Derewonko has also used LinkedIn to comment on posts expressing anti-immigrant views,
ICE reviewing anti-Ilhan Omar social media post shared and liked by 2 agents | Fox News
Category: Race,
Black Arkansas lawmaker is told ‘you need to stop’ by white colleague
“My son doesn’t walk the same path as yours do, so this debate deserves more time,” Flowers, who is the only black person serving on the eight-member committee, said to her colleagues. “When you bring crap like this up, it offends me.”
…As Flowers tried to explain why more discussion was needed on the matter, one lawmaker on the committee attempted to silence her.
Sen. Alan Clark (R), the chairman of the committee, could be seen telling Flowers: “Senator, you need to stop.”
“No, I don’t,” Flowers replied.
“Yes, you do,” Clark said.
“No, the hell I don’t. What are you going to do, shoot me?” Flowers said in response.
Black Arkansas lawmaker is told ‘you need to stop’ by white colleague | TheHill
hmmm
‘This Is Not 2016’: Bernie Sanders and Race
Even as the Democratic Party has moved closer to him on economic issues, it has grown increasingly vocal on race and identity, issues that even some of Sanders’ supporters concede is a blind spot for the candidate.
…“[Sanders’] central concerns have never been war or civil rights or gay rights or women’s rights.”
…Asked about reparations earlier this week on an episode of “The Breakfast Club” radio show, Sanders said he was opposed to such cash payouts, but instead wanted to “change the banking system so that we end racism”—again, a pivot to his comfort zone of economic inequality. And on ABC‘s “The View” this month, Sanders said of reparations, “I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check.”
To be fair, Sanders’ messaging on race has shifted. In the past few weeks, he’s called President Donald Trump a racist, talked about voter suppression and discussed the need for policing reform. But to broaden his appeal to black voters, he’ll have to work harder on racial issues than he did four years ago.
This Is Not 2016’: What People Don’t Get About Bernie Sanders and Race – POLITICO Magazine
hmmm
Internal Investigation Launched After Officer Detains Man Picking Up Trash Outside His Home
A police officer can be seen standing a short distance away from the man. The man can be heard shouting, “You’re on my property with a gun in your hand, threatening to shoot me, because I’m picking up trash.”
“I don’t have a weapon!” the man yells at the officer. “This is a bucket. This is a clamp.”
“I’m not sitting down and you can’t make me,” the man can be heard saying as more officers approach with their sirens on. “This is my property, this is my house, I live here.”
…The man counts out eight [emphasis: peanut gallery] police officers.
sigh…
Boulder police to investigate after officers confront black man picking up trash
The man told the officer he lived and worked in the building, and gave the officer his school identification card, but the officer detained the man [anyways.]
Boulder police to investigate after officers confront black man picking up trash
sigh….
Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders
It’s not like it’s hard to find racism in the history and present practice of Mardi Gras. Just tune in to WYES on Mardi Gras night and watch the “public TV” station’s obsequious fawning over the king of white supremacy, a.k.a. Comus, in his very white mask, at “The Meeting of the Courts.” Get mad about the captains in Ku Klux Klan outfits in all the old-line parades on St. Charles Avenue. Never accept a throw from Proteus. Think twice about watching the Knights of Chaos parade, or Krewe d’Etat and, if you do, bear in mind how closely their satire echoes the spirit of old-line krewes that, in their glory days, led the fight to drown Reconstruction in a shower of blood. But if you’re looking for racism among the white riders of Zulu, you obviously have no clue what’s racist and what’s not in the universe of carnival.
I saw a great sign in the Société de Ste. Anne procession on Mardi Gras day this year. It said, “This Parade Fights Fascism.” Yes, and it does so by inverting and puncturing the prevailing ideological categories of domination. That’s exactly what Zulu is doing by putting black riders and their white allies together in an inverted version of a tool designed for racial oppression.
I realize that the vast majority of Americans have no idea what carnival is, or how to read carnival messages, and that’s OK. But maybe well-meaning liberal observers should take a page from their own playbook and not comment on cultures that they have no exposure to or appreciation for.
Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders | The Lens
hmmmm
Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc.
Full Script – Official Press Release : NEW ORLEANS (2/13/19) – “Blackface” minstrelsy was a racist and vile form of entertainment popular from the 1820’s through the 1960’s. “Blackface” minstrel shows attempted to mimic enslaved Africans on Southern plantations and depicted black people as lazy, ignorant, and cowardly. In fact, one of the most popular “blackface” minstrelsy characters in America was “Jim Crow” – the inspiration for the harsh and oppressive laws that terrorized Southern blacks decades later. “Blackface” minstrel performances were intended to be funny to white audiences and hurtful to the black community.
