are the brainwashed ones.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

SOS EMERGENCY: PUT ABC-TV ON NOTICE - PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF GIL NOBLE IS PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF BLACK PEOPLE

2011-10-20T02:15:00.007-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I just received an emergency email from Dr. James McIntosh of CEMOTAP, in reference to our dear brother, Gil Noble host of ABC-TV Like It Is, who recently suffered a massive stroke.

I think you all must be aware that for the past 40 years the show has struggled to maintain its integrity and remain on the air, due to the machinations of the racist TV management, which routinely tried to quell the show's effectiveness.

While we successfully prayed for the recovery of Gil from this stroke, and he's on the mend, the next task is to now save Like It IS!!! After years of moving it around from time slot to time slot, the show has been stabilized at the 12:00 slot on Sundays for at least two decades.

While we'll miss Gil, we now have to turn our attention to making sure that ABC-TV replaces him with IMHOTEP GARY BYRD as host, who is as good, if not better, than Gil, and who possesses the sensibilities, love, care, concern and professionalism to provide Black people with news, documentaries and information that is relevant to us only.

Notably, Like It Is is the only Black show on network television that focuses on Black issues in a comprehensive manner. Gil Noble has been a pillar in our community for nearly 50 years. And, contrary to common belief, his position and that program are not easily replaced, and the Black community will not turn a blind eye to ABC-TV's decisions. This is a warning to them to not underestimate the seriousness with which the Black community takes the future of this program and its relevance to us.

This is a call to mobilize all the forces - not just the Black community, but our official representatives - Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, NAACP, Urban League, President Obama, to do the formal negotiations. But to also put ABC-TV on notice that they are not exempt from boycotts and sit-ins. That we will do what we need to do to make sure our legacy and the legacy of Gil Noble and LIKE IT IS, are preserved.

That said, the following is the press release from CEMOTAP. I expect each and every one of you who has one tenth of one per cent of melanin (Black blood) coursing through your veins, whether your home is the continent of Africa, USA or any of the Caribbean countries, to stand together shoulder to shoulder to make sure that LIKE IT IS enjoys another 40 years on ABC:

CEMOTAP PRESS RELEASE - CALLING ALL AFRICANS! GIL NOBLE’S LEGACY MUST BE PRESERVED
Contact James McIntosh 347 907-0629

A community delegation led by CEMOTAP Co-chairs Betty Dopson and Dr. James McIntosh, Dr. Len Jeffries and New York City Councilman Charles Barron met with WABC TV station manager Dave Davis on Monday morning. The group first protested the censoring of Councilman Barron’s remarks in support of political prisoners on the tribute to Gil Noble broadcast by WABC on March 16, 2011. The group also protested the seeming attempt to AMERICANIZE the show and exclude of any mention of Elombe Brath and the numerous African world leaders, including heads of state, that Elombe brought to the show over the years.

Lastly, the group discussed the future of Gil Noble’s “Like It Is.” The group first suggested the name of Imhotep Gary Byrd, which Davis rejected even though he admitted he had NEVER HEARD OF BYRD. Davis said he wants to use someone from the WABC newsroom and has thus far refused to even interview Byrd to find out what Byrd would bring to the show.

Davis seems braced for a war with the Black Community. He became offended when the group refused to accept his assertion that he was different from Tom Kane, the last WABC station manager with whom the community had to struggle.

Please call Davis and {DEMAND} tell him to reverse course. This announcement is attached to a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_L2YxuyVt8 that shows a prime representation of the newsroom from which Davis wants to hire. It speaks for itself.

CALL DAVIS at 212 456 7000. Tell him to stop stonewalling the {BLACK}community. Remember you are talking to a man who never even heard of Imhotep Gary Byrd. Also come hear CEMOTAP’s call to action and report to the community on Saturday October 22, 2011 at 2PM at CEMOTAP CENTER, 135-05 Rockaway Boulevard, South Ozone Park, Queens, NY 11420. Community Leaders and leaders of the delegation will be present." ###

Remember, no one will do for you what you will not do for yourself. You have to take a stand now, or they will be standing on your neck later.
Take care
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

EVENT ALERT: The Sylvia and Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fund to Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary October 28

2011-10-12T15:06:00.009-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

When I received the call from my friend, Ronnie Sykes, in reference to the 10th Anniversary of the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship Fundraiser, I had a brief flashback to the day when they started planning the first event. Sylvia, who has always been about education, Vann the eldest son, Kenneth, Bedelia, Crizette and the rest of the family had gathered at the restaurant to determine just how to launch it, and what their first scholarship amounts would be.

I remember it was a tented affair, held at Sylvia's Also, the banquet facility on the corner of 126th and Malcolm X. Those were very intense times, coming on the heels of Herbert Wood's passing earlier that year.

Most of us remember when Sylvia's Restaurant was the "city hall" of Harlem. Where political figures and celebrities came to hang out and tune in. Well nothing has changed in that regard, except that Sylvia is more often than not relaxing at home, having recently turned 85. She has literally worked since the age of 10; and truth be told, had her children not persuaded her to take a break, she's be at the restaurant as usual greeting customers with that famous beautiful smile of hers.

This Scholarship Fundraiser is yet another in the long line of services the legendary restaurant has provided so generously to the community of Harlem, where they have made their home since the 40's. The restaurant will be turning 50 next year, and there are still many who find it difficult to believe that the Woods family still retains ownership. So let me assure you - they own it and the property, lock, stock and barrels. Despite her demure good looks, Ms. Sylvia, and her husband Herbert, were great business people. Their children (and grandchildren)have likewise followed in their footsteps, insuring the institutionalization of this great family affair.

Sylvia's Restaurant has been my home away from home since I moved to New York. And, even though I live in Brooklyn now, I can't come anywhere near Harlem without "checking in" to see what's going on.

I recently received the following email from Ronnie: "The Sylvia and Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fund to Celebrate Its 10th Anniversary At New York City Gala
Ceremony to Recognize National Leaders in Education- Alma Powell-America’s Promise Alliance, Geoffrey Canada-Harlem Children’s Zone & Marcia Young Cantarella, Ph.D.-Educator/Author."

So I'm sharing it with you, because I know you will all want to come out and celebrate this great milestone, as well as to congratulate the awardees and scholarship recipients.

"The Sylvia & Herbert Woods Foundation (SHWF) will mark its 10th anniversary by awarding 10 students with scholarships and recognizing three national leaders in education for their commitment to advancing opportunities for young people in Harlem and beyond during its annual awards ceremony on October 28, 2011 at City College's Great Hall.

Award-winning Anchor and Reporter, David Ushery of WNBC TV-NY will serve as guest host for the evening. Alma J. Powell, the Chair of America's Promise Alliance, Harlem Children's Zone Founder and CEO Geoffrey Canada will receive the Herbert Woods Community Service Award and Educator/Author Marcia Young Cantarella, Ph.D., and daughter of noted civil rights activist Whitney M. Young, Jr., will receive the Sylvia's Award.

Established in 2001, by Sylvia Woods, owner of Harlem’s world-renowned Sylvia’s Restaurant, in honor of her late husband Herbert, the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Endowment Scholarship Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to college-bound youth, which helps to bring some much needed relief to students and their families. Awarding the first 2 scholarships in 2002, the Fund has provided over $200,000 to 66 students in scholarship funding in the past 9 years. To be eligible recipients must have a 2.5 G.P.A. or better and must also submit an essay of at least 275 words stating why they should receive financial assistance as well as personal recommendations, among other requirements.

Dr. Joseph Feldman, chairman of Hackensack University Medial Center’s emergency trauma department and Lew Zuchman, executive director of Supportive Children’s Advocacy Network (SCAN) are honorary committee angels. To date sponsors and partners include: Cogswell Realty, Steiner Sports and Marketing, Exquisite Apparel, Crest Gems, PK Furs, Unitex Laundry Service, Panoply Corporation (Distributors of Sylvia’s Food Products) and Christopher Hunte Designs.

WHEN: Friday, October 28th at 6:00pm
WHERE: City College- The Great Hall -Convent Avenue & 138th St.
WHO: Geoffrey Canada, CEO and Founder- Harlem Children’s Zone
Alma J. Powell, Chair of America’s Promise; Marcia Young Cantarella, PhD Educator and Author/Daughter of Whitney Young, Jr.; David Ushery, Anchor-WNBC TV- New York

Scholarship Award Recipients are: Amma Dodoo; Latisha Elijio & Ciara Wyche Sade Aguila; Shaquille Duberry; Anisa Newkirk; Modesty McDowell & Jamal Fowler

Of course the dinner will be catered by none other than DINNER CATERED BY SYLVIA’S RESTAURANT!!

If you require additional info for making contributions and/or reservations, contact Ms. Ronnie Sykes via email ronnie@sykesgc.com

Take care and
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
--

Use this great FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUOTE the next time someone says something ugly about President Barack OBAMA

2011-10-05T10:16:00.006-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I recently wrote a piece that appeared in one of my personal emails about a quote from the great Frederick Douglass. It was sent to me by Jimi Holloway, the Empresario, who gives those great parties in New York City. And it was sooooo true. I sent it out online, and got some very positive responses; then I got some very ascerbic ones. This one, that I'm responding to from Kamm Howard, really was out of line as far as I'm concerned. So the following is my response to him:

You know my brother, I do believe in giving credit where credit is due. And I also believe that charity and love begin at home, amongst us -we who call ourselves Black people. But we have the irritating habit of being our own worst critics. We are amazing in that regard.

Your statement about President Barack Hussein Obama is not only offensive, it's totally erroneous! Where do you come off saying the Brother has no race ( I assume by that you mean "Black") consciousness? It shows that you have no understanding of what Black consciousness is in the truest sense of the word.

Not only is he an exemplar of the statement quoted from Frederick Douglass, but you by your own words of criticism, have proven Douglass' point. I couldn't have done it or argued it better myself. Thank you! As the late Johnnie Cochran said, let me refresh your recollection:

"Though the colored (Black) man is no longer subject to barter and sale, he is
surrounded by an adverse settlement which fetters(ties up/hampers) all his movements. In his downward course he meets with no resistance, but his course upward is resented and resisted at every step of his progress. If he comes in ignorance, rags and wretchedness he conforms to the popular belief of his character, and in that character he is welcome; but if he shall come as a gentleman, a scholar and a statesman, he is hailed as a contradiction to the national faith concerning his race, and his coming is resented as impudence. In one case he may provoke contempt and derision, but in the other he is an affront to
pride and provokes malice.” Frederick Douglass, September 25, 1883

You stated, and I quote, "Barac Obama in this context, he is no Frederick Douglass. He does not possess a race consciousness in no shape, form or fashion..." And you're absolutely right (by the way you misspelled his name).

Barack Obama is not Frederick Douglass. He is most definitely his own man. He has not tried or pretended to be Frederick August Washington Bailey (a/k/a Douglass), but his wit, wisdom, courage, vision do most definitely match his. And while Mr. Douglass was taking his life in his hands through the promulgation of freedom and later integration and equality for former slaves; don't you ever think that Barack Obama is taking any less of a risk as the first BLACK President of the United States, trying to bring about just for all in a system that was/is build on injustice, inequality and lies. And don't you think for one moment that he does not know that his life is on the line.

These are the people who have murdered and martyred four heroes in the 60's two white and two Black (and those are the one who at the time were considered leaders). In case you don't recall: El Hajj Malik el Shabazz better known as Brother Malcolm X; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States; Robert Kennedy, candidate for the Presidency of the US.

It's interesting. We act like Obama is our own personal poverty program. We act as if he is the president of the Black portion of the United States - not the entire US. Sorry, my brother, that dog won't hunt: he has to handle the entire pie, not just one slice. And if it's a cherry pie, he gets to deal with the pits right along with the fruit and the crust - if you catch my drift.

It's like being the head of a poverty program in the Black community - it's really an interesting phenomena: the whites are afraid they are going to do too much, be too successful, and make things work too well. The Blacks thought things weren't moving fast enough. Yes, now they have received affordable housing, free down payments and closing costs, but now they need you to walk on the moon, cater to them all day and night, hold their hands and take their kids to school. Or, the big question was "how come they got this and we didn't?" If it was the (ethnicity), they'd have this. If I were (ethnicity) they wouldn't say, or do, or have that - whatever that is.

And, yes, I totally believe that we deserve all the reparations, compensation, genuflecting, and groveling we can make the caucasians come up with for having put us through 400+ years of hell. But that's them - not Obama. Don't get it twisted.

At some point we have to learn to sit back, relax, enjoy this little victory, while we strategize our next moves and goals. Perhaps if we take a few steps back, we can actually see that this brother has made a tremendous difference for Black people, despite Blue Dog Dems; Tea Baggers, Rep-ugh-blicans, and negroes who don't love themselves or him.

And speaking of comparisons - I doubt very seriously, if given the chance, you could have done half of what the brother did, with as much grace, wisdom, bravery, and pure machoism as he has. I doubt seriously whether or not most of his critics have the character to take the hits and still deal with the situation, running an entire country, married to one of the most beautiful sisters on the planet, raising two beautiful daughters, deal with mother-in-law issues, and look that handsome.

But, don't get me wrong. I understand your angst. I understand the umbrage we take at having to continue to put up with the crap that's spewed out via the meanstream media day in and day out. I can understand the need to see some speed in terms of the amelioration of the problems in the Black community. He has addressed that, and continues to address that daily. I am not going to post it here, because you can get the info on other Blogs - including the BlackList, BlackAmericasWeb, and other websites.

What I'd like to do is offer some suggestions that others are doing that will actually work for us, if we work them. Like the great Marcus Garvey and Elijah Muhammad, we have to DO FOR SELF (individually and collectively) Like the Japanese, develop systems of quality control that is taught across the board to adults and youth alike, so that we surpass these crappy standards that permeate the country.

Develop a community based neighborhood restoration program, if you happen to live in or near run down, dilapidated, blighted areas, where the homes have been neglected, but can be brought to life with some sweat equity. Draw straws, or lots,or whatever, and decide which worthy family deserves the home, help them to rebuild it and move in.

Now, I'm recommending this as opposed to HUD, which went over to the dark side under the Bush administration and has not found its way back to where the humans live. You can put your municipality on notice that you are willing to do the work, for the building; no more boarding up and leaving ghosts in your community. Do your own extreme home makeover.

Do some joint teach ins with your local church, so our youth begin to learn more their Black history and their role in the future of America.

Get some of your skilled craftsmen to teach these youth a marketable trade.

Make a log of gratitude. It appears we have forgotten how to give thanks - and I'm not talking about the holiday, either.

Start a Black United Fund in your areas, where people can pool their resources via a credit union type program, and in turn use the funds to take care of essential needs.

Start a real community garden, that rivals the overpriced vegetables in the supermarkets. And wean your kids away from fast foods (and if not your kids, the neighbor's kids, or the school kids). Obesity is on the rise thanks to the fact that we've either forgotten how, or are too lazy to cook nutritional food.

Start a vintage Black books club and get the adults and kids to read classic Black authors, Black Power, by Dr. Charles V. Hamilton & Stokely Carmichael; Black Like Me; any and all books by J.A. Rogers; The Philosophies and Opinions of Marcus Garvey; the MisEducation of the Negro - Carter G. Woodson; anything by W.E.B duBois.

If you start now, by the time the primary rolls around in 2012, you'll have a whole host of reasons to make sure that Obama is re-elected, and you and your compatriots will have added greatly to the expansion of Black empowerment in your community.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

This is the onerous letter I received From: Kamm Howard on October 4, 2011 3:36 PM

Use this great FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUOTE the next time someone says something ugly about President Barack OBAMA

"Great quote and yes Frederick Douglass should be read often. However, he should be read in the context of being an integrationist who possessed a high degree of race consciousness. (Perhaps the highest degree of race consciousness that one could possess as an integrationist.) He was brilliant and his untiring work on behalf of Afrikan people, in particular to getting Ol' Abe to admit Afrikans into the Union Army for the purpose of freeing themselves, is the utltimate example of woriking the system for true freedom. For this, he must also be held as a champion of militant action on behalf of Afrikans in America.

