Tag Archives: James Crow

Point of View Columns

The Silent Plague

The past few weeks/months/years have seen a proliferation of sad and tragic videos of Black men being killed by white police officers. From Ferguson to Detroit to Staten Island to Brooklyn Center, the sad and tragic scenario of death and desolation is replayed seemingly countless times. But this proliferation raises a very important question – is the simultaneous proliferation of police body cameras and cellphone videos the reason that we know about these tragedies or……has this been going on all along and our awareness is simply based on the advance of technology.

It is possible to believe that the awful occurrence of Police on Black crime is increasing because of the economy, COVID or the malevolent presence of 45. But a bit of logic is important to note. Because during the past few decades there has been some real progress in terms of police training as well as situational awareness. Yet, despite this progress, these police homicides seem to proliferate like malevolent weeds in the garden of our lives.

An alternative thought is that it was actually worse years ago. When there were no police body cameras or pesky cellphone videos police could do whatever made sense to their universe of perspective and there was no alternative reality.

Consider the fact that if the death of Davoun Martin at the hands of the police had occurred in 1970 there would have been no video or photographic evidence. The police officers involved would have concocted a story about Mr. Martin presenting a danger/reaching for a gun…whatever, and that would have been the end of the story. Literally, no one reading this would ever have even known his name, much less the circumstances of his death.

Accepting this alternative theory, it is possible to realize that police/law enforcement authorities have been killing Black men without consequence for centuries. Keep in mind that since the appearance of Black people in America in 1619 there were actual laws which mandated that it was not a crime for white men to kill Black people for any cause whatsoever until the end of the Civil War in 1865.

That virulent mind set had already spread into the body politic prior to the ratification of the Constitution and it was only due to a civil war and the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments that Black Americans were according a semblance of citizenship and humanity. Nevertheless, the dehumanization of Black Americans has persisted through the deconstruction of Reconstruction into the Jim Crow Era into present day America and the arrival of the James Crow Era.

During all of these centuries the devaluing of Black lives made it simple, easy and logical for law enforcement to impose capital punishment on Black Americans for whatever real or imagined offense might come to mind. And that is why it is possible to believe that technology is not the reason why there is a proliferation of Blue on Black Crime in America.

We have every historical, statistical and anecdotal reason to believe that the law enforcement institutions of this nation have been killing Black men, women and children with impunity throughout the history of the United States. It has been such a part of the DNA of American law enforcement that some police officers have been unable to stop such vile conduct even with the knowledge that body cameras, cell phone video and street cameras are everywhere.

In other words, it has always been here. Before the founding of the Republic.

Except now we see it in real time.

And sadly, we will continue to see this infernal replay until justice and the recognition of the innate humanity of Black Americans becomes a reality.

We can only hope that that day will come sooner than later.

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Point of View Columns

Time to Walk and Chew Gum

The tsunami of compelling stories continues. The entire country continues to wrestle with the COVID-19 monster while over a thousand Americans die every day. Since the Atlanta race murders two weeks ago there have been twenty recorded mass shootings – defined as four or more people killed or seriously injured by gunfire. And all along the Big Lie of 2020 Voter Fraud stains the socio-political fabric of this country – perhaps forever.

And it is within this environment which borders on dystopic that the Biden-Harris administration endeavors to govern. The $1.9 trillion America Cares Act was and is a major accomplishment. And now President Biden is set to propose a $3 trillion infrastructure proposal that will literally transform America for the better. Considering that there estimates that this country has a $30 trillion infrastructure deficit, this is a good start.

And most Americans welcome the return of sanity to the White House, regardless of political affiliation. No doubt there is no longing for more megalomania and general madness.

However, the pragmatic approach of President Biden – dealing with infrastructure first, and then endeavoring to address the raging inferno of voter suppression is just not a viable strategy. History shows that denying Black Americans the right to vote has been the goal of white American supremacists since the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery. The deconstruction of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Black Codes, lynching were all centered around the franchise to vote.

It was the laser like focus on curtailing the voting rights of Black people by white supremacists that caused almost all white Southern Democrats to become Republicans when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law. And celebration in the white supremacist universe was deafening when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Acts in the Shelby v. Holder decision in 2013.

And now, using the cover of the Big Lie of 2020 Voter Fraud, 43 states have either passed or are considering legislation that will seriously curtail access to voting for all citizens – but placing the heaviest burden on Black voters. This brazen resurrection of Jim Crow as James Crow is taking place in plain view and must be stopped in its tracks. The flashing red alarm lights signaling injustice are plain to see and if these transgressions are not stopped now – there will not be a when.

It matters not that there will be new bridges and shiny airports while the rights of Black citizens are thrown onto the bonfire of white supremacist resurgence. It will matter not at all that the nation’s highways are in fine repair if Black Americans are placed under house arrest when it comes to exercising rights that white Americans have always taken for granted.

The rights of Black Americans are already under very public and extremely serious attack – there simply can be no waiting in some kind of strategic line. If the rights of Black Americans are going to have to wait in line while the president that was elected by Black Americans focuses on bridges and tunnels, then Black America will have been sold down the river of disappointment – again.

