Black Americans CANNOT be Democrat or Republican!

Ronald Reagan

Historically politics has never been kind to Black people. The very nature of politics is rooted in racism. White Europeans claimed complete control of the political process in America at the expense of native americans and especially Blacks.

Strong Black voices that advocate for Black issues are rare in the political realm. This exclusion of voices who advocate for Black issues is a bi-partisan effort. Democrats and Republicans have both benefited from the political silencing of Black Americans.

The current presidential primary campaigns feature a variety of candidates and only one of them offers any agenda for Black issues. Black Americans have a strange loyal historical relationship with Democratic Party. The inner workings of these political parties make it counter productive for Blacks to support either party.

Bill Clinton

Politicians are friendly and associate with each other regardless of their political party alignments. They live in the same neighborhoods, dine together, entertain together and their kids go to the same schools. When they perform theatrics in the media to divide and deceive the country’s working class and poor it is insincere. The party lines are superficial in the past they have actually switched views.

Not one president Democratic or Republican has EVER focused on Black interests at any point in history. Below are four politicians past and present that many black people hold in high regard and consistently support, yet they have been detrimental to Black people’s existence:

Abraham Lincoln

• Alleged to have freed enslaved Africans in america, actually did not free slaves. He did not free slaves in the North but freed slaves in states that had succeeded from the union which he had no jurisdiction over at that time.  Lincoln also attempted to negotiate a deal with confederate to allow them to keep slaves for 40 more years if they would end the succession.  He had no interest in slaves well being.

John F. Kennedy

• When protesters for Civil Rights in Alabama were being brutalized by law enforcement, racists and other white supremacist,  Kennedy claimed he did not have the authority to send troops in to help the Black protestors.
• He then sent troops to Alabama to act as peace makers after the Blacks had demonstrated their ability to defend themselves.

Bill Clinton

• 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill included 3 strikes Policy, children as young as 13 being prosecuted as adults, $9.85 Billion for new prisons, federal guideline sentencing and more negative policies.
• The JPI report reveals that 225,000 more Blacks were incarcerated under Clinton than under President Reagan.
• Charter School boom created under his administration. Charter schools would eventually monetized Black children’s educational failures for private corporation profit.

Hillary Clinton

• Was well aware of the policies that her husband implemented during his presidency and never spoke out against them.
• 5 of her campaign bundlers work for lobbying and law firms that CCA and other private prisons employ.

Barack Obama

• While national unemployment has improved under his presidency black unemployment has remained the same and at times increased under his presidency.
• Since President Obama’s first day in office the CCA and The GEO Group have been awarded $1.7 and 1.8 billion dollars in federal contracts, respectively.
• Poverty level of black people has continued to increase under his presidency.
• On the 40th anniversary of her arrest, the FBI suddenly put Assata Shakur on the Ten Most Wanted Terrorists List. The reward for her capture has been doubled to $2 million.

The Party name is irrelevant they are both the same for Black people

Blacks are in a familiar yet very awkward position.  No matter who they vote for, they will not benefit and likely will suffer.  Kanye West once famously said “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” a more accurate phrase would have been “Politicians who support white supremacy (seems to be 99.9% of all politicians) don’t care about black people”. Republicans continue racist rhetoric in the media while Democrats are worse as the play the role of the fox in sheep’s clothing, deceiving blacks with policies that always have negative long term impact.

Voting as a singular strategy to create economic change is absolutely worthless and voting exclusively democrat is not only worthless but insane. We have had voting rights since 1965, 50 years and our economic and social conditions are no better.

Economic empowerment comes from specific actions. Blacks must engage in these actions:

1. Release any default political affiliations and identify yourselves as independent.
2. Understand that voting is worthless without money and a lobby group who will transfer the money to politicians in exchange for support of the black agenda.
3. Vote as a unified group for an Independent party.

The above action points rely on an agenda to serve as the reason for the action points. The below agenda is one that I would suggest for Black people It does not speak for all Black people but its a good start.