If we look at Barac Obama in this context, he is no Frederick Douglass. He does not possess a race consciousness in no shape, form or fashion. Our gains in this country has only occurred in times when race concsciousness was the highest among the masses and the leadership. Garveyism, the New Negro are examples. The last race-conscious movement was the Black consciousness movement of the 60's and 70's. It was that time that we developed the highest degree of independence and as a result, received the greatest exertion of violent repression since enslavement by the American governmetnt - COINTELPRO and shortly thereafter, drug/chemical warfare - (that has resulted in the massive degradation of Afrikan culture and mass incarceration)

The masses have been on a downward trajectory since then. And the majority of our leaders are saying abandon race-first consciousness - strive to be a good American., (assimilate). To do so is certain death, as we see. Our salvation lies not in the salvation of America. If any one is looking, that is up in the air right now. Our salvation lies in a mass-movement fed by an Afrikan-cnetered consciousness - a 21st Century race-consciousness. See Afrikan-centered Consciousness Vs. New World Order or Blueprint for Black Power, both by Dr. Amos Wilson.

President Obama has asserted this alternative view on numerous occasions. "There is no Black America; there's just the United States of America." Aside from being the ultimate in self-delusion, this quote promotes ethnic cleansing which is a form of genocide under international law. (Ethbnic cleasening also consist of any program geared to forced assimilation or in the case of the President, decalring that we must assimilate in order to get any benefit from this country)

We have to be clear in our comparisons. Other wise we will raise one to a height he doesn't deserve, while at the same time lower one from the rightfully earned position of Sheps (Revered Ancestor). Mr. Douglass is a mighty Afrikan Sheps. Mr. Obama, history will show otherwise, although I'm sure he will be decalred a great American. A Luta Continua - The Struggle Continues, Kamm Howard NCOBRA,
"Power concedes nothing without a demand." Fredrick Douglass www.ncobra.org
Blackisbackcoalition.org Black consciousness is back; radical Black thought is back. Focused Black action is back. Black is Back!"

Now you see why I made the comments I did in my preliminary statement/response to him.

Now the following is my response to Jimi Holloway's quote from Frederick Douglass:

Hey Jimi - Wow!!

Thanks so much for this quote. Frederick Douglass is a personal hero of mine, having attended Douglass Sr. High School in Oklahoma City, which was named for him, while he was still living. I do try to re-read his book "My Bondage and My Freedom" every so often. But I have entirely missed this wonderful truism.

I am going to personally circulate it to friends and foes alike. This is a wonderful wake up call and a means by which we can deal with the continuous crap that emanates from the meanstream media, and mentally deficient, self effacing negroes at the same time. Thanx GDW

Subject: FREDERICK DOUGLASS QUOTE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO OBAMA

114 years ago, Frederick Douglass provided the explanation for why people
are so hard on President Obama. The quote below is worth remembering next
time we are invited to pile on.

*********************************************************

Though the colored (Black) man is no longer subject to barter and sale, he is
surrounded by an adverse settlement which fetters(ties up/hampers) all his movements. In his downward course he meets with no resistance, but his course upward is resented and resisted at every step of his progress. If he comes in ignorance, rags
and wretchedness he conforms to the popular belief of his character, and
in that character he is welcome; but if he shall come as a gentleman, a
scholar and a statesman, he is hailed as a contradiction to the national faith
concerning his race, and his coming is resented as impudence. In one case
he may provoke contempt and derision, but in the other he is an affront to
pride and provokes malice.” Frederick Douglass September 25, 1883

My subsequent message to my friends and readers:
I just received this quote from my great friend the Empresario, Jimi Holloway. Check it out, memorize it, put it on your wall, license plate, where ever. Frederick Douglass was/is deep!
And, if you want to see how truly deep we are and have been for quite some time, get a copy of any of Frederick Douglass' writing or speeches and prepare to be blown away. And I absolutely suggest you read his book "My Bondage and My Freedom." There is nothing like clarity and wisdom in the midst of confusion and lies to put you on the right path. And after you read it, don't stop there - share it with your friends, family, especially you kids - they are never too young or too old to learn. Also note, that white folks are reading our stuff - you see them on the subways, buses - they're reading Langston Hughes, Stokeley Carmichael, Frederick Douglass, and others. What are we reading? Some trash urban garbage that keeps our mindset in the lower levels of development. They are learning the lessons that were meant for us. Time to change that equation.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Extreme Home Makeover + First Lady Michele Obama + Brownstoners of BedStuy

2011-10-03T02:54:00.007-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it, but my favorite TV show is Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. I generally make it my business to watch it every Sunday night. However, I had not watched it during the summer because of the reruns.

I missed the opening edition last week because I was still in DC for the Congressional Black Caucus, so I watched it online this Sunday, and boy, was I totally blown away by their season opener!

It centered around Ms. Marshall, a wonderful woman who was a 15 year veteran in the armed forces, who, along with her husband, a former US Marine, had returned to their home town of Fayetteville, NC to live; only to find that there were other women veterans who had served their country who, upon returning, subsequent to their tour of duty, could neither find a job or a home, and so, ended up homeless, living on the streets in the very communities they had risked their lives to serve.

Ms. Marshall, herself a former Chaplain in the armed forces, decided to open her home to these unfortunate women, some of whom had children of their own, and were living without hope or help. The episode was called the JUBILEE MARSHALL FAMILY episode.

Ty Pennington, the host and driving force behind the show, and the rest of the crew really outdid themselves in this episode. The meager homes, which provided shelter for three families and their children, were in deplorable conditions, despite Ms.Marshall's efforts to repair them. Her husband, who had maintained the upkeep on the properties - which consisted of mobile homes, small spaces shared by these families - had passed; and it seemed as though the deterioration had accelerated since then.

Ms. Marshall and the women had written an appeal to Extreme Make Over, Home Edition for assistance, and they responded in such an overwhelming manner it brought tears to my eyes (and to the eyes of anyone else who watched this who had any sense of humanity).

Not only did they transform those little facilities into the most spacious, symbolic and elegant living environments, but they brought the artist Rihanna, and none other than Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States of America, to participate in the décor and honoring of this truly wonderful woman, her family, and the women who are the beneficiaries of her generosity.

I urge you to go on line and watch this particular show - Extreme Makeover Home Edition on Hulu, or online ABCTV.Com/Extrememakeover home edition - Season 9, episode 1, and watch it for yourself. (It’s also on ABC-TV every Sunday 8:00 EST/PAC; 7:00 Central).

President Obama and the First Lady both love this show, as do I. I love it for the creativity, the generosity, the demonstration that nothing is impossible when it comes to transforming a negative into a positive. Some of the homes they have re-designed have been true masterpieces. In the space of one week they have turned tragedy into triumph.

The First Lady gave the homeless women the benefit of her wisdom, kindness, and compassion; as well as a great deal of woman to woman, mother to mother bonding. She mentioned her own garden that she maintains at the White House, and personally gave the women seeds to plant in their victory garden. It was an absolutely phenomenal, tear jerker - well, at least for me. I love it when things turn out beautifully - I do believe in happily ever after. I love to receive it, but I am just as happy when others receive it, as well.

And Ms. Marshall more than deserved to have those wonderful things manifest in her life. She and those women were truly blessed (and highly favored).

I have heard some mean spirited commentaries made about Extreme Makeover - Home Edition, by people who know about the cost of everything and the value of nothing. They gripe that everything is too extravagant; that the homes are too elegant, where something simply and perfunctory would suffice. True, we can live quite well in a hovel; but the human spirit deserves a boost, and the Extreme Makeover-Home Edition crew have been in the business of morale boosting, while others more penurious tend to shave their fingernails to hold onto a dime, and end up with nothing.

I absolutely love this show because it soars like the human spirit, and gives the recipient an opportunity to have their dreams come true in real time, rather than waiting for someone else’s proscribed version of when they deem it’s their turn to receive.

If you’re selfish, stingy and narrow, perhaps watching the show will help you come out of that malady and, like the Grinch, enlarge your heart a little. If you are for the “underdog” and like to see others win for a change, then this show is right up your alley, and you’re probably already watching it anyway, so I don’t have to tell you how great it is.

But what I especially like, and more to the point, is that the First Lady took time out of her busy schedule, without pomp and circumstance and fanfare, and went down to North Carolina, and spent the time going through that home, writing words of encouragement, helping with the décor and other tasks BECAUSE SHE CARES!! And so does President Obama. I think it can be assumed that the President and First Lady do not watch junk shows, and this would be an example of a good family show that would be well worth watching in our own homes as well. Check it out for yourselves. You can definitely get some good ideas from the show, and see what it means to think outside the proverbial box.

It is this very principle of thinking outside the box that makes me reach forward and tie this show in with a much celebrated event that takes place in Brooklyn each year in October: the THE BEDSTUY BROWNSTONERS TOUR. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, October 15, and is perhaps the best local example of an Extreme Home Makeover, put together by proud Black families who are homeowners in the Bedford Stuyvesant community of Brooklyn(a/k/a Bed Stuy, do or die).

The Tour (as it’s called by the insiders) starts at 11:00 AM and runs to 4:00 PM; there is a concomitant BedStuy Bazaar which starts at 10:30 AM at Old Boys High, located at Marcy and Putnam Avenues; and a free Home Ownership Workshop which commences at 9:00AM in the Old Boys High Auditorium. Tix are $15.00 in Advance and $20.00 on the day of the tour, the proceeds of which go to fund scholarships. Those interested can contact the organization online at www.brownstonersofbedstuy.org.

These featured families have either taken run down brownstones and transformed them into absolute masterpieces, using their own funds, time, talent, creativity and imagination; or they have had them in their families for years and maintained them in their true, original elegance. These are not the impersonal, gutted out monstrosities that have popped up as of late, where the original ambiance and craftsmanship have been ripped out via gut reno, borne of investors looking to make a fast buck. These invaders have absolutely no taste except in their mouths.

No, these homes - and I do mean homes - have, for the most part, been lovingly cared for, with attention to quality and detail. The Brownstoners of BedStuy meet on a regular basis to share information, resources, skills. They are who have kept the Black community together during economic downturns, drugs, thugs, and a concerted effort to drive Black people from Brooklyn. In other words, they are the Blackbone of Brooklyn’s BedStuy community. They represent stability and growth.

Some of the masterpieces you see wrought in these fine, stately monuments to architecture weren’t done in seven days, with a crew of thousands, but over a period of time, by a husband and wife team who came home after a long day’s work, changed their clothes, and began that soul-satisfying task of transforming their home into a thing of beauty. In some case they went beyond beauty to “shock and awe” to “How did you do that????”

I have never left that tour without my head filled with respect, ideas, concepts (and, yes, envy) for those who have had the great good fortune to be blessed with those amazing beauties. I have definitely wished that the great god of brownsones would somehow endow me with my own brownstone masterpiece, where I can likewise be a part of that stellar group, showing off my own creativity and genius (yeah, I decorate, too - you know how we do - Black people invented multi-tasking and multi-talented).

And, as I write this piece, I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if First Lady Michele Obama could likewise stop through Brooklyn on October 15, and look at the wonderful work these Brothers and Sisters have done, and continue to do. I think she would be in awe of how cohesive, supportive and life affirming this whole thing is. And in turn, her presence would be a wonderful affirmation and morale booster for those here who may think no one is noticing or cares.

So, I’m going to ask those of you who read this on my blog, or anywhere else it may be circulated, if you are in touch with the First Lady, send her a copy. I can’t officially invite her, since I’m not a member of the Brownstoners of Bedstuy. But as a citizen, and supporter, I am urging her to take a look, and maybe swing by to see the wonderful homes our people have derived from what others may have considered obsolete and condemned.

The Brownstoners of Brooklyn are truly wonderful people, and this info should be shared and transmitted to other predominantly Black communities Harlem, the Bronx, Queens, the US, the Caribbean and Africa. This is what it looks like when we work together collaboratively, creatively, and congenially. I just love it. I think you will, too.

See you on the tour.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Obama's CBCF Address Speaks Truth - Meanstream Media Report Speaks Lies

2011-09-29T19:50:00.014-04:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

The following is the official transcript of President Barack Obama’s speech to the audience and guests of the Caucus. You may have read headlines in many newspapers stating "Obama tells Caucus to "Stop Complaining" The headlines of the “meanstream press” obviously focused on the very last sentence of his speech, totally negating the relevance, significance and necessity of the foregoing 28 minutes. You will recall that most of the headlines and the sound bytes from the “meanstream” media quoted one line, while totally ignoring everything else he said. I call this deliberate distortion, disingenuous, biased racist reporting. I have been covering the CBC for 36 years, and have watched as the meanstream (read mainstream) press has either ignored the event all together, or gotten it consistently wrong. It's just not in them to be truthful.

However, I am not surprised, given the fact that these people have a vested interest in making sure that he does not get re-elected next year. What I am surprised at, however, is that a few of our elected officials (notice that I never call them “leaders”), actually made asinine statements in reference to his speech, which, in the main, shows me that they either do not understand where he is coming from, or they have succumbed to the brainwashing.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters is reported to have said that he “would not made such statements to the Jews“. To which I would respectfully respond, “Most likely not, since he isn’t Jewish, and he was addressing the CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS, which is facing a different constituency and a different set of circumstances and challenges.”

Let’s get real. The hardest hit with poverty, health issues, and employment challenges happen to be who? AFRICAN AMERICANS!!! To ignore the 99% of the speech for a line that represents less than 1% of the entire context seems to indicate that we’re not paying attention to what’s up. Time to wake up, and step up the program, or there will be an even larger majority of rep-ugh-blicans in DC in 2012.

If anything, they had better be putting together the means by which the JOBS ACT that Obama has proposed is passed. The big thrust has to be making sure that they stay on point and on message with President Obama, or end up being one trick ponies and the laughing stock of the world for having fumbled the ball twice: once, when they were in the majority for the first time in a long time, and not being able to get things done because of infighting; two, when they limped through the mid-term election, and allowed the Rep-ugh-blicans to become the self fulfilling prophesized majority during the second half of the term, as opposed to holding the line and increasing their numbers.

By the way, this criticism is not just leveled at our elected officials, but at those of us who do the electing - the voting; you and me -we, us!! So the buck is not being passed - it stops right here with all of us. This is what President Obama basically said in his speech - and I back the Brother up all the way. He spoke truth to power, if someone felt it stepped on their toes, so be it. Now, they say that Black folks don't read. It's a new stereotypical form of brainwashing that has been going around for quite some time to dis those of us who do, and who had the value of an education. But on the off chance that some of us might have bought into that pejorative and are now officially part of the sound byte, video streaming generation, you can also VIEW THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS ON YOUTUBE - hellooooo! So you can check it out for yourselves instead of letting meanstream media give you a snow job.

This marks the fourth year that Barack Obama has addressed the Congressional Black Caucus. First as Senator Barack Obama, considering a run for the Presidency, and the three consecutive years that he has addressed them as the President of the United States. First Lady Michelle Obama attended this year for the first time. The Phoenix Awards Dinner is part of the 41st Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and looked gorgeous as always!

The Caucus which officially runs for 4 days, basically starts the week end prior to the open forums, with most of the intense workshops happening during the four-day conference. This year it began on Wednesday Sept. 21, 2011, with the theme “iLead | iServe”, and a focus on “the value and impact of leadership and services within the community. The Caucus is held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, with participants and elected officials from all over the United States, parts of Africa and the Caribbean in attendance. It is one of the most important and prestigious events for African Americans, not to be sullied by some two-bit meanstream report that seeks to undermine its significance. It provides a blueprint for elected officials to follow for the upcoming year, as well as addresses issues unique to the African American experience.

That said, this is the official transcript of PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’s speech at the 41st Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Phoenix Awards Dinner, Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C., Saturday, September 24, 2011.

8:30 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: "Hello, CBC! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. It is wonderful to be with all of you tonight. It’s good to be with the conscience of the Congress. (Applause.) Thank you, Chairman Cleaver and brother Payne, for all that you do each and every day.
Thank you, Dr. Elsie Scott, president and CEO of the CBC Foundation, and all of you for your outstanding work with your internship program, which has done so much for so many young people. And I had a chance to meet some of the young people backstage — an incredible, unbelievably impressive group.

You know, being here with all of you — with all the outstanding members of the Congressional Black Caucus — reminds me of a story that one of our friends, a giant of the civil rights movement, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery, told one day. Dr. Lowery — I don’t think he minds me telling that he turns 90 in a couple weeks. (Applause.) He’s been causing a ruckus for about 89 of those years. (Laughter.)

