I have —we have— been down that road before, and as my grandfather was fond of saying, “It takes a fool to get kicked by the same mule twice,” and I am determined not to be that fool and get kicked a second time, again.

I reasoned that Governor Haley and her lot would make grandiose promises, and then wait for the statue of limitations to run out on our rage. However, they managed to prove me wrong.

But keep in mind that in arriving at the decision that the flag should be removed, Governor Haley and others like her proffered the notion that they simply had no idea of the extremity of the animus engendered by and contained in that antiquated symbol of the South.

Really? Did they not hear what so many of their constituents have been so adamantly proclaiming for so many years? Is it really possible that they did not know? Or did they just not care until now?

And many people are labeling this action and others like it across the South as progress even though nine innocent people had to unwittingly and unwillingly become martyrs for the cause.

The urge to insert the oft-cited Malcom X quote—“If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there’s no progress.”—almost overwhelms me, but it has been used so often and so carelessly as to be rendered trite, so I shall resist that urge, though it would be apropos.

But, seemingly word of this progress has not reached the grassroots because as I drove to the grocery this morning to pick up a bit of milk and honey so that I could proceed with preparing breakfast for my family, Confederate battle flags littered my piece of the Southern landscape as if they had sprung up overnight from ground thoroughly fertilized by bitter hatred and resentment.

Nevertheless, it is Friday morning the flag is down in South Carolina. I watched the ceremony, and when they were done taking down the flag, the honor guard charged with striking the flag, then even pulled up the whole pole.

Yet, the issue as to just what the flag represents remains very much a point of heated contention. The one group claims that the Confederate battle flag is nothing more than a symbol of Southern pride in Southern tradition and heritage. However, the other views the flag as a sign and symbol of abject racial hatred and strife.

And as strange as it may sound, though, both groups are correct. The problem, then, is that the former group has an unrealistically naïve—maybe even delusional—conception of the true nature of that tradition and heritage and all that they entail.

From what I have observed, within the American cultural imagination, the antebellum South has been romanticized as an extended scene from Gone with the Wind, one huge verdant, agrarian utopia dotted with stately mansions and sprawling plantations, peopled with noble, gallant gentlemen, genteel Southern belles, and happy, singing darkies, and animated by slow, sleepy afternoons on the front porch sipping lemonade or sweet tea, frequently punctuated by grand, elegant balls in the late evening.

I believe this to be the fantastical, allegorical scene motivating most Southerners who cling so ardently and desperately to the symbolism offered by the Confederate battle flag when they speak of their tradition and heritage. But this scene is mostly that—fantastical allegory.

In a society and culture completely permeated and enriched by the institution of slavery, only a small class of Southerners, an aristocratic class made up mostly of planters, even lived this way. Only this very small class of people got filthy rich on the labor of slaves.

The vast majority of Southern whites did not own slaves. In fact, the very institution of slavery made many—not all but many—of their lives even the more difficult. Across the South, slaves performed a wide range of tasks, from the artisanal to the most menial, which, for the majority of Southern whites not owning slaves, resulted in limited opportunity, depressed wages, and a lack of education.

There is no need to pay someone for labor when that same labor can be had without cost.

In a sense, this poor degraded class of whites were themselves victims of the system of chattel slavery. I guess it could be said that they, themselves, were slaves to and within that system. However, the aristocratic class masterfully stoked the fires of racial resentment by manipulating the white masses and laying the fault of their squalid poverty at the feet of the black slaves even as they grew rich off the free labor of these same slaves.

But when the aristocratic class that benefited most from that exploitative system saw that system threatened, it sounded the alarm. It excitedly and desperately sought out the white masses that it held in only the utmost contempt, and proclaimed, “They are threatening OUR way of life! They are threatening OUR very tradition and heritage. WE must do something!”

And the degraded white masses, elated to be finally included in the WE after being shut out and devalued for so long, answered resoundingly, “Yes, WE! WE must do something!”

See; that’s that slave mind.

