sat’day riddymz

“Is Black Support for Obama Racist?” by Jerome Hudson

Op-ed submission by Project 21

With poverty at an all-time high, daunting black unemployment levels and Obamacare threatening black babies, black support for Barack Obama remains surprisingly strong. Why?

Blacks are not uniformly as radical as Obama. So why do 91 percent of blacks still support him when only 79 percent of his Democrat constituency does? It’s a black thang. Again, why?

Some say Obama’s support comes from “black solidarity” — that birds of a feather flock together. That is racist in itself. After all, imagine if white voters similarly lined up in “racial solidarity.” This is compounded by the facts.

Under George W. Bush, black unemployment was actually lower than during the Clinton years and much lower than the 16.3 percent it is today. Under Obama, black unemployment rose from 12.6 percent to 16.3 percent as of August 1, 2010.
  
Despite promoting black upward mobility, Bush only enjoyed a black approval rating in the low 30s at a similar time in his presidency. Bush also made historic cabinet-level appointments of blacks and dramatically increased funding to fight AIDS in Africa. Much to Kanye West’s chagrin, President Bush did care about black people.

Furthermore, after nearly two years of Obama’s reckless spending, 43.6 million Americans (one in seven) live in poverty — a 51-year high. Blacks, who account for only 13 percent of the population, make up 22.6 percent of those now receiving food stamp benefits. And, after a promise there would be no federal abortion funding in Obamacare, tax dollars for abortions may be provided through high-risk insurance programs in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland.

Polling shows blacks are overwhelmingly pro-life. We undoubtedly want jobs and freedom from poverty. So why the blind loyalty to someone who hasn’t delivered? When a constituency clearly provides loyal support, as blacks are to progressives, it begs to be taken for granted. So is it any wonder that, after 50 years of conceding support to liberals and letting Uncle Sam be their “baby daddy,” we are mired in an anti-empowerment culture of dependency?  
 
Liberals can argue racism causes black stagnation, but is a 70 percent illegitimacy rate among blacks (90 percent in some inner cities) due to racism or a lack of accountability and personal responsibility? It’s also a painful truth that blacks kill more blacks (by gun, unhealthy lifestyle and abortion) than racists could ever accomplish. So-called “civil rights leaders,” pseudo-intellectuals and liberal lawmakers must know this, yet they insist on pretending racism is more responsible for sluggish black advancement than behavior they foster.
 
It’s time for a frank discussion about the folly of black Americans’ monolithic support of liberalism. When 91 percent of any racial group votes one way, it’s either out of racism or blind groupthink. Neither is good for America. 

Jerome Hudson is a member of the national advisory council of the black leadership network Project 21.

Kiva: A Story of the Poor

Thanks to Dreena who sent me this video:

AfroSpear supports microfinancing towards development (read here).

October 2010 AfroSpear Initiatives:

1. Kelvin Rutherford
2. Keyembe
3. Vasi Business Center Group
4. God Bless You Group

sat’day riddymz

from tribal intellectualism to cultural lyricist

A few days ago, my brother The Field Negro contacted me to say that he had used a post I did about 2 years ago entitled: “Tribal Intellectualism and the concept of the House Negro”, as the basis of an article he had posted on his blog. I was like “cool”, went over to his blog and read his post and some of the comments. I barely remembered the original post I did, since once I’ve finished an article and engaged in the discussion, I move on.

So after reading The Field Negro’s post, I went and read my post again. The theme is one that I continually struggle with, African-Americans demonizing each other and engaging in personal attacks by name-calling, just because of differences in opinion. Anyway, I wasn’t moved in any way to enter the discussion over at The Field Negro, especially since it had gone off on numerous tangents.   

Today while over at one of my daily “must read” blogs, Cry Me An Onion, I read an amazing post, inspired by the article over at the The Field Negro. Have you ever read a post that moves your spirit? That seems to engulf your soul from all directions, like a jazz composition… jazzuloo. You listen to it over and over again, mesmerized by the notes, nuances and lyrics… not exactly sure that you are actually hearing what you are hearing, but knowing that you are hearing something unique, real… from the heart.

I had to read this post: “I Earned My Roots!” a few times, as it moved me like a piece of music I described above. It was composed by whom I refer to as a “cultural lyricist”. Nuff said.

Thanks for this Patrick-Bernard! C’est bon mon ami!

The Black Christ and the Black Madonna

 

Very informative and interesting article at The Silver People Chronicle. 

George Ayittey: Cheetahs vs. Hippos for Africa’s Future

Back to the Future: Chinese Neocolonialism in Africa

While the world watched and celebrated the rescue of 33 Chilean miners on Wednesday, 11 Zambian miners were shot and wounded by Chinese managers on Friday when they were presenting their grievences about poor working conditions. This same mine was shut down in January of this year because of a cholera outbreak due to poor sanitary conditions.

The intense media attention to the Chilean mine rescue is understandable, just as the little or no attention to the Zambian mine shootings. As we celebrate with the families of the miners in Chile, let’s also share in the anger of the families of the Zambian miners. Read here.