A few years back, Dr. Lowery and I were together at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma. (Applause.) We’ve got some Selma folks in the house. (Applause.) And Dr. Lowery stood up in the pulpit and told the congregation the story of Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. You know the story — it’s about three young men bold enough to stand up for God, even if it meant being thrown in a furnace. And they survived because of their faith, and because God showed up in that furnace with them.

Now, Dr. Lowery said that those three young men were a little bit crazy. But there’s a difference, he said, between good crazy and bad crazy. (Applause.) Those boys, he said, were “good crazy.” At the time, I was running for president — it was early in the campaign. Nobody gave me much of a chance. He turned to me from the pulpit, and indicated that someone like me running for president — well, that was crazy. (Laughter.) But he supposed it was good crazy.

He was talking about faith, the belief in things not seen, the belief that if you persevere a better day lies ahead. And I suppose the reason I enjoy coming to the CBC — what this weekend is all about is, you and me, we’re all a little bit crazy, but hopefully a good kind of crazy. (Applause.) We’re a good kind of crazy because no matter how hard things get, we keep the faith; we keep fighting; we keep moving forward.

And we’ve needed faith over these last couple years. Times have been hard. It’s been three years since we faced down a crisis that began on Wall Street and then spread to Main Street, and hammered working families, and hammered an already hard-hit black community. The unemployment rate for black folks went up to nearly 17 percent — the highest it’s been in almost three decades; 40 percent, almost, of African American children living in poverty; fewer than half convinced that they can achieve Dr. King’s dream. You’ve got to be a little crazy to have faith during such hard times.

It’s heartbreaking, and it’s frustrating. And I ran for President, and the members of the CBC ran for Congress, to help more Americans reach that dream. (Applause.) We ran to give every child a chance, whether he’s born in Chicago, or she comes from a rural town in the Delta. This crisis has made that job of giving everybody opportunity a little bit harder.

We knew at the outset of my presidency that the economic calamity we faced wasn’t caused overnight and wasn’t going to be solved overnight. We knew that long before the recession hit, the middle class in this country had been falling behind -– wages and incomes had been stagnant; a sense of financial security had been slipping away. And since these problems were not caused overnight, we knew we were going to have to climb a steep hill.

But we got to work. With your help, we started fighting our way back from the brink. And at every step of the way, we’ve faced fierce opposition based on an old idea — the idea that the only way to restore prosperity can’t just be to let every corporation write its own rules, or give out tax breaks to the wealthiest and the most fortunate, and to tell everybody that they’re on their own. There has to be a different concept of what America’s all about. It has to be based on the idea that I am my brother’s keeper and I am my sister’s keeper, and we’re in this together. We are in this thing together. (Applause.)

We had a different vision and so we did what was right, and we fought to extend unemployment insurance, and we fought to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, and we fought to expand the Child Tax Credit — which benefited nearly half of all African American children in this country. (Applause.) And millions of Americans are better off because of that fight. (Applause.)

Ask the family struggling to make ends meet if that extra few hundred dollars in their mother’s paycheck from the payroll tax cut we passed made a difference. They’ll tell you. Ask them how much that Earned Income Tax Credit or that Child Tax Credit makes a difference in paying the bills at the end of the month.

When an army of lobbyists and special interests spent millions to crush Wall Street reform, we stood up for what was right. We said the time has come to protect homeowners from predatory mortgage lenders. The time has come to protect consumers from credit card companies that jacked up rates without warning. (Applause.) We signed the strongest consumer financial protection in history. That’s what we did together. (Applause.)

Remember how many years we tried to stop big banks from collecting taxpayer subsidies for student loans while the cost of college kept slipping out of reach? Together, we put a stop to that once and for all. We used those savings to make college more affordable. We invested in early childhood education and community college and HBCUs. Ask the engineering student at an HBCU who thought he might have to leave school if that extra Pell Grant assistance mattered. (Applause.)

We’re attacking the cycle of poverty that steals the future from too many children — not just by pouring money into a broken system, but by building on what works -– with Promise Neighborhoods modeled after the good work up in Harlem; Choice Neighborhoods rebuilding crumbling public housing into communities of hope and opportunity; Strong Cities, Strong Communities, our partnership with local leaders in hard-hit cities like Cleveland and Detroit. And we overcame years of inaction to win justice for black farmers because of the leadership of the CBC and because we had an administration that was committed to doing the right thing. (Applause.)

And against all sorts of setbacks, when the opposition fought us with everything they had, we finally made clear that in the United States of America nobody should go broke because they get sick. We are better than that. (Applause.) And today, insurance companies can no longer drop or deny your coverage for no good reason. In just a year and a half, about one million more young adults have health insurance because of this law. (Applause.) One million young people. That is an incredible achievement, and we did it with your help, with the CBC’s help. (Applause.)

So in these hard years, we’ve won a lot of fights that needed fighting and we’ve done a lot of good. But we’ve got more work to do. So many people are still hurting. So many people are still barely hanging on. And too many people in this city are still fighting us every step of the way.

So I need your help. We have to do more to put people to work right now. We’ve got to make that everyone in this country gets a fair shake, and a fair shot, and a chance to get ahead. (Applause.) And I know we won’t get where we need to go if we don’t travel down this road together. I need you with me. (Applause.)

That starts with getting this Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. (Applause.) You heard me talk about this plan when I visited Congress a few weeks ago and sent the bill to Congress a few days later. Now I want that bill back — passed. I’ve got the pens all ready. I am ready to sign it. And I need your help to make it happen. (Applause.)

Right now we’ve got millions of construction workers out of a job. So this bill says, let’s put those men and women back to work in their own communities rebuilding our roads and our bridges. Let’s give these folks a job rebuilding our schools. Let’s put these folks to work rehabilitating foreclosed homes in the hardest-hit neighborhoods of Detroit and Atlanta and Washington. This is a no-brainer. (Applause.)
Why should we let China build the newest airports, the fastest railroads? Tell me why our children should be allowed to study in a school that’s falling apart? I don’t want that for my kids or your kids. I don’t want that for any kid. You tell me how it makes sense when we know that education is the most important thing for success in the 21st century. (Applause.) Let’s put our people back to work doing the work America needs done. Let’s pass this jobs bill. (Applause.)

We’ve got millions of unemployed Americans and young people looking for work, but running out of options. So this jobs bill says: let’s give them a pathway, a new pathway back to work. Let’s extend unemployment insurance so that more than six million Americans don’t lose that lifeline. But let’s also encourage reforms that help the long-term unemployed keep their skills sharp and get a foot in the door. Let’s give summer jobs for low-income youth that don’t just give them their first paycheck but arm them with the skills they need for life. (Applause.)

Tell me why we don’t want the unemployed back in the workforce as soon as possible. Let’s pass this jobs bill, put these folks back to work. (Applause.)

Why are we shortchanging our children when we could be putting teachers back in the classroom right now, where they belong? (Applause.) Laying off teachers, laying off police officer, laying off firefighters all across the country because state and local budgets are tough. Why aren’t we helping? We did in the first two years. And then this other crowd came into Congress and now suddenly they want to stop. Tell me why we shouldn’t give companies tax credits for hiring the men and women who’ve risked their lives for this country — our veterans. There is no good answer for that. They shouldn’t be fighting to find a job when they come home. (Applause.)

These Republicans in Congress like to talk about job creators. How about doing something real for job creators? Pass this jobs bill, and every small business owner in America, including 100,000 black-owned businesses, will get a tax cut. (Applause.) You say you’re the party of tax cuts. Pass this jobs bill, and every worker in America, including nearly 20 million African American workers, will get a tax cut. (Applause.) Pass this jobs bill, and prove you’ll fight just as hard for a tax cut for ordinary folks as you do for all your contributors. (Applause.)

These are questions that opponents of this jobs plan will have to answer. Because the kinds of ideas in this plan in the past have been supported by both parties. Suddenly Obama is proposing it — what happened? (Laughter.) What happened? You all used to like to build roads. (Laughter.) Right? What happened? Reverend, you know what happened? I don’t know. They used to love to build some roads. (Laughter.)

Now, I know some of our friends across the aisle won’t support any new spending that’s not paid for. I agree that’s important. So last week, I laid out a plan to pay for the American Jobs Act, and to bring out — down our debt over time. You say the deficit is important? Here we go. I’m ready to go. It’s a plan that says if we want to create jobs and close this deficit, then we’ve got to ask the folks who have benefited most — the wealthiest Americans, the biggest, most profitable corporations — to pay their fair share. (Applause.)

We are not asking them to do anything extraordinary. The reform we’re proposing is based on a simple principle: Middleclass folks should not pay higher tax rates than millionaires and billionaires. (Applause.) That’s not crazy — or it’s good crazy. (Laughter.) Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. A teacher or a nurse or a construction worker making $50,000 a year shouldn’t pay higher tax rates than somebody making $50 million. That’s just common sense.

We’re not doing this to punish success. This is the land of opportunity. I want you to go out, start a business, get rich, build something. Out country is based on the belief that anybody can make it if they put in enough sweat and enough effort. That is wonderful. God bless you. But part of the American idea is also that once we’ve done well we should pay our fair share — (applause) — to make sure that those schools that we were learning in can teach the next generation; that those roads that we benefited from — that they’re not crumbling for the next bunch of folks who are coming behind us; to keep up the nation that made our success possible.

And most wealthy Americans would agree with that. But you know the Republicans are already dusting off their old talking points. That’s class warfare, they say. In fact, in the next breath, they’ll complain that people living in poverty — people who suffered the most over the past decade — don’t pay enough in taxes. That’s bad crazy. (Laughter and applause.)

When you start saying, at a time when the top one-tenth of 1 percent has seen their incomes go up four or five times over the last 20 years, and folks at the bottom have seen their incomes decline — and your response is that you want poor folks to pay more? Give me a break. If asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a janitor makes me a warrior for the working class, I wear that with a badge of honor. I have no problem with that. (Applause.) It’s about time.

They say it kills jobs — oh, that’s going to kill jobs?? We’re not proposing anything other than returning to the tax rates for the wealthiest Americans that existed under Bill Clinton. I played golf with Bill Clinton today. I was asking him, how did that go? (Laughter.) Well, it turns out we had a lot of jobs. The well-to-do, they did even better. So did the middle class. We lifted millions out of poverty. And then we cut taxes for folks like me, and we went through a decade of zero job growth.

So this isn’t speculation. We’ve tested this out. We tried their theory; didn’t work. Tried our theory; it worked. We shouldn’t be confused about this. (Applause.)

This debate is about priorities. If we want to create new jobs and close the deficit and invest in our future, the money has got to come from somewhere. And so, should we keep tax loopholes for big oil companies? Or should we put construction workers and teachers back on the job? (Applause.) Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we invest in our children’s education and college aid? Should we ask seniors to be paying thousands of dollars more for Medicare, as the House Republicans propose, or take young folks’ health care away? Or should we ask that everybody pay their fair share?

This is about fairness. And this is about who we are as a country. This is about our commitment to future generations.

When Michelle and I think about where we came from — a little girl on the South Side of Chicago, son of a single mom in Hawaii — mother had to go to school on scholarships, sometimes got food stamps. Michelle’s parents never owned their own home until she had already graduated — living upstairs above the aunt who actually owned the house. We are here today only because our parents and our grandparents, they broke their backs to support us. (Applause.)

But they also understood that they would get a little bit of help from their country. Because they met their responsibilities, this country would also be responsible, would also provide good public schools, would also provide recreation — parks that were safe, making sure that they could take the bus without getting beat over the head, making sure that their kids would be able to go to college even if they weren’t rich.

We’re only here because past generations struggled and sacrificed for this incredible, exceptional idea that it does not matter where you come from, it does not matter where you’re born, doesn’t matter what you look like — if you’re willing to put in an effort, you should get a shot. You should get a shot at the American Dream. (Applause.)
And each night, when we tuck in our girls at the White House, I think about keeping that dream alive for them and for all of our children. And that’s now up to us. And that’s hard. This is harder than it’s been in a long, long time. We’re going through something we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.

And I know at times that gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of you all. (Laughter.) I understand that. And nobody feels that burden more than I do. Because I know how much we have invested in making sure that we’re able to move this country forward. But you know, more than a lot of other folks in this country, we know about hard. The people in this room know about hard. (Applause.) And we don’t give in to discouragement.

Throughout our history, change has often come slowly. Progress often takes time. We take a step forward, sometimes we take two steps back. Sometimes we get two steps forward and one step back. But it’s never a straight line. It’s never easy. And I never promised easy. Easy has never been promised to us. But we’ve had faith. We have had faith. We’ve had that good kind of crazy that says, you can’t stop marching. (Applause.)

Even when folks are hitting you over the head, you can’t stop marching. Even when they’re turning the hoses on you, you can’t stop. (Applause.) Even when somebody fires you for speaking out, you can’t stop. (Applause.) Even when it looks like there’s no way, you find a way — you can’t stop. (Applause.) Through the mud and the muck and the driving rain, we don’t stop. Because we know the rightness of our cause — widening the circle of opportunity, standing up for everybody’s opportunities, increasing each other’s prosperity. We know our cause is just. It’s a righteous cause.

So in the face of troopers and teargas, folks stood unafraid. Led somebody like John Lewis to wake up after getting beaten within an inch of his life on Sunday — he wakes up on Monday: We’re going to go march. (Applause.)

Dr. King once said: “Before we reach the majestic shores of the Promised Land, there is a frustrating and bewildering wilderness ahead. We must still face prodigious hilltops of opposition and gigantic mountains of resistance. But with patient and firm determination we will press on.” (Applause.)

So I don’t know about you, CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. (Applause.) With patient and firm determination, I am going to press on for jobs. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for equality. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for the sake of our children. (Applause.) I’m going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I am going to press on. (Applause.)
I expect all of you to march with me and press on. (Applause.) Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. (Applause.) Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC. (Applause.)

God bless you, and God bless the United States of America." (Applause.) END
8:58 P.M. EDT

Now that you know the truth, I do hope you will make it your business to share this speech and the video with all your friends, relatives, associates, co-workers, enemies (especially them); clergy, educators (who should be playing it in school, or after Sunday Service). If we can watch all the other madness on TV, we can certainly take the time out to check in on what OUR PRESIDENT is saying first hand.

Other ways to keep up with what is actually happening with President Obama is to log on to the White House. They give a daily briefing and update of the President's activities, speeches, and proposed legislations. We cannot afford to be spoon-fed poison from those who would rather see us subjugated to pre-civil rights, voting rights era when we were at the back of the bus, the bottom of the heap, the last to be, do, have anything. We either seize the time and opportunity now, or pull the dirt up over ourselves and save them the trouble of burying us alive.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

RACISTS IN SOUTH EXECUTE TOY ANYWAY - SO MUCH FOR JUSTICE

2011-09-22T04:56:00.006-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Just received this notification from Ben Jealous that Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. And I had a "why am I not surprised" reaction to the news. Even though I had signed the petition to save this brother's life, I knew these racists had already set their minds on killing him. It's an interesting game of pushme/pullyou - the more we beg, plead, present arguments, reason, and logic, the more pleased they are that they have a certain power, and the less likely they are to be - what - "merciful, reasonable, compassionate" ?? They love it when we beg, it makes their "no" even that much sweeter to them. They could give two sh-ts about justice when it comes to Black people, and they've proven it over and over and over and over... you get my drift.

So this is the response I penned to brother Ben Jealous, at 5:00 AM, September 22, 2011:

Cut to the chase Ben:

It was the racist south thumbing their noses at Black people, showing who and what they really are - for all the world to see. They still hold to their statement that a Black man has no rights that a white man is bound to respect. And so it goes on and on and on. We have to stop anesthetizing Black people to this b.s. and get them to see the evil for who and what it is.

Two cops in New York City, who were patently guilty of rape, were set free -- and they were seen on video tape!!!!

A french "duplomut" was allowed to walk after accosting a Black African woman who stood up for her rights as a woman. Their excuse, she told too many stories. Oh, really??? Let her have been a white woman and he a Black diplomat - they would have detained him until hell froze over.

I know you get it my brother. I know you understand exactly what happened here. But it's hard to admit that 40+ years after the Civil Rights Act was passed in these United States, that the beat and the racism goes on unabated.

