Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Thinking About Resistance

I couldn't help cringing when, in this last debate with Hillary, I listened to Obama genuflecting before the altar of White priorities in his denunciation of Louis Farrahkan. Now we all know that Farrahkan dug his own hole with his comments about Judaism that have widely been perceived by Jews and Gentiles as anti-Semitic. I've heard his explanations about what he was trying to say, but bottom line, he remains a symbol of anti-Jewish sentiment in the minds of America's White political elite.

Black leaders are simply too dependant to resurrect Brotha Farrahkan and his analysis of White supremacy and its impact on the needs of Black people, even though his analysis continues to attract interest from lots of Black folks. Despite the reservations that we too have regarding Farrahkan's admitted role in the assassination of Malcolm X, given the saliency of his analysis, and the actions of the Nation of Islam in recovering brothers that have been economically hounded out of their families and communities (one out of every nine 20-34 year old Brothas - our warrior class -- are locked down in their desparate efforts to make a decent wage committing largely economic crimes, see the new Pew research center report), the Black grassroots does not see Farrahkan as a pariah that must be denounced, rejected and banished from the political discourse. The Million Man March. Need I say more.

As I always tell people, the "system" (of White supremacy) requires from those that want to participate, a pound of flesh in order to demonstrate your complete and utter loyalty to its survival and prosperity. These people are not stupid. The idea that you will get in by acting committed to their system of supremacy and then do some good deeds on behalf of your own people, is simply laughable. White folks aren't stupid. If they didn't invent it, they have surely mastered the art and science of psychological warfare. They know us better than we know ourselves. They know how to use the pressure of the purse to alter behavior. And they know how to use violence in the event that economic isolation doesn't get the results they want.

So there is Obama sitting on stage giving his pound of flesh: 'I denounce and reject and repudiate and spit on Farrakhan, his family, his thoughts, his actions, his statements, and his support.' And then he went further by swearing allegiance to the 20th century's biggest ironies: the Jews going from victims of Western racism and Colonial supremacy, to perpetrators of violence and oppression against the Palestinians. Obama could in fact end up winning the presidency. He certainly is no threat to injustice in the Middle East. This doesn't bode well for those of us hoping that his campaign of Hope really would allow America an opportunity to not only remake it's worldwide image, but to make the case for a more progressive politics that is bold enough to put everything on the table, including old relationships and ways of doing business that have been handed down from wars past.

Obama blew an opportunity to say what is on a lot of American minds when it comes to our unequivocal support for the actions of the state of Israel: Why? You hear it from C-Span callers, you hear in hushed tones from Democratic party activists. People are questioning this so-called "special" relationship with Israel, particularly in light of what most objective observers understand to be a war of unequals: the pitiful Palestinians throwing rocks at armored Humvees, and firing rockets into the deserts of Israel, while the Israeli army, among the top 2 most deadly armed forces in the world, uses sophisticated precision weaponry to assassinate and destroy Palestinian people and infrastructure at will. The only thing that makes this relationship special, is the fact that America, which used to pride itself on standing against oppression, is unwilling to take Israel to task, and to use its relationship to force a more equitable end to the lopsided war that has turned Palestine into an open-air concentration camp.

So why continue to resist? Like the Native Americans before us (and the Palestinians currently), the White man and his woman have conquered, and with conquest comes the power to ascribe value, determine priorities, and set standards for discourse and acceptable action. Obama has been cleared for take off. He has proven himself a loyal servant, he has offered his pound of flesh in exchange for the opportunity to be the first Black face in a decidedly white place. Unfortunately for the masses of Black folks in America, and the world, this doesn't bode well for our prospects for freedom; freedom from the endless lists evidencing underdevelopment, poverty, destitution, downward mobility and dependency. Since we are not moving forward, then we are moving backward because evolution is certainly not standing still. In fact, in the book, Radical Evolution, Joel Garreau writes about the advances in genetic, robotic, information, and nanotechnologies (GRIN) that are pushing the envelope on evolution, accelerating human mental and physical capacity in ways that envision a new Neanderthal: 2oth Century humans.

Now consider this capacity to alter what we understand it means to be human, combined with a ruling class, Whites in the Western World (is that what "www" means?), use to having their way with the world's resources, and you can quickly envision the evolution of a real master race. The futurists talk about the "singularity", in essence, the point in time that man-made computers exceed the organic intelligence of humans. At that point, some 50 or so years away by some estimates, the world's population will begin to slide into regression. The population will not continue to grow but will be in a free fall down to a more manageable and useful 2 or 3 billion people.

Guess who is not going to make the cut. Niggas and flies! Although, if a choice has to be made, my money is on the flies.

The very serious point being made is that elite White folks have turned their attention to a more perfect future, or: The Next Iteration of Human Existence. They will be, and already are making choices about what lives have value ("cheap labor" is another way of saying the lives of the people in low-end jobs are of little value) , and who deserves the opportunity to join their club. This is where the terminal dependency of Black folks is going to take it's toll. We simply don't have the social capital to ensure our own survival. The "exceptional" amongst us will undoubtedly be the beneficiaries of some White largess, but that doesn't bode well for the survival of the Black Man as we know him today. The "exceptional" amongst us can smell the scent of death that hovers around all the rest of us. They can see clearly that there is no Black power, and it's now every man, woman and child for their Black selves. Their kids will be half-breeds, their grandchildren will pass, their great-grandchildren won't know their names. (Go to a college mixer at an NYU or Columbia, and watch how those Black folks are running from each other.)