With that, the aristocratic class united them under various iterations of the Confederate battle flag, now a symbol of their WE-ness, and marched them off to battle. And in the excitement and fervor of the initial rush of war as they proudly marched off to meet the common foe, inspired emboldened by chorus after chorus of “Dixie”, I can only imagine that many glanced up at that flag flapping in the Southern wind, and for that moment, felt immensely powerful.

However, had they taken a second to think, they might have realized that the very traditions and heritage they were marching off to protect actually subtended the system of oppression that kept its boot planted firmly on their neck. Had they just taken a second to think, they might have realized that they were also a slave to and within the institution they sought so vigorously to protect and prolong.

But that symbol, the Confederate battle flag, has served the exigencies of the ruling moneyed class well. During the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, the moneyed class broke it out again just to remind the white masses of the tradition and heritage at stake, and again the white masses enthusiastically responded without critically examining that tradition and that heritage.

Even now the white masses in the South have united in a state of ersatz rage in defending that flag as symbolic of the traditions and heritage of the old South even as this tradition and heritage have yet to be examined, and furthermore, they have failed to recognize the face of the current Southern moneyed class as just the latest iteration of the antebellum aristocracy that has managed to maintain its money and its power by drawing upon the same racial resentments and pitting the one group against the other.

And before we truly embrace the flag coming down as a sign of progress, consider the following caveats.

The murder of the Emmanuel Nine by that young son of the South who had cloaked himself in that revered symbol, the Confederate battle flag, embarrassed the Southern moneyed class, which is currently in the process of rebranding itself in an effort to attract international investment and getting some of that global money, and laid bare the contumelious meaning invested in that symbol making it a financial liability, so the rapid divestment in this symbol perhaps had more to do with the needs of capital rather than a sudden moral realization.

Not only that, and perhaps most importantly, have you considered that the absence of this symbol is even more powerful than its presence, and that in its absence it is even more efficacious in maintaining and reinforcing the old racial resentments and pitting one group against the other?

The most dangerous being on this earth is that being that finds itself cornered and feels it has nothing left to lose. That being will always strike back with a certain ferocious urgent desperateness, knowing no bounds.

And there are many across the South watching that flag come who feel exactly that way, as if all is lost, and they are being pressed into a corner. What will they be willing to do to fight their way out of this imagined corner?

Be careful standing behind this mule. Stay woke.

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Lowering The Confederate Flag Forever

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Confederate battle flag is gone from the South Carolina State House. The white-bordered, square banner bearing the St. Andrews cross was lowered for the last time Friday in front of the Confederate Soldier Monument by an honor guard of seven South Carolina Highway Patrol officers. The four-foot flag was folded and rolled.…

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House approved a bill removing the Confederate flag from the Capitol grounds, a stunning reversal in a state that was the first to leave the Union in 1860 and raised the flag again at its Statehouse more than 50 years ago to protest the civil rights movement.

The move early Thursday came after more than 13 hours of passionate and contentious debate, and just weeks after the fatal shootings of nine black church members, including a state senator, at a Bible study in Charleston.”South Carolina can remove the stain from our lives,” said 64-year-old Rep. Joe Neal, a black Democrat first elected in 1992. “I never thought in my lifetime I would see this.”The House easily approved the Senate bill by a two-thirds margin (94-20), and the bill now goes to Republican Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk. She supports the measure, which calls for the banner to come down within 24 hours of her signature.

“It is a new day in South Carolina, a day we can all be proud of, a day that truly brings us all together as we continue to heal, as one people and one state,” Haley said in a statement.

That symbol of slavery, hatred, segregation and treason should have been removed years ago. It is a shame that nine innocent people had to die in order to finally get that hate flag removed. This is a great symbolic victory. However, we should not be pacified and deceived by symbols. The larger, more significant struggle continues. We must now bring down the Confederate mentality and its institutions.