What drove it home for me was the percent of Black people living in the US. When I was a kid in high school, we were 23% of the population -nationally - we have, in 40 short years gone from 23% to 12%. Where are the other 13%? Did they evaporate? Did they move out of the country? Where are they? or rather, where are we? Between drugs, accidental shootings in the back; diseases we never heard of before; medical mal practice, environmental racism and a whole host of things, they have managed to quietly decimate the Black population. (Of course, some of this is self inflicted, via Black on Black crimes, gang activities, abortions, etc.)

I guess I was kind of hoping against hope that the red necks would back off for once in their little miserable lives. They've been so busy lately. But apparently they never tire of making other people's lives miserable. (Sorry, I'm being a little blatantly Black - I'm also quite infuriated that they had the audacity to go forth with the execution. So, in reality, I'm writing with a great deal of restraint - I have other more graphic terms, but it would sully my Blog.)

So, no Troy's name won't be forgotten - But more importantly, let's not forget what the circumstances were, and who had a hand in making it happen; as well as who did nothing to prevent it from happening. Time to take a new tone - take a new stand - come to a new reality - overcoming some day is definitely not soon enough. I also want Black Americans (as well as the rest of our Black people) to also begin to really screen the stuff they watch on TV. There is a not-so-subtle form of brainwashing going, and we're buying in to it. No more Vampire shows - we got enough blood suckers in Congress - spend your time on how to exorcise them. No more just allowing them to feed you their version of the "news". Time to question motives, reasons, options, and what it means to, for, and about us.

And we have to change the verse to the song "We Shall Over Come". It puts our victory in a perpetual state of futurity - We need to; must; have to; had better over come NOW!!! Some Day ain't soon enough.

Later will definitely be to late. They are like dogs; once they bite you and taste your blood, they never stop, because, quite frankly, they enjoy it.

Also, any and all individuals who do not support Barack Obama for re-election in 2012, may as well take the gun and shoot themselves in the foot now - and it doesn't matter which one, right or left because you will be just as lame regardless. Don't sit there and let these vultures in the meanstream media convince you that the President is not doing his job. It's all part of the propaganda to show that "the white man's ice is colder" and you don't have the complexion for the connection (got that from Paul Mooney).

Time for the New NAACP to move the agenda forward.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Ben Jealous's Letter Follows:
On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 12:09 AM, Ben Jealous, NAACP wrote:
NAACP
Dear Gloria,
Tonight the State of Georgia has killed an innocent man.

In recent weeks, we fought hard for the commutation of Troy Davis' sentence. More than one million of your petitions were delivered. Protests, rallies and vigils were organized around the globe. Tonight, we fasted and prayed together as a community.

I have spent the past week with Troy's family. He wanted the world to know that he understood that this struggle goes beyond just one man. Troy was prepared to die tonight. As he said again and again, the state of Georgia only held the power to take his physical body. They could not take his spirit, because he gave his life to God.

Let's remember and heed Troy's words: We must not let them kill our spirit, either.

Troy's execution, the exceptional unfairness of it, will only hasten the end of the death penalty in the United States. The world will remember the name of Troy Anthony Davis. In death he will live on as a symbol of a broken justice system that kills an innocent man while a murderer walks free.

The world will remember Troy's name, as the death penalty supporters who expressed doubt in this case begin to doubt an entire system that can execute a man amidst so many unanswered questions.

The world will remember Troy's name, as death penalty opponents who remained silent in the past realize that their silence is no longer an option.

The world will remember Troy's name because we will commemorate September 21st each year as both a solemn anniversary and a call to action. The night they put Troy Davis to death will become an annual reminder that justice will not be achieved until we end this brutal practice of capital punishment.

"This movement," Troy said, "started before I was born." After tonight, our movement will grow stronger until we succeed in destroying the death penalty in the United States once and for all.

I know you will join me. Together we will secure his legacy, and the world will remember the name Troy Anthony Davis.

In solidarity,

Ben Jealous
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BLACK INDIANS: The Ancestors Will Trouble Our Dreams and Shorten Our Days If we Don't Stand UP

2011-09-17T00:13:00.007-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Many a Black person has had the occasion to say, proudly, at some point in their lives, “I have Indian in my family.” It has been known for hundreds of years that Blacks and Indians in the US intermarried extensively, from the East Coast, the South West, the Wild Wild West, and to a small extent, the Northwest.

Certainly the largest numbers of Black and Indian marriages and family lines emanated from the South (Georgia, North and South Carolina, and parts of Florida) and Oklahoma.

Those of you who have been reading either the Black List or my gloriadulanwilson.blogspot have been keeping abreast of a heinous matter roiling out of control in Oklahoma (my homestate)- a state that started out as deeded Indian Territory. Some of you have even heard of the arduous “trail of tears” over which the Cherokee, Seminoles,and other tribes, along with their Black slaves and intermarried wives, trudged in a fierce winter, and died in the early 1800’s, as the result of being given blankets infested with a highly contagious form of smallpox (thanks to famous redneck Andrew Jackson - then President of the US).

From the outset the Oklahoma Territory was inhabited by Blacks and Indians, many of whom had intermarried, built homes,raised families, opened and ran businesses, communities together. Initially, whites were forbidden to go there; and were kept out for 85 years. As a result, we thrived, and built lovely homes, communities, educated our children. We were kool.

To this day, the state of Oklahoma is still inhabited by Blacks and Indians, many of whom are still married, and have homes, businesses and family ties and communities together. But now, things are not as kool as they used to be.

This latest insult on the part of the Cherokee nation, misled by (--I have to say it - wait for it - ) a half-breed whose white ancestry has obviously made him even more of a red neck than most rednecks in the region (and trust me we do have our share). His machinations and manipulations, started by a promise of lucrative funds, have now led to the vote in the Cherokee Supreme Court calling for the ouster of the descendents of Freedman (Oklahomans who are descendants of former slaves who were given full Cherokee Nation rights in 1866 - after the Civil War.

Now, of course these were the former slaves who were "owned" by Indians during the Civil War, who were stupid enough to side with the South. They lost, so they had to abide by the rules. These were not the Indians who originally migrated to Oklahoma with their former "slaves" during the early 1800's, and who had been enjoying life in Oklahoma before, during and after the Civil War. In fact the earlier Black and Indian settlers were none too happy to have the post Civil War crew move in.

Where we once got along and had mutual interests for the most part, things really began to devolve after the Oklahoma Run (read Ruin) of 1889 (April 22, to be exact). The first thing they brought in was Jim Crow, and a whole host of other racist policies - some of which they weren't able to carry through simply because we Blacks had guns, and didn't play.

However as they began to change the tenor of the territory, things degenerated, and eventually the racism was pervasive. The stupid thing is that the Cherokee nation is claiming that the Blacks are no longer part of the tribe as though there were some magic way of unmixing blood. (I know I said this already, but it bears repeating). My DNA, my mother's, father's brother's, sister's, uncle's (not to mention my grandparents - you know ad infinitum) ain't gonna change.

And this ouster seems to be aimed at only 2800 people. And I had to ask myself "why?" As I was conjecturing why the number was so small - a mere 2800 Freedmen - the answer appeared in an article that appeared in the Blacklist, written by Achoctaw1866, to wit: “the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has managed to reduce the Freedmen Struggle in the media to just 2800 “registered” Cherokee Freedmen, effectively locking out all other Cherokee Freedmen eligible for modern Citizenship enrollment, numbered in the thousands, pulling media away from dissent from Advocates for all other Freedmen.”

Well, I for one don’t plan to allow them to get away with that. This is not a box canyon where you can herd off the few and send the rest on their way as though it has nothing to do with them. In the Black community, regardless of who is in our gene pool, it’s one for all and all for one! And we are all just as outraged as those 2800 brothers and sisters you are trying to jerk around.

I am personally calling on all our people, regardless of the percent of melanin you have in your skin, to stand together for the Black people of Indian heritage regardless of whether they reside in Oklahoma, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Oregon, or anywhere else - living or dead - Because by this action the Cherokee Nation has declared that Black people are under siege.

This is not something that you have philosophical debates about. It’s not even something that you sit back and wait for the White House to take a stand on, even though they are definitely taking note of this debacle - this is about who and what we are in the 21st Century.

There was a phrase that appeared at the end of a movie that said: “If No One Else Will Save You, Save Yourself!“ We have to be the heroes and the freedom we are looking for. Another saying from Africa says: “If the people will lead, the leaders will follow.“ Well WE are those people. We are the people who have to stand up for ourselves.

Maybe we need to be about riding in on Oklahoma and giving the Cherokees a first hand knowledge of what it looks like when a Million Black (and Black Indian) people ride down on their behinds. Maybe the march should not be on Washington, or on DC. Maybe the next Million People March needs to be on Oklahoma - Tallequah.

Black and Black Indian Oklahomans need to open up a can of "Wisconsin" on their bogus legislators who sit on their haunches and do nothing (smile up their sleeves as they watch this mess evolve).

According to AChoctaw1866: “Freedmen People feel that continued disrespect and overt intolerance of our humanity will no longer be endured quietly, now or in the future and Black Indians will not back down, even if it appears that we only have a slingshot or hatchet with which to wage an effective campaign. One must not forget that we are imbued with a self-determined propensity to protect rights encoded in our melanated DNA. Freedmen have elicited a response from the White House upon the illegal disenfranchisement of Freedmen People, Deprivation of Nationality, Citizenship and denial of access to their Treaty Mandated Rights.”

She further states: “Yet, it is also indicative of defeat, and a major failure by the White House to reach beyond a reluctant tight-fisted grudging nod to a mere 2,800 Black Cherokees, to clarify the status and treatment of all other Ethnic Indians Freedmen and Tribal Peoples in North America also having African Ancestry numbering in the several hundred thousands of eligible disenfranchised descendants (i.e., Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole Negro Scouts, Creek Freedmen, Mississippi Choctaw, and others) treated the same way in today‘s Indian Country, while their stories have been buried under attention paid only to the plight of Cherokee Freedmen.”

It’s time to bring the Indian Reorganization Act into the 21st Century. Now. Forget about the “cherry picking” of issues one at a time so as to not disturb or upset the so-called nation. Let’s pull the scab off and let the healing begin! It’s time to implement the requests by collective Freedmen People to invoke, implement or proclaim a Presidential or Congressional Enactment making it mandatory for all Tribal Nations and the U.S. Government to respect and/or adhere to the Treaty Rights of all the aforementioned Peoples, or face the legal consequences, immediately if not sooner! Apparently when the Civil Rights act was passed, they forgot to “enforce them within the Tribal Nation and Federal Laws as codified in the Indian Reorganization Act.”

The bottom line is that having failed to do it right the first time around has exacerbated the situation. Many of the issues originally handled by the previous organization was turned over to a hostile entity called the US Court of Claims. It appears that it is amusing to pit people of different cultures against each other and play the game of “keep away” while they try to work things out.

According to the AChoctaw1866, “{since} claims are met with challenges that the U.S. Court of Claims are not compelled to hear such claims, then the hurdle that Freedmen actions are time-barred, after which comes the extreme burden of overcoming Tribal Nation and U.S. Sovereignty. None are charitable enough to waive Sovereign Rights to weigh Freedmen Rights fairly, depriving them of much deserved Due Process. This is why Freedmen Tribes must stand on their own acumen as Nations to challenge other Sovereigns in Nation to Nation actions.” (also known as "Catch 22).

At this point I am only paraphrasing this article; to read it in its entirety check out BlackList.net, or http://newsone.com/nation/associatedpress3/cherokee-nation-will-restore-rights-for-black-cherokees/. My main purpose is pulling out certain salient points is to make you aware that the tactics of Divide and Conquer are being used by the mainstream to put two under served cultures against each other. The oppressed oppressing another oppressed with the assistance of the oppressor (under the guise of trying to “help” is nothing new. Whole tribal wars have been developed by these very means. And while these two entities are fighting each other, the catalyst in the middle walks off with the whole pie.

Sound familiar? Recognize a pattern? And unfortunately, showing their true colors and snake heart for being all too willing to serve as the pawns in this mess are my Cherokee brothers and sisters, who have now shown themselves to be as dumb and gullible as the tribe who paid the Republican representative $7million to introduce them to people who would give them lucrative contracts, only to end up bankrupt.

You and I both know that our ancestors will trouble your dreams and shorten your lives upon this earth if you continue with this line of action. And they will likewise do the same to us if we don’t stand together against you for such a stupid, foolish, selfish, ignorant, destructive act. Go look in the mirror at your tongue and tell me the shape!

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK (and Indian)
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

SUPPORT THE Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund

Medgar Evers Coalition: Keeping the Pressure On

2011-09-15T08:30:00.005-04:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

The following is a reprint of a joint statement to the press from the
Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity
(MECCoalition@gmail.com | www.MEfortheCommunity.org), I am including it here because I want to start the year off right (the academic year) with Brooklyn, CUNY, Pollard, Johnson, the students at MEC, faculty, and other individuals who are interested in justice being served, that we not only have not given up on the removal of Pollard as ersatz president of the New York's only Black college, but we have, and will continue, to upstep the pressure.

This statement is to be shared, reprinted, put out as a flyer, a poster, and definitely a reminder that the actions on the part of the Chancellor and other are in violation to the well being of the faculty, administration, women students as well as female professional, who have been putting forth best efforts to be of service to the college.

It also speaks to the favoritism accorded the MEC administrator that would not be acceptable at any of the other senior colleges under the City University Umbrella. Somehow, because subconsciously Blacks have been relegated to the level of second class citizen, suspect of wrong doing, but not worthy of protection from "wrongdoers", these issues have been allowed to languish, with no direct action, and no incisive investigation. But the MEC Coalition will neither allow them to be ignored nor swept under the proverbial rug. They have to be dealt with here and now, on our time, not when the Chancellor get's damned good and ready. The phrase "justice delayed, is justice denied is as relevant here as it has been throughout the history of civil rights, where those who have ulterior motives, have used their position to circumvent justice and the rule of law.

The PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE MEDGAR EVERS COALITION FOLLOWS:

Public Statement for Immediate Release September 14, 2011

Sexual Harassment Charges Against MEC President and Provost.

No Action by CUNY. The MEC Coalition Continues Its Call for Resignations!

Sexual harassment at Medgar Evers College, CUNY (MEC) is the latest charge against the new administration, led by President William Pollard and Provost Howard C. Johnson. The Medgar Evers College Coalition for Academic Excellence and Mission Integrity (The Coalition) calls on CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein to intervene and take action. The Medgar Evers College administration must be held accountable and must address these allegations.

Most of the sex discrimination accusations focus on the improper actions of Provost Johnson. These instances compound several prior actions taken against women in leadership positions by the president and provost. In addition, there are continuing issues regarding gender inequity in executive employment at the College. Specifically, although there are numerous male executives, Medgar Evers College does not have a single female executive at the vice president or higher level. Viewed collectively, these acts form a clear pattern of disrespect and discrimination against women by the College’s top leadership.

For example, Dr. Gale Gibson, the Dean of Freshman Studies, complained that Provost Johnson made "nasty jokes" questioning the paternity of her child while she was pregnant last year. Dr. Gibson called the situation “emotionally stressful. It was disturbing because I was seven months pregnant. I felt like these people were trying to make me lose my baby!”

These inappropriate comments were followed by a salacious email that circulated throughout the campus. Gibson's lawyer reports that Medgar Evers' legal counsel assured that they would investigate the claims, but to date, according to Gibson’s lawyer "no investigation has been launched." Dr. Gibson has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Provost Johnson.

Just last week, television news journalist Pablo Guzman of WCBS News interviewed Dr. Zulema Blair, another female academic at Medgar Evers College, who is also filing charges against the College. Dr. Blair was terminated by the administration after she was the target of the same vicious, sexually harassing email that circulated throughout the campus. Until the fall 2011, Dr. Blair was the chairperson of the College’s Public Administration Department.

Prior discrimination complaints include the administration’s demoting of a female Vice President, removing the elected female chair of the Education Department, and threatening to remove another woman academic who is an elected department chair.

The College has failed to resolve this imbalance. Even more egregious is that although the complaints against Pollard and Johnson continue to mount, CUNY’s leadership has failed to acknowledge or act on any of these matters.

These most recent complaints are a part of what The Coalition has highlighted during its “What’s Going On at Medgar?” public awareness campaign. Since last year, The Coalition has challenged the administration on the following issues: the ongoing low morale, its inability to engage faculty and staff, its failure to reinstitute the student writing center which was eliminated, and its failure to implement an academic strategic plan. The Coalition also claims that the excessive hiring of administrators and consultants has far outweighed the hiring of new faculty in academic departments (which have lost veteran faculty). Other issues include a lack of new degree programs, a decrease in the retention and graduation rates of students, and the spurious removal of qualified adjunct faculty from academic departments.