Black American Agenda

1. Negotiate a reparations agreement for Black Americans that involves land, tax breaks, free education, control of certain resources and support for HBCUs as the core of settlement.
2. Abolish 21st Century Slavery with the removal of the 13th Amendment Clause, that allows legal slavery.
3. Enforcing the The Black Freedman Indian Treaty of 1866.
4. Create Affirmative Action-like plan specifically for black people.
5. Reconstruction of Public School Education.
6. Reconstruction of legal and law enforcement system.

This is one part of revolution yet a very necessary part. This process has to be part of the Black movement.

The Political System: Systems of Racism Series 3 of 9 – Defining racism Part 3B:

The political power structure of America was set up by the White European immigrants almost immediately upon arriving on these shores in the early 1600s. Europeans instantly established themselves as the dominant political force in this new colony. Europeans at once began carving out the policies that would govern the new territory and a large part of those policies were targeted at determining the role Blacks would play in the new colony. This naturally excluded Blacks from the political process. Blacks were almost 100% marginalized and unrepresented in the political process from 1619 until the Civil Rights Movement.

Racism in Politics – voter supression[/caption]

There was a small period of Black political progress during Reconstruction.  The 14th (1868) and 15th (1869) Amendments were passed, the 15th Amendment gave Blacks the right to vote. This allowed blacks to become involved in the political arena from   approximately  1865 – 1877. The progress of Blacks under Reconstruction was met simultaneously  with creation of the KKK, Black Codes  and Jim Crow . These three factors quickly reversed  blacks political gains. Prior to Jim Crow become fully indoctrinated in society which made voting illegal on a state level, the KKK intimidated blacks from voting as well as removed black government officials and government officials who supported black progress through coups.

Jim Crow was the primary means of ensuring black voter suppression from 1877 unit 1865.  Here are a few of the state and federally supported polices that were used to exclude Blacks from the political machine. (For more details on this process list click on this link)

1. Poll taxes during Jim Crow created a financial barrier to vote in North and South. 
2. Literacy tests during Jim Crow created an education barrier to vote in the North and South.  
3. Caging lists  unlawfully challenging the registration status of voters. 
4. KKK/White Supremacy Coups 
5. Felon Disenfranchisement, denying convicted felons the right to vote, yet criminalizing ordinary black life which make them into felons. 

These tactics and many more created a hostile political environment for black people until the Civil Rights Movement when multiple laws were passed to give some semblance of rights to blacks. From 1619 until 1965 Blacks had approximately 12 years of limited political involvement out of 320+ years in this country and even that period was erased shortly after it started.

Politics of Racism was nationwide[/caption]

Even with our gained voter rights in 1965 we still struggle today to maintain our ability to vote. We also have yet to develop any politicians, Black or White, who have been unapologetically committed to the Black agenda and willing to speak authoritatively about the issues that affect Black people. The racism in politics is extremely nuanced yet very real, the exclusion of blacks from politics was systematic and based on race. The impact has been crippling and continues to be felt by Black people today.

The issues Blacks face today in police brutality, injustices in the legal system and lack of economic development in black communities to name a few, all can be related to Blacks exclusion from the political system. No national politicians are interested in the black agenda. You can see with the current cast of presidential candidates the black agenda is completely ignored. Not one of the candidates even mentions any resemblance of a black agenda unless they are forced to,  as Bernie Sanders was by the two #BlackLivesMatter protesters in Seattle. Sanders quickly crafted an incomplete agenda loosely geared towards black people.

The means to change the litany of issues in the Black community is partially through politics. On a nationally level the system is still much to racist for blacks to participate and create the change that will impact the lives of everyday black people. President Obama exemplifies this quite clearly. Local politics in majority black population cities is where change can and will occur and that is where we as Black people need to focus in order to create the changes that we need.

