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For those Whites, who were uncomfortable with my WORDS in a recent conversation about the Pathology of White American Racism and its collateral ravages...a reminder again, YOU were uncomfortable with Just Words. Blacks have to deal with the physical and the psychological uncomfortability, as the human targets, of perpetual White American Racism. BTW...NEVER expect me to soft-peddle White American Racism.
The Struggle Continues!
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WHITE ANGLO SAXON PROTESTANTS AND OTHER WHITE CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS WERE USED BY AMERICAN CAPITALISM to help create, develop, and rationalize the Christian American Holocaust of Slavery ... which gave birth to the Christian American Institution of Racism.
How flawed is a Christian country whose founding documents speak of “freedom,” yet criminally holds a portion of its population enslaved in chained bondage and slavery? How flawed is a Christian country that passes Racist laws, creates discriminatory governmental policies, and develops arcane societal categories designed to keep that same portion of its population in their place based on the color of their skin? How flawed is a Christian country whose history is built on "a free labor economy" based on slave labor and the degradation of millions of human beings? How flawed is a Christian country that refuses to apologize for slavery and refuses to acknowledge the wrongs done to millions of its citizens? How flawed is a Christian country that creates and designs its own special brand of racism? How flawed is a Christian country that elects a Racist as president and then tries to label him as anything else but a Racist? How academically pure, and historically and culturally informative it would be, to include in classroom textbooks, and teach, an honest and an Inclusive American history, with the names of the many Black Americans who impacted us as a nation? Robert Kennedy said, “Truth is the token of trust.” Not teaching the honest history of the role that Black Americans played in the development of this country keeps the playing field eternally uneven, and undermines Respect and Trust. The infrastructure of Racism is Truly rooted in Dishonesty and Disrespect. The Struggle Continues!  I included this quote in the Introduction of my book, "Unless WE Tell It...It Never Gets Told!" which I call "An Incomplete and Dishonest American History." It simply shows how much Then, as Now ...We deal with revisionist history!
"One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk, but only that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner . . . and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth." — William Edward Burghardt “W. E. B.” Du Bois Sociologist, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, historian, author, and editor The more things change, the more they remain the same. The Struggle Continues!
Over the annals of time, we have rightfully and wrongfully ...in my opinion mostly wrongfully...exalted Presidents to a status of Great Expectations. In part because of the Romanticism of American history and the writings of Racist White American historians, and in part, because White America and Black America have always considered those elected as American Presidents as exceptional. I have never considered American President as exceptional per se, but I have had a certain amount of respect for some American Presidents...simply because they were American Presidents. That does not include many of America’s “founding father” Presidents who were slave owners and pedophiles and slavery supporters and supporters of the South and sympathizers of so-called Southern traditions...or even a so-called progressive like Woodrow Wilson, who was simply a Racist in presidential clothing. In recent years, I considered Lyndon Johnson, with all of his flaws, and a Southerner...yes I know, my prejudice is showing...an excellent President. Any president who starts an Anti-Poverty program...shepherds a “Civil Rights” bill, and two “Voting Rights Acts” through Congress...and then says “We SHALL Overcome” in a speech to Congress ...gets an “Attaboy” from me. I also had a lot of respect for John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Among many other things, John Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall to the federal bench, and Jimmy Carter appointed Andrew Young as Ambassador to the United Nations and started an Initiative for permanent funding and support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I do not expect any President to understand all issues and especially issues that impact Me as a Black American, but I expect White American Presidents...like I expect any White elected official who comes into the Black community...not to be an “expert” on me...and to “be fair” and “to listen;” and given those dynamics, to do whatever he or she can do, to make a difference. What can you possibly say as a Black American when you talk about President Barack Obama? First you grin from ear to ear. Not just because he looked like me and was the President of the United States of America, but because he proudly served with Quality and Panache and Competence and Integrity and Sincerity and Honesty and Character and Principles and He gave Respect and he Commanded Respect...and I could go on and on and on. 8 Great years as President. 