Although the complaints have mounted since the new administration took office in 2009, nothing is being done. These attacks against women at Medgar Evers College, where women constitute 70% of the student popular, must end. If the College’s administration fails to act, then CUNY must make them act. The CUNY chancellor must stop supporting the misdeeds of this administration.

The Coalition repeats its call for the removal of William Pollard as President and Howard Johnson as Provost. Medgar Evers College women, students, faculty, and the community deserve better." ###

A recent article appearing the Amsterdam News also highlights the fact that the MEC Coaltion is still dedicated and determined to return MEC to its original mission and covenant with the community. Meetings are being held throughout the community, from household to household to ensure that the residents are fully apprised of the efforts to undermine the 20+ years of steady progress the college had made under former President Edison O. Jackson, and now all but decimated in less than two years via the combined efforts of Chancellor Goldstein, (ersatz) president Pollard, and Johnson.

While the current MEC student body appears to not yet have fully grasped the meaning of the issues and incidents roiling around them, they are fortunate to be in the company and under the protection of adults who cut their teeth on the Civil Rights era, and can smell discrimination and racism mile away. It was these very individuals, many of them whom were students at the time themselves, that participated in the original civil rights movements throughout the United States, which historically changed the course of action against Black people throughout the world. The unfortunate circumstances at MEC are exacerbated by the fact that our contemporary youth have had little to no direct discriminatory experience (that they are aware of); so the urgency of the matter does not register with many of our youth the way it does with the senior elements in the community.

I am going out on a limb and state unequivocally that the Black community in Crown Heights is facing removal; elimination, attrition, and extinction, unless they take some solid actions now to consolidate their efforts to save their homes and community, as well as Medgar Evers College.

Little to no effort to enforce or encourage Black families in the purchase and renovation of abandoned over priced homes in the area, while importing groups to come in from other areas to supplant our families; the blatant oversight of alerting the community and community board to the recent release of the US Armory into public service by the State without taking into consideration that the community would benefit from having such a facility.

The issues of MEC would not be a long drawn out affair had it been Fordham, City College, Brooklyn College, and some of the other major schools. Medgar Evers College is the only Black college in New York, and it's ours, and we'd better take care of it or be a marker on a slab on a corner of a street in Crown Heights, Bed Stuy and Flatbush, showing that "Black people used to live here!"

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Is the NYPD Attempt to Block Historic AFRICAN DAY PARADE IN CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT Racist or ???

2011-09-14T15:55:00.006-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

You know, I love a parade. Especially when we do it ourselves. That's why I never miss the West Indian Day Parade every year down Eastern Parkway. The music, the color, the costumes, the pride, the crowds - they are all us! And despite the fact that the NYPD made the stupid mistake of arresting Jumaani Williams for being City Council rep while Black (and these cops were allegedly Black themselves), it was still not enough to mar my love of our parades.

So when I was asked to work as Executive Coordinator of the African (Heritage) Day Parade, I was honored. With all the beautiful, wonder, craftmanship, colors, and music coming out of Africa, this was sure to be a beautiful event. Particularly since it's the only parade of its kind where Africans from all over Africa, residing in New York, New Jersey and other eastern seaboard states, come together to show their pride and love for the Motherland, and for those of us who were brought here via the middle passage, and other means.

That would give New York three signature parades coordinated by people of African Heritage: West Indian Day Parade; the African American Day Parade, and the African (Heritage) Day Parade. The third being an all encompassing event bringing together the 6th Dispora, as well as the 54 countries on the Continent of Africa.

The African (Heritage) Day Parade is set to take place in Harlem On October 9, 2011, but the group is having difficulty is getting an innocuous parade permit so they can go forward with their plans and publications. The permit was already granted on July 5, but the route was changed from the original selecton. In the grand scheme of things we have a constitution that asserts all men (and women) are created equal, but we have some in official capacities who seem to have not gotten the message, or don't care.

I have actually not written about this, hoping that nature would take its course, intelligent minds would come into play and that our African brothers and sisters would get the same opportunity to display their pride and unity that so many others have accorded - so I've reserved comment. But now, they have gone from the ridiculous to the outrageous.

I have to talk about it, and I'm going to do it by a somewhat circuitous route, but I think you'll get my drift when I'm done:

When I was a student at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, some of my friends from Kenya and I were driving through the backwoods along the Baltimore Pike when we came upon an eerie scene: that of several hundred men dressed in white robes with hoods in front of a burning cross. It was the KKK and they had threatened to come on our campus to run us out of there - the year was 1967, and we were actually accompanying a classmate, Maxine Stewart, to a prayer vigil, in nearby Dover, Delaware.

Having never seen anything like it before in my life, I found it hard to breathe. My African brothers had likewise never seen anything like this either, and so, insisted upon going back for a closer look. And no matter how much we protested the idea, they turned that little VW Beetle, stuffed with 9 students (no seat belts, sitting on top of each other, the whole 9 yards!) around. And back we went for a closer look at these miscreants. As we approached, we observed that there were several police cars from Oxford, PA and Maryland there as well, many with the robes prominently displayed in the windows. But, this time things were different. They spotted us, and this time 2 cop cars drove up on either side and forced us to pull over. Another cop came out of no where and made us get out of the car - all 9 of us! Wanting to know what we were doing there. And I, yours truly, was totally speechless for once.

After a few invectives, one of my Kenyan friends said in a small stammer "Diplomatic Immunity!" I tried to warn him to be careful. But he kept saying it over and over again: "Diplomatic Immunity! We have Diplomatic Immunity!" He said it so long and so loud until finally, one of the police in KKK uniform heard him and quieted his companions - of course by this time we were less than 3 feet away from the bonfire, and they promised us that we would each have first hand looks.

"Hey! Wait a minute! These are n-gg-rs with foreign accents. We can't touch them!! If we do they'll be all over us. We gotta let 'em go." It took an officer with a higher ranking to understand that the incident could quickly escalate to an international one, had they continued to push us towards the burning cross.

And almost miraculously, they started dragging us back to the car. Made us get in at gun point, and escorted us back to the campus, telling us if we breathed a word about what had happened they would come on the campus and get us. By the time they escorted us back to Lincoln University campus, the Delaware Star (a racist white paper that had no doubt been told that we were going to be immolated), tried to interview us. They were looking for fear. I wouldn't say anything, but my Homeboys from Kenya told all. Of course, the KKK has never raided Lincoln University (we were prepared for them back in those days), but the fact that there was collusion between the racist forces and the mainstream white police has never been a surprise to me, whether we are in the South or in the North, since that day.

Now what does that have to do with the upcoming African (Heritage) Day Parade, and the withholding of the permits? Just this: On July 5, Kone Momadou, of the Ivory Coast, applied for a parade permit to hold a parade in Harlem that would be coordinated by Africans residing in New York, and people of African Descent to demonstrate their pride and accomplishments over the past few years. The originally requested route was from 142 and Malcolm X (Lenox) Blvd., and 122nd and Marcus Garvey Park (following which there would also be a street festival and other events.

From the outset, Lt. O'Conner has reportedly been playing cat and mouse games with this group, from arbitrarily shortening the route, to holding up the parade permit when Mr. Momadou asked for reconsideration based on the size and magnitude of the event.

The Parade, which is set for Sunday, October 9, 2011, has been in the making now for the past two months, including contacts with the diplomatic core of Africa, the Caribbean, and other entities. Requests for reconsideration have likewise gone out via individuals who have given them assurances that these issues would be rectified. However we sit today with O'Conner still playing keep away games with the parade permit. Now trying to further truncate the parade to an even shorter, more proscribed route.

Is there some sort of cognitive dissonace withing the NYPD that emanates from the Mayor's office of community relations that people of other countries who reside within the borders of New York are not worthy of being accorded simple courtesy and respect they give the Chinese, Koreans, Puerto Ricans, Brazilians, and others.

Our African and sisters who live in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area, are from all of the various regions of Africa -- East, West, North and Central, but appear to have no coinage for respect in New York City. Amazing, isn't it, when you consider that the fact that over half of the Africans in the US happen to reside in New York City, Philadelphia and DC. By the way, they are merchants, own businesses, pay taxes, are well educated, and for the most part, stay out of trouble.

So, I guess we have to chalk it up to the fact that the some of the police in authority for permits in the Black community, may likewise have "white robes" in the back of their vehicles, like the ones I dealt with long ago on the Maryland Pennsylvania State Line. WE are all Black, whether we are here, or from Africa, and are worthy of respect and consideration. We are neither n----ers with foreign accents, but assets to the community, with even broader connections spanning four continents.

While I've been told that they are shortening all the parades, I doubt seriously this is true of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; the Columbus Day Parade, the St. Patrick Day Parade, etc.

I and others in the community urge you to give them the permit which had already been signed by you, and stop jerking them and the citizens of New York City around, with arbitrary rules, made up for your convenience, not for the needs or the wishes of the community that you purport to service.

It's time to respect those who are still residing in our beloved city, and stop treating them like they have no value. Unless, of course, the idea is to transform NYC into some quasi militarized, gestapo city, where people are goosestepping along, instead of living their lives in a harmonious, enjoyable fashion.

READERS AND FELLOW BLOGGERS: Below is an excerpt from a letter from Mr. Momadou requesting assistance in rectifying this situation. We need your help. Please contact the Mayor or Commissioner's office and urge them to reinstate the Parade Permit and the Parade Route for the African Day Parade. You can also contact the African Day Parade Committee (646)934-7337.

"Dear Sir:

I was informed by Detective Leslie Leon about the meeting with Lieutenant O Connor. We initially asked for the parade to be from 142 and Lenox ave., to 122 and Marcus Garvey Park, where our festivities would continue until 8:PM. The permit was granted, but Chief O'Connor shortened it to 135th Street. When we tried to negotiate it to 142nd street, to be able to use MiniSink Town House as a staging area; O'conner held the permit. Now he is trying to shorten the route even further, and to change it completely, taking to from 135th street to 122nd street on Lenox and changing it to 112th street to 120th street on Lenox. While both route has the same amount of bloks. they are two totally different neighborhoods. This is our fifth parade, but already we have lost a year in 2011 because of lack of funds. We do not want to loose another year, and we are just two to 3 week away from the parade date.

We applied for the 2 consecutive years to use 142th Street to 122nd street on Lenox, we are again appealing to you to take this matter higher to the commissioner so he can allow us to use the the route we applied for.

We already made an effort for not allowing us to use more blocks, I think we would be able to be where the African are, the reason the parade didn't happen last year it s because of the same reason this year again, Mr. President you been at the African day parade as a Grand Marshall, we can say today that is one of the most successful and bigger African Events. The police Commissioner has been there as a grand Marshall.

The African Day Parade is more than just a parade, this is a showcase of our heritage and culture. the reason we want to used the 142nd street is beceause we have a school right there where we can do our ritual: in 2008 when we parade on 126 street we came upstairs and saw how we prepare.

We are bringing 20 very sacred masks from Cameroon, they need the school to prepare, we are doing the king and queen presentation this year , we need the school classroom to prepare that.

Mr. President as a leader of the African Community , you know how hard it is to assemble the Africans. An event like the African day Parade is trying to find the balance to get the Africans out early so they can come and celebrate their own culture. The blocks on Lenox are very small. In our parade you can see that we do not have barricade and large police present, cause we parade to showcase our culture and tradition; we would like you to be our advocate to the Chief, or the Commissioner, our request is to parade from from uptown side to south down to 122nd street with the same amount of blocks.

- We have all of our application and permits, we are asking for a route who will reflect our culture , on Lenox we will parade in front of African stores and businesses, and African restaurants. To keep changing route and location is not a good practice for us or the participants....Kone Momadou"

Please write, call, meet with and contact the Police Commissioner, Chief of Police and those in the Harlem area to let them know that you support the parade being allowed its full route, as well as the opportunity of displaying African Pride in Harlem, NYC.
Thanks and
STAY BLESSED &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

African and African American Event Alerts: NY - DC Stand Up Now

2011-09-13T05:55:00.003-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

As you know the subtitle to my Blog is Eclectically Black. That's because I'm as concerned about what happens to our brothers and sisters in Africa (a.k.a MotherLand), the Caribbean, South and Central America, and anywhere else we Black people may be, whether we were born there or transported via those heinous vessels during the middle passage of the TransAtlantic Slave trade.

That said, there are two event alerts here that I hope you will take advantage of and participate in.

1) HARLEM, USA:
TODAY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011

SAVE THE PRESIDENCY OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
At the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building, 125th & Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. (7th ave to the uninitiated)

WHO: Clergy and Providers for Racial Healthcare Equality are presenting a Gathering and a Town Hall Meeting
12:00 NOON til 4:00 - Gathering
6:30 - 9:00 PM Town Hall Meeting

I just received this info from Rev. Dennis Dillon, who I believe is one of the few Black prosperity ministers, along with Rev. Floyd Flake. I attended the ordination of my friend Yolanda Brown at his church, Sunday, September 11, 2011.

Join Rev. Clyde Anderson, Rev.Luonne Rouse, Hugh Wyatt, members of the organiation, who will be joined by other clergy, physicians, nurses, union officials, social workers, and civil rights organizations to reveal strategies to save the Presidency of President Barack Obama.

The re=election of President Obama is key to preserving ObamaCare and other civil rights gains made by African Americans and other people of color over the past few years, gains that would not have been made without President Obama in the leadership role; gains the rep-ugh-blicans are looking to completely dismantle unless we take a stand and stand together.

Don't let the pundits, the negrified mouthpieces, and the meanstream media fool you - President Obama is the most effective president this nation has ever had. They are trying to turn back the clock , and we are all under verbal, propagandistic, legislative, budgetary and psychological assaults by Conservatives, teabaggers, and dumb negroes who think they are being objective.

We cannot allow them to take the victory away, and we can't stand and watch while they try to divide and conquer us state by state, city by city, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Be there with your good ideas and your support.

SHOWDOWN IN DC FOR THE CAMEROONS UPCOMNG ELECTION: Fairness & Transparency in Cameroon's Next Presidential Election

This is an emergency EVENT ALERT from my friend P. Sylvie Yonke, of the Camerouns, West Africa, which states that:

"On Tuesday September 13, at 2pm there will be a Demonstration Against Elecam, in Washington, DC. Please regardless of your party affiliation and if you are in DC or surrounding please get out and demonstrate!"

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 crom 2:00pm to 3:30pm; at the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Center, 6th Floor Flom Auditorium, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, between 13th and 14th Sts NW, Washington DC 20004. (Closest metro stations: Federal Triangle or Metro Center).For additional information or directions call, 202-691-4000

"Please let us make sure this evil man of biya paul and the sycophants working for him get the message. "Bring drums if you have one; and speakers. Do not forget pictures of Cameroonians they have been killing. Yes we should make sure CNN and other media are there."

Dr. Ms. Elizabeth Tamajong, Secretary General of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) stated: "This is the time for Cameroonians in the diaspora to demonstrate in front of the State Department. This is to once more prove to you all that Dr. Fokam is a typical CPDM militant."

The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation and the Wilson Center’s Africa Program cordially invite you to attend an event entitled, “Fairness and Transparency in Cameroon’s Next Presidential Election” on Tuesday, September 13 from 2-3:30pm (in the 6th Floor Flom Auditorium). A delegation of high-ranking Cameroonian officials will discuss the vision that President Paul Biya has for the future of Cameroon and the measures that have been taken independently and in concert with the international community to ensure that democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and accountability flourish.

Per reliable sources: "I have been reliably informed that Dr. Fonkam Azu-uh , Mrs Prudence Galega, Mrs Rose Tanyi Mbanyor and others are currenly in Washington at the State Department to see the Under Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Johny Carson. The objective of this visit is to convince the American government that the upcoming Presidential elections are transparent. It is a big lie.
You should all know that no polling stations have been published, the single ballot paper that the SDF has been glamouring for has not been approved by the Biya's government. Cameroonians don't know the exact number registered voters, law on the distribution of airtime on the state media has not been made public but the CPDM is monopolising CRTV."

The call is now for all to stand up before a travesty is created against the citizens of the Camerouns at home and abroad. And then participate in the panel that follows in a proactive manner.