Unfortunately, some ignorant people continue to costume in “blackface” minstrelsy through today. Shocking photographs periodically come to light exposing the fact that even some of our most respected citizens still engage in this racist behavior. Recent photographs showing certain high-profile individuals dressed as “blackface” minstrels reveal their hateful intent to demean, disrespect, discount, and demoralize African-Americans. The backlash to their conduct has thankfully been severe and the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc. joins with countless others in condemning this behavior.
Blackface_Virginia Miltary Institute image
Unfortunately, the offensive conduct of these individuals might cause some to confuse those racist actions with our rich history and traditions – which include wearing black makeup during the Zulu parade. Those who incorrectly compare our use of black makeup to “blackface” minstrelsy can first look to our name to dispel that notion. Unlike minstrelsy, which was designed to ridicule and mock black people, the founders of our Social Aid & Pleasure Club chose the name “Zulu” to honor their African ancestry and the continent’s most fierce warriors. (The South African Zulu tribe, using vastly inferior weapons, defeated the British Army in 1879 in the Battle of Isandlwana handing Britain their worst defeat in history.) Zulu parade costumes bear no resemblance to the costumes worn by “blackface” minstrel performers at the turn of the century. Zulu parade costumes more closely resemble and are designed to honor garments worn by South African Zulu warriors.
Z ulu Warriors
Most importantly, the history of Zulu makes it abundantly clear that nothing about the organization, including the black makeup, was never intended to insult or degrade African-Americans. To the contrary, Zulu has always been about celebrating African and African-American culture, strength, and pride. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved Africans were left financially crippled. Unable to afford the cost of funerals, illness, and other necessitous circumstances, blacks formed their own societies or Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs which held social events to raise money for needy members. Following the lead of Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, a group of African-American workers began to gather near their “uptown backatown” homes around 1901. These men formally organized into a benevolent society they named “The Tramps.” The Tramps held informal parades and parties at Carnival time. In 1909, a traveling black theatrical company brought a very popular comedy show, “Smart Set” to the Pythian Theater. The Smart Set contained musical numbers set in a Zulu village. The visual of strong Zulu warriors, with their grass skirts and spears inspired a member of the Tramps, John L. Metoyer. Metoyer embraced that visual and organized about fifty men to form the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. These “Zulus” paraded the following Mardi Gras in 1910. “Masking” is a central part of Mardi Gras. The financial and legal constraints on blacks in the Post-Reconstruction South made makeup (and not masks) the only option available to Zulu members at that time.
In conclusion, Loyola University New Orleans Professor C.W. Cannon has offered insightful commentary on and historical context for Zulu and its tradition of masking by using black makeup stating:
“It’s hard to measure the scope of Zulu’s influence on what the Times-Picayune’s Doug MacCash has called the “new” Mardi Gras, and on what I have called the restoration of carnivalesque carnival, after the dark ages of the white supremacist anti-carnival ushered in by the (formerly and currently segregated Krewes). It’s a remarkable testament to the resilience of carnival spirit that, in the midst of the white supremacist era . . . the Zulu king first stepped off a banana boat in the New Basin canal wearing a lard can crown. The date: 1909. That’s why it’s so upsetting — also a bit absurd — when people who have no understanding or appreciation for carnival aesthetics and social analysis chime in from hundreds of miles away with self-righteous finger-wagging. What they’re about is shaming traditions that are far more revolutionary than they are able to comprehend . . . “Zulu blackface”, the style of blackface worn by Zulu riders, is distinct from other forms of blackface viewed as offensive due to their history as a tool of white supremacist ideology . . . It calls into question the extent to which black people should be allowed agency in representing their own experience; it also places limits on how black people themselves choose to enunciate anti-racist arguments. In the best traditions of carnivalesque practice, Zulu has expropriated racist representations and inverted them as a form of anti-racist resistance. Those who say people shouldn’t try to do that kind of thing just don’t get what carnival is. Maybe because it’s not part of their culture. But it is a part of ours.”
* C.W. Cannon, Behind the Zulu blackface flap: liberal guilt, clueless outsiders , The Lens (March 10, 2017).
Col. Clarence A. Becknell, Sr.
Dir. Public Relations/Historian,Emeritus
Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc
Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, Inc. – All yer mates scrawls
hmmmm
New Orleans Group Accused of Wearing Blackface At Mardi Gras
Zulu is one of the many African-American Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs in New Orleans. The clubs sponsor community service projects, serve as social gathering spots and organize lively parades that wind through the streets of the city’s neighborhoods on Sundays. On Fat Tuesday, massive crowds gather along the parade route to watch the floats and try to catch a painted coconut, the Zulu prize throw.