[Originally posted ay New Possibilities]

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Florida County  wins the race to the bottom with a vote to put UP a confederate flag. Well some people just want to be stuck on stupid no matter what. Those police officers that had KKK affiliations must feel vindicated after all

There’s always got to be the one place where they buck the trends, right? Contrarian Marion County, Florida, is that place. Commissioners voted unanimously to put the confederate flag right back up the flagpole, with the excuse that it represents “history.” I suppose that “history” depends on which perspective you’re looking through, doesn’t it? Salon: Officials…

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More often than not, it is the female that actually steps above and beyond to make things happen for their families, communities, and society. Think about where Black peoplewould be without the work of Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, or Maria W. Stewart. We can take it to Madame CJ Walker or even to Angela Davis and Assata Shakur. Hell, we can even take it further with Ava Duvernay with what she did with Selma. It needs to be recognized that Black women are the societal glue for the Black experience.

Black Women As Heroes in Our Age

Black women are, and have been, showing the world what they should be doing. Serena Williams already had to mention how she refused to play in Charleston back in 2000 due to the Confederate flag. People need to realize that certain issues are actually old. We are talking about 2000. That’s 15 years ago. Yet, it was a Black woman representing for us.

It is 2015 and we have a new hero: Bree Newsome.

What occurred with Bree Newsome taking down the Confederate flag was nothing short of heroism. Instead of giving the same old rigmarole, she did something about the flag that many of us wanted gone for decades. She climbed at the top of the pole and took the flag down. Many of us rejoiced at what she had done. We realized that she stuck HER neck out to do what millions wanted done.

Again: it took a black woman.

Yet, there are plenty of us that have something negative to say. In a forum that I am a part of on Facebook, one of my art colleagues drew an astounding picture of the incident. However, some of the males wanted to make misogynistic and despairing remarks while questioning her dedication to the cause. If they would have did some research, they would have known that Bree Newsome is a filmmaker, artist, activist, and many other titles that even she hasn’t mentioned. However, here we are again: men finding a way to turn a situation into something misogynistic.

And you know what? It is getting old.

Fellas, it is time to listen up: Black people are having a rough go at it. Between people either wanting us dead or placing responsibility on us for other people’s issues (racism being one of them), it would be smart to actually SUPPORT the women that are going to bat for us. If you see a woman taking the lead to do something YOU did not do, then you should be cheering her on. This is not the moment of questioning their agendas or talking down on her for being a female. This is the time of action.

How can any man talk down on somebody while they sit in front of a computer while these females are risking their lives/livelihood for our Blackness?

Black Women Are Our Heroes Epilogue

If you came from a Black woman, then you should support Black women. If a Black woman does what you DIDN’T do, then applause is in order. There is no time for questioning, negative commentary, and mental meandering on the situation. The least that men could do is actually give proper respect to those that had the courage/gall to do what you WOULDN’T. Or, you can always try and be quiet.

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While it indeed is an honorable thing, in the wake of such a horrible act, its inadequate as a response. Why could not this have been done before? Furthermore, if we want to be technical, how does the American flag itself not represent a symbol of oppression? Saying that bigots can no longer display their flags in public just seems too easy and does nothing to remedy what occurred. If the calls for changes in the aftermath of this terrorist act go no further than the removal of the confederate flag from the public sphere, than it will amount to a symbolic, and facile victory. The seen and unseen anti-Black forces in this country should not be let off that easy.

It is now known that the white supremacist who influenced this murderer has donated money to a few Republican presidential candidates. Given the right wing rhetoric around “Taking our country back” it is not that hard to draw a direct line of accountability. What about how these sentiments are whipped up, day in and out? Its just not enough.

To those of you who feel like people making the claim that the confederate flag is akin to the swastiska is a reach, #wellactually no. The Nazi regimes eugenics program was inspired by study of the Jim Crow South. For more reading on that, you can visit here,here, and here.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to comment below.

[Originally posted st Polite On Society]

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After the speech made by his son which was  arguably a form of karma made manifest. You have to realize listening to the responses to the concept of removing the flag is not the true problem that this country at this time is beset with. It is the RACISM it always has been  that is what is behind the functioning of this country. Now how to fix it…..that is the question.