Panelists Include:
1.) H.E. PROF. GHOGOMU PAUL MINGO, Minister/Director of Cabinet in the Office of the Prime Minister, Republic of Cameroon
2.) DR. FONKAM SAMUEL AZU'U, Chairman of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM)
3.) PROF. FABIEN NKOT, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister, REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON
4.) With the Participation of H.E. ATANGANA JOSEPH B. C. FOE, Cameroon’s Ambassador to the United States

Discussant:
ALEXIS ARIEFF, Africa Analyst, Congressional Research Service
Moderator:
STEVEN MCDONALD, Director, Africa Program and Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

RSVP to the Woodrow Wilson Center to Derek J. Langford at Africa@wilsoncenter.org
For additional information, contact Ms. Paule-Sylvie Yonke of Balafon Communications
Re-branding the image of Africa; 212-510-8512, www.petersmap.com

Directions: Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to Federal Triangle or Red Line to Metro Center http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.directions
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=226008067449063; http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/events/26

"You cannot plow a field by only turning it over in your mind" Unknown
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT BAMILEKE, LET'S BE PART OF THE SOLUTION

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Mike Phillips asked Does Obama Eat Watermelon; I Ask How Many Watermelon Seeds are Blighting Mike's Brain

2011-09-05T07:15:00.006-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

As usual Michael Phillips has opened the floodgates of his mouth and cast aspersions on President Obama. I am responding to him. He's lucky, because it's 4:00 AM, September 5, Labor Day, and I just got in from the King and Queen contest for the West indian Day parade - so I'm in a good mood; plus, I've got my headset on and I'm listening to israel Houghton and New Breed, my favorite spiritual vocalists - or I'd really be down right pi--ed off! Instead I'm going to take a kinder gentler tone with him:

Take it down a few notches, Mike!!!

I was in the mode of wanting to take your head off at the base of your neck, but decided that I've got waaaaaay too much dust where I'm sitting already. So, I'll just respond by saying there is a vast difference between a winning strategy and a whining strategy. I really don't recall any vicious statement against Rev. Wright in Obama's part. I do remember an article I wrote when Wright proceeded to with his "in yo face" attitude towards the whites upon whom some of Obama's votes counted. I do recall saying the name of the game is TO WIN. You are in a country that is dominated by caucasoid mentalities and attitudes; for him to have not allowed Rev. Wright to continue to rant and rave was not to turn his back on him, as much as it was to maintain the focus on the ultimate goal at the time: to WIN THE ELECTION and become the first Black, and only real president of the United States.

Wright, having come through the Civil Rights, era as I did,was understandably feeling a certain amount of elation at Obama's running for office. To him this was coming full circle for all the horrors Black people have endured for centuries. We all understood that. But the time and place for what he was saying was, of necessity, after the election, once we had won it; not before, when you have to garner support from Blacks and whites alike. He, of all people, should have understood that and taken it down a notch, without having had to have Obama step out of his church. But you couldn't get the Brother to cool it. There is an old saying among war vets (of which my Dad was one), "loose lips, sink ships"! Now, you don't have to have been in a war or a battle to understand that. If you alert people to where you're coming from before you have gotten the foothold you need, you risk having the door of opportunity slammed in your face. An almost won is not a win.

As far as Cornell West is concerned, exactly who was keeping count on how many times West went out and spoke for President Obama during his campaign? Was this free and voluntary or was it paid? If it was free and voluntary, the Cornell of course is to be commended for his enthusiasm and support; if it was paid, he is likewise to be commended for his enthusiasm and support and for a job well done. I am not saying that President Obama should or should not have invited him to the Presidential ball - I have no idea what the pecking order of the day was; nor do I even care. I personally crashed three parties and had a blast; was not only guest list; wrote about and spoke about Obama over one hundred fifty times - from the first time I met him in 2004 in Manhattan, and later his wife Michelle in Harlem in 2007 (when they were still doing an exploratory); i didn't ask or demand that he or she invite me to their ball. (by the way I also crashed Clinton's ball twice - it's just a big party folks, with a lot of elbow rubbing) --- Anywaaaaay! What we have here is a big assed case of sour grapes - aka gripes.

Cornell truly could have buried himself in the realm of bogus academia. i have always enjoyed his turn of phrase when someone makes the mistake of tredding on Black people; however, I also know that his acerbic manner can be offputting. I don't agree with your analogy that Obama went to Republicans before he went to Black people - or else we would not have an Eric Holder, and so many other Brothers and Sisters in key positions. So you need to recant on that load of sh-t you are putting out there my friend.

The problem lies in the inherent jealousy we still allow ourselves to indulge in when either of us manages to make it big time. The old African albatross of "crabs in a barrell" smells pretty high here. You don't really see it because it's you! You cosign crap because you are so immersed in the resentment of the fact that Obama has "paid no dues" in your estimation, and therefore he did not come up "through the ranks" and should not be where he is. You see a Black man who had a white mother and act as if that somehow or other means that his being a Black man accounts for little or nothing. You are the same people who genuflect for Beyonce, Maria Carey, Halle Berry, and few others I can name who have likewise similar origins.

Obama's situation is even more pronounced because he actually is as Black, if not Blacker, than most of us, and has learned how to parlay that into a formula most of you have yet to even fathom. instead of learning to do what he has done, and applying it in so many other instances where Black men (and women) need to refine and finesse their skills, education and methodology, you'd rather spend your time and energy tearing him down. What a f-ck'g waste. Your gray matter must be speckled with the very watermelon seeds you are accusing President Obama of not eating.

Your bogus 'blacker than thou' measure of who is and who ain't black just means that your brainwashing comes from the divide and conquer school of thought. While we're at it, though, would you please point out for me where the Black leadership is that you are alluding to? Who or what is it that is leading us? Surely you are not referring to Tavis Smiley or Cornell West? Because that's just sad. No aspersions on either of those two intelligent brothers, but leaders they are not. If our Black "leaders" are so effective, what the sam hill are we doing sitting here 40 years later after the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, still going through much of the same crap that was happening before we started? Where the heck have they been for the last 40 years? Who have we been following for the last 40 years? What constitutes a leader in your estimation? What the sam hill is your criteria? Show me the leader(s)!!

As a Black woman and a Black journalist/feature writer, I am accustomed to the meanstream media casting aspersions and distorting things President Obama has said, or was alleged to have said. There is no end to their level of distortions. It has been my "responsibility" (mission, really) to make the corrections, and connect the dots. so that those who are less well educated and informed won't walk away believing what they say is true.

But when one of our own so-called "black" family members proceeds to go out of his way to distort what Obama has either said or done, I consider it an egregious act of sabotage and treachery. We don't need to be stabbing each other in the back. Don't help the enemy Mike. You keep on, and then you got to figure out who is going to help you when your stuff is going down the proverbial tube. Characterizing Obama's statement about Rev. Wright as a vicious attack shows that you are no better than the mean stream white reporters of the Post and other Rep-ugh-blican oriented publications. Yes he made a disclaimer; but he did not put Rev. Wright down, nor did he sever himself from the church. By the way, Mike, how's your nose doing? Can you read around it with so many lies, I'm sure by now it's a proboscis that rivals de Bergerac's!!

You made a really dumb statement that I totally take exception to, so I wanted make sure that, unlike you, I neither distorted, nor misquoted, so I'm inserting it here: Cornel West is a very distinguished professor at Princeton University. He did not choose to bury himself in academia. Instead he has devoted his skills and talents to becoming an eloquent outstanding advocate for racial justice in America. He has earned our respect and admiration for it. So far, Obama has no such distinction (????!!)

Clearly you made this statement to see if you could get a rise out of me and those like me who are supporters of the President. Or perhaps you were dumb enough to think that someone out there would cosign that madness and say: "duh, uh, yup, by gumb, Obama ain't made no such duhstinkshun. Uh, what's a dustinkshun? The brother served in the Chicago community for over 20 years. He was elected to the US Senate - something New York has yet to accomplish. He did not get there on good looks (though he could have easily done so); he got there because he wasn't just spouting quotes, he was taking action on the ground, making sure that his constituents had what they needed to improve their quality of life. Just floating out $25.00 words does not make you a leader ust a brother who knows several ways not to say the "n" word.

How many homes have either Cornell West or Tavis Smiley; how many communities have they helped survive hard times. Where is the track record that shows that the President did not have a following that equals if not rivals what either of these two men have done. There is great merit and blessing in taking the time in the trenches helping those who are there get out, by the combined strengths and energy of Obama's and their own.

Like I said, Mike, don't get it twisted - Obama has done more for Black people and for this country in his brief first term in his own right, than either of the individuals you mention in your diatribe. And he ain't through!! The thing for you, me, and the rest of his brothers and sisters to do is take a course in Obama 101 and begin applying the principles of Obama in our own lives. if we do that we might actually begin to own some businesses, build some schools, educate some kids, develop some communities, have some familial relationships, and come out as the lead culture in this equation, as opposed to the culture of fools who stubbornly, foolishly, and ignorantly refused to accept this wonderful gift and make it work big time.

At some point we have learn to be the faith, the grace, the blessings we claim we want, and give President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle, and the first daughters the benefit of belief, and start pulling this thing together - we need to make sure we have his back, not talking behind his back, stabbing him in the back; or backing away. Or history will bear out what the old comic strip character Pogo said: "I have seed the enemy and it am us!!" Well, at least you, because I'm not cosigning anything that undermines Obama!

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Check out my Blog: gloriadulanwilson@blogspot.com
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

(:PS: Just imagine how that would have been had I not been in such a good mood)

MIKE'S PIECE STARTS HERE:
On Sun, Sep 4, 2011 at 3:25 PM, Michael Phillips wrote:

Does Obama eat watermelon?
Some have accused Cornell West of sour grapes because Obama did not invite him to his inauguration after West campaigned 65 times for him. They are missing the point. Obama’s omission is not trivial, but very important and I am very grateful for that bit of information.
Cornel West is a very distinguished professor at Princeton University. He did not choose to bury himself in academia. Instead he has devoted his skills and talents to becoming an eloquent outstanding advocate for racial justice in America. He has earned our respect and admiration for it. So far, Obama has no such distinction. So, when Cornel West talks, black people should listen. Many did not listen when trusted established black leaders blew the whistle on Clarence Thomas at his supreme court nomination hearings and we have been paying the price since.
The fact is Cornel West is just one of many black leaders that Obama counted on to deliver black votes on election night. They did, and Obama promptly turned his back on them all. Ironically, he is counting on them to do the same thing next elections.
I must confess that despite my enthusiastic support of Obama during the campaign, I was haunted by his treatment of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. I made a point to read everything I could about Wright’s speeches and came to the inescapable conclusion that Obama’s vicious attack on his own preacher, that married him and Michelle, was completely undeserved and smacked of political expediency. But, it probably brought in a few extra votes.
It is crystal clear that Obama has no regard for the black leadership. He has distanced himself from them as if he were a Republican president. In forming his cabinet, he approached more Republicans than blacks. Is it that he thinks a good black man is so hard to find? Is he ashamed of blackness? Or is his blackness just a black vote-getting tool? Does President Obama eat watermelon? In secret, does not count.
Finally, I’ll close with what I call my Obama-Tonto joke. Do you remember the old joke about the Lone Ranger and his loyal Indian side-kick Tonto? Well it seems the Lone Ranger and Tonto found themselves completely surrounded by hostile Indians with no hope of escape. So the Lone Ranger turns to Tonto and says, “ Looks like this time we are done for Tonto”. To which Tonto replies. “What you mean ‘we’, white man?” Well, on the presidential election night, Cornel West rushes over to the victorious Barack Obama and exclaims jubilantly. :We won! We won!” Obama turns to him and with a steely glare says, “What you mean ‘we’, black man?”Michael Phillips,
Editor, Hot Calaloo; http://www.hotcalaloo.com

Thank God for ANGEL/FRIENDS

2011-08-30T10:06:00.004-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

This is a personal, but essential Thank You Note.

I could not in clear conscience let another second go by without having done this: I must express my sincere and profound gratitude for a set of ANGEL/FRIENDS who would not let me go down in the dust.

When you have people in your life who absolutely have your back, like I have just discovered that I have, you know that these are no ordinary people, but have to be elevated to a new level of being. Therefore I have coined the term ANGEL/FRIENDS.

I had recently hit a wall, which so many of us in the US are facing, where we've run out of options, and everything appeared to be crashing down around me. I had prayed, meditated, and done everything I could do in my human capacity to try to avert the inevitable. But it looked as if everything had tanked, and I was going down for the count.

Though I continued to pray and meditate, I had quite frankly, literally run out options. At least I thought I had. As Joel Osteen often says, while we operate on the natural, God operates on the Supernatural, and makes a way out of no way.

And that is exactly what He did. He gave me a band of ANGEL/FRIENDS, who rallied around me - despite hurricane Irene; despite the fact that they themselves were facing challenges of their own; despite the fact that on the natural realm it was deemed impossible, they pulled me through, jerking me out of the very jaws of seeming defeat.

In paying tribute to my ANGEL/FRIENDS, I am also thanking God, the Living Spirit Almighty for having brought them into my life. Without His empowering them to move heaven and earth collectively, I doubt seriously I would be sitting here writing this to you today. As Israel Houghton says in his song, "I'm Still Standing!" "Thanks Be to God."

So to my ANGEL/FRIENDS: Asante Sana, merci beaucoup, gracias, danke schoen, arigato, and above all thank you so very much for being there for me. I extend my sincere appreciation to each and every one of you; my blessings, my gratitude, and my hope that your lives will always be filled with love, peace, poise, prosperity, success, happiness, health, wealth, abundance, fulfillment - or the next best thing.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Disenfranchisement of Black Cherokees: Time to Go on the Warpath!!!

2011-08-28T02:56:00.006-04:00

Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Well,well, well, they finally did it! or they think they did. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma finally legislatively disenfranchised thousands of Black Indians who have been part of their nation for over three centuries. Notice I said legislatively, because BLOOD cannot be unmixed.

How insipid. How sad. How tragic. How ignorant. Wonder what kind of water they're drinking these days? Can't be the sweet water of Oklahoma. Maybe they've allowed the wacky weed to grow too close to the banks. Whatever it is, they have shown that when you let an Indian with white heritage become the so-called leader, racism can't be very far behind, can it? What is it about the white eyes and their racist genetic code? They seem to infect those they touch. They certainly infected Principal Chief Chad Smith (half-breed white - oops, did I say that out loud?), the miscreant who made this cockamamie proposal.

Talk about divide and conquer. And you thought Blacks were the only ones who fell prey to such machinations. Look around you, guys. In addition to all out war, extermination and genocide, it appears that a fair amount of divide and conquer is what's keeping my brothers and sisters from taking a stand in regard to this racist situation.

Indeed, it was the promise by some nefarious rep-ugh-blicans that they would not be able to receive monetary benefits, because the Blacks in the tribe would then be able to construe it as "reparations for slavery" that sparked this whole mess to begin with. Under the impression that getting the Blacks off the rolls would then make it possible for them to reap heap big dollars, they have proceeded on a course of action that not to many of the tribe agreed with. But the tantalization of dollars dangled in front of them have turned those who were initially reluctant into supporters.

Congresswoman Diane Watson, D. California, had been a critical foe in this regard, and held panels during the Congressional Black Caucus to highlight what was going on low under the radar. Margaret Vann of Oklahoma, and a descendent of Black Indians was one of the key panelist. Congresswoman Watson, who was originally from Oklahoma, and of Black and Choctaw heritage, had introduced legislation aimed at stopping the Cherokees from going forward with the disenfranchisement; there were stiff penalties, including loss of federal dollars to be imposed should they succeed. Now that she has stepped down, and Karen Bass has assumed the mantle, one wonders whether she will be as ardent and vociferous in making sure they don't get away with modern day segregation.

Interesting, isn't it? The disenfranchised disenfranchising those who have stuck with them for hundreds of years? Many have heard of the Trail of Tears, during which thousands of Cherokees and Indians of other nations were pushed off their lands and sent westward to what is now known as Oklahoma, under Andrew Jackson, then president of the United States, in order to give the land to white settlers.

