So Much For Race Relations

Carter Strange - Before

Carter Strange - Hospitalized

Carter Strange - Recovery

Is God no longer recognized in our society? What is wrong with us? On June 20, in Columbia, SC, the state capital, a young man was violently attacked by 8 other young men of color. Their ages ranged from 13 to 19. Five of the kids’ parents turned them in. What they did was wrong, period. There is no excuse for their actions. We cannot give explanations whether they were misguided, parentless, raised by a single parent, troubled or whatever. Wrong is wrong and they should be punished for their actions. I don’t know what else the eight young men will be charged with besides aggravated assault. They could be charged with robbery, attempted murder, lynching, or whatever the prosecutor decides. The city council passed an emergency curfew from 11:00 P. M. to 6:00 A.M. in Five Points where the incident took place.

The lynching of Laura Nelson in Okemah, Oklahoma on May 25, 1911; she had tried to protect her son, who was lynched together with her.

The main reason why I’m bringing this article to your attention is what some white folks are saying about black folk and retaliation. Some of these people are putting an entire race of people in one category for the sins of the few. Race relations have been set back after the election of a Black President. The commentaries made on this article are venomous, vile, vitriolic and full of hatred. These comments are just short of calling for hanging these men. Two wrongs will never make it right. It is pitiful how some people still feel about the races. There are good people and bad people in all of them. Of course, these vile comments are made behind computer screens and fake names. These are the new eSheets & eHoods. Some people need something to hide behind to say what they want to. Others, use drinking as an excuse. Keep in mind that we are South Carolina where there really some good people living here.

Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7, 1930.



Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, both African-Americans, were lynched on August 7, 1930 in Marion, Indiana. They had been arrested the night before on charges of robbing and murdering a white factory worker and raping his girlfriend. A large crowd broke into the jail with sledgehammers, beat the men, and hanged them. Police officers in the crowd cooperated in the lynching. A third person, 16-year-old James Cameron, escaped lynching due to the intervention of an unidentified member of the crowd who announced that he had nothing to do with the rape or murder.  A studio photographer, Lawrence Beitler, took a photograph of the dead bodies hanging from a tree surrounded by a large crowd; thousands of copies of the photograph were sold. The event is notable as the last confirmed lynching of blacks in the Northern United States.



An African American lynched from a tree, 1925.

Strange Fruit - Hanging was a family affair in those days.  Blacks were not considered people, just animals.  The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Good Man - Raphael Saadiq

Seems to be true.  A good man is hard to find and is still treated with disrespect.  Some women prefer a piece of a man than a good man!

Landslide - Stevie Nicks

I took my love and I took it down

I climbed a mountain and I turned around

And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills

Till Landslide brought me down

Oh mirror in the sky, what is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above?

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides

Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Mmm mmm I don’t know

Mmm mmm

Mmm mmm

Well I’ve been afraid of changing ‘cause I

Built my life around you

But time makes you bolder

Children get older, I’m getting older too

Soo (Interlude)

I’ve been afraid of changing ‘cause I

I built my life around you

But time makes you bolder, children get older

I’m getting older too

I’m getting older too

Soo take this love, take it down

Ohh if you climb a mountain and you turn around

If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills

Well the landslide will bring it down, down

And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills,

Well maybe, the landslide will bring it down

Well well the landslide with bring it down

Class War or Race War?

Ralph Bunche welcomes Rev. Martin Luther King to the U.N. Headquarters in New York City on December 4, 1964. Coretta Scott King looks on.
(Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, City University of New York, Graduate Center)

In 1936, Ralph Bunche authored a pamphlet entitled A World View of Race. In it, Bunche wrote: "And so class will some day supplant race in world affairs. Race war will then be merely a side-show to the gigantic class war which will be waged in the big tent we call the world." Ralph Bunche was a political scientist and diplomat. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for mediation in Palestine during the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