2015 Meritorious Manumission – case of Stephen A Smith

“The Meritorious Manumission Act of 1710 was the legal act of freeing or showing favor to a slave for “good deeds” as defined by the national public policy. Meritorious Manumission could be granted to a slave who distinguished himself by saving the life of a white master or his property, inventing something that a white slave master could make a profit from or snitching on a slave rebellion.”

We currently have a 2015 version of that act of 1710 in many of the most visible Blacks in media. The most notable Black media members that operate under The Meritorious Manumission Act of 1710 are Charles Barkley (NBA on TNT), Stephen A. Smith (First Take ESPN), Tom Jackson (Sunday NFL Countdown), Don Lemon (CNN), Cris Carter (ESPN football Analyst) is heading that direction as well. There are many other Blacks that make statements and take actions against the black community hoping to receive current day benefits of Meritorious Manumission.

Current day Meritorious Manumission, for the uninitiated, is when Black media personalities, athletes or entertainers take the liberty of over zealously criticizing the Black community often using skewed stats, generalizations, stereotypes and/or false statements . All media members mentioned previously have behaved in this manner consistently but I want to focus on Stephen A. Smith because he has an interesting event as an example for contrast. Stephen A. Smith’s commentary and responses in regard to the Black community and domestic abuse point to flaws in Stephen A. Smith’s relation with the black community as well as flaws in the power of Black community.

Stephen A. Smith has had a long history of criticizing the black community  harshly ( tattoos , Uneducated/Ignorant Athletes , Mark Cuban comments about prejudice, stupidity of Black athletes , Blacks need to be more forgiving , NFL blacks smoke weed , All lives matter/Black on Black crime ). His criticisms of SOME members of the Black community are not completely wrong yet his obsession with pointing out the bad and very very rarely the good becomes suspicious. What is even more offensive is his consistent position that he “doesn’t give a damn” if the black community does not like what he says. As bad as all of that is the contrast is stunning to how humble and meek he became once he voiced his opinion about women’s role in some domestic dispute cases. All of his bravado and ego was no where to be seen when the feminists put pressure on ESPN to suspend him. He issued a heart felt apology the same day he was suspended

How all of  this plays into Meritorious Manumission Act of 1710 is that he is essentially rewarded (keeps his job) for his negative rhetoric against Blacks and was punished (suspended 1 week)  for his negative rhetoric about domestic abuse. The contrast and irony caused me to question his conviction among other attributes. He is not unique in his position of critiquing the black community while he and other like him are very well equipped to point out the issues of the black community at the same time they are equally unequipped to provide a solution. My feeling has always been that you cannot bring attention to a problem that you are not willing to help solve.

Stephen A. Smith’s suspension also points out the lack of leadership, power/influence and organization in  the Black community in comparison to, in this case, the feminist community. We have no leaders in the Black Community that have proven themselves to speak on real issues for Black people. For the record the majority of Black people do not see Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson as leadership for the black community, both have often seemed to be working against the best interest of Black people. Chastising and forcing apologies from Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, Tom Jackson, Cris Carter and Don Lemon for their many flagrant violations is something that the Black community would require from Black leadership. For now the leadership void still exists and these media personalities are free to take advantage of 2015 Meritorious Manumission.

Obama & Politicians say they care about ending Mass Incarceration…Prove it.

It was great to hear President Obama speak to the issue of Mass Incarceration, Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Mandatory Minimum prison sentences. This speech was an important message and stepping stone towards solving one of America’s oldest and most racists practices, that of excessive penalties for black crimes. It was also very encouraging to hear that ending mass Incarceration has bi-partisan support.

The speech and political rhetoric are important but definitely not the end game. If the president and members of Congress are serious about this issue it will take bold actions. Old policies/laws/amendments will need to be changed. New polices/practices,  laws and amendments will need to be created. New methods of policing will have to be employed. All law enforcement is in need of new approach to policing and new training to carry out policing. This would be a huge reversal of  ideology in the legal system and law enforcement.

