The Politics Of Race

I can’t imagine that there are many people in this nation who have not heard, at least some part of the George Zimmerman murder trail.

This is the trial in which a member of a neighborhood watch has been accused of second degree murder of a seventeen year old African-American male.

The case has drawn national attention due to the fact that Zimmerman has also been accused of racially profiling Martin the night of the shooting.

As is often the case, anytime a case involves a black victim and a non-black accused perpetrator, the race baiters come out of the woodwork. This includes the media that is drooling in anticipation of violence if a not guilty verdict is handed down. It also includes some well known celebrities and activist within the African-American community.

One example is the actor Jamie Fox who showed up at an awards ceremony wearing a Trayvon Martin T-shirt and referencing his recent violent film, “Django Unchained”, when saying that the nation was about to have its own “Django moment”.

Many in Florida and around the nation are preparing for the type of violence seen after the trial of the police officers who were accused of beating Rodney King, and the innocent verdict that was handed down. Still others actually seem to be adding fuel to the fire in hopes of creating such a response.

This has become a far too common  commentary on the race relation within this nation. On the one hand you have a media that longs for this type of senseless violence in response to what the African – American community sees as their inability to deal with the forces of justice in a manner that does not include violence. On the other hand you have people within that community, that have based their livelihood upon constantly stirring the racial boiling pot until the lid boils off.

There is also a portion of responsibility for the white community, for not always recognizing the unique situation in which the African -American community sees itself, based on the history of slavery in this country.

Cases such as the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case are tinderboxes awaiting a match, and unfortunately their are more than enough people, who are more than willing to strike that match for their own selfish reasons. Again, their are people from both the white and African-American communities who are willing to pour gasoline on the kindling and strike the match.

While the Trayvon Martin case has captured the national imagination, we here in Delaware need only look to our capital city of Dover to find a similar case in which both whites and blacks, both local and outside forces, are attempting to stir the racial boiling pot in a case that has many questions, yet to be answered, and why? Well I think in some of these cases, it is to forward personal agendas, and in other cases it is to self promote either themselves or their organizations, or both.

In Dover the controversy revolves around the two bodies of black men, found hanging from trees, and an alleged attempt to hang a third man. In the two case where the men were dead, there is still questions about whether or not they were suicides or lynchings, in the case of the alleged attempt to hang the third man, there are questions about his story of being attacked by two white men. The story also includes pamphlets that were dropped on the streets of Dover containing racially offensive material.

Now it would be very easy to focus on the cases, but my concern here is the act of using these tragedies to forward agendas and political aspirations.

Here is a video from a group by the name of “War On the Horizon”, or WOH.  In the video a member of WOH “questions” the alleged victim of the alleged attempted lynching, Henry Fordham.  Notice the leading way in which the interview is handled.

Now that interview seems rather tame doesn’t it? No real agenda there is there?  Well how about this statement from the website of WOH?

“War on the Horizon (WOH) is a Haitianist organization created for the purpose of preparing Black people worldwide for an unavoidable, inevitable clash with the white race.  whites around the world are absolutely determined to exterminate Afrikan people in all corners of the Earth.

As a result of this reality, WOH has dedicated our time and expertise to properly educating Black people to prepare for Racial Warfare.  This includes intellectual, spiritual, psychological, and physical preparation for a global clash that will mean the end of white rule on this planet or the end of the Black Race as we know it.”

  Or what about the WOH Creed?

 “Afrikan people are an international racial family who share a common: homeland (Afrika), Racial origin, culture, destiny, and a bitter enemy – the white race. We are challenged by our common destiny to eradicate the system of racism white supremacy and its benefactors in order to establish righteous Black Dominion over Planet Earth.

We are mandated by our Creator to return to our proper status as rulers of this world.  It is within the full rights and responsibility of every member of the Black world family to see to it that this ultimate goal is achieved so that we may once again restore peace and prosperity to Planet Earth under the divine and just leadership of God’s first people – The Black man, woman, and child of Afrika.

May our Black Brothers and Sisters see eternal progress,

May our International friends reap the benefits of refined Black leadership and,

May all of our global enemies perish by means of our Black swords.

 Amen Ra!

 War on the Horizon

We’ll See You on the Battlefield!”

Here is a link to their website if you think I am making any of this up.  http://waronthehorizon.com/site/

All of this sounds very much like white supremacist and KKK rhetoric to me.

So as you can see you have these outside agitators coming in with their hate filled agenda and attempt to further complicate and incite a situation that is already volatile.

But truly we don’t need outside agitators to do this, since we have people right here in our own local communities that are willing to play the role of agitators.

One is a former Delaware State University professor, Dr. Jahi Issa, who has had his own racial run ins with the law, and who seems to be more interested in what divides us, rather than what unites us. He spends a lot of time running around yelling “racism” at every turn.

The other is a former losing candidate for the state General Assembly, Douglass W. Beatty, who is also a member of the Independent Party of Delaware, who along with another losing former candidate, and IPod member and wanna-be journalist, Don Ayotte, have taken these cases on as a cause, for whatever reason, and seem to be riding them for whatever they are worth.

Here is another video from WOH in which Mr. Beatty is “interviewed” by the same member of WOH about his, “INVESTIGATION” of the controversy surrounding the cases.

Take note that Mr. Beatty offers no real facts or evidence, he speaks of “hearing about”, and talking to a reporter, and of knowing things that he isn’t going to talk about. In the end Mr. Beatty says nothing at all, all the while inferring that two black men were lynched, and a third was attempted.

In the Trayvon Martin case justice is running its course the way our system of justice was meant to be, the problem is that there are people who will paint any verdict other than guilty of second degree murder as a travesty, and will incite others to violence.

In the cases of the alleged lynchings, and the alleged attack in Dover, Delaware there are people who are attempting to circumvent justice also. They seek to plaster the public square with innuendo and supposition in order to promote themselves and to further divide two communities that already have a problem trusting each other.

This post is not about the cases of Trayvon Martin and the Dover incidents, it is about the shameless trivializing of them by those people who want only the limelight for themselves.