I’ve said this before and I do sincerely think that a class war can happen. Look at the division between Wall Street and Main Street. The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer. Social benefits are being cut and education isn’t important. Teachers are being cut and schools are closing. Public schools and teachers are not making the grades. Technology has advanced to the point that uneducated people can not be hired and sources of cheap labor are found overseas. The economy isn’t progressing as fast as any of us would like. Foreclosures are at an all time high and buying a home is now harder than ever. The American dream is about to become history. It is true that hatred is in the bottom of many peoples’ hearts. But it is more prevalent in those people that are uneducated and don’t have very much. Some may feel resentful and others don’t need a reason at all to hate. Then, you just have some folks who simply just don’t know why they feel the way they do. I can tell you this, while different factions are trying to separate this country using race as a smokescreen, we better be vigilant before we all end up on the same economic level. Either we will have (wealth) or will not (poverty). These factions see using race as an excuse to cause this country to fail. We can’t let this happen. Let’s be aware of what’s happening around us. Let’s take an interest in what can we do to make this country a better place for all us to live in.

Adult Literacy

Photo by Chris Johnson

Adult literacy is defined as: Using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop knowledge and potential. (Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy). However, compared to higher incomes with diplomas and those without, one can think the performance rate is basic at best without diplomas.

The US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences Statistics from 1992-2003 show a wide disparity of scores among Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Black, and Whites in adult literacy skills. I can actually understand the language issues with non-English speaking people but why do the Blacks and Whites have the problem with literacy?

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) gave tests that showed an estimate that 14% of our nation’s residents have reading and writing problems. Those that can read have comprehension issues. What’s worse, they are considered illiterate! About 1 in 7 can’t read this blog. How can you fill out any forms if you can’t read or understand them? Now wonder there is such a high unemployment rate among minorities. That coupled with government subsidies doesn’t make things any better. One must be committed and willing to improve their conditions. At the same time, there should be a level playing field, too! These same handouts that are making some folks complacent are also turning their heads from undercover racist actions designed to keep them down.

I don’t have an answer for this. We all can make an effort to keep our children in school and help those that are not able. But, do we want to take the time? Our drop out rate among Blacks in 2008 was 9.9%, 8.7% among males, 11.1% among females. These numbers represent 16-24 year olds who are not enrolled in school and did not earn a high school credential (GED or diploma). The total dropout rate for all Races/Ethnicities was 8%.

“This is a problem we can’t afford to accept or ignore,” President Obama said. “The stakes are too high – for our children, for our economy, for our country. It’s time for all of us to come together – parents and students, principals and teachers, business leaders and elected officials – to end America’s dropout crisis.”

“It is time for all of us, no matter what our backgrounds, to come together and solve this epidemic. Stemming the tide of dropouts will require turning around our low-performing schools. Just 2,000 high schools in cities like Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia produce over 50% of America’s dropouts… Let us all make turning around our schools our collective responsibility as Americans.” President Barack Obama

It’s good that our President supports this cause but what about us? What can we do?

Tia D - "Myself"

Myself

All I really want

is to just be who I am

Free from any expectations

That is where I’ll stand

I do not live for social norms

I go against the grain

Not to make a statement

They just make me go insane!

You cannot put me in box

‘Though some still often try

And when I do it to myself

“Myself” becomes a lie

Please don’t try to box me in

For this I must confess

When you define the borders

I become myself much less

If who I am is not enough

Then please do not pursue

Cause I just want to be myself

Especially with you.

                                                                                Tia D.  6-5-2011

That Girl - Thanks Tia!

That Girl

Head on her pillow tears streaming down.

She cries herself to sleep.

She feels alone and so insecure

Feeling the lies of this world cutting deep.

She paints her face to hide the shame

from weight she cannot bear

Jokes are made at her expense

She tries so hard not to care.

She’s the one who acts so tough

That most would never guess

Underneath that frail façade

Is hurt she can’t confess.

She’s the girl who will succeed

She’s way beyond her class

But no one knows she works so hard

Just to avoid her past.

I was that girl who felt alone

Who once was overweight

With walls built up to hide the hurt

I always made the grade.

But now I know I’m not alone

Whatever the scale may say

Found freedom in confession

And my worth in Christ will stay.

By Tia Deibert