If,  and this is a HUGE “IF”, President Obama and the other politicians are series about ending mass Incarceration then there are specific changes and new implementations that they can create. The bullet items below are items that would directly lead to ending Mass Incarceration. And cresting equality

– Correct the 13th Amendment to abolish ALL slavery, even the prison industrial complex. Make all private prisons illegal. Private prisons encourage illegal policing practices.

– Eliminate all mandatory minimum sentences for non violent offenses or make all non-violent mandatory minimum equal to each other. Drug possession for first second and third offense should be the same as a DUI offenses.

– Creation of a police review boards that consists of citizens with power to review cases such as the ones that have received mass media attention over the past 2 years and make recommendations.

– Legalizing drugs to some degree and in legalizing drugs current illegal drug distributers who are black and brown should not be omitted from these opportunities.

–  Citizens need to have a systematic ability to request Department of Justice involvement when local and/or state investigations of law enforcement appears to be suspicious.

– Federal regulations that prevent states and local municipalities from creating racists laws and policies.

– SCOTUS review and all racial policies on record for any racial biases and correct them.

I am extremely skeptical about President Obama and any politicians commitment to end Mass Incarceration. This country has spent its entire existence trying to put black people in some form of bondage and it has been immensely profitable. I doubt their sincerity yet i will keep an open mind when I hear the rhetoric on this topic but I will be looking for facts. In the meantime blacks need to focus on creating  communities that can provide shelter against many of these injustices waged against black people.

Who do American Rights and Freedoms apply to? ….apparently not Black people

When the laws, rights, freedoms and protection associated with being an American don’t apply to Black people you force us to react and operate outside of the system. With every murder of an unarmed black person at the hands of police there is the immediate use of propaganda to criminalize the Black victim even if the victim has no criminal record. Its so infuriating. The facts, procedures, information and propaganda surrounding the murder of Sandra Bland is enough to make any sane person completely lose it. I can feel nothing but frustration, anger and hatred toward police. All over the country they do not respect or value black life. The police literally are operating under Jim Crow policing practices. I guess this should not be a surprise since the policing procedures and training was never changed at the end of Jim Crow. The police are agitants and instigators instead of calming voice of reason.

I’m guessing it’s not all police but i have no proof. Where are the good cops reporting incidents of abuse of power and police brutality? No where. The blue shield/code of silence is the #1 rule amongst police but yet they want the people in the neighborhoods they terrorize to cooperate with their investigations. Its hypocrisy.

Like many American systems law enforcement is corrupted and broken to a sickening and murderous level. When terrorist attacks happen to America we all unify, be it fake or real, we do it. Politicians, media, the public, black, white, everyone unites, its good guys (USA) v bad guys (whoever we gave weapons to in the past and now don’t like). When terrorist attacks happen against Black americans there is no uniting. There is only explanations, justifications, propaganda and “let’s wait until we have all the facts”. We never wait for facts when America is terrorized only when Black America is terrorized.

Its a hypocritical existence that blacks are forced to navigate. Its not sustainable is a figurative and maybe literal time bomb waiting to explode….it can only lead to anarchy and chaos. This isn’t the world I thought my kids would have to navigate. It seems unfair that my wife and I decided to have them knowing what we knew about this country’s hatred of black life.

Defining racism Part 3B: Systems of Racism 2 of 9 – The Law Enforcement & Legal Systems

Racist Law Enforcement and Legal System:

The American law enforcement and legal systems have been criminalizing Black people from the moment that slavery was partially abolished with the Civil War and 13th Amendment. From Black codes/pig laws to Jim Crowe to Rockefeller Laws to 3 strikes policy the list of policies aimed at controlling and destroying blackness in America is unending. Below are some of the most notorious legal and law enforcement practices that continue to infringe on the freedoms of black communities. Systematic racism in the legal and law enforcement systems is the most lethal physically and mentally demoralizing of the Systems of Racism. When the government that’s is charged to protect you displays contempt and disrespect it can result in hopelessness or violent rebellion. (This is a bit long but important information.)

