I could not agree more. Pauline may sound "over the top" to Whites but in reality, when the facts are viewed and education about what she says takes place, you find she is telling it like it is. As she so eloquently states, it requires both Blacks and Whites working together. Education is a two way street. And definitely more Whites need to stand up and call for that education. Education is what Ron Edwards book, "The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes," is all about (www.TheMinneapolisStory.com). The best book to so educate that I've seen in America recently is Ron's book, as he tells the story from three perspectives: history (the Interludes between each chapter), personal (his own experiences) and community (Minneapolis itself, although what he has written about could be said to fit any city in America).
But until liberals disown the bad part of the Kerner Commission Report of 1968 (that said Blacks were different and couldn't make it like others and needed the government to provide) and until conservatives disown the bad part of the book The Bell Curve (that said Blacks were too dumb to make it like others and needed the government to provide), we're stuck. This is the genius of Ron's "common ground of YESes and NOs" that all can agree to, liberal and conservative. Martin Luther King said there can be no real freedom until all are free. The most integrated institution in U.S. society is the military, that is now liberating Iraq (obviously there are legitimate disagreements over how this should have been done; nonetheless, if we are true to our beliefs, we have to first stand strong and say that the people of Iraq needed liberating and that the UN has to stop ignoring its own Declaration of Human Rights. If we don't stand up for the Iraqi people, how can we complain about the slavery of our own country? After that we can disagree over how it should have been done, a still legitimate discussion). And if we stand up for freeing Iraqis, then we need also stand up to free Blacks in America's inner cities. Ron's book provides the background and information needed as he educates all of us regarding Minneapolis housing, education, jobs, redistricting, the courts, local Black organizations, and the competing futures: status quo vs. change for the better. Even the White House brief to the Supreme Court stands for diversity. The Supreme Court may discard the 20 points Michigan uses (which they can defend on both liberal and conservative grounds) but they won't discard diversity (which they could not defend doing on any constitutional ground). The war on drugs is often called a war on young Black men (stiff penalties for Black crack cocaine users, slaps on the wrist for White users of "regular" cocaine). Ron's subtitle for Chapter 9, on jobs, is "Jobs, Not Drugs and Jail: The White Man's War on Young Black Men." He then lists, on pp. 155-156, facts from the book "State of Emergency: We Must Save African American Males," facts which, if they were about White young men, would result in their being declared a state of emergency. We need to proclaim that about the city's young Black men. I applaud Michelle and Pauline for standing up. I applaud Ron for standing up. As a White guy, my small part was to help Ron get his book out. This Mpls list has ducked the racism question. The Strib and Mpls.St Paul magazine had big stories on them in 1991 (Interludes 2 and 10 of Ron's book). Despite their excellent reporting on this then, they have chosen to skip their education process today and have, so far, refused to review, acknowledge, or recognize Ron's book (only City Pages and The Spokesman-Recorder have done so, with front page stories). A good starting point is community-police mediation, which the Mayor, police, and city council have treated shamefully and shamelessly (see Ron's Chapter 16). Our troops are standing up for liberation in Iraq. Will we stand up for the same opportunity for liberation of our inner city citizens, especially its youth? Michelle and Pauline have rightly called us all out. How will we respond? An excellent first step would be for everyone to step up to support mediation. A good second step would be addressing redistricting (and contributing money to support the law suit that is fighting this latest attempt to dilute, degrade, and render Black votes useless, an attempt aided and abetted with the help of the local branch of he NAACP). As for a third step, how about following Ron's call to develop a set of "Sullivan Principles" for Minneapolis (Chapters 14, 17)? For more steps, see Ron's Chapter 5, Interlude 16, Chapter 17 and his Conclusion. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michelle Gross Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 5:44 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [Mpls] Pauline Thomas: The War for Freedom at Home IMHO Pauline Thomas is emerging as a strong and principled leader in her community and a powerful writer, too. Michelle Gross Bryn Mawr _________________________________________________ Spokesman Recorder April 2, 2003 By Pauline Thomas, Community Collaborative The War for Freedom at Home As the United States enters this war on Iraq and our sons and daughters are placed on the battlefields to fight for injustices in other countries, we should ask ourselves when will we begin our fight in our own back yard. We are at war right here in America. In this war we are also attacked by weapons, whether political, social or economic. We also have casualties, and mistrust between peoples. It is important that communities of color and white America become allies, to begin our own war against racial injustices. We must acknowledge the reality of racism and play a vital role in our own fight for justice, equality, and equal opportunity for all. We can all play a powerful and effective role in challenging racism. Society has given us a distorted picture of history. Today people of color still face discrimination, and most are exploited economically by the upper class and viewed only as servants and doing the less valued work of our society. Racism is embedded in our institutions. But at its root, it is about individual's attitudes, practices, and behaviors. The challenge for us here at home in America, is to transform these attitudes so that we can be one America, where everyone is equal. The first step is always education. Communities of color need to educate white America, help them understand things from our point of view. Although there are hard-core racists who are entrenched in their position, most white Americans simply do not understand what it is like to be Black. SNIP What is the missing link? The missing link is education. During this war with Iraq, white America is being educated by the major media about the atrocities of the Hussein regime. But the major media in America does not tell the real story of how police treat communities of color, the homeless, youth, mentally ill, and activists. We can work to get the major media to cover the problem (is this also an issue of education?), but until they do, we have our work cut out for us. We need to educate the dominant culture about what we experience. How can we expect them to be outraged, if they don't know about it? I, for one, am willing to work to educate anyone who is willing to listen. Educate about systemic racism, educate about the frequency of police brutality, educate about jobs, incomes, equal access, and classicism. But education can only occur in an environment in which we are willing to talk about racism. Part of the problem is that this country is unwilling to talk about racism. I also expect, from communities of color and white America, that when outright acts of racism occur, that each one of us will stand up and speak out. SNIP No American should witness the inequality and injustices that still exist in our own country today, the war on our own communities here in America, and sit silently and do nothing to change it. Doing nothing is approval and a form of collusion with the abusers. This is an issue of how people are treated in this country. We need each and every person to speak out. In fact, we should expect white Americans to stand up and speak out against atrocities in their own country. This is not just our issue. We should want whites to speak out. In the words of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." --"Letter from Birmingham Jail," Why We Can't Wait (1964). As we attack racism together, we will need to respect each other's unique history, and strive to view things from new points of view. Things will never change unless we value each other's different perspectives. That means communities of color need to respect each other, too, a topic for next week's column. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
