Lincoln: Reliving and Relieving the White Man’s Burden

I am looking forward to see Lincoln, the recent film by Steven Spielberg. I want to see it for purely selfish reasons: I am a huge Daniel Day Lewis fan. He plays Uncle Abe and from what I see from the previews, his performance is spellbinding. Those who have followed along with me in this blogging journey from the beginning, know that I used to be a working actor (in what now seems to me like a “previous life”).

I was waiting to see it before writing a review, which most likely would have been from an afro-political rather than an artistic perspective. However I was watching Meet the Press on Sunday and the roundtable panel, which included the Obama apologist and MSNBC sellout Rev. Al Sharpton, were not only praising the film, but the nobility and sacrifice of Lincoln the man, in his fight to abolish slavery in Amerikka. Huh…I could see Sis. Deb shaking her head… and as we Jamaicans say… “sucking her teeth”… at the commentary (i.e. bullshit) they were spewing.

I recall that many, many years ago when I was a university freshman (in what again seems to me like a “previous life”), my final paper in my Political Economics course was based on the premise that Lincoln did not free the slaves for any noble or altruistic reasons, but primarily because he and the Northern industrialists knew that Amerikka could not reach it’s full industrialization potential with a slave based, agrarian economy dominating the South. Cheap labour needed to move North, while capital for industrialization needed to move South and the domestic consumer market needed to be nurtured. My thesis certainly wasn’t an original one, but as a young and very naive Black man living in Canada, who was just beginning to understand the “real” world and how it had been influencing my perspective about myself and those around me, this revelation was a part of the process I had been going through at the time: the stripping away of illusions and lies I had been told about “the good white people” like Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.

Now let’s fast forward to the present and speaking of Sis. Deb, let’s be clear. As I watched the Meet the Press segment, I was reminded of an insightful and educational article she did on her blog entitled: Lincoln, the resolute white supremacist — the Changeling’s “homeboy”? I encourage you to read the whole article, including the links… it’s fantastic! It portrays the real Lincoln… in his own words. Another excellent article was previously posted here by brothpeacemaker: Quotations from Abraham Lincoln.

I have come to understand and expect the behaviour of the dominant culture, like that of a drug addict, to constantly feed it’s white supremacy cravings, so as to satisfy its needs to feel superior to the “others”, while at the same time feel comfortable about their white privilege, through the guise of their (supposedly) noble endeavours and sacrifices for these same “others”. We can see this playing out especially among the so-called “White progressives and liberals”. It is their “White man’s (and woman’s) burden”! Hence, no character representing, nor a mention at all of Fredrick Douglass and his influence on Lincoln in the film.

This discussion brings to mind a portion of the lyrics of Fight The Power by Public Enemy, with a couple of minor revisions:

Lincoln was a hero to most
But he never meant shit to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Motherfuck him and JFK

“Between Truths and Indulgences” by Wole Soyinka

Repost inspired by this commentary from Sis. Carolyn Moon:

“The difference that I’m noticing more now and it’s a perception which I’m sure can be debated but there is this extreme animus towards the various countries on the continent of Africa and their historical role in promoting the triangularity  of the slave trade that culminated in a diaspora seriously adrift. We’ve encountered at times, a dismissive or condescending attitude towards American blacks by those who were born and reared in the various countries on the continent.  This became painfully apparent when the dialogue about describing ourselves as ‘African-Americans’ became the topic on various blogs and if that is truly an accurate description. There seems to be a grace and forgiveness for those who provided a market (Europeans & western whites) for the selling and purchasing of human beings and also promoting one of the most virulent and devastating forms of slavery that the world has ever witnessed.”

Powerful commentary by Nigerian writer, poet, playwright and 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Wole Soyinka, on Africa’s role in the slave trade and it’s consequences. These are 2 must read articles posted in the online magazine theRoot:

Part 1, Part 2 

sat’day riddymz

Byts and Bytes

1. Two Classes, Divided by “I Do”
2. The Morehouse Male Initiative: Black Male Statistics
3. Obama’s Scramble for Africa
4. Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stronghold
5. Echwalu Photography

Alem Dechassa & the modern slavery of Ethiopian women

Read article here: Modern slavery of Ethiopian women

The Al Jazeera slavery debate

Slavery: A 21st Century Evil

I haven’t been paying too much attention to the Occupy Wall Street fiasco. Like the Tea Party Movement, it’s become a media fueled circus (panem et circenses), a reality tv inspired showcase of privileged White americans who are pissed at being forced to downsize their decadent lifestyle, as well as their unrealistic expectations. Americans, both White and Black, are finally waking up and coming to the realization that they are not the world, much less the centre of the universe. Sure, the so-called (white) left wing pundits attempt to give the OWS some legitimacy as a part of a worldwide phenomenon, by aligning it to the protests in Europe (Greece in particular) and the Jasmine Revolutions in Africa (read here), but don’t believe the hype! The truth is, it’s nothing more than a passing fad for most… like the protests of the 60’s.

Continuing unabated however is the issue of slavery. In fact it is much more entrenched worldwide and flourishes with little or no opposition in western (european and amerian) societies. Ironically, it is hidden right out in the open. However there is no type of “Freedom Movement”…. like the Occupy Wall Street or Tea Party Movement… among the socially or culturally conscious to end it’s practice. These social and cultural elites, just like their cousins, the political and financial (capitalist) elites, are concerned more about attaining and/or keeping the material trappings of privilege, which are created on or stolen from the backs of modern day slaves. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

There is an eight-part series on Aljazeera by journalist Rageh Omaar on the 21st century slave trade. It sure brings life and recent events into perspective, for those who are not “too blind to see”, or distracted by latest circus, X-Factor-like spectacular.

You will be able to watch all the episodes here and read more about it in detail here.

The Story of St. Josephine Bakhita

Submission from Sis. Ana

The Story of St Josephine Bakhita, a remarkable woman born in Sudan who was kidnapped by slavers. Despite slavery, rejection, the loss and separation from her family, discrimination and hardship, she kept the faith and retained her dignity as a human being. She is considered by many as the Universal Sister and was canonized by the Catholic Church. There is a movie made about her by the Italian movie industry entitled “Santa Bakhita”.

Saludos