The land they were being sent to, Oklahoma, which literally means "land of the Red people" was part of the Louisiana Purchase, acquired when the French decided to leave the United States and this part of the hemisphere, after the Haitians kicked their butts in 1804. The French realized they were no match for the Haitians when they came running through the fire they had set to burn the island down, during a battle. The sight of those Black men and women scared the beejeebers out of them, and they went scurrying back to France in much the same way Strauss-Kahn is doing now after having tried to rape an African maid (it appears that individually and collectively cowardice is part of their collective gene pool - but I digress). The French hurried up and got out of Dodge, and after making the best deal they could, cut bait and went back to things French.

A fair amount of Black people, who were then slaves to the Indians who were being pushed out of the south, traveled on that smallpox ridden trek to Oklahoma. Though some perished, a fairly large amount survived, and eventually married into the tribes. Another wave of African descended slaves who sneaked out of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri (long before the Civil War), and other surrounding slave states - such as my family did - likewise stole away to Oklahoma for freedom, since it was the only place in the US at that time that whites were not allowed to go. Those also intermarried with the Indian families there.

Oklahoma had gone from a reservation for Cherokees to the place where the Five Civilized Tribes (Chocktaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminoles), as well as smaller tribes, now resided "LEGALLY", on their own set aside lands (you-all remember set asides don't you? It's that little portion the feds give you to make up for the fact that they have been cheating you all along - but it's generally got a piece of elastic tied to it, and when it looks like you're doing too well, they jerk it back. Anywaaaaaay...)

They were considered "civilized" because they adopted many of the white man's ways, and had educational centers, constitutions, and,thanks to Sequoiah, could actually read their own language. This was opposed to those Indians who recognized the whites for the threats they really were and routinely opened up a can of whip-ass in an effort to keep them from stealing their lands. Unfortunately, the inevitable "manifest destiny" ruled out this as an effective methodology. Now, nearly extinct, these valiant warriors and their descendents have been relegated to some of the worst lands in different parts of the US, where the grass is no longer green and the water that does flow is pretty putrid.

This latest salvo at Black Indians would be comical if it wasn't so heinous. How do you unmix blood? Even the white eyes know that by law one tenth of one per cent of Black blood makes you Black; and by extension, the same is probably true in terms of making you Indian. They sure went out of their way to identify those whites who were part Indian. Most of them got the boot.

So now here we stand, in what is known as a "mexican stand-off." No matter which way you move, somebody is going to get whacked. And as far as I'm concerned, better them than us. Particularly in this instance. It is now time for Blacks, whether you have Indian in your family or not (and you know, we almost all do, because those early slaves would never have survived had it not been for our Indian counterparts), IT'S TIME TO GO ON THE WARPATH!!

It's time for the NAACP, SCLC, Urban League, as well as Blacks individually and collectively, to come down on them and let them know what time it is. No more nice guy; no more panels; no more discussions. No one, within the shores of the United States of America, as it is constituted at this time gets to disenfranchize or segregate Black people.

As a Black woman of Indian heritage - Cherokee, Crow, Creek, I am quite frankly, pissed off. Having grown up in a city where all these heritages honored each other, it is clear to me that this has been engineered over a long, deliberate period of time. We who went to Anadarko every year, or who celebrated our mutual lines in so many other ways, are appalled to find that the so-called youth have gotten into the fray and totally screwed things up. I call on the elders to sanction them, take back the reigns, and put things right before there is a total conflagration in Oklahoma. It will make the Oklahoma Ruin (er, Run) look like a cake walk. You remember that, don't you - April 22, 1889, the day when they opened up our land to whites and pushed us off to marginal lands; taking and uprooting everything we had. Had the tribes not been so "civilized" maybe things would have worked out differently. Now it appears that the "civilized" factor is allowing for fascism to take hold. We are the only ones (Black Indians) to have been disenfranchized twice - once for being Black, and second for being Indian. So for those who think that Black people who claim their Indian heritage (by the way notice that no where in here did I say "Native American") are trying to escape being Black, better think again. Either way, under the current system, we are the targets.

So my Cherokee Brothers and Sisters, my African American Brothers and Sisters You Better Wake Up Now!

Take a look at your population stats. The Five Civilized Tribes and the Blacks who settled after 1865 (Civil War) made up 100% of Oklahoma's population. We all thrived. We lived and worked together successfully; had rich harvests, thriving towns and cities. We basically were happy. Now, of course, that's quite a bit before my time, but I heard stories from my Grandmother (full blooded Cherokee), and my Grandfather (Full Blooded Black Man), as well as my great aunts and uncles - about how wonderful things were "back in the day." (Check out the move "Posse", by the Hudlin Brothers to get a sense of where I'm coming from). Who do you think caused the Oklahoma dust bowl, that caused the land to blow away, wiped out crops, caused people to starve, and sent those very same white settlers scurrying for California after they decimated some of the most arable (read, fertile) land in the area? We remained, we continued to till our land, we continued to thrive. Oklahoma used to have 67 all Black Towns; 13 of them still remain! Even in the days when we weren't "bosom buddies" we definitely weren't sworn enemies either.

In this day and age of global relationships, the Oklahoma region of the Cherokee nation is more reflective of Jim Crowism than anything else. That this must be stopped immediately is an understatement.

Below is an excerpt from Black Indian Magazine covering this latest attempt. Please read it carefully. Because if they are able to succeed segregating us in Oklahoma, can the nation be far behind - particularly under a Rep-ugh-blican run Congress? Think about it!!

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

[TheBlackList] Appearances: Black Indians-Cherokee Freedmen Stripped of Citizenship
by Angela Finley Molette (Tuscaloosa Warrior Woman) as excerpted from BlackIndian Magazine

One must consider that a gentrified Native American Nation, in collusion with the highest levels of U.S. Government, driven by the appointed superiority of persons of a certain mindset and foundation to change the appearance of an entire aboriginal species on the Continent, has nearly succeeded in their task.

“the core philosophic foundation behind a modern racist perception management program; of wherein which the perceptions of black people are being covertly negatively shaped as a means of defending and maintaining white dominance and control.” [Franklin Jones, aka Tha Nubian, 2011].

Ergo, the appearance of descendants of Aboriginal Ethnic Cherokees having African Blood has been re-cast negatively in revisionist media-driven commentary as “non-Indians” by “the modern manifestation of the original Cherokee Nation,” so described by Principal Chief Chadwick Smith, himself a lineal descendant of mixed blood (White/Native American) Confederate Cherokees (read; losers of the Civil War in Indian Territory).

This is happening to Ethnic Cherokees (popularly known as Cherokee Freedmen) despite being legally thrust “as Indians” to dwell within the historic Indian Country by hundreds of years of permissive and legalized Naturalization through residence, birth, death, marriage, adoption, land ownership and enfranchisement by the Union Loyalist Faction of Cherokee Nation in the Tribal geographical Treaty-mandated domain of Indian Country, and finally Indian Territory (under the jurisdiction and legal sphere of influence) of the so-called “Indian Nations” of the 5 Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma.

The Enfranchisement of Ethnic Cherokees, in full acknowledgement of their African Ancestry, former condition of Enslavement, Servitude, Free Persons of Color status and their 1863 Adoption by the Cherokee Nation Legislature, was memorialized by the Cherokee Treaty with the United States inscribed at the Nations Capital in Washington, D.C., in 1866 and apparently also entered as a Constitutional Amendment to boot.

Principal Chief Chad Smith, a self-appointed opponent of Ethnic Cherokees, presided over a Media Campaign created to aid in smoothing over the mean-spirited, racist and immoral tenor of the Cherokee Nation campaign against Cherokees of African Ancestry seeking modern Citizenship validation based upon eligibility derived by their ancestry and lineal descent. He introduced much more socially palatable language in efforts to “terminate the Citizenship and eligibility of non-Indians.“ Except that the overwhelming number of terminated Cherokee “non-Indians” are those Cherokee Nationals having African Ancestry and there is no equal and opposite program to terminate the Citizenship of the vast number of Cherokees (250,000+) having Caucasian or other ancestry.

The insidious Cherokee Media Management Campaign was instituted after throwing the gauntlet down against the enrollment of Ethnic Cherokees. Chief Smith consulted with a myriad of high powered legal eagles who suggested that Media Management Campaign re-center the Chief’s campaign to make Freedmen Campaign for enfranchisement to be a test of Cherokee Nation Sovereignty, amid a persistent roaring din of racial aspersions cast, including; “Racist Cherokees White-washing Cherokee Nation History” and the “Modern Tribes giving themselves the power to erase the Ethnicity of African Ancestored Cherokees due to fears of being viewed as Black too“, Indian Reservations are Black-Free Zones sanctioned by the U.S.A., and Indian Apartheid, etc.

During the 2009 Federal BAR Association Conference at the ultra-glitzy Skirvin Hotel, downtown Oklahoma City near Bricktown, an Oklahoma entertainment mecca built by the overlords of the failed Indian State of Sequoyah on reclaimed/gentrified lands once held by the poorest most poverty-stricken Black Descendants in the entire State, the Conference Chairperson gagged the Representative of the Cherokee Freedmen Band, Marilyn Vann to keep her from speaking freely during the public event (held in non-Court Room Venue).
Vann's goal was to present the Cherokee Freedmen perspective in the midst of an assemblage of the brightest legal minds in the Nation, in a conference segment promoted as “a debate” between Cherokee Chief Chad Smith and the esteemed Dr. Charles Ogletree, Mentor of President and Mrs. Barack Obama. He gently encouraged the Cherokee Chief to see this struggle as a once in a lifetime Teachable Moment, the kind that goes down in history, attached to Great Men and Women.

At that point, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation looked at Ogletree as if he wanted to pierce the impeccable and learned Black Man’s soul with his eyes. It was a historic Teachable moment alright, it taught us that we were in for the fight of our lives with a very wealthy nation, while we were the most destitute in a land of plenty,

The Chief of the 2nd wealthiest Tribal Nation in America, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma was allowed to speak freely (even though he was a defendant in a suit lodged by Vann), but before he said one word, Chad Smith introduced his anti-Freedmen Campaign Video that showed healthy happy Cherokees (including the mixed Black children of enrolled modern Cherokee Women). The knowledgable in the room recognized the difference between those children and persons of Cherokee Freedmen Ancestry. The Mother’s of the children in the video trace their lineage back to Cherokees without African Ancestry. The modern Cherokee women choosing to have children by Black Men have nothing what so ever to do with historic Freedmen Ancestry. Yet Smith’s Media Campaign Video challenge the unlearned mind to make that leap, which the average man cannot make without knowing Cherokee History.

I suppose to assuage their guilt, the Moderator allowed me to speak, which was much more irritating to Chief Smith, because my Representation and Advocacy is for all Indian Freedmen of the 5 Civilized Tribes, not just the Cherokees.

“Today the U.S. Government, as with many other white governed nations now uses media driven perception management programs to defend and maintain their position of white dominance and control. The U.S. media’s racially devaluing depictions and distorted portrayal of its Black population that amplifies the negative to the point that it distorts reality is a deliberate government deplored perception management program. It is purposefully designed to imply the superiority of its whites populous over its Black; therefore creating internalized -self-contemptuous- responses within its Black population that hinders their Black unity, upward mobility and manipulate them to accept white dominance over their lives. It also reinforces seemingly pre-conditioned response of resentment and prejudicial images of Black people in the majority population, thereby creating a false impression of wanton Black criminality and violence. This creates conditioned responses in its population for eventualities to unfold against its targeted Black populous without opposition or resentment.

Dr. Edward Bernays, a mass manipulation and propaganda specialist hired by several U.S. presidents describes this process by saying that: “If we understand the mechanism and motives of a group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it."

“The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) describes "perception management" as a type of psychological operation intended to provoke the behavior you want out of a given individual or targeted group collectively. Perception management through propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, and direct behavior of a population to achieve responses that furthers the desired intent of the Government.”
Franklin Jones aka Thanubian www.divineBlacktruth.org

Based upon our interpretation of the Wednesday, August 24, 2011 Headline News regarding their specific (unique) Ethnic origins, Cherokee Freedmen were classed in summary judgment by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court as “non-Indians” and “Descendants of Slaves,“ made Citizens merely by “an 1866 Constitutional Amendment” ahead of being stripped of their Cherokee Citizenship, Nationality and exiled against International Prohibition of that action, as the final move in a devastatingly slick end game created by a First Nation Democracy, intended for the purpose.
Interpretation of the Revoked Citizenship of Ethnic Cherokees

Let us be clear about what is really happening to Ethnic Cherokees (as well as Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole Freedmen of the 5 Civilized Tribes), they have been forcefully stripped of their Tribal Citizenship, Nationality, Exiled and rendered Stateless, not for legitimate reasons, like treason, sedition or an attempt to overthrow their Tribal Government. Rather, Indian Freedmen find themselves legally banished (in 2011) by a retroactive law introduced by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court, so rendered ostensibly because “citizenship was extended to the freedmen by an 1866 Cherokee constitutional amendment--not the treaty--and that Judge Cripps did not have the authority to overturn its results.“

Well, according to Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., it’s Enid, Oklahoma Spokesperson and Representative, Dr. Angela Molette (Tuscaloosa Ohoyo) Black Warrior Woman, says; “the official Media account provides only the partial truth about Cherokee Freedmen Citizenship (which makes us question whether or not the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court was also dealing only with a partial truth also), that being…persons formerly enslaved by any Cherokee, as well as Free Persons of Color never having been in enslaved, but living within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation prior to 1861, gained legally indefeasible Citizenship by surety of an En Masse Adoption in 1863, at Cowskin Prairie by the Special Act of the Cherokee Legislature, led by Chief Downing and Spring Frog (a Dignitary and lineal descendant of the old Great Chiefs of Chota).
That’s three full years before the Legislative Enactment was included in the 1866 Cherokee Constitution, making their Citizenship inalienable by Naturalization.”

In completion of the 1863 Legislative Enactment, the original Cherokee Nation Legislature invoked the 1866 Constitutional Amendment to confirm the Legislative Enactment, En Masse Adoption and Inclusion of Cherokee Freedmen as fully enfranchised Equal Citizens by the 1866 Cherokee Treaty with the United States of America.

“In that light, one begins to see clearly the fiction in the new Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Decision. The Cherokee Freedmen have been banished, exiled and have now suffered legal termination of their historic Cherokee Citizenship and true Indigenous Nationality, because of their African Admixture, Ethnic Origin and Historic Previous Condition of Servitude.
The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court just used Magic (built upon racism) to execute an Ex Post Facto Law to deprive them of their 1866 Treaty Rights, Citizenship, Indigenous Nationality and access to benefits and entitlements for which ‘Indians’ are eligible.”

The Magic: Depriving Cherokee Freedmen of their True Nationality. Despite their International Human Right to a Nationality and Self-Identification, Freedmen were classed in summary judgment by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court as “non-Cherokees,” “non-Indians” and “Descendants of Slaves,” because of the way the attained their Nationality,” which was incredibly…through a Constitutional Amendment. Even if that was all, why should that be perceived as tenuous, unsecured and revocable for the flimsiest of reasons? Isn’t that how U.S. Slaves received their Citizenship in America?
The second act of the Magic Show was the characterize the Freedmen struggle for Enfranchisement as an affront, assault and challenge to Cherokee National Sovereignty and its right to choose its Citizens. But the Cherokee Nation right to choose Citizens cannot outweigh the rights of an entitlement group enfranchised by Treaty, nor shall Cherokee Nation Laws be steeped in historic racism, insinuating that a Constitutional Amendment was not forceful enough law to maintain eligibility to Citizenship while at the same time ignoring Birthright and Adoption. Nor can installation or use of Ex Post Facto Laws be implemented to deprive certain groups of historic legal Treaty, Citizenship and Nationality Rights. Finally, simply because the Cherokee Nation in rebellion, does not also mean that the United States is relieved of its duty to protect the rights of an Ethnic Protectorate specifically identified and enfranchised by the 1866 Treaties...that is unless it is allowing the Cherokee Nation to do its dirty work for them, by making an end-run around the same said Treaties.

Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund, maintains that the question now becomes; will any of the following use their Plenary Powers, Over-site Mandate and Stewardship Privileges over the Domestic Dependency [Cherokee Nation, as well the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole Nation] to put an end to the fiction allowed to devastate Indian Freedmen at will, like that espoused by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Courtpptouted by it’s main proponent, Principal Chief Chadwick Smith.

What action will the following take; President, Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus, the U.S. Justice Department, Interior Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Will each allow such a blatant violation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 61.295 on 13 September 2007, ratified by the United States Government by President Barack Obama in December, 2010?.