POLICY: 1864 – 1865 13th Amendment – Abolishing slavery

QUICK SUMMARY: Abolished slavery unless you committed a crime in that case you will be subjected to slavery. HOW IT WORKED: The 13th amendment one of the many deceiving policies in American history for Black people. It is widely viewed as very positive for Black people, yet the amendment did not fully abolish slavery. The 13th Amendment reads as follows: Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This amendment while partially prohibiting slavery, the exception in the amendment laid the ground work for the Convict Lease program in the Reconstruction Era and the current Prison Industrial Complex, both would be unconstitutional had the 13th Amendment not been crafted with such ill intentions. It will become apparent that later policies have been created to take advantage of the 13th Amendment’s loop hole and create a slave labor force that profits politicians in power and their lobby groups who own and invested in the convict lease program in the past and currently invest in  private prisons. This 13th Amendment loop hole has been just as if not more destructive as slavery.

POLICY: 1865 – Jim Crowe (Pig Laws/black codes)

QUICK SUMMARY: Laws created that criminalized being Black and Black Life. HOW IT WORKED: As soon as slavery was abolished Jim Crow laws were created and indoctrinated into society with the purpose of criminalizing Black life. Jim Crow laws were only applied to Black people, those laws criminalized many ordinary human actions, such as the following. Talking loudly in the presence a White woman. Walking near railroad tracks. Looking a White woman in the eyes. Using any facilities designated as Whites only. (Vagrancy statues) Not being able to provide proof of employment at any moment. Selling products of a farm after dark. Owning dogs that bark. The above are just a few of many Jim Crow laws were enforced to criminalize Black life. Violation of any Jim Crow law created a charge against the Black person. Being charged under Jim Crow meant an automatic guilty sentence because Blacks were never tries with a jury of their peers. The jury aways was comprised of racist White men. In order to pay their debt to society for the “crime” they now had to work off their “debt to society”. Often they were forced to work on the same plantations that they were recently freed from. The white establishment was thus able to create  a new form of slavery that would continue to create advantages in wealth, power, political influence for whites, while again still disadvantaging Blacks. White Europeans used their political power of criminalized normal human activities based on race. The effect of this was two fold, first by criminalizing normal activities they were able to enslave Black people once again and second it further established the economic, political and power inequalities in America. Jim Crow was quite possibly was more damaging than slavery itself. In 2015 there continues to legal rulings that appear to be race based, Blacks feel the effects of the legacy of Jim Crow even today..

POLICY: 1865 – 1928 Convict Lease Program / Slavery by another Name

QUICK SUMMARY: Worked in conjunction with Jim Crow, while Jim Crow criminalized blackness the lease convict program was the system to enforce the law and create a new form of slavery. HOW IT WORKED: Jim Crow were the laws that criminalized Black life and the Convict Lease program was the system that punished those who were convicted under Jim Crow laws. The Convict Lease Program spanned from 1865 – 1942 and Blacks were leased out to private businesses, the government (local, state or federal) and plantations. As quoted from wikipedia: “Convict leasing provided prisoner labor to private parties, such as plantation owners and corporations such as the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. The lessee was responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing the prisoners.” This was the new form of slavery and worked equally as well as the previous form of slavery. Often many of the Blacks that were convicted of Jim Crow “crimes” were sent back to the very plantations that they had been freed from years prior. Often the conditions of the Convict Lease Program were much more brutal because there was very little investment on the part of the plantation or company and more labor was easily obtained by enforcing Jim Crow laws. The North and South both contracted work from the Convict Least System. Jim Crow combined with the Convict Lease Program became one more government sanctioned initiative aimed at crippling Black people’s potential to succeed.

