 NO BAILING OUT A RACIST AMERICA WITH A RACIST president. This is an excerpt from an article by Columnist A. B. Stoddard, followed by my answer to her well-intentioned words.
“Dear President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, The moment you have sought to avoid for nearly four years is here. We are witnessing one of the worst crises to ever confront the United States and one of the worst government failures in the history of the country you served and love. Together, you have a collective 16 years as president, during which you dealt with a number of crises: the September 11 attacks, two wars, the collapse of the financial system, and the Ebola and H1N1 outbreaks. Both of you knew what the job of the president was in times of crisis and how to manage the basic blocking and tackling of government responses. President Donald Trump has now proven what many of us long suspected: He has not done any of this, because he cannot do it. He lacks the most basic capabilities required of a president in this moment.” My Words... Nice request, A. B...but... Ignorance is not Bliss. Ignorance is just plain Ignorant. Whether anyone agrees with me or not, donald trump is ignorantly ignorant. Although I would like to see them do it, especially Barack Obama, it is not his or Bush's responsibility to save this country. Let trump's enablers save America. Let Racist White America Save America. Let millionaires and billionaires save America. Let the 1% save America. Let the trump Rump Sniffers save America. Let Racist Republicant Governors save America. Let Moscow Mitch save America. Lret Big Oil save America. Let Big Pharma save America. Let the Insurance Industry save America. They appear to jump at donald trump's every whim. As a Black American, I am not interested in saving America as we know it, nor am I interested in anyone bailing out this Immoral and Racist country. Black America has saved America before with Morality, Integrity and Advocating Justice For All. Frederick Douglass saved America. Harriet Tubman saved America. Dr. Carter G. Goodwin saved America. Dr. W.E.B. DuBois saved America. James Weldon Johnson saved America. A. Philip Randolph saved America. The NAACP saved America. The Tuskegee Airmen saved America. The Montford Point Marines saved America. Charles Hamilton Houston saved America. Thurgood Marshall saved America. Rosa Parks saved America. Daisy Bates saved America. Ruby Hurley saved America. Constance Baker Motley saved America. Black America saved America when we proved in court Separate is Not Equal. Black America saved America when we advocated for a Civil Rights Bill which should not have been necessary, but which was necessary because the United States Constitution obviously does not apply to Black folks. Black America saved America when we advocated for a Voting Rights Act(s) which should not have been necessary, but which was necessary because the United States Constitution obviously does not apply to Black folks. So, you see, Black Americans have saved America many times in the past. But saving America now under the Racist Red Meat cap...and the Racist flag and the Racist umbrella of a Racist Insecure Incompetent Inadequate Imbecilic Narcissistic donald trump? Nope. Can’t Do It. Won't Do It. The Struggle Continues!
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A GREAT LEADER HAS EMPATHY. A great leader makes mature and thoughtful decisions for those whom he leads. A great leader instills confidence and trust. A great leader surrounds himself with excellent decision makers. A great leader eliminates the “I” and the “Me” in favor of the “We” and the “Us.” A great leader listens. A great leader accepts the blame and the responsibility for good and bad decisions made under his leadership.
