Ignorance Isn't Bliss

There is a Haitian proverb that says "ignorance doesn't kill you, but it does make you sweat a lot", that has been true for many Americans, and it has been particularly true for Black Americans. We can see this magnified by the demise of the United States economic system. As the financial crisis strangles the American economy, a sizable number of Blacks (college educated and non-college educated) admit to not being intimately familiar with economics. There is no problem with not knowing, the problem comes when people don't actively seek the information.

In a recent conversation I had with a friend, I informed them about a wildly successful Black owned energy company based out of Houston, Texas. Their response was "well how am I supposed to know about that?" That type of thinking is unacceptable. With the Jericho-like falling of United States financial institutions many political conversations are turning into economic dialogues. Sadly, folks are rehashing the infamous John McCain line "admittedly I don't know as much about economics as I should." yet people are not seeking out the information to better inform themselves.

In order to have your own analysis on the financial freefall, one has to evaluate their feelings about government's role in capitalism. Those who feel it is government's job to reign in over-ambitious speculators and investors feel that the government fell asleep at the wheel and allowed Wall St. to get out of control. If you are a strong proponent in government intervention than you probably would be supportive of the $700 billion dollar "bailout". Conservative columnist George Will appearing on ABCNews' "This Week" said that if the government continued to bail out financial companies, than the top executives there should be paid the same as a GS-15 (the highest level salaried civilian government employees). However, there are those who are more of libertarian in their economic views. They feel that governement regulation is one of the things that got us in the financial bind we're in now. These are people like Rep. Ron Paul. Paul believes that the bailout is bad business and that the free market is such a way that it will correct itself.

In order to fully understand the issues we need to familiarize ourselves with the work of companies such as Lehman Bros., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bears Stern. From there we as a people we can make a more informed decision as to what direction we would like to go with our money, if we would like to do business with one of those companies, or if we feel we'd be better suited in trusting our money to a smaller Black-owned company such as Brown Capital Management in Baltimore or Smith, Graham & co. in Houston that has not had some of the problems these major financial institutions are having. But this decision making process starts with us being an informed group of people conscious of what's going on in the world around us.

With the treasury secretary teetering on what some are calling the closest thing to socialism since the New Deal, there is no more important time than now for those in the Black community to inform themselves of the economic makeup of the United States. One probably won't learn overnight the ins and outs of free market enterprise, asset management and financial holdings; but we must familiarize ourselves with at least a pedestrian understanding of the country's financial situation. If for no other reason than because the government may very well be using your money, as a taxpayer, to bailout the struggling financial institutions. If more of the United States economic infrastructure continues to crumble, the Haitian proverb will be the truest words ever spoke for Black Americans because our ignorance may not kill us but it will make us sweat.

http://www.realclearmarkets.com/; http://www.browncapital.com/; http://www.smith-graham.com/

What Black People Should Do Now

As you read that title please don't think for a moment that I am arrogant enough to believe that I know what all Black people should do now. Rather I just finished a book by the same name written by the late Ralph Wiley and this was my humble way to pay homage to him. Also given the topic at hand I figured the title would be more than appropriate. Generally I like to not only assert a point in my writing but also to inform. This time however, I see it fine time to seize this opportunity to address something of concern to many people. With Sen. Barack Obama's meteoric rise to the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, many young Blacks are interested in politics and social issues in ways not seen since the late 1960's. With this opening I urge all my friends to my political left to act now!

Recently I was listening to the new album by Young Jeezy called "The Recession." The album is littered with tracks discussing the need for fair drug sentencing laws, new economic agendas, and a more humble and diplomatic foreign policy. This may be regular material for rap artist to tackle but the artist in question is the least likeliest to touch on such topics. Although I am admittedly a fan of some of Jeezy's work, I recognize he is not now nor will he ever be an authority on social and political issues. But what his new found interest in more than "hood politics" tells us is that Sen. Obama has gotten his attention. On an appearance on Saturday Night Live Jeezy met Sen. McCain and reportedly asked him "what he was gonna do... people are dying out here?"

One may wonder why such keen attention is paid to an artist like Young Jeezy. Jeezy serves as a metaphor for the everyman of many young Black men in urban America. After talking with several young men from inner city Baltimore, and neighborhoods of Washington D.C. I have found that Jeezy is more than a rapper, he sincerely has his finger on the pulse of urban Black America (translation the hood). This being so we can see that Sen. Obama has engaged and awaken many previously disengaged Blacks to political issues. My friends to the left of me cite Sen. Obama's relatively centrist views and his willingness to conform to mainstream politics as evidence why he should not be considered a serious Black leader. To that point I agree, but what I urge is that my friends speak loud and clear to capture the attention of the previously apathetic public while they have it.

