Breaking Our Silence

Radical, unrelenting, yet apologetic, when caught, racism is showing its face on the airwaves and online.  Just when you think America has matured, we are reminded that even the most connected, supposedly educated and service-oriented, are still radically against a man, woman, and family of color residing in the White House in the highest seat of power in the world.

Apologies are not enough yet their speech is protected and rightfully so.  I’d rather know who I’m dealing with than have their racist and hateful sentiments be given a cloak or veil of silence and shadow.  DePass, the idiot of the day, gets no pass nor is his apology accepted for the racist comment about the First Lady’s ancestry being that of a gorilla.  He is a grown man, mature enough to know who he is and to speak his mind and he did that quite freely and without consequence.  He should be held accountable!  He is an elected official sworn to uphold certain virtues.

Yet, he has the right to be racist and we have the right to respond.  I understand his level of ignorance but don’t condone it or forgive it.  We can hold others accountable for their words and actions but their thoughts and feelings are their own.  The problem comes, when regardless of white privlege you run the risk of losing credibility and your livihood.  Hypocrites, at any level, don’t want to get caught.  He should lose something.  African-Americans continue to be open-season for anyone who wants to insult, degrade, or even attempt to kill us.  And, unfortunately, the President nor his family, are above this sentiment.

Apologies or requests for forgiveness are not sincere but are simply required in the business of political correctness.  Keeping your mouth shut or your keyboard silent isn’t enough these days.  If you say it or write it, someone has access to expose it! Just like Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Kwame Kilpatrick, Eliot Spritzer, and Don Imus, apologies only came after they were exposed.

Racism is an equal opportunity racket.  Recently, Sherri GoForth, a legislative aid to Republican Senator Diane Black, joined the ranks of racist radicals.  She sent an email with a photo of all the U.S. Presidents, however the 44th Presidential portrait was depicted with two eyes on a black background.  In response to getting caught, she said she only felt bad that she had sent the email to the wrong list.  She wasn’t apologetic for the racial imagery of the photo. 

What’s the lesson?  We live in a nation that was born and breed on the notion that people of African descent, kidnapped from our land, were considered inferior to white people and should forever serve them.  Over the centuries, the situation has changed, however there remains remnants of this superiority complex and hateful belief. 

For our own survival and sanity, it’s important to understand the source and foundation that fuel their thoughts and  actions.  President Obama was elected by those with vision while he was opposed by those who still feel “his kind” should not be in power.

We, the majority of the people, have had the final say.  Live with it!

Mary McLeod Bethune, in her Last Will and Testament, left us her incomparable legacy and her desire that we always have “a thirst for education.” This thirst has been quenched through the dedication of mothers and fathers; friends and family; teachers and preachers. 

Yet our broader thirst for knowledge exceeds the conversations we have in our homes, the lessons taught in our classrooms or the sermons spoken from the pulpit. 

We stayed informed, inspired, and captivated by reading the stories and seeing the faces of people who looked and lived like we did.  This is what Johnson Publishing Company, under the leadership of John Johnson, created when it first published the Negro Digest, which later grew into the world-renowned national publications, Jet and Ebony magazines. 

Serving as gatekeepers and historians of our lives, Johnson Publishing Company has created a dynasty that reflects the diversity, complexity, and majesty of the African-American experience.

In these tough economic times, many industries are suffering, including magazine publishers.  But when I heard that Johnson Publishing Company was close to financial collapse, my heart stopped.  I couldn’t imagine our world without Jet or Ebony capturing our images, sharing our perspective, debating our issues or celebrating our accomplishments.

We are in the beginning of the most significant presidency in the history of our nation, with the first African-American President, Barack Obama, being elected and the first African-American First Family.  Our historical view is paramount at this crossroads in our societal and political evolution.  We shouldn’t have to gain a president and lose the press that helped to spread the word, archive the conversations, and commemorate the occasion.

Our perspective, shared through the lens of our press, is critical to maintaining the authenticity and validity of our voice, presented in our way.  For over 65 years, Jet and Ebony have kept the pride and prestige of our community front and center in the hearts and minds of all Americans. 

Let’s exercise our cooperative economics or Ujamaa, to come together for a cause bigger than ourselves.  We should be buying up subscriptions, left and right.  Leave no magazines on the shelf anywhere.  As we integrate this effort it will become a more conscious habit. 