During this Coronavirus, donald trump has shown he is not a great leader or a good leader. In fact, donald trump is simply occupying space because he can. donald trump has shown he has no empathy. donald trump does not make thoughtful and mature decisions. donald trump does not surround himself with excellent decision makers. donald trump does not listen to anyone. donald trump happens to be a “leader” based on his being “selected” as the president of the United States. You look to the President of the United States to stand tall during the time of a crisis. To instill that confidence and trust...to hear proud meaningful words from the leader of the Free World. That mantle does not fall to donald trump. To tell governors in the United States they are pretty much on their own dealing with the life and death circumstances of the Coronavirus is a reprehensible insult and should be grounds for serious charges of “dereliction of duty” and worse. trump told the governors, "He is not s shipping clerk." He's right he is not a shipping clerk but apparently he does not understand he is the President of the United States. American citizens look to him to lead. Not only is he not leading, he basically has insulted every American citizen with his incompetence and his race baiting. His insidious, dishonest, and disingenuous attitude has led to American deaths and will lead to many others before the Coronavirus pandemic is over. Great leaders are made not born, and they rise to the occasion invariably during a crisis. Rising to the occasion does not now nor will it ever apply to donald trump. If he could not say "I" and "Me", he probably could not talk. donald trump does not fit any known parameters as a leader. There are many descriptive words which apply to donald trump, but leader is certainly not one of them. All donald trump is, is pathetic. Unfortunately, he is dangerously pathetic. When President Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, a pandemic was not on the horizon. It was simply humane to provide health care for Americans as a right, not a privilege.
It boggles the mind how reprehensible this idiot president is...and how he has caused human misery and death...and will continue to cause human misery and death. He continues to look over his shoulders at President Obama, and whether he admits it or not, he wishes he could come close to President Obama's quality. I have often called donald trump an "Incompetent Degenerate." Those words are no longer even close to describing this pathetic bag of skin and bones. Think of the number of hospitals and especially rural hospitals impacted and closed...Think of the number of states-Red states-that refused providing health care and expanding coverage for their citizens...Think of those who will Not have health care for whatever comes...AND all of because Republicants would not support the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare because they did not want to give credit to America's Black President for passing much needed health care. My grandmother would have called it, "cutting off your nose to spite your face." Medical workers are "pleading" for equipment and support to fight the Coronavirus. Instead of responding to them and this pandemic crisis with the executive orders he has at his wretched disposal, the Lying Ignorant one, whom some call president, sits on his ASS saying, "He is not a shipping clerk." In other words, it is not his responsibility to direct the ordering of desperately needed supplies. Beneath him as "president." Let me take this opportunity to again thank all of those who voted for this vile disgraceful deplorable cretin for president. THERE IS A NEW WHITE PHENOMENON THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS.
All my life, those Blacks who kissed White folks Asses, and who were obvious about their kissing preferences, we called them Uncle Toms...Aunt Janes...Handkerchief Head Niggers...and Bent Back Negroes. Well now, we have a category which deserves attention. A new cultural phenomenon. We have White folks who pucker to kiss donald trump’s Rump every time he twitches. They even stand in line and spend whatever time is necessary to show there is no mistaking how much they enjoy their "craft." Yesterday, as a for instance, during the donald trump fake press conference at the White House, before trump's "experts" came up to talk, they first had to lavish him with praise, as if he walks on water. Reminds me of Bent Back Negro preacher Darrell Scott saying, “donald trump is the most pro- Black president I’ve seen in my lifetime.” So what do we call White folks who fall all over themselves telling donald trump how brave he is...how much courage he has...how his leadership is second to none...and how God has anointed him to "lead this country?" How do we label this new White phenomenon in America. Maybe White folks kissing and sniffing White Rumps were there all along, and WE -Black folks- just did not know about it. America's incompetent president spoke for about 10 minutes tonight and said absolutely nothing about testing the American public for the pandemic. In fact, he said absolutely nothing ...Period!
The Incompetence of a Racist trump administration and the lack of leadership of a Racist trump administration has put every life in this country at risk...and the Racist trump administration is still incompetent and still not providing leadership. Most times when the President of the United States addresses the country in a time of crisis, he gives assurances to the American people. They trust what he says, and they trust his leadership. Can you say President Barack Obama? Every time donald trump addresses the country in a time of crisis, NO ONE believes what he says. No Trust. No Leadership. No Assurances. BTW...the reaction by "his" stock market to his speech last night? The stock market is down by 2000 points as of this minute (11:48-3/12/2020). The Struggle Continues! NOT TEACHING BLACK HISTORY IS A CRIME AND IT IS INTENDED TO BE A CRIME. The crime is to cripple the minds of Black boys and girls and make them to feel inferior. Making Blacks feel their ancestors did nothing in the development of this country other than serve as slaves is purposeful and criminal. I call American History Incomplete, Dishonest, and Racist.