POLICY: 1865 – Present : Quasi-Government sponsored Domestic Terrorists, KKK

QUICK SUMMARY: Born out of limited economic opportunities and jealousy of Blacks new freedom and success on the heels of the reconstruction era a domestic terrorist  group The KKK formed. The KKK tried  create fear in Blacks that would cause them not to attempt to prosper in their freedom. HOW IT WORKED: Often KKK leadership consisted of high ranking local, state and federal politicians and officials. These politicians and officials preyed on poor southerns Whites who had experienced continuous economic hardships since they came to America. Poor whites experienced a heightened level of frustrations as blacks were freed and created successful communities and lives during Reconstruction Era. The Jealousy that poor whites were feeling was creating a boiling hate for Black people. To fan the flame even further white politicians and white Christian leaders would use racist rhetoric that they knew would incite the poor whites to perform terroristic acts toward Black people. The KKK became a quasi-government sponsored domestic terrorist group. The many heinous Acts that the KKK committed against Black people were never punished or even investigated. Often politicians agreed or were part of the violent actions of the KKK. The results of the actions of the KKK and similar white supremacist terrorist were devastating. When the KKK terrorist group attacked Blacks it was not only because of a falsified improper interaction with a White woman, there was an economic aspect as well. More often than not these attacks were based on jealousy of the land, community and/or success that Blacks had obtained. The examples are almost endless. The KKK attacks were so massively violent and we never met with any government protection or intervention that often Blacks left their land and communities in order to preserve their lives. Once blacks had vacated their land, homes and/or communities. White terrorist groups looted their homes and stole their land. The impact of this terrorist tactic had on the Black community again was crippling. Many acres of land were stolen by way of the KKK’s tactics. This would have been assets that would have been passed down to future generations of Black people.

POLICY: Government Supported Policy Brutality (at every government level)

QUICK SUMMARY: Policing practices were largely built during slavery and Jim Crow. During these time periods the were no limits on their abuse practices and had unilateral power. HOW IT WORKED: Very often during slavery and certainly when slavery ended policing was a job that poor uneducated White Europeans qualified for. Once slavery ended and Reconstruction policies aided Blacks the jealousy in poor Whites of black success and the stagnation of poor Whites caused anger, hatred and racism to surface from poor Whites. This anger turned in to terrorists actions on Black neighborhoods. One of the major reasons that KKK terrorism was never investigated much less charged or prosecuted was because many members of law enforcement were KKK members. This was problematic for Blacks not only in that the terrorist acts were never investigated or punished but also when blacks were arrested (very often unjustly) they were brutalized by law enforcement with impunity. Police brutality in the 1860s up until 1965 was pretty standard practice and while insanely unjust most people assumed that it ended in 1965 with the success of the civil rights movement. That train of thought is flawed. You have to think logically, how could this attitude and behavior towards Blacks from law enforcement change? The officers that were racist and brutalized Blacks in 1963 did not just turn a new page and evolve into a civilized person. The law enforcement system had over 100 years of operating a certain way, one day could never change that much history. There has been no mass retraining of law enforcement nationwide. Today in 2015 when you see police brutality toward Black people at alarming rates, understand that this has been going on since the mid 1800s. It is a culture of violence, brutality and no accountability. These factors make it difficult for Black people to trust or work with law enforcement to solve crimes. It is an unhealthy system that produces deathly results for Black people.

POLICY: 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws NY ) & 3 strikes law.