8 Outstanding years of a Respectful and a Respected Administration. That Quality and Panache and Competence and Respect came to a screeching halt with the election of donald trump. Other than his supposed money, donald trump brought Nothing and brings Nothing to the Oval Office, and there is a question about his money. Did I say Nothing? Let me correct that. He brought his core Racist attitude, his Racism, his Incessant Lying, his White Privilege, his Treasonous Criminality, his relationship with International Criminals, his Incompetence, his lack of quality, his small-mindedness, his narcissism, his lack of character, his lack of integrity, and his scandal a day administration. The oft-quoted, "to those whom much is given, much is required'' means nothing to donald trump because... that is exactly what he has given...Nothing! It goes without saying as bad as other presidents were, you might consider them "good" in comparison to donald trump. donald trump’s name will be added to the list of “worse than execrable” American presidents and probably with more asterisks than one can shake the proverbial stick at. And none of those asterisks will stand for anything, other than his Lying and Criminally Scandalous service of Nothingness, as the Disgraceful and Loathsome president of the United States. Questions: Presidential? Would you really want your children to admire and model themselves after donald trump? The Struggle Continues!    Racists, and more often than not, the White press, try and equate Far Right Racists and their Racist Politics with Progressives or Liberals and the Politics of Freedom and Equality and Justice for All. I heard a member of the national press say today, “In other words, They have the Far Right, and You have the Far Left. No! They have Racism and Racism Stands Alone! Just another example of how Ignorant Whites in the press are, when it comes to understanding fundamental Rights and Freedoms. And Although they are Freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, they are Freedoms that Blacks have had to Fight For, Every Day. America’s Racism did not just begin. It is being propagated on a monumental scale Today by an Ignorant Racist president ...and his equally Racist followers ...and an Incompetent and Complicit Racist Republicant House of Representatives...who have 5 WEEKS to continue to act as the Racists in Charge. The Far Right and those who believe in Human Dignity and Respect for All ARE NOT to be used in the same sentence. Far Right is Racism personified and to the Nth Degree, as they always have been. The so-called Left IS NOT Extremism. In the year since Charlottesville, Racist Republicants in Congress have increasingly turned a blind eye to the Far-Right Racism of a Racist president. They have lost interest in a host of urgent policy issues related to racial inequity and especially enforcing the Voting Rights Act, of which they had no interest, in the first place. The cornerstone of the Racist president’s Racist code-word slogan of “Make America Great Again" and Republicants are following the Centuries Old Far-Right Strategy of Racist Politics...Separate and very much Unequal ... and Definitely Do Negative Things Unto Blacks FIRST...and doing their part to "Make America Great ..err White...Again." That is always the game plan of Racists. If you advocate for Equality and Diversity and Freedom and Fairness for All, Voting as a Right, Health care as a Right, according to Republicants and Racists---which to me are one in the same---those things are extreme, and they are Racist interpretations of “Far Left.” There is no equivalency with White American Racism as practiced by the trump Republicant Party and Decency and Respect and Principles and Integrity. Blacks and Whites who fought for and who fight for Civil Rights and for Human Dignity and Respect don’t matter to these Racist Neanderthals and to the president of the United States and the press still cannot get it right. I am convinced one of the major problems with the White Press is, they DO NOT have the resolve and the Black reporters and other Black staff who can explain to them...White folks...how their White Racism impacts Blacks, since we are the targets of such abject Racism. White folks, no matter how they try and no matter how much they want to be, ARE NOT Experts on Black folks. They either do not want to, or they do not have the stones to...or in the case of FOX, they are damned and determined not to report on White American Racism. African Proverb...“Until the Lion tells his side of the story, the hunt will ALWAYS favor the Hunter.” The Struggle Continues!   I am thankful for Great family and Great friends. I am thankful for those who have made a difference in my life over the years.
However, there are those things for which I AM NOT Thankful. I am not thankful for White American Racists who want me, to be thankful for them, and for their "allowing me" to live in America on THEIR terms. There is this notion that White America GAVE me something and for that I should be eternally grateful and thankful. White America did not GIVE me anything. White America TOOK something from me and my ancestors to satisfy their prurient needs...their lustful desires...and their pecuniary interests. They took untold wealth and riches from my ancestors in the Christian Institution called Slavery which made White America obscenely wealthy and for that I am NOT thankful. Black Americans EARNED everything they accomplished in these As Yet United States of America, With Nothing and in Spite Of! After the White Racist shenanigans ...Black Voter Suppression-Black Voter Denial-Black Voters Ignored-Blacks Voters Disenfranchised...in the Florida Governor’s Race and the White Racist shenanigans -THE SAME- in the Georgia Governor’s Race, nothing makes me think we will not see more White Racist shenanigans in the Senatorial campaign in Mississippi. What is obvious to me, is that Brian Kemp and Ron DeSantis are both Racists and they appealed to Core White Racist Attitudes of White Racists in Georgia and Florida. Neither was as qualified as their Black opponents. But that did not make a difference and only in very RARE occasions does it make a difference. When you run a campaign where qualifications and track record and service should be the primary prerequisites, yet YOUR White Skin color is the ONLY qualification, nothing makes me think that Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Racist White female candidate in Mississippi, is any different. On March 21, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced Cindy Hyde-Smith as his choice to fill the United States Senate seat held by Thad Cochran, who indicated he would be resigning the seat later due to ongoing health issues. Cochran resigned on April 1, and Bryant formally appointed Hyde-Smith on April 2. Hyde-Smith totally supports