Chuck Hobbs wrote this in a brilliant talk given to Middle Schoolers in Tallahassee, “First, you must be aware that the history of Black people did NOT begin with slavery here in the Western Hemisphere. Long before European civilization existed, there was Africa, a continent rich with life in every form imaginable.” These are words that many Black students never hear, because White school administrators and White teachers and even some Black teachers do not want them to hear it. For Whites, the reason is Racist; for Blacks the reason is laziness. In the next two months, Dr. Rudy F. Jamison Jr. and I will release a book entitled, “Never Forget Who You Are: Conversations About Racism and Identity Development” which addresses purposeful Racist teaching. A brief excerpt of my words and Dr. Jamison’s words: MY WORDS...“ What makes American history dishonest and immoral and untruthful is the purposeful exclusion of significant contributions by Blacks from the annals of American history. White students can pick up a book and read about the contributions of those who look like them. In many sections of this country, Blacks can rarely pick up a book and read about the contributions of those who look like them. In the eyes of those students, Whites did everything, to let them tell it, and Blacks made no contributions to this country. Damage to the psyche of Black students in a classroom is immeasurable and all because of America’s dishonesty and America’s racism. White textbook authors sanitize and romanticize American history for White America. When you consider that America’s founding presidents owned slaves, as did presidents of prestigious colleges and universities, as well as religious leaders and their organizations, American historians and American history textbooks deify instead of criticizing slave-owning founders of this Christian country. White Christian America’s notion that Black people are less than human remains at the heart of America’s core racist attitudes. This Christian country saw fit to establish signs, pass laws, and use violent intimidation to direct Blacks to their proper places: Colored and White water fountain signs, Colored and White restroom signs, segregated schools, segregated restaurants, segregated hotels, segregated motels, segregated movie theaters, segregated doctors’ offices, segregated buses and bus stations, segregated churches, segregated trains and train stations, segregated sports venues, segregated government offices at all levels, segregated public facilities, and segregated beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. Racist signs and racist laws represented a daily reminder as White America sought to reinforce their Christian “biblical notion” that Blacks were inferior and, in effect, Blacks were less than Whites.” DR. JAMISON'S WORDS...... Every student wants to matter, every student wants to be accepted, every student wants to learn, every student wants to contribute, and every student deserves a quality education that is responsive to his or her reality. History, and the books from which it is taught, is extremely critical to whether the quality and responsiveness of public education is empathic to students’ reality. More importantly, is the history we are teaching in schools accurate? History books are pivotal elements of identity development for young people that have thus far been written by the victors: the stories of White American power structures. Evading the reality of American history, particularly as it relates to Black folk, rejects the factual acts of terror in America and perpetuates dishonest narratives that keep White folk comfortable. The absence of an acknowledged brutal history relieves us, and I do mean everyone, of our moral responsibility to right America’s wrongs. When we consider the purpose of public education, some would argue that it sits on a continuum between democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility. If we can agree on these as functions of public education, then we can understand that history plays an important role in where we see ourselves situated in the world today. Unfortunately, Black folk have gotten the short end of the stick in terms of where we see ourselves, as well as where others see us in history. How do I see America? Let me count the ways. I see America through a lens that is oftentimes undervalued by others, especially White folk: competitive, prideful, compassionate, educated, slightly overweight, and Black. America was founded exclusive of others; Black folk did not play a role in the assembly of its ideals nor were we included as participants in pursuit of “freedom, justice, and liberty for all.” I am not sure if there is any other way I can see America other than through the eyes of a Black male who grew up in a disenfranchised community branded by scarcity, savagery, and less than—a Black male who has been relatively successful and conscious enough to be discouraged by systems of oppression that have been maintained over time. I see America through a lens that ignores the love, accountability, and high expectations so prevalent in poverty and marginalization. This thinking permeates the teaching of young Blacks. Whites and Black know better, yet they do nothing. A Crime? You bet your understanding of the human condition it is. The Struggle Continues.  I received permission from EIS Studios in New York to use this image in my first book, “It was never about a hot dog and a Coke!” From police in riot gear...to Blacks picketing...to the crowd standing behind demonstrators at a lunch counter...to the press reporting on whatever and mostly nothing relevant to the issues of the Civil Rights Movement...to a bus driver...to Mrs. Rosa Parks. These figures are all symbolic of the Civil Rights Movement. Note the images of the two students sitting at the lunch counter. They are the images used by the United States Postal Service when they created the Sit-in Stamp (note inset) in the 2005 Civil Rights Stamp Issue, "To Form A More Perfect Union." The Struggle Continues!  One of my real pleasures in life is talking to young Black students and telling them and teaching them the Black history they are not taught in school. I am often given a number of rich opportunities to talk to our young people during Black History month, and at times other than Black History Month.
Last week was another as I had the honor to speak to a group of our Black Future Brain Trust at the Ritz last week, who are a part of an after school program tutored and taught by the Talented Erin Kendrick and the Creative Shawana Brooks. I was Blessed to have teachers and community folks take time with me during my formative years. It made a difference in my life. Learning is a continuous process. If I can impart and teach a little about who they are, to our young people today...if just one student understands who she/he is and internalizes truth in my presentations...for me, it makes it all worth while. Giving our young people lessons in the Great Legacy of Black History is invigorating, and I can do it every day. Doing nothing is never an option. The Struggle Continues!   This is the 60th Anniversary year of the 1960 Sit-In Movement. On February 1, 1960 four college students from HBCU, North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina... David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and Joseph McNeil ...challenged the insulting segregation and racist disrespect in Woolworth's retail store, which wanted you to spend your money but only where they wanted you to be spend your money.
That first "sit-in" inspired a wave of sit-in demonstrations which challenged segregation and Racism by targeting White lunch counters, which were veritable vestiges of segregation and Racism, and spread to more than 55 cities, including Jacksonville (August 13, 1960). Jacksonville's local White press blacked-out all local news about the sit-ins in Jacksonville. Thank God for the National Black press and locally the Florida Star, which reported major portions of the real story of the Sit-in Movement. My book, "It was never about a hot dog and a Coke!" which I wrote as "my personal account" of what happened as the President of the Jacksonville Youth Council NAACP and a leader of the Sit-ins, has now become a history book of sorts because you will not find the information, material, and pictures in the book any place else. The following is a short excerpt from "It was never about a hot dog and a Coke!" detailing what Really Happened. Chapter 9 August 27, 1960—Ax Handle Saturday “There is no medicine to cure hatred.” —African proverb "Mr. Pearson received several calls on the morning of August 27, 1960 about very suspicious and unsettling activities in Hemming Park. He contacted Arnett Girardeau and Ulysses Beatty and asked them to ride with him downtown to Hemming Park. “As we approached Hemming Park,” Girardeau recalled, “we saw several white men wearing Confederate uniforms. Other whites walked around Hemming Park carrying ax handles with Confederate battle flags taped to them. A sign taped to a delivery-type van parked at the Duval and Hogan Streets corner of Hemming Park read, ‘Free Ax Handles.’ Small fence rails with shrubbery bordered that section of Hemming Park. [As we drove by,] we could see bundles of ax handles in the shrubbery. . . . No one attempted to conceal them. “We also saw three police[men] separately riding three-wheel police motorcycles. We watched as the police talked to the men dressed in Confederate uniforms. It appeared they were simply having a conversation. Certainly, [the police] were not questioning [the men]. As we circled Hemming Park, the police left.” We arrived at the Youth Center the morning of August 27, 1960 unaware of the Hemming Park activities. We opened our meetings with our usual prayer, not expecting this morning to be any different from other mornings. We sang our usual songs, including “We Shall Overcome.” Though our meetings became serious after we started the sit-in demonstrations, this meeting had a more serious bent. Mr. Pearson explained to us what he, Girardeau, and Beatty saw that morning at Hemming Park. He described the white men wearing Confederate uniforms, and other white men with Confederate flags taped to ax handles. He told us about the free ax handles sign and warned, “There could be trouble today.” He tried to contact Sheriff Dale Carson to express his concerns, but didn’t reach him. Mr. Pearson said he would understand if any Youth Council members decided they did not want to demonstrate that day. We openly discussed our plan of action that day, and whether we would sit in. On the heels of the situation with Parker, we figured we would be facing the Ku Klux Klan in Hemming Park. Several Youth Council members said we should cancel the day’s demonstration. We tried to stay strong and courageous and move forward. Yet a healthy fear of the unknown played a big role in our conversation. My current pastor, Reverend (now Bishop) Rudolph W. McKissick Jr. defines “healthy fear” as knowing the seriousness of your situation, which is an appropriate characterization of how we felt that day. Sometimes, when you face a situation like that the Youth Council faced that Saturday, you rein in the impetuosity of youth. Sometimes, the situation tests youthful mettle and resolve. Fear on one hand, and our interpretation of courage on the other, played a big part in whether or not we would demonstrate. I cannot really say what won the most points to demonstrate. Appropriately, we made our final decision after Mr. Pearson led us in prayer. We always joined hands and prayed at the beginning and the end of all Youth Council meetings. After the prayer that ended our meetings, we would say, “Together we go up, together we stay up”! Corny sounding perhaps, yet the times dictated we do everything in our power to reassure each other and reconfirm our faith in God. After prayer, I took the first of only two votes by Youth Council members on whether or not to demonstrate. We voted unanimously to demonstrate. Someone defined courage as continuing forward even as fear tries to hold you back. Our determined courage overcame our healthy fear. However, instead of sitting in at Woolworth, in front of Hemming Park, we decided to sit in at W. T. Grant Department store, three blocks away from Hemming Park at the corner of Adams Street and Main Street. After the vote that Saturday, there were 34 demonstrators, including Arnett Girardeau. Though he was older than most Youth Council members, we decided to select Arnett as the sit-in captain because of our view that Arnett could better handle an awkward situation, if one occurred. No one quarreled with his selection. The W. T. Grant Department store had a lunch counter, though it was not nearly as large as the one at Woolworth. Like Woolworth’s, Grant’s also had a “colored lunch counter.” When we walked into Grant’s, I remember seeing four police officers directing traffic at the corner of Main and Adams—or so it appeared to me. fter we sat at Grant’s white lunch counter, store officials summarily closed and turned out the lights—all usual and customary. When we came out of Grant’s, and turned west on Adams, we could see in the distance a mob of whites running toward us. As the mob got closer, it became obvious they were swinging ax handles and baseball bats. In a surreal scene, they swung those ax handles and baseball bats at every Black they saw. It is amazing what the mind’s eye captures during tense split-seconds of confrontation. I remember seeing a television reporter or a camera operator from local television station Channel 12 on top of a car taking pictures—until someone knocked him off the car with an ax handle. Employees of stores along the block started locking store doors. If you were inside a store, you stayed inside; if you were outside a store, you could not get in. We had tried to prepare for most scenarios to be encountered during sit-in demonstrations, but nothing prepared us for an attack as vicious as this. Although we would laugh later about trying to be cool while looking at those attacking us with ax handles and baseball bats, surviving the onslaught became our primary concern. Most people have held or felt a baseball bat, but not an ax handle. Ax handles usually are as heavy as a baseball bat and can inflict as much damage. They are made of solid wood sturdy enough to hold an ax, and you never forget its look in the hands of someone trying to maim you. All of us started running and trying to protect ourselves, but Black downtown shoppers were simply no match for those wielding the baseball bats and ax handles. Some fought as best they could, but most simply tried to run for safety. In its September 12, 1960 issue, Life magazine captured the most vivid image of the attack’s aftermath. Several whites are shown attacking Charlie B. Griffin, a friend and a classmate who graduated in 1961 from Northwestern Junior Senior High School. The picture, though in black and white, graphically shows Charlie in his blood-drenched shirt standing next to a law-enforcement official. Charlie played high school football at Northwestern and, given his size could have ably defended himself in a fair fight. But Charlie became another victim of the racial attacks in downtown Jacksonville that day. The attack on Charlie, it so happened, occurred SWB (Shopping While Black). He was not a member of the Youth Council and was not “sitting in” that day. He would later tell me that as he walked downtown, “this white guy” ran toward him and took a swing at him with an ax handle. When Charlie started to defend and protect himself, more whites came to hit him with ax handles. The attacks against Charlie and the other Blacks that day were vicious and cowardly. As for me, I ran to Main Street first, which is away from the mob, and then north on Main Street to wherever I thought I could find safety. We were on our own—we had no police protection. All law enforcement officers had disappeared. Afterwards, we came to believe that the Jacksonville Police Department and the Duval County Sheriff’s Department knew in advance that racial violence would occur on August 27, 1960. As I ran down Main Street, I was picked up by a woman who drove me to the Youth Center. To this day, I cannot remember her face, although Mrs. I. E. “Mama” Williams would later tell me she had been the one to pick me up. I just remember the person asking me if I was hurt and telling me she was a member of the NAACP. Forty years later, I would find out how much Jacksonville and Duval County law enforcement knew about what would happen that day. I met Clarence Sears, an FBI informant with the Ku Klux Klan during the period leading up to Ax Handle Saturday, at the 40th year Ax Handle Commemorative Anniversary Program at Bethel Baptist Institutional Church. I did not know Clarence Sears at the time, but he painted a very descriptive timeline of the events leading to Ax Handle Saturday. His CI (Confidential Informant) nickname was Charlie. Sears gave his report to his FBI manager, who in turn gave the report to Sheriff Dale Carson, or, to be absolutely accurate, put his report on the sheriff’s desk. Supposedly, a police officer in the sheriff’s office intercepted the report and gave it to the head Klansman, a so-called Cyclops. Sears said the report caused quite a commotion at the next Klan meeting. The Klan realized, according to Sears, that there was “a traitor in our midst,” but never knew his identity. According to Sears, the Klan intended the attacks to spark a citywide racial riot." I am glad the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, and NO...I did not watch the Super Bowl. But their win will be insignificant if they do not understand ...especially the Black players...the big picture of visiting a Racist president in the White House, who is on public record insulting Black NFL players, and by extension Black folks in this country. The incompetent Racist called those Black NFL players who knelt protesting Racism and police brutality, "Sons of Bitches" ... in addition to saying Blacks and Browns come from "shit hole countries."
I am waiting for the "there is no politics in sports" BS. There is politics in everything in the American discourse and there is Racism in that discourse. In a recent news article, Black players on the Chiefs felt it is no big deal "rubbing elbows" with a Racist president. Some of their comments were sad...not surprising, but sad. I also tire of Black folks giving White folks accolades in the sports arena as a great coach...or whatever...but give them a pass when it comes to Black human dignity and respect. You want Blacks to go into battle on the athletic field, but you will not go into battle on the "human respect field." Andy Reid might be a great NFL coach, but his lack of respect for his players is showing. When you visit the White House knowing a Racist has desecrated the office with his Racism vitriol, what does that make you? There are no excuses. Being a Bent Back Negro does extend to sports. The Struggle Continues! |
AuthorRodney. L. Hurst, Sr.
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