…”The Zulu club was founded in response to the racism that was present in Mardi Gras where black people were not allowed to participate” in the parade-day celebrations of historically-white social clubs, said Shantrelle P. Lewis, an historian who studies blackface traditions, in an interview with NPR’s Michele Martin. For the Zulus, she said, “it was a way to combat some of the racism and segregation taking place in Mardi Gras.”
…”If you’re looking at the Zulu club within a tradition of masquerading and masking… then painting one’s face is a part of Carnival,” said Lewis. And as a proud New Orleans native, she said she finds the Zulu costume to be appropriate, given the context. “While it’s connected to minstrelsy, historically it was more rooted in this idea of a masquerade.”
…”A lot of our traditions have existed without the participation and the scrutiny of people outside of New Orleans. And for the average black person in New Orleans, including members of my own family, they simply do not connect the blackface in Zulu with minstrelsy …and they most certainly are not looking at it as an offense.”
New Orleans Group Faces Calls To End Its Use Of Blackface At Mardi Gras : NPR
hmmmm
DOJ: No civil rights charge in Tulsa police shooting that killed an unarmed black man
A Tulsa County jury acquitted Shelby in May 2017 in the shooting death of Crutcher, who was holding his hands above his head when he was shot. Shelby testified she fired her weapon out of fear. …Crutcher was unarmed.
…The investigation aimed to determine whether Shelby willfully violated federal law, which Shores said required prosecutors to determine that Shelby acted with the “deliberate and specific intent” to do something illegal.
DOJ: No civil rights charge in Tulsa police shooting that killed an unarmed black man | WBMA
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Virginia first lady handed out cotton to African-American children on slave cottage tour
“During the tour of the Mansion Cottage, (Walker’s daughter) and two of her (fellow) pages were asked to hold cotton that the First Lady retrieved from a bowl on a nearby table,” Walker wrote in the letter. “Mrs. Northam then asked these three pages (the only African-American pages in the program) if they could imagine what it must have been like to pick cotton all day.”
The interaction comes as Pam Northam’s embattled husband, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, attempts to reconcile with African-American constituents amid scandal over a photo on his medical school yearbook page of a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam originally admitted to being in the photo, but then said he was not — but that he did wear blackface once to impersonate Michael Jackson at a dance contest.
Walker added that the incident with Pam Northam indicated to her that the Northams didn’t grasp the implications of their behavior.
Jeezus….
Thousands of migrant children were sexually abused in U.S. custody, HHS docs say
Thousands of migrant children were sexually abused in U.S. custody, HHS docs say – CBS News
Aggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
House subpoenas Trump over family separations at border
The decision by the Oversight Committee will compel the heads of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services to deliver documents to lawmakers.
The committee’s chair, Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, has pledged to press the administration for documents and testimony on a wide swath of issues, but family separation was among his first priorities.
“I believe this is a true national emergency,” Cummings said.
…The committee wants details on the children separated, location and facilities where they were held, details on their parents, information on efforts to restore children to their parents and whether parents were deported.
…Cummings said the documents already submitted to the committee were vastly incomplete.
“The information we got was not one name, not one number,” Cummings said. “Zilch.”
…If any officials don’t comply with new subpoenas, the committee and eventually the full House could vote to hold the department in contempt, setting up a potentially lengthy court battle.
…An internal watchdog report recently found that thousands more children than previously thought may have been separated before the zero-tolerance policy officially began.
House subpoenas Trump over family separations at border
hmmm
Why Senator Bernie Sanders Lost My Support
In the past four years, Sanders’s words and actions have shown me time and time again that he is more concerned with boosting his image as a white savior figure of social justice than actually uplifting the voices of the communities he so direly pretends to represent. In fact, a New York Times article recently described how his campaign — the one I volunteered to support — initially focused on predominantly white states and failed to gain momentum with black voters in southern states, while black staff members told the Times they faced a plethora of microaggressions from white campaign leaders.
…Sanders implied that he has faced discrimination as a white man in the U.S. while suggesting we shouldn’t consider a candidate’s identity when choosing who to vote for. This, to me, feels like the equivalent of him telling everyone who is not a straight, white, cisgender male that we shouldn’t care about seeing ourselves represented in our government.
And despite his “progressive” statements on everything from bodily autonomy to a history of imperialist U.S. intervention abroad, Sanders has not always followed through on actions that actually align with those values, which is why my diminishing support for the senator has been a long time coming.
…From failing to denounce some of his supporters’ racist and sexist language to saying that white people who “felt uncomfortable” voting for black candidates Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum in the 2018 midterms are not “necessarily racist,” Sanders has continually flexed his privilege as a white man in politics — oftentimes, directly at the expense of people of color, especially women. In 2016 he refused to outwardly address allegations of gendered pay disparities and sexual harassment within his campaign. As someone who poured much of my energy and money into Sanders’s election bid, not to mention trusted a male candidate when he spoke of gender equality, I couldn’t believe how easily he downplayed the serious claims from his female staffers. He apologized to those women this year as he geared up to relaunch his election bid, but I see the damage as done.