The game, an enigma characterized in the past by de facto laws and social policies manifest in the present now by the introduction of a Cherokee Nation Supreme Court law that looks back to deprive rights (ex post facto laws) of Freedmen, all accomplished by metaphysical legerdemain that renders the 1866 Treaties, a chimera for Indian Freedmen.

Metaphysical Legerdemain refers to Magic, the use of mirrors and slight-of-hand tricks in order to manipulate “Appearances” to deceive the mind into believing what it‘s seeing, creating a classic struggle between your eyes, brain, perception, common sense and belief system. In this case the Magic, achieved by smoke and mirrors were undertaken by an entire national system controlled a racist mandate, whose sole intent is to deny African Ancestored Humanity (in the Americas) the tools to remain Sovereign. Instead we have been destabilized by forced detribalization, the domino effect of which is Statelessness, bereft of Political Representation, tenuous dependency upon pilfered U.S. Citizenship (as subsequent generations of Indian Freedmen began to seek U.S. Hospitals in which to give birth to their children, so they might attain some type of Citizenship after being rendered Stateless).

Forced Exile, Statelessness, Deprivation of Citizenship, Nationality and Land Ownership is the doorway to actual physical, emotional and social starvation.

Citizenship: Citizenship status that was legally conferred upon Cherokee Freedmen by an Act of the Cherokee Legislature, featuring an En Masse Adoption of their Class of Citizens in 1863 was revoked on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court in Oklahoma, effectively detribalizing the Ethnic Indians by stripping them of their historic Citizenship, Nationality and future eligibility as Citizens in the Nation of their ancestry.
The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court reversed and vacated an earlier Oklahoma District Court Decision by Judge John Cripps in their favor.

Instead the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court instituted a new ruling, which looks back and discriminates against a highly specific and unique entitlement group guaranteed enfranchisement by the 1866 Treaty with the Cherokee to have their Citizenship and Nationality preserved as an autonomous protectorate of the Tribe.

The Cherokee Freedmen have no other legal Nationality: In a move that was unique at the time, Historic Indian Freedmen (from all 5 Tribes), in order to secure a National Identity for their offspring of illegal exile in the 1940s (see Plecker Letters deny Black Indians legal Native American Nationality), began giving birth to their children in U.S. Hospitals, thereby gaining birth certificates for their progeny. The parents had only Tribal Citizenship and Tribal Midwife affidavits. Even at that, many of the Cherokee Freedmen had parents and/or Grandparents that were not U.S. Citizens and did not have U.S. Birth Certificates.

The issue, according to Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund of Enid, Oklahoma Spokesperson and Representative, Dr. Angela Molette, is not that Cherokee Freedmen are “non-Indians”, but that “Cherokee“ is their Nationality and the United States has just allowed the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to strip Freedmen of their Citizenship and Nationality.

Molette says “their precise standing prior to being adopted by the Tribe, was as Cherokee Citizens with African Ancestry." They were characterized by the 1866 Treaty as “Persons formerly enslaved by any Cherokee,“ in addition to “Free Persons of Color” and “Freedmen.”.
All Ethnic (Black) Cherokees were granted Autonomy (within the Cherokee Domain) in their own Colony, Districts and Communities.

Chief Downing and Spring Frog (a descendant of the old Great Chief’s of Chota, boldly instituted the practice of adopting Ethnic (Black) Tribal Members) at Cowskin Prairie prior to the end of the Civil War in Indian Territory. Downing and Spring Frog were Union Loyalists in opposition to the rising contingent of Confederate Mixed Bloods-comprising the modern core of Cherokees in opposition to Black Tribal Members, led in the present day by Chief Chad Smith, referred to by Cherokee Freedmen, as a “White Indian”.

FOR CLARIFICATION, SOME DEFINITIONS OF TERMS ARE BELOW:
Legislative Act - an act passed by a legislative body: By an Act of the Cherokee Legislature in 1863, the Cherokee Freedmen were adopted as a matter of historical record, ahead of the end of the Civil War in Indian Territory.
Act or Enactment: A legal document codifying the result of deliberations of a committee or society or legislative body
Constitutional Amendment: A change to the Constitution of a nation or state, requiring a special procedure different from that used for enacting ordinary laws. (Extraordinary Law).
Legal Instrument: Legal document: (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some rights (Princeton.edu)
Legal document: (Wikipedia)-A legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or right, and therefore evidences that act, process, or agreement. Examples include a certificate, deed, bond, contract, will, legislative act, notarial act, court writ or process
Naturalization: To grant citizenship to somebody of foreign birth, or to acquire citizenship in an adopted country.
Adoption: 1. In family law: Adoption is the legal process that establishes a parent/child relationship between individuals who are not related by blood. Once the adoption is completed, the adoptive child becomes entitled to all the privileges belonging to a natural child of the adoptive parents, and the adoptive parents acquire all the legal rights, duties and obligations of the child’s natural parents. All the legal rights, duties and obligations between the child and his or her natural parent terminates upon completion of the adoption.
2. In contract law: Adoption is acceptance by a person or entity of the rights and responsibilities made for their benefit under a contract to which he/she is not a party. And,
3. To accept legal responsibility for the act of another.[Webster’s Law Dictionary]
Ratify: to affirm or approve, usually after the fact.
Kinship: is established by blood, marriage, or adoption: family relationship. Relationship by nature or character. [Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology].

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples(Adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on 3 September 2007) Ratified by the United States under President Barack Obama, December 2010
*Excerpts From Preamble
"Affirming that Indigenous Peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the rights of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such."
"Affirming also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind."
"Affirming further that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust."
"Reaffirming that Indigenous Peoples, in the exercise of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind."
"Concerned that Indigenous Peoples have suffered from historic injustices as a result of inter alia, their colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories and resources, thus preventing them from exercising in particular, their right to development in accordance with their own needs and interests. "
"Considering also that treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements, and the relationship they represent, are the basis for a strengthened partnership between indigenous peoples and states."
Change: Ordinary People, effect Extraordinary Change Everyday. More People united for moral and just causes effect even greater change.
"The U.S. can't impose change (internationally) but bolster emerging efforts for positive reform."
The actions of the once oppressed Indian nations against pre-existing oppressed and exiled Indian Freedmen of the 5 Civilized Tribes, is philosophically equivalent to the extinctional level events, deprivation of lands and restriction of movement towards the pursuit of happiness, as currently experienced by Palestinians in the Middle East...only its happening on U.S. Soil.

Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., on behalf of its constitutents categorically contends that:
We Oppose!
The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Action
and All Negative Actions Levied Against
Ethnic Native Americans and Freedmen!

And Reassert The Demand a Presidential and/or Congressional Review and Intervention Into All Tribal, Federal Actions and Court Decisions Involving Freedmen of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole and allied Nations And, Invite all of our Supporters To Press The Executive U.S. Administration, Members of the Congress, Congressional Black Caucus, U.S. Justice Department and Department of the Interior
Into Action To Change The Paradigm!

For more information contact: Dr. Angela Molette (Tuscaloosa Ohoyo) Black Warrior Woman; Principal Chief, United Tuscaloosa Band of the Choctaw Nation President, NAACP Unit #6126 Enid (Garfield County), Organizational Member-Harvest Institute Freedmen Federation of Washington, D.C.

Donate Today: Black Indians United Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
http://www.blackindiansunited5tribesembassy.org/

Farewell Nick Ashford

2011-08-28T00:57:00.008-04:00

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

The sudden demise of Nick Ashford has left us all in a daze of sorts. To say that it was totally unexpected is an understatement in so many ways. To my knowledge, none of us who were devotess of the Ashford and Simpson dynamic duo had any inkling that he was ill.

During my last visit to the Sugar Bar, I and several friends, sat upstairs during their famed Open Mike Night Thursday, with Nick, where we laughed, joked, and watched several hopefuls as they either crashed and burned, or blew us away with their talents.

I remember vaguely regretting not having brought my camera with me that evening because Nick was in rare form.

Valerie sat downstairs as usual, and provided harmony and back up for many of the artistic wannabees, with the able assistance of Kathy Jordan (formerly Sharpton), who was once a featured artist with James Brown. All in all it was a fun evening. Needless to say we closed the down the place in typical New York style - the last ones to leave!

And while they had some great predecessors in terms of dynamic duos are concerned: Marvin Gaye & Tammie Terrell, Peaches & Herb husband and wife duos are indeed rare. Marilyn McCoo and Billie Davis Jr. had some wonderful successes, but eventually faded from the horizon.

However, I can't remember a time when the Ashford and Simpson team wasn't successful. When this match made in heaven wasn't topping the charts with their combined lyrical and vocal stylings, they were writing, styling or backing up other groups. They even performed back up on an early album recorded by Mandrill. Lou Wilson in remembering those days, stated, "Nick Ashford, what a great talent! May he rest in peace. The world has lost a giant in the music industry." Those days, nearly 40 years ago, each group was in their infancy, finding their way onto the horizon of success.

To my mind Ashford and Simpson was a hit from day one! My first personal introduction to them was when they performed for a gala put together by Essence Magazine during the early days of the Essence Awards (y'all remember those days, right? I totally miss them.) Nick and Val (which was our affectionate names for them) performed, despite the fact that the venue did not have the proper equipment, and things had run behind time. They never complained, and gave us their best as though they were in front of a 5,000 seat audience. That's when I first began to admire them.

Now of course, Motown Mogul, Berry Gordy thought they walked on water. Writing for Diana Ross, and so many others in the pantheon of that rarified music val halla also put them on the map. It truly was as though there was nothing they couldn't do, write, or sing. Every thing they did had "hit" written all over it!

On the other hand, while they were rocking the musical realm, they did have a turn at "failure" as well. Do you remember the days when they opened their first supper club, "20-20", located at 20 West 20th Street? It was an elegant posh venue. They featured the bestin entertainment and talent. There was only one tiny little problem: the chef did not understand "soul" cuisine, and had a problem cooking food to the appropriate doneness for the Afrocentric palate. As a result, the club eventually folded.

Nick took it in stride. He admitted that he had learned some valuable lessons from the previous foray into the world or restaurant and entertainment. And what a difference it was. He stated that his investment advisors had meant it as a "tax write-off, but they didn't realize that Val and I wanted it to be a real gathering place where people could come and enjoy themselves, and the food. I won't make that mistake again!"

Lessons learned from that early foray were obvious, because The Sugar Bar is a tremendous hit! The African inspired decor in the Sugar Bar was from Nick Ashford's own creative genius. From the Africentric bathrooms, chairs, railings, bars, the thatched ceiling trim; to his own personal, eclectic collection of artifacts from all over Africa, the place was a delight to the eye. You could not look anywhere and not be inspired by the organic integration of African tradition with African American modernity. I loved it! And so did everyone else. Nick probably had no idea how much time we would spend going over the symbology of the many African pieces he had in the restaurant.

I frequently complimented him on his taste and his eye, and recommended that he do a book on Afrocentric decor or something of that nature. It was our standing joke (well maybe a joke for him, I was serious. I wished I could combine cultures and colors the way he had done). And I wish he had taken me up on doing that book!

It was also evident that the Sugar Bar became an extension of the greater Black community. Nick and Val were as much tied in with what was going with us as they were with the entertainment realm, and made it a point to be involved with issues at various levels. These cultural icons likewise revered other icons in their own right, and hosted an annual tribute to the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, reminding us all of the role and contribution this great diva made to us all. They opened their doors and hearts throughout the years to so many who were either on the pathway up, or trying not to slide down the ladder of success.

It goes without saying that from the very beginning of their collaboration, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson have been a hit and inspiration, an example, and a success to be emulated and admired. Most marriages don't last as long as theirs had - 38 years! But to have also been married partners, is truly a formula for success that is to be aspired to. Definitely one that many of us have envied. They made it work, without making it look like work. Now there's an example to follow.

My condolences to you, Val. Metaphysically speaking we say there is no such thing as "loss", but our all too human hearts strongly beg to differ, because the pain of that loss is palpable nevertheless. To say that Nick is in a better place, that he has made his transition, that he has gone to be with the Lord, are all appropriate at this time, but are cold comfort when you have to reach out and touch him; or turn to make a comment on some thought, or new song that just sprang to mind. It does not help when that ever bright smile of his does not greet you in the morning; or is not the last thing you see at night. There is much to be treasured of the times two you spent together: the fun, the collaboration, the success, the creative exchanges - what a blessing to have had the time together as the most dynamic duo, husband/wife tour de force revered by all of us.

My sincere & heartfelt condolences to you, as well as my blessings to you and your immediate family; and to the many of us who considered ourselves part of your extended family of brothers, sisters to both you and Nick. But also my congratulations to you for having been such a dynamic duo and inspiration to admirers the world over.

I already know that Nick is not "resting". We know that no spirit ever truly dies, and that creative spirit of his is definitely in full effect carrying forth in the same vibrancy he enjoyed on this plane of action. And so it is!

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLESSED
With Love From
Gloria Dulan-Wilson

ABOUT GLORIA DULAN-WILSON

2011-08-27T22:56:00.004-04:00

by Gloria Dulan-Wilson

WHO I AM
Eclectically and Avidly Black Woman of Elegance. Proud Mother of three beautiful young adults. Grand Mother of five grandpeople. Former wife of an "Ape" (Lou Wilson of Mandrill); Former African dance artist; Always an educator & counselor, community activist. Writing since age 3, (and my handwriting never got any better). Feature writer/photo Journalist; Public Speaker.

Of Black & American Indian heritage, originally from Oklahoma City, OK, with family bloodlines from Cherokee, Crowe and Creek Nations (Five Civilized Tribes) & Proud Of It (despite the racist efforts of white indians to put us out)!

Party Animal who enjoys the company of my fellow New Yorkers and the international set (Africa, Caribbean, Brazilian, Japanese, etc); love good comedy, good people, great friends.

A child of the 60s, I was raised in the NAACP Youth Council; participated in sit-ins, the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma, Virginia, Philadelphia, and New York, Activist and Advocate for Black Empowerment & Unity Worldwide. Named one 25 Phenomenal Black Women Writers of 2010 by Our Times Press; and Phenomenal Woman of New York Global Biz Magazine 2011.

MY FAVORITE MOVIES:
"Sayonara", "Carmen Jones", "Gone With The Wind", "Avatar", "This Is It:Tribute to Michael Jackson", anything produced by Oscar Micheaux; any of the old Black classic movies; most old black & white movies; all classic cartoons and animations.

FAVORITE MUSIC:
Anything by MANDRILL, Israel Houghton & New Breed; Jazz, R&B, Soul, Caribbean, African, West Indian & East Indian Music, Classical Music; African music of all types, Steel Bands, Kora, and most celestial music.

FAVORITE BOOKS:
Sayonara by James Michner, From Slavery To Freedom, Science Of The Mind By Earnest Holmes, Riches Within Your Reach by Robert Collier; Anything by Reverend Fredereck K. Eikerenkotter, affectionately known as REVEREND IKE; Resurrection, and any other books by Neville Goddard.

MY DOSIER:
Writer, speaker, educator, I have written for and about most contemporary Black political figures, celebrities, artists, unsung s/heroes for over 30 years. I a known for my one-on-one personality profiles; incisive writing style, and no nonsense manner of relating the untold truths about Black people, our culture and our history. If you are looking for someone to tell your story, contact me at gloriadulanwilson@gmail.com. If you are looking for some to host an event, or address students about Black History contact me at gloriadulanwilson@gmail.com

My formal education consists of a B.A. in Sociology from Lincoln University; MS Guidance and Counseling from Hunter College, CUNY; Certification in RE Appraisal from New York Real Estate Institute (2011); FCC License in Broadcast Journalism;

MY PASSIONS
Eclectically Black People -African/American/Caribbean/South Americans, Affordable Decent Housing, Real Estate, Co-Homeownership, Celebrities Who Make a Difference, President OBama & 1st Lady Michelle, Elected Officials Who Make a Difference, Political Issues, Education, Children of All Ages (1-100years old) Empowering Africa, Things/People Japanese, Profiles on Black Business Executives, Grassroot Community Leaders & Unsung S/Heroes, Movie Scripts, Poetry And Children Stories, History - everybody's & Culture; gourmet cooking, Sewing, Designing keep me centered; Above all else Health and Happiness and Living Happily Ever After.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson