We are back from the Black is Back March and Rally held at the White House on Saturday, and we want to give mad props to the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations for putting the event together. It is no mean feat for a predominately Black coalition to put together a event that calls out the first Black President, but they pulled it off. There were people who support him, but are still critical, people who used to support him, and people who never liked him. But overall, things needed to be reinforced, concerns needed to be addressed and a message needed to be sent that African Americans are indeed going to be active in the affairs of not only the community but especially of the nation. From what we heard, the white supremacists that were holding a conference across town got that message. For the past two years, there has been this routine being played by them that has them saying they are not racists and that has come full circle because reportedly African Americans were a part of their event as well! This curious development is going to be played out again when Carol Swain, a Black apologist for white supremacists, speaks at the American Renaissance Conference in February. However one may feel about that little scenario, the fact remains that the spirit of the Black is Back conference is best seen by the results it produces. Where once White Supremacists would come and get you if you oppose them or shoot you down at a rally, as they did in Greensboro, NC 30 years ago last week, now they are more concerned about their image and want all people to like them! Score one for our side!
One People's Project
WASHINGTON, DC--An anti-war march and rally at the White House organized by a coalition of African American groups and supporters took place at the same time a White supremacist conference with David Duke as their keynote speaker was being held at a hotel blocks away. Ironically, both were held with black people in attendance!
The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations began their march preceded by a rally at Malcolm X Park (Meridian Hill Park) in the Columbia Heights section of the city. Speakers and attendees not only spoke of the war but also other concerns that affected the black community, and most were especially critical of President Barack Obama, whom although some in the crowd voted for, felt were failing the community in important areas. This has been touted by observers as the first rally put on by African Americans against the President since he has been in office. "There are millions of people thirsting for alternatives right now, and I think the job of everyone who's here is to reach out beyond our own networks to new networks to build the kind of power that can actually change things," said speaker David Thurston, who was one of the organizers of the National Equality March on the Capitol on Oct. 11, and spoke of the recent election that saw victories for Republicans in the governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. "What happened was that black voter turnout plummeted, progressive voter turnout plummeted, because people voted for hope and change and they haven't seen it yet."
Pam Africa of the MOVE organization and International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal took that point even further, reminding people that it was under Wilson Goode, the first African American Mayor of Philadephia that a bomb was dropped on the row home that served as MOVE's headquarters, killing 11 adults and children, including MOVE founder John Africa. "(Goode) was exposed to the world," she said, "and you know what we did? We voted him back in again, through this BS that they keep handing us that he's our first Black mayor, give him a chance."
Pam Africa went further, taking particular exception to Obama. "This man is a punk," she said. "This man is also our child. We're the parents of him. He talked about absentee fathers, he had one…somebody…we need to whoop his ass and make him understand."
A number of groups were represented at the rally from various parts of the country and even an organization from Bermuda was in attendance. Other speakers included New York City Councilman Charles Barron and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. People's Organization for Progress (POP), a community organization based in Newark, NJ that supported Obama during the campaign and brought buses to his inauguration, came this time with a contingent of members to call him out for not following through on the promises he has made. Larry Hamm spoke particularly about the myriad issues of concern. He brought to the stage with him Sharonda Smalls, whose nephew Basire Farrell died in the custody of Newark Police on May 15, and Rebecca Kelly of Plainfield, NJ where Muhlenberg Hospital was recently closed, one of several in predominately black communities in New Jersey that were. "We have to change these conditions, and not just change a president," he told the crowd. "Because it's not just the leadership that's driving this thing forward. It is the dynamic of a system that must reach out and steal the natural resources. It is the dynamic of a system that must enslave working people all over the world. Dr. King said it in 1968. He said we need a radical redistribution of power and wealth in this country!"
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"You got the general feeling that the Liberty Lobby crowd has much less anti-black feeling than you would surmise," the poster continued. "As a matter of fact, several attendees and one speaker were outside sharing a smoke afterwards when a black panhandler, young and a bit pushy, came by. They gave him a smoke, and one guy went back inside to make change and then came back out and gave the panhandler a dollar! All the animus was reserved for Jews, and they ladeled it on pretty thick."
While it is not known if the poster was genuine, there was indeed an indication that the openness towards African Americans was at this event, despite Steve Smith from the white supremacist group Keystone United and his family being among the attendees, and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke being the keynote speaker. Just across the street from the hotel was a vehicle with Maryland license plates promoting the Center for Perpetual Diversity, an organization whose website calls for supporters to "promote social justice, stop racism and help save white people from extinction." It's staff includes white separatist Robert Hoy, who is best known for an outburst during a 1999 discussion on race relations, and Sharity Ross-Petit, an African American woman who helps black people reestablish their roots in Africa. Like many in the Black is Back march, this group supports reparations for slavery, but they do so insofar as it helps send all African Americans back to Africa.
This will not be the last attempt by white supremacists to reach out to the black community. In February, Professor Carol Swain will be the first African American to speak at the biannual white supremacist American Renaissance Conference at the Dulles Airport Marriott. American Renaissance has long maintained the position that Blacks are genetically inferior to Whites. Robert Hoy has attended this conference in the past.
In addition to the march and rally, there were other events related to the Black is Back event, including a teach-in at Hampton University. Comedian Steve Harvey mentioned the rally on his radio show prior to the event.