No, there is not going to be some great cataclysm that wipes out the Black race. As we are starting to see now with the disappearance of middle-class mobility work, technology will continue to increase productivity and convenience, reduce jobs, and take the human touch out of the social economic equation. The most vulnerable amongst us, those dependent on "others" for their survival, are simply going to perish, disappear, like so many homeless people sliding into the underground, unseen, unheard from, gone. The "others" we were depending on will simply not be able in most cases, willing in some, to extend the gift of life -- a livelihood -- because they too will be struggling and hoping to find ways of cashing their White dispensation check. Many of those checks will be returned for "insufficient usefulness". Many of those checks, however, are being cashed right now: The Savings and Loan Giveaway, The rescue of the Longterm Capital folks from their own genius, The Chrysler Handup, The Dotcom Pyramid Scheme, and most recently, The Subprimate Mortgage Fleecing. Every one of these financial schemes are chock full of losers, and a handful of winners, some we know about, most we'll never know.

Given the reality of this Next Iteration of Human Existence, why should the Black Cultural Grassroots continue to resist White supremacy? Well, because we, by and large, don't know what else to do. Standing still while an accelerated evolution rapidly surpasses us simply doesn't feel right. It betrays the legacy of the many RunAwaySlaves that paved the way for our legal freedom. Maybe, as the Grim Reaper continues to descend on the 4 or 5 billion "cheap lives" out here in the world, the ambition of Black folks will exceed a place in the White house and start to focus on our own house.

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Organizing Agenda

What! What! Well, the "what" is all in the execution of a relevant vision. Below, is a proposal that was submitted to an organization that thought it wanted to be relevant. When it was time for the rubber to meet the road, they bitched up. And these were people that really thought they wanted to be "bout-it, bout-it". What it will really take is a pool of independent money, something like what George Soros has done in setting up MoveOn.org. And please don't say Oprah. This effort will require real money from people with money that get it; that understand that the Black male in America is on the endangered species list. Step on up!

"Good day,

As per our recent conversation, I am writing with a proposal for my role as organizing consultant. This proposal is intended to give you a broad overview of the campaign tactics (section III), and some of the “messaging” (sections I, II) that, in my reading, best seems to accomplish the goals of the ... campaign that you have currently initiated.

Goals
The ... campaign is at its core, a campaign to strengthen our people and our community. It is intended to make us strong, viable and interdependent partners in human progress.
The gentrification of ... has presented us with a survival challenge that begins with our homes, and our neighborhoods, and ultimately extends to our ability to economically provide for our own future.

Overarching theme: "Self-Sufficiency, Not Dependency"

The enemy is DEPENDENCY. The solution is building an Infrastructure of SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

Fifty years ago, we took on the challenge of Civil Rights because we understood that we could not prosper as a people within the matrix of Jim Crow. It was a system so embedded in our society, our psyche, that it affected every aspect of life in blatant and subtle ways. There was no peace to be made with Jim Crow.

The gentrification assault on our communities is one tool in a matrix of mechanisms that operate to target us as the most economically vulnerable people in America, and the World. We cannot protect our neighborhoods if we cannot buy our homes. We cannot buy our homes if we cannot find and keep jobs paying living wages. And in this global economy, living wage careers have been replaced by substandard wages and low-end, fly-by-night jobs. Black male out-of-the-workforce numbers in some of the top cities in America are higher than 50%; the impact that has on our ability to survive and prosper is measured in all the social indicators that point to a people under siege.

Action -- Grow Self-Sufficiency Movement (The New "Civil Rights")
1. Who we are, what we stand for.
- research and communication strategy.
2. Rallying the Troops
- Methods: Boots on the ground, Mail, Phones, Events
3. Collaborating with other organizations with similar interest
- devising collective strategies and actions
4. Establish a communication infrastructure: cutting out the middle-man, speaking directly to our constituency
- recruitment and training of persuasion organizers
- develop web portal
- content production
- distribution
5. Movement Action Plan: taking control of the economy of our own existence: the difference between a tee-shirt store and ascribing value to our goods, services and ideas.
a) 21st Century Skills Institute (for illustrative purposes)
- teaching skills that will enable our constituency to compete in the worldwide economy
- teaching model based on activities rooted in the economy of our specific existence: images and stories; culture and beauty

The elements of the Action phase are sequential and contemporaneous, meaning that while a certain order of action is necessary, some of the elements will be on-going and will overlap with others. My consultant role would be to provide strategic and tactical advise, counsel and training. Which would include training organizers, helping to develop campaign literature, talking points, and other such content, communicating with potential collaborators, helping with recruitment and management of volunteers, developing and implementing a fund raising strategy, and auditing results. I estimate that it would take approximately six months to accomplish actions 1-4. The fifth action is an on-going program that will constitute the essence of the "how" we propose achieving our goal of "Self-Sufficiency, Not Dependency".
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A Movement To End Black Dependancy

Good Article:

"A Movement to End Black Dependancy"