In my travels I came across a quotation from whom I don't remember. It simply said when you have the world's attention, what will you say? That is the question I ask those to the left. There is an opportunity now with the emergence of Sen. Obama to draw serious light to issues that have affected Black Americans that even fellow Blacks have ignored. Now is the time to really galvanize brothers and sisters to seriously involved themselves in meaningful community building efforts in New Orleans, now is the time to awaken an army of sleeping legal giants reminiscent of Charles Houston and Thurgood Marshall to ensure that Marcus Dixon and Genarlow Wilson never have to see someone relive their horrific fate, now is the time for business giants to revisit the idea of Tulsa's Black Wall Street, or Memphis' Peoples Grocery, now is the time to cultivate the Black journalist that will channel the spirit of T. Thomas Fortune and Robert Sengstacke Abbott to ensure that a Black perspective is always present to inform our people of what is going on.

I recognize all the things I call for are in motion. There people doing vital and important work in New Orleans, there are many fighting for Blacks in the courtrooms of the United States everyday, there are business leaders trying to bring quality respectable businesses back into the Black community and there are writers who relentlessly "tell it like it is" often to be ostracized by their own people. But what I would like to stress to my friends on the political left, is that now is the time. We can agree that Sen. Obama is not the answer but what must be acknowledged is that he can deliver an audience that desperately needs to hear your message. Some of the folks you try to address may be so engulfed by what has been termed "Obama-mania" that they may not be ready to grapple with the harsh realities social revolution demand, but there are an abundance of even tempered and well intentioned brothers and sisters that are ready for your message. The people are listening, WHAT WILL YOU SAY?

Enemies of My Enemy Become My Friends

The United States has long been apart of the vaunted "west". That global superpower that has-depending on how you view world matters- either spread its territorial claim and influence across the world, or been a pillaging and destructive entity forcing its culture onto others they deem not "civilized". Generally the term "the west" references the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom France, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands and a few other Western European countries. Recently though global power has been traveling from the west. Those nations are still considered "developed" and deem themselves the class of the world. Yet there is an undercurrent of growth going on where other countries are becoming stronger forces and now stand in direct competition to these western nations, particularly the United States.

Many nations are growing and developing as major players in the world with the help of the United States. Among these nations are India, China, and South Korea. These nations have blossomed and are now players on the world scene. Yet there are other parts of the world that the United States have not been so kind to. Interestingly enough, leaders of some of these nations have had particularly strong ties to Black Americans. History first shows that Kwame Nkrumah used his ivy league education to return to his native Ghana and fight against Britain's occupation of that land. Once he rid the country of British influence he moved markedly away from U.S. ideals of free market enterprise and sought to develop major national infrastructure. One way he aimed to do this was by granting any Black person born in the United States (and the world for that matter) dual citizenship to Ghana as well. Nkrumah encouraged skilled Blacks in the United States who faced oppression and racism to come to Ghana so they could use their talents free from the problems of the racist society.

Nkrumah was heavily watched by U.S. foreign officials and it is believed by many that his overthrow was backed by the U.S. However many Black Americans has also held a fondness or at the least respect for some that the United States declared to be the worst people in the world. In 1977 preacher and activist Andrew Young served as the United States 14th Ambassador to the United Nations. He was forced to resign from that position because he was meeting secretly with officials from the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Meetings were forbidden according to United States foreign policy, yet Young did this anyway. Here we see an example of Blacks who had serious grievance with the United States meeting with those who were supposedly known threats to the U.S. and U.S. interest. This feeling ran so deep among Blacks at the time that even appointed diplomats were willing to mislead the State department to take part in these meetings.

Young also faced controversy when he lauded Cuba and their army's support of Angola. When the minority White army of South Africa attempted to claim land in Angola, Cuba sent troops and helped the Angolans push back the White minority army. Again, the United States had (and still does have) a policy of not engaging Cuba diplomatically so to even throw praise their way got Young in trouble. But it would not be the first nor the last time Cuba would align themselves with Blacks in the U.S. or in the world for that matter. Besides the aforementioned military support in Angola, Cuba has also used its abundance of medical resources to tend (repeatedly) to the nation of Haiti. More famously Cuba played nice with longtime U.S. adversary Russia. In 2005 Cuba offered millions of dollars worth of both personnel, and medicine to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Cuba is not the only nation to take an interest in the plight of Blacks in the United States. Alleged "despot" and United States enemy Hugo Chavez recently provided heat to low income Black Americans in Queens, Harlem, and Chicago back in 2004.