QUICK SUMMARY: Created unreasonably harsh penalties for first time non-violent drug offenders. Laws were created for political reasons and targeted poor black communities. HOW IT WORKED: Under the Rockefeller drug laws, the penalty for selling two ounces (57 g) or more of heroin, morphine, “raw or prepared opium,” cocaine, or cannabis or possessing four ounces (113 g) or more of the same substances, was a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison. The sentences for first time non violent offenders were equivalent to those of violent offenders who committed murder. Drug trafficking was increasing in Black low income urban neighborhoods coinciding with factories and businesses closing up and pulling out at the encouragement of politicians claiming urban areas were dead for business. The 3 strikes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-strikes_law law is also a policy that created extreme punishment for multiple non violent offenders.  24 states have some form of 3-strikes law. A person accused under such laws is referred to in a few states as a “persistent offender”. In most jurisdictions, only felony crimes qualify as serious offenses; however, some misdemeanor offenses can qualify for application of the three-strikes law. Many times non violent drug offenders fall under the 3-strikes law inappropriately. In 3-strikes law the incarceration terms escalate in length of sentencing  until it gets to the third strike and the sentencing in very severe and lengthy Both of these policies use a concept of mandatory minimum sentencing which are unnecessarily harsh. These mandatory minimums guarantee a prisoner or legal slave for a longer period than the crime deserves. Mandatory minimums are often applied to crimes that Blacks are more likely to be charged for such as drug possession (not that Blacks commit that crime more frequently Than any other group but they are charged more frequently). At the same time DUIs which Whites are statistically more frequently charged for has no mandatory minimum. Also consider that with the information from the Iran-Contra Scandal it has been established that US government has smuggled cocaine in to poor Black neighborhoods. Knowing that the US government is willing and able to smuggle drugs into the Black neighborhoods its definitely not beyond the realm of reasoning that they had been “pumping” drugs into the Black community. It is almost a controlled experiment the government provides illicit drugs to Black communities and then when black sell the illicit drugs provided by the government then laws such as 3 strikes and Rockefeller laws would become part of the social engineering that created drug infested low income black neighborhoods then over police them with biased laws that create a prison based slavery system.

POLICY: 1982 – 1989 Iran – contra Scandal / freeway rick ross (Rick Ross/Iran-Contra Documentary) / CIA involvement in Drug smuggling

QUICK SUMMARY: Government sponsored the deliberate influx of crack cocaine into south central LA and used an LA drug distributer to supply black neighborhoods in many cities across america. The disguise for this was the Contras war against communist forces in Nicaragua. HOW IT WORKED: America’s longstanding battle against communism in 1982 was taking place in Nicaragua. This was a war the the Reagan Administration knew they could not get the american public believe a good use of tax payers money. America Also was dealing with 7 Americans being held hostage by an terrorist group with Iranian ties. The US government elected to navigate the iran situation, contra situation and drug smuggling in combination with each other. The US go government sold weapons to Iran in exchange efforts to free american hostages. The US government also smuggled drugs into California to be sold. The money from these transactions were both used to fund the Contra war on communism. There are many layers to this scandal but the part that directly relates to black people is how the US government was directly involved with the intentionally smuggling cocaine into south central LA and then into other poor black neighborhoods. This has lead to dire circumstances into poor black neighborhoods. The other part of this situation that is very disconcerting is that this is very likely not the first time the government has done this to black neighborhoods. The drug and crime epidemic can be directly linked to the US government. Needless to say the drug epidemic in black communities has been beyond horrific in many ways.

POLICY: 1956 – 1971 Counter Intelligence Program – COINTELPRO (

QUICK SUMMARY: The brain child of one of the United States most powerful racists FBI Director J.Edgar Hoover. COINTELPRO was created the explicit mission of undermining and destroying any black leader that may ignite a strong sense of racial pride or energized,motivated the black youth into action. HOW DID IT WORK: COINTELPRO (an acronym for COunter INTELligence PROgram) I was a series of war tactics that were applied to any black groups that may influence black youth into actions that would benefit the black race, under the guise of “protection national security” (white supremacy). The governments COINTELPRO used any and all of the following tactics: discrediting targets through psychological warfare smearing individuals and groups using forged documents and by planting false reports in the media harassment wrongful imprisonment illegal violence including assassination (fred hampton, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King) illegal phone tapping and surveillance Infiltrating with spies The FBI’s COINTELPRO had many targets on its list even the KKK was on their target list. Yet only the Black organizations and leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Black Panthers and their leaders were aggressively put under surveillance and were actively attacked using the warfare tactics above. COINTELPRO successfully brought down every single black movement that inspired black youth with a high sense of racial pride and political awareness. The efforts of COINTELPRO was a huge detriment to Black America’s progress, by eliminating the leadership of Black America in such a short period of time it crippled many of the movements and objectives that Black America was attempting to accomplish.