Ebony and Jet represent the lives and stories that helped pave the path for the stories covered today.  Since 1942, they has remained committed to bringing our struggles and successes to life through the stories of average and extraordinary African-Americans. 

So, I refuse to say goodbye to this voice.  I refuse to chalk it up to the economic recession, when many black folk are living large enough or some not so large, and are still spending money are non-essentials.  Let’s invest in our tomorrow, shared through the pages of Ebony and Jet. 

Black press is crucial to our political, social, and constitutional future.  Who cares more about us than us?  We are indebted to Johnson Publishing, and many other publishers, journalists, and broadcasters, for sharing our story without hesitation, without strings attached, and without fail.  We owe it to the stories that have yet to be told and the lives that have yet to be touched. 

With unwavering optimism the late John Johnson always said, “Like the bumble bee that defies all the laws of aerodynamics–we flew–and are still flying.”  With financial support, we can be the wind beneath the wings that help Jet and Ebony continue to soar to greater heights.

Critical thinking has become a lost art form filled with media’s attempt to persuade us to sidetrack our ability to come to a conclusion, based on the facts.

The majority of our lives have become soundbites and pundit or network-based propaganda.  While propaganda often has facts or fragments of truth interspersed, it is designed to further a particular entity.  You must always consider the source!

As kids, we often repeated information we “heard,” regardless of its truth.  We simply passed it on to those willing to listen or those unaware of its impact.  As educated adults, we are supposed to have learned how to take information at face value until we, ourselves, have the opportunity to dissect or discern its validity.

News media nowadays, tells you something enough times and enough ways that you will then begin to believe it.  By the time you hear or read something and try to fully comprehend the message, the ticker at the bottom of the page has moved you to the next thought.  Overwhelming citizens with constant information is considered a form of mind control.  We have to become better stewards of information by challenging ourselves to read more, research more and give less status to those who read teleprompters or simply give a limited perspective.

Ask “where’s the beef?” Where’s the meat of the issue?  I don’t just want the so-called “juicy details,” I want the meat!  I want to see all sides, not just one or two perspectives. 

How many issues that our nation is facing today, do you fully understand?  How many ways do you get your information?  Who’s voice do you trust?  Are you seeking the facts or do you just need a sprinkle of pundits and a taste of op-eds?  Are you seeking to be informed or entertained in this age of sensationalized and “soap-opera” news? 

We are so programmed to someone giving us the answers that its hypocritical and disingenuous for us to ask our kids to think for themselves and not cheat their way through life.  The cable networks are proud participants in this “Cliff Notes” Information Age.  Remember when you didn’t want or have the time to read the complete book in school?  You used the Cliff Notes to get the summary.  You may have passed the test but never fully comprehended the entire story, because you didn’t read it for yourself. 

Is it media’s fault?  No.  It’s ours.  We, the African-American community, don’t even have a major cable network, like BET or TVOne, that will invest in news from our perspective.  Entertainment rules.  If it doesn’t ”make money” they won’t do it.    This is a sad commentary!  But we seem to just be “happy” to have something.  In this case, something is nothing at all.  Demand gives way to more supply and unfortunately to our detriment!

We have to learn to read and know more for ourselves about the world around us.  We went through the past 8 years with blinders on to the demise of our economy, our integrity, and to a large part, our future.  We didn’t fight hard enough for our ideals and our rights.  But in 2009, we have a president that speaks for transparency after years of secrecy.  But here’s the kicker…are we willing to take advantage of our constitutional rights to know what is going on under our noses?  Are we willing to speak out, do the work, decipher the information, and make the tough decisions?

I am, are you?

On the heels of Mother’s Day, our womanhood should be examined.  Do women know how valuable they are or are we content to have media and men tell us who they want us to be?

Women carry the heavy load of raising children; many who are boys that will become men.  The ironic twist is that those same men will ultimately forsake their home-training and choose to treat women as “less than a child of God.”  And what about those “fast” young girls shaking what mama gave them instead of shaping the world they wish to inhabit and lead.

Who are we as black mothers; as contributors to our global society, teachers of leaders, lovers of dreams, and keepers of the essence of our creator? We are valuable, brilliant, reflections of what lives inside; God!

Throw your arms around those women who gave birth to you and your dreams!  Throw your arms around those women who encourage and support your ups and downs.  God uses their love, motivation, and teardrops to deposit greatness into your life! 

Who are we black women?  Mothers… divinely designed!

