MY MESSAGE: “Until the lion becomes the historian, the hunter will always be the hero.” (An old African Proverb) Could this be the inspiration behind Point of View?
AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT
For most White people, Donald Trump is just a choice for president, for or against, while for Black folks and other folks of color, he is an existential threat whose victory in the upcoming presidential election could well mean that America’s dalliance with the worst elements of its ugly, racist, white supremacist past will accelerate to levels that could easily reverse many past gains, which is why Trump is an absolutely unacceptable choice. Black folks don’t have the luxury of dilly dallying with candidates who are pushing luxury agendas that feel good but feed the very same divisions that allowed Trump to become president in the first place and may well allow a repeat. We can only support the candidate most likely to defeat Trump at the polls which is why Joe Biden is almost universally acceptable to Black voters just as he should be to White voters who claim to want to defeat Trump. Yet, I sense that altogether too many well-meaning White voters are willing to gamble with Bernie Sanders, whose ceiling is at least as low as Trump’s, and Elizabeth Warren, whose traction with voters is tenuous at best, and Pete Buttigieg, the inexperienced Midwesterner who Trump would love to run against, or even the New York billionaire, Bloomberg, whose recent mini surge has done little more than attract votes from everyone except Biden, who we don’t love but with whom we feel safe, while even our White allies exercise the luxury of gambling with our fate.
IT’S ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN POLITICS
Watching and listening to the Senate Republicans repeating the disgraceful behavior of their House Republican colleagues is more than disheartening. It is deeply discouraging and sad to watch both good and not-so-good White folks sweep ethics and morality under the rug in such a public manner and pretend that they don’t know the difference between right and wrong and do not seem to care about the harsh judgment of history that those who come after them will have to live with. They seem to have no shame.
IS RACISM UNIVERSAL?
What an intriguing situation England’s Prince Harry and his Black American wife, Meghan Markle, find themselves in. Meghan is the product of a mixed Black/White marriage who seems to look White enough for those who might otherwise object to a Black American joining the royal family. But not so as events have shown and as Jeneé Osterheldt exposed in a Boston Globe article (January 11, 2020). “Marrying into the monarchy and becoming the Duchess of Sussex…sucked Markle into a nightmare,” she wrote while writing: “Racism is already deadly for everyday black folk. Add the royal frenzy and the brutality of British tabloids to the mix and Meghan Markle became a black American woman on an international tightrope.” She wrote, among many other very informative bits of uncomfortable information, including that “They’ve (Meghan and Harry) only been married for a year and a half. In that time, she’s been abused by the public while pregnant and newly wed. She’s been expected to keep a stiff upper lip and maintain poise and grace while being attacked for simply loving a prince, having a baby, and having the audacity to be a happy black woman.” And if that was not enough, Osterheldt wrote: “Last year, BBC broadcaster Danny Baker compared Prince Harry and Meghan’s newborn, Archie, to a chimpanzee….Being biracial does not give her a get-out-of-racism free pass. Everything from her baby shower to her guest-editing of British Vogue has been vilified.” Makes one think racism might be everywhere.
MALO, YOUR DISTRICT (WARD 4) IS NOT THE GHETTO
The good news is that the same developer who is rehabbing the Indian Motocycle building in Mason Square plans a $57 million rehabilitation of the Knox building on Wilbraham Avenue, often referred to as the “Goodyear Building” after its last tenant. The new developer plans a 114-apartment development that has been approved by the city council. It is a welcome neighborhood improvement. Malo Brown, commending the developer for his plans, said at the council meeting, “My district is the hood,” and “My district is the ghetto. I need you to bring your dollars into my district.” Malo, I suggest you call your very diverse district of very diverse residents something other than “hood” or “ghetto.”
SHE IS NOT HAPPY WITH JUSTICE ROBERTS AND NOR AM I
Responding to Supreme Court Justice John Roberts’ year-end report in which he defended democracy, my favorite writer, Boston Sunday Globe’s Renee Graham, wrote: “Supreme Court Justice John Roberts defending democracy is like an arsonist scolding a child for playing with matches…Roberts, who has spent most of his legal career looking for ways to dismantle the landmark 1965 law (Voting Rights Act), cares nothing for democracy – at least not when laws are passed to extend it to the disenfranchised. Writing for the conservative majority in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, Roberts said that jurisdictions with documented histories of voting discrimination no longer needed federal “preclearance,” or permission, to enact new laws for voting or elections….Since his decision, Republicans have engaged in a level of blatant voter suppression unseen since the days of poll taxes, jelly bean counting, and arcane tests about when territories achieved statehood. States are executing voter list purges, engaging in flagrant gerrymandering, and closing precincts in communities of color. North Carolina has been especially busy, drafting a law to restrict voting rights by eliminating same-day registration, early voting, and pre-registration of high school students shortly after Roberts claimed that “40-year old facts” have “no logical relationship to the present day.” And Graham expresses her disdain for Justice Roberts eloquently: “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and any action that undermines the rights of eligible voters is, by its very nature, anti-democratic. So, while Roberts dares to lecture that “We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity and dispatch,” he should know that his 2013 voting rights decision will continue to undermine this nation long after he’s just another marble bust next to the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who was Robert’s mentor and an ardent foe of voting rights.” So there! (January 5, 2020)
SPEAKING OF NORTH CAROLINA
“A federal judge temporarily blocked North Carolina’s photo voter-identification requirements from taking effect….The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina said it would issue a preliminary injunction against the law next week, according to court records. The decision came as the State Board of Elections was preparing a large statewide mailing for Dec. 31 to alert voters that they would need to present photo identification at the polls in coming elections.” (The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2020)
BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!
Did you know that Black women won all five top beauty contests: Miss World, Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh; Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi; Miss America, Nia Franklin; Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst; and Miss Teen USA, Kaliegh Garris. Even better news is that the contests are now about much more meaningful attributes than beauty.
SPRINGFIELD, GET TO WORK!
For the first time in its history, Boston’s 13-member City Council is made up of a majority of women, including a Black president, while Springfield only has two women and a long way to go.
WHERE BLACK DOESN’T MATTER
While I wish more people of color were included in the later Democratic debates, the fact that, in the end, none kept up with the requirements agreed to in advance should not be a subject of debate. ■