….Earlier this month, he also delivered his own response to President Trump’s State of the Union address despite the fact that the Democratic Party asked Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, to officially fill that role. …Sanders’s blatant dismissal of a black woman by giving his own speech anyway. …Sanders’s deliberate decision to make his voice heard rather than fully support and listen to one of the most prominent emerging politicians of 2018 reinforced his need to take the spotlight away from someone who might ultimately be more qualified to represent today’s America.
…Sanders’s call for color-sex-orientation blindness in voting for president is not much different from potential candidate Howard Schultz’s claims that he doesn’t see color. Acknowledging race is an essential part of fighting racism and standing in solidarity with movements that support POC across the board.
…His platform never actually involved stepping aside to let the people most affected by discriminatory policies take the reigns.
Why Senator Bernie Sanders Lost My Support – Teen Vogue
hmmmm
Coast Guard Officer Plotted to Kill Democrats and Journalists, Prosecutors Say
A Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist who was arrested in Maryland last week was plotting to kill a long list of prominent journalists and Democratic politicians, as well as professors, judges and what he called “leftists in general,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing on Tuesday.
…In the last month, prosecutors said, the lieutenant used his work computer to draw up a list of prominent figures he called “traitors” and wanted to kill, including many well-known anchors and hosts on the CNN and MSNBC news networks and a number of Democratic elected officials. The list included, among others, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maxine Waters, Senator Richard Blumenthal, whom he referred to as “Sen blumen jew,” and many of the senators running for president in 2020.
He had recently performed internet searches seeking information about whether senators and Supreme Court justices receive Secret Service protection, the court filing said.
…In a passage of the letter quoted in the court filing, Lieutenant Hasson wrote, “I am a long time White Nationalist, having been a skinhead 30 plus years ago before my time in the military.”
…Lieutenant Hasson wrote about wanting to start a race war, and pondered the best way to do it. “Much blood will have to be spilled to get whitey off the couch,” he wrote.
…In the 2017 letter he drafted to friends, the lieutenant discussed ways that, acting alone, he might cause the most social chaos. “Food/fuel may be the key, if I can disrupt two or three weeks,” he wrote. When people started to loot, steal or protest, he wrote, he would “dress as cop and shoot them. Burn down Apt complex, bar the doors first. Thermite on gas station tank.”
…Federal investigators said in the court filing that Lieutenant Hasson had begun stockpiling weapons in 2017. When federal agents searched his cramped basement apartment in Silver Spring, Md., they said, they found a cache of 15 assault rifles, shotguns and handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition that the lieutenant had amassed.
Coast Guard Officer Plotted to Kill Democrats and Journalists, Prosecutors Say – The New York Times
hmmmm
Troops do not view immigration as a ‘national emergency.’ Not even close.
What makes this group different than your typical illegal immigrant, Nunez-Neto said, is that they aren’t “trying to avoid detection,” and are in fact turning themselves over to officers at ports of entry to enter the asylum process.
…“If the people who have been arriving in increasing numbers are not trying to evade detection, I’m not sure a barrier will really address that flow.”
Troops do not view immigration as a ‘national emergency.’ Not even close.
Can’t see how a nation of immigrants taking in the poor huddle masses, especially refugees who are not trying to evade the law is a problem but it cannot be argued that the suggestion that a wall is a good way to stem the tide of people following the law and dutifully turning themselves in upon arrival at the border to have their refugee claim processed in accordance with United States law is anything but laughable.
Mississippi suit to cover all who lost voting rights, judge says
The Mississippi Constitution strips the ballot from people convicted of any of 10 felonies, including murder, forgery and bigamy. The attorney general later expanded that list to 22, adding crimes that include timber larceny and carjacking. The plaintiffs argue disenfranchisement violates the U.S. Constitution because it was adopted with the discriminatory intent of keeping African Americans from voting.
…African-Americans make up about 38 percent of Mississippi’s population and 36.5 percent of the state’s registered voters. Youngwood said 59 percent to 60 percent of people convicted of disenfranchising crimes in the state are black.
Some states automatically restore voting rights once someone gets out of prison, while others automatically restore rights once someone completes parole or probation. But Mississippi requires people to go through the arduous process of getting individual bills passed just for them with two-thirds approval by the Legislature, or getting a pardon from the governor.
Mississippi suit to cover all who lost voting rights, judge says
hmmm
Comments From The Peanut Gallery 