Racist president donald trump (expected) ...voted for the Racist Brett Kavanaugh (expected)...during this re-election campaign she made the Racist comment that she would sit in the front row for a public hanging-spelled lynching in Mississippi (expected)...and she posed wearing a Confederate cap et al (expected). All of this appeals to White American Racism and especially in Christian Mississippi, the state that lynched and killed more Blacks, after the Civil War, than any other state. Mississippi’s execrable track records of Racism and Racist violence is disgusting and nauseating and repulsive, just as is some of the Christian Evangelicals in America and in Mississippi, who turn their heads when Racism stares them in the face. Mike Espy, like Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum is more than qualified to serve the citizens of Mississippi except in one main category. His skin color is Black. And that will be his political death knell, Just as it was for Ms. Abrams and Mr. Gillum. I would like to think Mike Espy will win in Mississippi, and I have done all that I can from afar to help him. But judging from the track record of Racist White America, and Racist Whites in the South and particularly Mississippi, I am not going to hold my breath, nor will I lose any sleep. I know that when the chips are down...when the rubber meets the road...when push comes to shove...all of the clichés apply...White Mississippi WILL BE White and Racist. They always have ...and they always will be. Racist Political machinations are no different. I hope I am wrong about Whites in Mississippi. I doubt that I am. I have not been wrong about Whites in America, yet. They are predictable. If I am, I will be the first to give my mea culpa. Somehow, I don’t think I will have to...not when White American Racism is on the prowl. In the meantime we MUST keep Fighting White American Racism. Doing Nothing Is Not An Option! The Struggle Continues! I Love the Holidays and I especially Love Family and Friends during the Holidays and on Special Occasions...even when A LOVED One is No longer With You. And even though it is tough...Real Tough...You Cherish the Experiences and Love the Memories...and Thank God for Them. Even though the pain is there during the Holidays, So are the Great Memories. And the Great Memories will always Outweigh the Not So Great Memories.Thank you God for Ann Hurst, and OUR more than 50 years of Great Memories Together. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.! 
 I am playing my music too loud in your opinion and it so offends you that you shoot at me while I am sitting in a car with three of my friends who happen to be Black. Your bullet hits me in the chest and in the head. I am wounded and I know I am dying. Yeah sometimes when my mother thought I was playing my music too loud in my bedroom, my mother would say... "Boy if you do not turn that music down" and that was all she needed to say. Her words were enough and it was my mother, whom I dearly love. My mother is a good mother and my father is a good father. They raised me right. I am respectful to senior citizens and to my teachers and to my neighbors and to young ladies. I do not drink and I have never done drugs. I want to graduate from high school and attend college. I know I will not do that now because I am dying. I remember seeing portions of a movie on TV called “American Graffiti.” I watched as those students played their music and some of it was loud ...perhaps. Yet no one threatened nor raised a gun and shot in their car to do them bodily harm. It was not important at the time but now that I think back on those movie scenes all of the students were White. I wonder if that is why Michael Dunn shot into the car where I was sitting? Did he shoot because we were Black? Are racist attitudes and racism that prevalent today that you will kill me because you think my music is too loud? If I was breaking the law, why not call the police? Is playing music against the law? All of that is moot I guess. Playing music is not in my future. Only a homicide detective...the medical examiner...the funeral director...a cemetery. I wonder if my parents will give the funeral director my favorite Blue suit and my new shoes I just got for my birthday. I do not know how this works and I cannot ask anyone. This dying sucks. I will miss my Mother and my Father and my family and my friends and my classmates and my school and my church and my neighborhood and my girlfriend and my room and my favorite foods. All this because my music was too loud? Really? And God...thank you for helping Elect my Mother to Congress.  From an Idea and a Vision by Dr. Rudy Jamison ...with the support of Dr. Chris Janson and the University of North Florida's Center for Urban Education and Policy...with historical help and civil rights perspective from Rodney L. Hurst Sr...with the commitment of 25 young high school students and their parents and teachers...with the Outstanding and Talented lead of two Muralists...with the creative consultancy of one of Jacksonville most outspoken advocates of the Arts...with sponsorship by some of Jacksonville's notables...has grown a Jacksonville Monument! The Hope and History (Ax Handle Saturday) Mural is one of the most exhilarating and remarkable projects I have ever been associated with, as I watched talented young Black and Brown students put the creative genius of a White Muralist with the assistance of a Black Muralist on the side and the front of the Eastside Brother Building...on A. Philip Randolph-the Father of the Modern Civil Rights Movement-Boulevard. What Symbolism! A Mural so noted and known now, that Senator Cory Booker asked to see it and understand it, when he came to Jacksonville to campaign for Andrew Gillum. Of course, we accommodated him. Hats off to Nicole Holderbaum AND Suzanne Pickett AND Rudy F. Jamison Jr. AND Chris Janson AND Mai Keisling AND Hope McMath AND 25 High SCHOOL STUDENTS AND Bruce AND THE City of Jacksonville! What a Project!
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AuthorRodney. L. Hurst, Sr. 
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