At 14:14 08/11/09 -0500, Thomas Bias wrote:
>
> I was in Washington yesterday at a very small but important
>antiwar demonstration that was about 75% African-American, organized by the
>Black is Back Coalition.
Could you possibly write a few more words about that demo and the forces
behind it? I was very surprised last night to have heard a brief report on
Dutch (mainstream!) radio news about an "anti-imperialist" demonstration of
American blacks dissatisfied with Obama, but could hardly believe it! Now
that you confirmed it, I searched on the web to find the following story by
AFP, but perhaps you could expand on it. Once again I was disappointed that
its planning hadn't been mentioned on this list (or did I miss it?) while
there is no lack of commentary on what the BPP did wrong 40 years ago.
Which I find important and interesting, but I would hope that current
developments are followed with equal seriousness, rather than waiting 40
years to complain about everything that should have been done differently.
- Jeff
--
African-Americans slam Obama in White House protest
(AFP) 20 hours ago
WASHINGTON Decrying Barack Obama as "white power in black face," hundreds
of African-Americans marched on the White House Saturday to protest
policies of the first black US president, and demand that he bring US
troops home.
More than 200 people gathered for the first public demonstration by African
Americans against the Obama administration since his historic inauguration
in January, and slammed the president for continuing what they described as
Washington's "imperialist" agenda around the world.
"We recognize that Barack Hussein Obama is white power in black face,"
civil rights activist Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black is Back
coalition which arranged the protest, called into a megaphone as the group
marched outside the mansion's gates.
"He is a tool of our imperialist enemies and we demand our freedom. And we
demand that Obama withdraw all the troops from Afghanistan right now."
Protesters also called for Obama to order troops out of Iraq and to scrap
Africom, the controversial year-old United States Africa Command, and
demanded "hands off" Venezuela and ends to the Cuba embargo and the
Zimbabwe blockade.
Several demonstrators held up placards bearing messages such as "US out of
Afghanistan" and "Stop US war against Iraq."
Charles Baron, a New York city councilman and former member of the Black
Panthers, a Black Power movement in the mid-1960s and 1970s, attacked the
president for turning a cold shoulder to the plight of African-Americans.
"We're not satisfied with him, and... this hope and change rap has not been
a reality for black people," Baron told AFP during the demonstration.
"We are glad that Barack Obama broke up the white male monopoly on the
White House, but we were not looking for a change in the occupant of the
White House from white to black, we were looking for change in foreign
policies and domestic policies," he added.
"To have a black person exploiting me just like a white person, that's no
easier pain."
The group also was calling for the release of former Black Panther Mumia
Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in 1982 of killing a white police officer and
sentenced to death.
The US Supreme Court upheld Abu-Jamal's conviction in April and rejected
his bid for a new trial.
Black Americans voted overwhelmingly for Democrat Obama in last year's
election, when he defeated Republican Senator John McCain.
About 13 percent of US citizens are African-Americans.
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