Keep this in mind…

[quote style=”boxed”]With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.” Abraham Lincoln[/quote]

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No joke, lately I’ve been listening to Kanye’s radio station interviews; which, though they may be all over the place as far as message, they pretty much all come back to the same conclusion: Kanye is a victim and “the man” as represented by corporate world. If you’re to believe Kanye, corporate America won’t allow him to be great — or, a billionaire like the “creative genius” believes he should.

Which, I can kind of sort of understand, but then comes the story that he’s being investigated by p[olice this week for attacking an 18-year-old for hurling racial slurs at his girlfriend Kim Kardashian, as she walked into a Beverly Hills chiropractor’s office as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Kardashian, West’s fiancee and the mother of his child, was going to an appointment in a medical building on Wilshire Boulevard and, as usual, had a load of paparazzi in her wake. The victim tried to help her manage the photogs as she entered the building, then went into the building also, according to TMZ video. “They’re whack, dude. You have to deal with that every day?” he can be heard saying on the way in.

 

Then, according to an account on TMZ, the 18-year-old directed the N-word and gay slurs toward the paps. When Kardashian told him not to use the N-word, he allegedly turned his rant on her, telling her to shut up and calling her, among worse things, a “stupid slut.”

 

Kardashian called West via cellphone, and when the man realized it was Kanye on the phone, he allegedly shouted the N-word at the rapper as well.

 

West then arrived at the building, and witnesses said he and Kim entered the waiting room of a chiropractor, where the man was sitting, and West allegedly punched him.

Now you may say that Kanye was justified in punching this guy. Yes, he was defending his girlfriend’s honor, and I totally get that — after all, this is Kanye West; and, well, he loves his baby momma. I mean, to hear him tell it, Kim Kardashian is hotter that Michelle Obama. Not that there’s anything wrong with thinking that way; but, again, this is Kanye West we’re talking about; and, of late he’s been dropping turds from the mouth; because, we’re “bound to fall in love,” with his ass.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not into disrespecting women, and I doubt I would give any man a pass when it comes to me and mine. I may have some not-so-kind words for the gentleman in question if I were Kanye. But to assault the guy? Yeah, I doubt I’d take it that far. But not Kanye the “new slave” being held down by corporate America. This is Kanye, the guy who isn’t afraid to insert himself into conversations. The same Kanye who on national television had no problem with telling the world that “George W. Bush doesn’t care about black people,” which to me was a signal that Kanye does.

But above all, this is the same Kanye who had no problem with selling $150 t-shirts as well as apparel emboldened with the Confederate Flag. Yes, he loves controversy. But if I had the opportunity to speak to Kanye today, I’d ask: How are you gonna sell clothing with the image of the Confederate Flag which is a symbol of oppression and hate, but yet punch a guy in the face for calling your baby momma, Kim Kardashian, a “nigger lover,” son? I dunno, but that sounds fucked.

I don’t know what he would say in response; but hey, like my man Sway, I don’t have the answers. Hell, maybe I should visit the church of “Yeezianity” to get ’em. But clearly to do so would mean I’d have to compromise my blackness and stan really hard for a white chick, yes?

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Now I don’t know what exactly it i that they put in the water down in South Carolina to produce the likes of Alvin Green, and now Byron Thomas. But I know one thing, my Negro friends down there yonder in the great state of South Carolina better be careful. I don’t know whether it’s in the water or in the air. However, this kids argument, or his stance for supporting the Confederate flag and what it represents is down right ridiculous.

I mean, we’re talking South Carolina here! The first friggin’ state to secede from the union before the Civil War! I’m not too sure of my American history, but the fact that they were first to secede, kinda sorta tells me that they really, really, really didn’t like anyone telling them what to do with their slaves. I mean it’s either that or they loved their slaves so much, that unlike the northern folks, they gave their slaves workers full benefits including a 401K plan. Yeah, maybe that’s it. As a matyter of fact, that has to be it. I mean that’s the only way any Black person would embrace the Confederate flag like my man Byron in the video above, right?

No seriously, can somebody save this brother….

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