Again the practice is reciprocated by Blacks in the United States. In 1986 Min. Louis Farrahkhan took a trip to Libya to meet with another U.S. enemy Muammar al-Gaddifi. Gaddafi offered Farrahkhan $250,000. The U.S. treasury denied it but in 1997 U.S. Congressman Earl Hilliard from Alabama also visited Libya at a time when diplomatic relations were still forbidden. That brings us to present day, where we see Hugo Chavez, aligning himself with not only Russia but Cuba and South Africa. Much of this unification is strategic for trading purposes and to put products in each others market place. More than that though, we are seeing a rebellion against the United States its philosophy of "western" hegemony. First Cuba and Venezuela merged, seeing a common enemy in the (in their words) facist and imperial policies of the United States. They then saw a kinship in struggle with South Africa that fought off Britian's oppressive apartheid regime for more the 25 years. These nations have since created many tri and multi-lateral arrangments that aim to promote fair-trade, universal balance and above all cooperation. It looks like the United States has done much to unify the world. Sadly for the United States, the world seems to be unifying against the U.S.

Handcuffed by Hypocrisy

Much has been made about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin being John McCain's vice-presidential pick. Many have chimmed in their opinions on how either she is far to inexperienced to be a vice-presidential candidate, let alone a vice-president. Others have argued that she has the executive experience necessary to be ready to handle such a high position. No matter how you see politics, or how you see Sarah Palin as a nominee for vice-president one thing is true. Her place in this election has put the hypocrisy of rhetoric and politics on full blast.

The most obvious example of hyprocrisy is by the conservative values crowd (that trends politically to the right) on the matter of the teenage pregnancy of Gov. Palin's daughter. Sen. Obama has asked that the Palin's family privacy be respected, proving he has opted for class on the matter. However, there is one thing that must not go unsaid. Gov. Palin's daughter Bristol is no worse than any other young lady who is a pregnant teenager. She is no more a social outcast or misfit than any other young woman to be impregnated during her teenage years. The apparent class that it takes to say that, is something that many on the right have been lacking. They are willing to say Bristol Palin made a mistake, but other young women must have some deplorable moral compass.

For years many conservatives commentators and politicians have made themselves famous by chiding teenage pregnancy in urban (read Black and Latino) communities as evidence of the lowering values of the nation, and poor parenting. Some politicians even believed that out-of-wedlock birth becomes a drain on our economy. Bill O'Reilly in his talking points section criticized Mary Mitchell for race baiting when she noted the hypocrisy to teenage pregnancy. O'Reilly instead suggested that "as long as society doesn't have to support the mother, father or baby it is a personal matter. Once the taxpayers do have to support the young family it becomes a public policy matter." O'Reilly's remarks reek of condescension, and sublminally suggest that when White teenagers get pregnant their families can handle the financial burden of a baby, thus making it a private matter. But when Black teenagers get pregnant and need financial assistance from the government they lose all right to privacy.

When examining this issue one may argue that you can not get too caught up in race. The real issue is class. This (like almost every other issue that involves race) means we see race and class going hand in hand. That would mean many White conservatives would lambaste fellow Whites as "poor white trash" . However it is not safe to assume that Blacks with financial means would escape the judgemental wrath of the "values voters". One can safely predict that if Sen. Obama were to run for vice-president, senator, or even congressman with a pregnant teenage daughter he would have to drop out of the race because of all the questions surrounding his and his family's moral standing.

The hypocrisy isn't limited to the commentators, nor is it limited to speculation as to what would happen should the shoe be on the other foot. The hyprocrisy is tangible and legitimate. Take for example Congressman David Dreier who suggest that Bristol Palin's pregnancy shows that her mother is someone who "understands the challenges of the real world." This must be political spin, because I'm sure the countless Black mothers weren't appreciated for their ability to "understand the challenges of the real world" when their teenage daughters got pregnant. This hypocrisy rises to all new levels when you consider that Rep. Dreier voted for the 1996 Welfare Reform Bill. That bill sought to, among other things, discourage teen pregnancy by denying welfare to teen mothers. This behavior and rhetoric is shameful and speaks to the hypocrisy that makes it difficult to take seriously those who argue the nation has lost its moral values. Apparently it has also lost its sense of fairness.