Defining Racism Part 3A: Racism: Summary of The Systems of White Racism

Racism is an institution not individuals: Brooks Brothers, the suit retailer got their start selling slave clothing to various slave traders back in the 1800s.

Defining Racism is the starting point for solution-based race discussions. Racism comes with a paired term, racist, while the terms appear to be synonymous they are not.  The dictionary definitions of both terms are deficient and vague. As similar as the terms appear, they are equally as divergent. Frequently these terms are erroneously used interchangeably.

RACISM:

Racism, more accurately described as White Racism, as no other race has created a similar system. White Racism is an economic institution that utilizes 9 systems to exercise White European’s prejudice against Africans/Blacks in order to create a gross wealth, resource and power imbalance between the two races. The systems were intended to create generational advantages for White Europeans and their descendants while simultaneously disadvantaged Black Africans and their descendants.

White Racism consists of 9 systems that were initiated through written policies starting in 1638 with the Maryland Doctrine of Exclusion and continues to this very day. Not only has racism been ingrained in society by way of official policy, but also through understood unwritten policies and accepted cultural customs.

The Systems of White Racism:

1. Slavery
2. Legal System: rooted white superiority
3. Non-representation in Politics
4. Media: Under-represented and Stereotyped
5. Housing discrimination
6. Educational Imbalance/Segregation
7. Employment/Economic Discrimination
8. Food Poisoning by way of Healthy Food Access
9. Health Care Discrimination

The interesting fact about these systems is that all of these systems continue to be active even today. This will be detailed in “Defining Racism Part 3B: Racism” of this series.

RACIST:

A racist is a person or a group that participates in the systems of racism and works to ensure the agenda of racism remains engrain in society through laws and actions. Many of our most esteemed professions have had or still do have racists in those positions, such as politicians, judges, prosecutors, media outlets, police directors, lobbyists, school superintendents, and others. These positions are the ones that can rebuild the system or allow the systems to continue as vehicles of racism.

Racists often find themselves as the target of Black people’s anger whenever an act of racism is publicized. Frequently these racists lose their position in the system and Black people are often comforted by that. The problem is the racists (a person or group) are never the problem, racism (the 9 systems) is always the problem. Even if you remove 1 million racists from the system of racism, the systems continue. It is the system of racism that has be the focus of Black people’s anger and the deconstruction of the system and institution have to be Black people’s demands.

USE OF TERMS:

The use of terms is crucial to the discussions on race. There can be no understanding if terms are not being used with a common definition. Below are a few common misuses of racism and racist:

• Reverse Racism or Reverse Racists: Simply impossible, Black people do not have enough power, wealth, influence, or ownership to economically affect White people’s way of life. Black people can be prejudice, bigoted, or discriminatory, but not racist.
• Loosely Accusing a White person of Racism: A White person can only be a racist if they work within the system and even then they would need to have a position that promotes the system of racism. If they don’t have the ability to continue the system or create more policies of racism then they are likely just prejudice, bigoted, or a White Supremacist.
• Accusing a non-White group of being racist: As stated earlier, racism was created in America, specifically by White Europeans. They had no intentions of including any other race or culture in their success. This would not be a valid accusation. Likely that person of a different culture is just prejudice, bigoted, or discriminatory.

Racism is an institution not individuals: New York Life Insurance Company also took part in slavery by selling insurance policies on enslaved Africans as well.

Most white people are not racist or agree with racism as a general rule. The clarity of which side of racism you are on becomes blurred when some of the benefits that you may enjoy are jeopardized. To the extent that white people feel it is mandatory that we eliminate racism is a fair indication of if they are Racist or not. The eradication of racism will be much more of a lifestyle disruption than any of us realized for both Black and White people. It will be difficult but it is the difference between becoming a nation that innovates versus one that reacts to other countries innovations.

Again the goal of this series is to give accurate representation of how the racial landscape was created and how the language around race was created.