EURweb.com - THOUSANDS SHOW UP FOR HATE CRIMES MARCH: Sharpton-led effort surrounded Justice Department
A crowd of over 20,000 strong surrounded the Justice Department on Nov. 19th to demand tougher, more consistent prosecution of hate crimes. Spurred by recent "noose" incidents around the country, the prosecution of the Jena Six and the brutal kidnapping, rape and torture of Megan Williams and led by race hustler in chief Al Sharpton, the crowd marched around the Justice Department seven times. So impressive was the tumult that the newly minted head of the Justice Department Michael Mukasey actually issued a statement expressing solidarity with the concerns of the marchers.
The whole thing just makes me shiver. Not a shiver of excitement, but more like the hypothermic like shakes of the crack addict suffering the early stages of withdrawal and is going on their 50th retching dry heave.
After all that ruckus in D.C.....So What? I mean, by now, everybody should know that black folks are the undisputed marching champions of the world. 10,000 in Jena, 20,000 in D.C. just a few short months later. You can't tell us nothing bout no marching. Sharpton and Jesse have a network that can put people in the street. By now, the savvy white folks should be ginning up preparations to receive these massive visits with t-shirt productions (I went to the Justice Department march and all I got was this lousy t-shirt) sales of water on site (the Justice Department is big, those people got tired and thirsty), hotel accommodations and an ad campaign maybe.
To what end this marching? People came from all over the US. There were some young college brothers interviewed on CNN that drove over 400 miles all night long to be there. But for all that, are they any more enlightened or really any more activist? Showing up for the march is easy. But we are a one trick pony. Million Man, Jena, Justice Dept. What has come out of these marches? Where is the concerted followup? Because here is the dirty little secret of all this marching foolishness: we're good for a day of marching, but too many of us won't move our butts to vote. We'll support Sharpton the Charlatan to march on DC, but we won't support Barack in his run to the White House. We're marching on Justice like its Jericho, but ain't nobody marching around Dunbar Village.
The bankrupt nature of the National Action Network and PUSH is exposed for everyone to see. Their activism is good for marches, but little else. They can't stir people to action unless they have something to whip the flames with and when they do move, its meaningless and lacking in moral critique. Down in Jena, for all the 10,000 that showed up, ain't a damn thing changed. In D.C. you got a statement. Wow. Imagine if that same 20,000 that showed up in D.C. wrote 20,000 letters to Congress on the issues of concern to us. Or what if they each gave $10 to support capable candidates locally and nationally that support policy that is good for black America? What if they figured out how to mobilize those 20,000 to do more than just follow in a meaningless march like lemmings, but rather to lead real efforts for change? When will we get a new play in the book?
Is marching for Dunbar Village something you would want to do?
ReplyDeleteI don't know but a few of us are planning to go to West Palm Beach in January.
One of the residents wants to have something similar to a townhall meeting for the residents. She feels most residents don't speak out due to fear.
She wants to bring in lawyers, a few of the pastors in the area who want to help (but it seems to be blocked by the Housing Authority), Fair Housing reps, and a HUD rep who says the West Palm Beach Housing Authority is a top performer.
She wants HUD to hear from the residents mouths and not just take the Housing Authority's word.
If anyone is interested in helping the residents empower themselves they can email me. We are following the residents' lead.
symphonyep[at]gmail[dot]com
I can't come to West Palm Beach and march. I would support a march, but only as part of a wider strategy for changing Dunbar Village, not as a standalone event like the Justice Department march.
ReplyDeleteA part of what has to happen in Dunbar Village is that those residents there have to become organized to address their conditions. They will need help to do that. So I think that your instincts with a town hall meeting are correct, but thats a starting point. Because a town hall where everyone can say their piece is fine, but its not like we don't know what the problems are. The issue is how do we organize ourselves to fix what is a very tough situation. My contribution to that is to say that it CAN be done and that it HAS been done in other places. The East Lake experience is one to look at for some inspiration. (See the link on my blog). The key thing to know about the East Lake experience is that it was driven by a very rich man who decided to give a damn. He was fought every inch of the way and he made a lot happen because he was willing to find the resources both financial and political, to do it. The WAY they did East Lake is NOT replicable (unless there is a local millionaire down there willing to step up like that), but the RESULTS they achieved in East Lake are. There are other ways to accomplish what was done in East Lake. The key thing to understand is that it is very hard, very expensive and will take a long time to achieve and requires some people to take leadership and ownership. But it can be done. Check out the East Lake piece and I'm happy to give more insight into strategies and tactics that can be employed to change Dunbar Village.
a&a,
ReplyDeletei am in lockstep (ha ha ha!) with you on this marching thing: about 20 years ago, i marched into an all-white suburb of atlanta because no Blacks live there... 20 years later, no Blacks live there!
this marching to the courthouse steps to demand justice will continue to fall on deaf ears until the "marchers" become "activists" and "voters" and "contributors" and "vigilantes" against corruption.
my days of walking behind some wavy-haired preacher to give him a friggin' photo-op ended 20 years ago at the Forsyth County, Georgia courthouse steps... never again! i VOTE, i CONTRIBUTE (to the Obama campaign), and i ACT (blog reaction to a KFC commercial).
thanks for writing what i have been thinking for the past couple of months!
this blog is on point, i plan to add it to my BlogRoll.