RE: [Mpls] Linder and the Minneapolis Connection

[Peter Jessen]

Sadly, regretfully, Eric is correct.  And what he says applies directly to Minneapolis.  Note that after amendments 13, 14, and 15 were passed, Blacks enjoyed those rights for only a decade, just as they enjoyed the rights of the 60’s acts for only four years.  In 1876, there was no majority in the Electoral College.  So the Democrats went to the Republicans and said that “if you agree to withdraw the Federal troops from the South, we’ll vote for your candidate.”  They agreed.  The abolitionists were Republicans.  The slavers were Democrats.  This gave everyone cover.  The Federal troops were pulled out.  The abolitionists had no one to go to.  And the South was able to implement Jim Crow laws and turn the KKK loose to enforce them.  And just as fast as there were Black legislators and office holders they disappeared just as fast.  Now fast forward to the 1960’s civil rights and voting rights acts.  Passage.  Then urban riots.  “The ingrates.”  So the Democrats set up the Kerner Commission report.  Many good analyses and recommendations came out of that report and the one on Watts.  Except for one thing.  It was eye candy.  Ron lists what they concluded and recommended in his book.  But the book had a big “but”:  The key conclusion of this liberal document was that Blacks were not like other immigrant groups and therefore could not make it to prosperity like others and had to be cared for by the state.  The Bell Curve in the 90s, from the conservative side, was a great book on IQ, and for the most part was very good.  BUT, just like the Kerner commission report, it too had a “but” chapter:  just a few pages, that said that Blacks were on the bottom of the intelligence pole, running, top to bottom, from Asians, Whites, Browns, Blacks.  Therefore, it concluded, Blacks were not intelligent enough to make it on their own so they too concluded that Blacks had to be cared for by the state.  These were very finesse-full forms of Jim Crow, just as was the next brilliant move:  diluting the civil rights movement and its goals dramatically by expanding it to include women, gays, and the disabled.  The minute that equivalency came into play, Blacks were AGAIN shunted to the bottom.  Ron discusses this part of the struggle in his book also.  This is not to say that women and gays and the disabled don’t have their grievances.  But to dilute the civil rights of Blacks in favor of mostly White women, White gays, and White disabled, is why we have the liberal and conservative laws now that have resulted in too many Black young men in jail or not in school or as drop outs.  It is what Jawanza Kunjufu calls the “war on young Black males” in “State of Emergency:  We Must Save African American Males.”  Again, Ron discusses this in his book, “The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes.”  The Dixiecrats were the Democrats Southern strategy (remember it was Democratic Governors who raised the Confederate flags over southern capitals).  With the passage of the acts Eric talks about, Lyndon Johnson said to Bill Moyers, “well, I guess we’ve given the South to the Republicans for forty years,” as the Republicans took up their Southern strategy, which was dealt a powerful if not death blow with Trent Lott.  As James Baldwin says, quoted by Ron, the White strategy is to do what’s necessary to keep Blacks in their place.  Does that happen in Minneapolis?  You bet.  Ron discusses the major 1991 Star Tribune series on racism in Minneapolis in his book.  His book then updates that series.  Before suggesting that Eric is coming from an off the wall perspective, read Ron’s book.  When Minneapolis stops what Ron outlines in his book, Eric will not have to respond as he did.    For brevity’s sake, I have over simplified.  There were abolitionist Democrats and slaver Republicans, but the 1876 and 1968 and 1998 points are the points:  that the Constitution is for everyone, BUT, and so Linder is protected whereas Blacks free speech has been greatly restricted as has been the perception of what they are capable of doing.  Linder gets to talk AND act as he wants.  Blacks do not.  You can read the details in Ron Edward’s book, especially in the historical Interludes between the chapters of “The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes.”  Martin Luther King talked about unqualified Blacks being qualifyable.  The liberal Kerner Commission report and the conservative Bell Curve say they are not.  Now read Ron’s book. Peter Jessen, Portland   -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Eric Mitchell Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 6:32 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Mpls] Govenor Pawlenty Should Demand Rep. Linder Step down   Michael Atherton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I am personally opposed to specific laws detailing Gay rights. I support human rights not Gay rights, Jewish rights, Black rights, or Women's rights. Why don't all of these special interest groups propose a new Constitutional amendment that guarantees the rights they are seeking for all citizens, not just their specific group?   SNIP Eric Mitchell:  Well Michael, it's sadly surprises me that you view some of us as part of a special interest group instead of Americans who's rights were not protected as stated in the constitution. Like Lindner, you should probably study some history before making certain statements. Between 1865 and 1870, there were three amendments to the US Constitution (13,14 and 15) which freed my relatives slavery, gauranteed equal protection and outlawed the denial of Rights based on race. As we all know, Blacks were not afforded equal protection or full Consitutional Rights for almost 100 years later with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act in the mid-1960's.  These 'special interests' groups went a century fighting for what was already amended in the Consitution as the law of the land. Sometimes these 'special interests' groups need 'special legislation' to address the inequalities that become the norm aimed at their unique group. The amendments are there. The reality is its just not enough sometimes and those of us who profess to believe in Human Rights have to recognize the realities in our society and address them.     Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Web Hosting - establish your business online