It is possible for America and the Biden-Harris Administration to walk and chew gum at the same time. The Biden-Harris team is full of talented and experienced professionals who are on the team because they know how to get things done. Asking Black Americans to wait patiently while their House of Rights is on fire is simply wrong.

Again – The flashing red alarm lights signaling injustice are plain to see and if these transgressions are not stopped now – there will not be a when.

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Point of View Columns

Beware of Shiny Objects

As the planet enters the second year of the pandemic there is a natural tendency to want to look away – at least for a moment, at least for something like respite. Shiny objects sparkle in the storm of news and it is understandable that people will be distracted. And that is very dangerous.

Consider that the nation – and the United Kingdom – were literally transfixed by the Oprah Winfrey interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – a.k.a. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In the middle of a global storm the American public took time to listen to the travails of two very privileged individuals who were shocked – shocked – to discover that racism was alive and well in the English monarchy.

What is shocking is that anyone should be shocked since England is the fountainhead for the entire phenomenon of white supremacy. If racism and white supremacy is a vile Nile River, then England – and the monarchy – are Lake Victoria (irony is duly noted). So why are the Duke and Duchess shocked? And why do so many Americans care enough to watch the shiny object of their distress?

Watching the Oprah interview can be considered a harmless distraction. But while the shiny object of celebrity trauma distracts the rolling miasma of New Age Racism rolls across the land. And this time there are no hoods or burning crosses because we are now witness to the Rise of James Crow – the only son of Jim Crow.

James Crow (or Joanne Crow) now wears a suit and tie and has attended schools like Harvard and Yale and Dartmouth. James Crow doesn’t lurk in the woods, noose in hand, looking to lynch yet another unsuspecting Black man or woman like his father did. James Crow doesn’t print up No Colored signs in the manner of his dad.

James Crow is now a governor, or a state assemblywoman or a United States Senator. James Crow isn’t worried about Black people moving into his neighborhood because decades of redlining and unspoken segregated development have made his neighborhood. Joanne Crow doesn’t worry about denying the vote to Black American citizens, she just makes sure that it is so damn difficult that the number of Black voters is substantially reduced – no muss and no fuss.

As this is being written some 43 states have passed bills, or have legislation under consideration, that will substantially make voting more difficult – limiting polling sites, setting more obstacles to absentee voting – and that’s just for starters. What we are actually watching is the rearmament of Jim Crow era voting rights restrictions so that this country will remain a white minority rule nation for years to come.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act which is now before the House could, if passed by the Senate, become a weapon against this theft of democracy. But it is very clear that James and Joanne Crow are not going anywhere and that minority rule will be their aspiration for as long as they live.

The moral of course is that it is dangerous to be distracted by bright shiny news objects when democracy in this nation is under serious attack.

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Point of View Columns

Voter Suppression in the Era of James Crow

The pandemic days continue inexorably and the country has now reached the point where 1,000 Americans dying every day to be part of the so-called New Normal. There is no national day of mourning. There are no words of condolences from the White House. There is no resolution of mourning from Congress. It seems that 1000 Americans dying every 24 hours is considered not worthy of note.

And this obliviousness to this massive and continuous loss of human life may be one the worst residual effects of this pandemic – hopefully not the longest lasting.

As the voting in America continues it is now clear what voter suppression looks like. It is important to note that we are now in the second now in the middle of the second national election since the Shelby v. Holder Supreme Court decision gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013.

It is important because in the 2016 election, a noticeable decline in the Black vote was observed. Many observers attributed the decline to the lackluster campaign of Hillary Clinton combined with the absence of Barack Obama on the ballot.

But those many observers failed to observe that the purpose of the Voting Rights Act was to protect Black voters and that when those protections were suddenly removed the racist tendencies of the right wing of the right wing were immediately released and the ensuing New James Crow policies most certainly suppressed the Black vote.

Having had four more years to refine the James Crow policies and procedures it is clear that voter suppression is different from the Jim Crow policies and procedures of a half century ago. In the days of Jim Crow Black voters had to risk their jobs, their homes and in many instances their lives for just trying to register, much less vote.

In the days of James Crow, the polling sites have limited hours and a limited number of locations. Black voters are no longer concerned with losing their jobs because they voted. Black voters are now concerned with losing their jobs because they had to stand in line for ten hours to cast a vote – an excuse which might not be acceptable to many employers.

And those Black voters who are self-employed or are business owners have to be prepared to lose a day of income during a pandemic – a new kind of poll tax in the James Crow era.

As some observers marvel at the dedication and enthusiasm of American voters, other observers in other parts of the world wonder at the antediluvian voting process in this country. In many countries voting takes place on weekends or a national holiday. In some countries voting is conducted online. In many countries voting takes place on multiple days in order to make it convenient for voters.

But in the era of James Crow, the bedsheets have been replaced by pinstriped suits and Ivy League jargon. But the burning cross of voter suppression continues to burn bright.

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