Arlene Specter defects! Meghan McCain disrespects! Sarah Palin deflects!  Michael Steele neglects! 

No it’s not the poetic lyrics of a new rap, it’s the changing faces and places of the Republican Party.  But change is good, if it’s the kind you can believe in. 

The biggest news this week has been the spectacle over Senator Arlene Specter defecting to the Democrats or simply exercising his right to go to the winning team.   Many pundits have raised their eyebrows and the question of Specter trying to keep a seat in power.  Faced with losing as a Republican, can you blame him?  But to be fair, Specter is known as a strong believer in doing the right and sound thing.  He brings at least a splash of integrity to a table that needs all the flavor we can get.  I’m talking about the table of brotherly love.  Is he perfect? What politician or person is?

The other big news is the retirement of Judge Souter from the Supreme Court.  I, along with Specter, and many other Americans, agree that President Obama should appoint a brilliantly capable female of color.  Although I know for some, Obama was considered a needle in a haystack, there are many other accomplished legal professionals who could feel these shoes.  The key is seeking them out and giving them access.

Arlene Specter will be a friend in the Senate, not only for President Obama’s agenda, but for many agendas that affect people of color.  Remember, the Senate has only one African-American, Roland Burris, who replaced Obama in Illinois, as the appointee of a crooked Governor.

Whether Republican, Democrat, Independent or sit on the bench, we all call ourselves American, call America home and wave the American flag.  Whether our party is red or blue, the flag contains both colors.  So in the words of Rodney King, “can’t we all just get along?”

Let the first one without skeletons in their closets, throw the first stone….I hear silence….let the church say “amen.”

A 2009 study sheds new light on the dark shadow of health disparities that effect the wellness of black girls and women.  The results challenge the long standing belief that bulimia, an eating disorder, affects white girl exclusively.  But guess what, that perception along with the facts, may have been horribly wrong.

The study, Caught in the Bulimic Trap: Do Eating Disorders Reflect Addictive Behavior?, conducted by Michelle Goeree, a USC economist, reveals that African-American girls are 50 percent more likely to “exhibit bulimic behavior” than their white counterparts.  This  discovery changes the face and race of bulimia.

So how did this happen?  Goeree says, “One explanation is straightforward: Girls with an eating disorder who are African American or come from low-income families are much less likely to be diagnosed. Who goes to the hospital? Those who have insurance. Who tends to have insurance? Wealthier, better-educated people.”

The study surveyed 2300 girls from California, Ohio, and Washington, DC, over a 10 year period, beginning at around the age of 9 and 10.  They were asked not only about eating habits but about body image and depression.  The results are startling and eye-opening.   

So how do we correct this disparity in health diagnosis, treatment, and recovery?  Does this compound the numerous eating, weight, and health issues that African-American women have to face and fight?  Should this be addressed by the new White House Council for Women and Girls?

To read the full study go to:http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~goeree/GoereeHamIorio_Jan19.pdf

Blanche Williams 4/10/09

Erased, flogged, and restricted are words that most American women will never hear or experience; but for women in Aghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, and Africa, this is commonplace in their lives. 

As we focus on our FLOTUS (First Lady of The United States of America) as she moves effortlessly around the globe, there are women who must get permission to leave their homes and fear punishment for simply being born the lesser gender.  Some Muslim women are being flogged or whipped in public , prohibited from gaining an education, or legally raped by their husbands.

Even at high levels of Israeli leadership, female cabinet ministers were erased from an official photograph, which would have sent the wrong message and image that women can hold positions of authority. 

The Muslim message is clear, “don’t get any ideas ladies.”  This is one of the reasons why “western” ways, aka democracy, is seen as an ideology contrary to the “status quo” and in most cases can be detrimentaI to women’s health and a threat to their longevity.   

I have traveled the world, and have always respected diversity, however to infringe upon the basic human rights of women around the globe, regardless of culture, religion, or government, gives me pause.  Our new President can make a difference.

Could the image and freedoms given to ‘Mighty Michelle,’ as our First Lady is affectionately addressed, help or hinder the lives and future of women and girls, living in societies where they are powerless?  Can we fully understand the complexity of their existence or would we rather stay within the lines and focus on the fashion of the day instead or fight against the brutality at play?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. enlightened and warned us from the Birmingham jail, when he wrote, ”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  These issues, as in Dr. King’s time, are inescapable yet we are culpable as global citizens.  Is the world ready to lock arms to protect the rights and humanity of women everywhere?